My elbow pokes into his ribs. I don’t enjoy hearing my full name from him. It feels so distant even though I get he’s trying not to antagonize my mother even more than he already has.
“Mamá, there’s so muchAbuelocould’ve done, and he did none of it. Hating Pablo and his family doesn’t change what our family didn’t do to protect me. Doesn’t change howAbuelostarted this whole mess. He did it for himself. He didn’t care about me and the dangers it put me in. He didn’t care about you and how it would’ve hurt you if something happened to me. He did it all for himself. We’ve never been part of his family. Not really. He never really accepted me because he wouldn’t do this to myprimos.”
“He wouldn’t do it to yourprimosbecause they’re useless. They have no skills that benefit him. They’reidiotas.”
“And I’m supposed to be proud that I’m well educated enough for him to risk my life? To sell me like a sack of potatoes to a man who had no conscience? A man who had his own brother killed. A man who could do that would’ve just as easily murdered me.”
“He wouldn’t have gotten his hands dirty.” Pablo mutters his comment, butMamáand I both hear him.
“What Pablo said is true. That’s why Humberto put a bounty on me. It wasn’t dead or alive. I’m certain he only would’ve paid if I were dead.”
Mamájust won’t relent. “You’re distracted by his good looks and charm. Those will wear off, and then where will you be? Probably in the same position I am.”
“I am not Domingo. No man in my family is anything like him. I would never abandon Flora.”
“Flora, is it? How long did it take before you slept together? An hour? Two hours?”
“Mamá!”
My cheeks are radiating heat. This isn’t something she and I have ever talked about. I can’t believe she’s bringing up something so private with Pablo here. I can’t believe she’s talking about my sex life at all. We’ve never ever done that.
Pablo’s thumb rubs against the base of my neck. It soothes me.
“I care about your daughter more than I do anyone else in the world. I understand you don’t believe me. Perhaps with time I can show you. But whether you believe me doesn’t change the fact that I’ll protect Flora from any threat. It doesn’t matter if they’re her family. Anyone who threatens Flora will discover just how protectivelos Diazis about family—by blood or by choice.”
“Oh, so now she’s part of your family. She’s my daughter.”
“And that will never change,SeñoraBautista. But she will be my wife.”
I force myself not to react. It’s been a foregone conclusion, but it’s still a lot to take in to hear him say that. It’s one thing to think it—even imagine it—but it’s altogether different when it’s said aloud, especially with the convictionMamáand I hear in Pablo’s voice. My hesitation is slipping away.
It’s not just hearing that; it’s his reassuring presence. He was silently supporting me by being beside me, but now he’s ready to declare himself. It feels like he and his family are the only ones on my side. Despite how muchMamáloatheslos Diaz, she should at least acknowledge how they’ve protected me so far. I understand she doesn’t want me to have a future with them, but she should acknowledge they’re part of my present and not as a threat.
“Mamá, if you won’t believe me aboutAbueloand you won’t accept that Pablo’s the one who’s been protecting me, then there’s really nothing more to say. I wish it weren’t this way, but I can’t reason with you if you insist upon denying the truth.”
“The truth islos Diazare manipulating you. Blood is thicker than water,mija.” My daughter.
“Not in this case,Mamá. I know there’re limits to what you can do, but you’re still my mother. Even if you couldn’t have stoppedAbuelo, you could’ve warned me. You didn’t.”
My voice cracks as I repeat the refrain that’s run through my head on a loop every time I think about what’s going on. I want to think I can get over that—that I can reason it away—that I can forgive her—but I don’t know that I can. It feels like such a betrayal.
The only way I can stomach thinking about it is knowing how little powerMamáhas. I don’t doubt she did what she thought was best for me. However, she couldn’t have been more wrong.
Chapter Twenty-One
Pablo
My heart breaks for Flora as I listen to her argue with her mother. Empathy isn’t a quality I’ve been accused of. I can feel it for those within my family, but I’m never interested in feeling it for others. In my line of work, you reap what you sow, so there’s always been a reason for my actions.
But I’m trying to be understanding for Magdalena’s sake since I hope she’s my future mother-in-law. It worries me that if this forces Flora into a contentious relationship with her mother, she’ll pick Magdalena over me. I can’t blame her, and to be honest, it’s the one thing that could drive us apart. I don’t want to put a wedge between her mother and her. Even if Flora accepts it for now, eventually it will corrode our relationship too.
“Pablo, leave now. I don’t want ahijo de putain my house corrupting my daughter, spinning untrue stories that prove my daughter’s gullible.” Son of a bitch.
“Mamá, don’t call him that!”
Flora jumps out of her seat, her face flushed red. If it were some other situation, the sparks flying from her eyes would be arousing as fuck. However, this is hardly a moment I want torevel in. My cock’s ready to shrivel, and my balls want to tuck up inside me. That’s how far from excited this conversation makes me.
I rise and slide my arm around Flora’s waist.
