Luis nodded sadly. “I know, honey.”
“I wanted to be the one to tell him. I wanted to be the one to tellher.”
“I know that too.”
“What do I do?” she asked him. “I don’t know. I’ve taken care of myself for years now, and this is the first time I’ve ever not known what to do.”
Luis paused. Ari stared at him.
“What?” she whispered. “What do you think?”
“You aren’t going to like it.”
“So what?” She gave a bitter laugh. “I don’t like anything about anything right now. At least I trust you. You can tell me something I don’t like, and I still know that you only want what’s best for me and Reine. Please, tell me what you think. And be honest.” She sighed. “I’ve had enough lies to last me a lifetime.”
Luis took a deep breath.
“Well,” he began, clearing his throat, “for one thing, you can’t run away. Oh, I get why you want to, and we’re tempted to come with you. Honestly, not five minutes ago Sebastian was on the phone to British Airways to see if we could all check into the red-eye home.”
“But I bet they were fully booked, right?” Ari asked.
“Yes. Well,mostly.”
Ari stared at him.
“They only had seats left in economy,” Luis admitted. “And while I’m happy to turn right on any flight, you know Sebastian won’t eat his plane food off of anything but fine bone china. Andwhat would we do at the airport if we can’t get into the first-class lounge? Duty-free only entertains for so long, Ari.”
“I used to like airports,” Ari replied absently, thinking of a warm pair of eyes gazing at her from across a cold terminal floor. “I used to like them a lot.” She stopped, shaking her head. “Okay, so we fly tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Luis nodded. “I’ll get us booked on the first flight home with first-class availability.”
“Reine and I can fly economy.”
“The hell you can.” Luis almost looked affronted. “You stay with us.”
“You both love Reine so much.” Ari sniffled again as tears threatened to run down her cheeks. “You love her more than she even knows.”
“We love you too, you know. Which is why I’m gonna say this. You need to talk to that man.”
“Luis—”
“No, Ari, listen to me. He’s an absolute shit.Culero, I would say at home. But whatever he is and whatever he’s done... he’s still Reine’s father.” Luis took a deep breath. “And she knows it now too.”
Ari nodded sadly. “I know.”
“It’s like a can of worms has been opened,” Luis went on. “And look, we can fly home and try and squeeze the lid back on. Do some damage control and all that. But worms are still gonna find their way out, Ari, and Reine will want to know more about her father and he’s gonna want to know more about her... and that mother of his.” Luis gave Ari a knowing look. “She’s a hard one, that Marnie. I don’t think she’ll give up on Reine easily.”
Ari nodded.
“But look, while Sebastian and I are fully prepared to take on Marnie and Tom — Tom, whatever his name is — we aren’tprepared to take on Reine about this. She has a right to know where she came from and who her people are.”
“But they aren’tgoodpeople—” Ari started to argue, and Luis nodded, understanding written across his face.
“Maybe not. But she’ll still want toknow. Honestly, Ari, do yourself a favour and save her rebellion for her teenage years. She’s a little young to peak at seven.”
Ari sighed. “All my instincts are telling me to get away from this place.”
“And they’re probably right. But trust me on this one. Talk to him. Give him time with Reine. Work something out.”
