Page 78 of Forbidden Fate

Definitely not a lie.

“Even a little money can sometimes make family life difficult,” Mercedes says.

“You sound like you know,” I say, trying to move the conversation away from me.

She laughs. “Oh, I know.”

Esmeralda rolls her eyes. “Here we go.”

“What?” Mercedes asks. “She asked.”

“I did,” I say. “And I’m interested.”

Mercedes leans back in her chair. “I came from a good family in Bogotá. Well-to-do, as they say.”

“As rich people say,” Esmeralda mutters.

Mercedes narrows her eyes. “Jealousy is unbecoming.”

Esmeralda smirks. “I’m not jealous of your family. They sound awful.”

“They are awful. But very nicely dressed.”

Despite myself, I smile.

“My parents wanted me to become something respectable. A lawyer, maybe. Or at least the wife of a lawyer. Either would have pleased them, as long as there was money and no visible scandal.”

“That sounds suffocating,” I say.

“It was. So I went to college and did exactly what they wanted for almost two years.”

“Almost?”

Her grin turns wicked. “Then I discovered theater. I thought I was meant for the stage.”

“What happened?” I ask.

“The stage disagreed.”

I frown. “I’m so sorry.”

She shrugs. “I dropped out of school to act. I was young. Dramatic. Convinced I would become famous within six months because obviously the world was waiting for me.”

“And?” Cruz asks.

She looks at him. “And the world wasn’t.”

Señora Valentina nods. “It can be a ruthless business. Nowhere near as respectable as what we do,” she adds with a wink.

“I landed flat on my ass,” Mercedes says. “No roles. No money. No patience left from my family. I could have gone back, of course.”

“But you didn’t want to,” I say.

“No,” she says. “I didn’t want to go back and listen to them tell me I was stupid. I didn’t want my father’s money if it came with his contempt. They were rich, yes, but they were also dicks. So I fell back on the thing men have been telling me I could use since I was fourteen.”

My stomach tightens. Clearly we all know how it ended.

“My body,” she says simply. “At least this way, I set the price.”