At some point, I got pulled into trying things on, too. I stepped into a fitted white jumpsuit. For a second, I just stood there, staring at myself in the mirror. I looked like a version of myself I hadn’t had time to see before.
“Te ves como si fueras dueña del lugar,” he said.
(You look like you own the room.)
I lifted a brow, a small smile playing at my lips. “¿Ah, sí?” I replied smoothly. “¿De verdad?”
(Oh, really? Do I?)
That got his attention.
I saw a flicker of surprise cross his face.
“Sí,” he said, then switched back to English. “And that’s not something that can be bought.”
His eyes stayed on me a second longer before he added, “I didn’t know you spoke Spanish.”
I hunched my shoulders. “That’s one thing my mom made sure I learned… and now I see why.”
He then walked up beside me with something small in his hand. “Here. I got you something.”
Before I could even ask what or why, he took my wrist gently and fastened a delicate gold bracelet around it.
“It’s a marker.”
I looked up at him in confusion.
“A reminder that you belong to more than the struggle you’ve been handed,” he clarified.
That hit somewhere I wasn’t expecting, because my whole life felt like struggle was all I belonged to. I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t. I just looked down at the bracelet again, letting his words sit where they landed.
Our last stop was a rooftop restaurant overlooking the ocean. The view alone was enough to make me daydream.
It felt peaceful… too peaceful for my life.
Kyrin was halfway into a burger the size of his head, completely focused. “Man,” he mumbled between bites, “if this is how rich people eat every day, I’ve been living wrong.”
Lainey, of course, had her phone out. “Y’all,” she exclaimed dramatically, flipping the camera. “If I disappear, just know I chose this life! Please don’t come looking for me!”
I shook my head, smiling despite myself.
Myfatherleaned slightly toward me, no business in his tone, just truth. “I enjoyed today.”
I glanced at him. “Me too,” I honestly admitted.
He nodded, satisfied, then resumed eating.
Bags filled every corner of the SUV as we headed back to the house. Kyrin was humming, Lainey was planning an entire outfit post, and I was quiet, turning over the morning’s conversations in my head.
Later that evening, after dinner, I stepped into one of the private elevators to head back down to my wing. I was halfway through pressing the button when a large hand stopped the doors from closing. Domino stepped in, all quiet confidence, his cologne and presence filling the small space.
“Going down?” he asked.
“Y-Yeah.”
I moved slightly to give him space, though the elevator was already too small for comfort.
I stood in silence for a few seconds; the hum of the machinery was the only sound surrounding us. I glanced at him once. He was looking straight ahead, jaw set, like that moment wasn’t affecting him. Then there was a slight jolt between floors; not enough to scare me, but enough to throw me off balance for half a second. Domino’s hand came out instantly, brushing my arm to steady me.
