THE TALK

What I wouldn't give just to see your light.
Just to hold you, my friend.
I don't feel alright.
If you were with me I could say amen.

***

CHAPTER XX

*****

OVERTHINKING WOULD BE the death of me.

I was sure of it. Ever since Daniel had dropped us back at our house two days ago, I couldn't stop the thoughts from racing through my head. About how my meeting was going to go, about whether my business would grow in the next few years, about the person who was trying to kill me, about my mother, about my father, about him.

Daniel.

I was on my second glass of wine, whether trying to blur out the voices in my head or trying to pass out so I didn't have to listen to them, I wasn't sure. As I sipped the red liquid, I was willing to accept whichever would come first.

Of course, I could only really do this now because Daniel was here. He had spent the last two days with us; or with his son more rather. He'd show up early in the morning and leave late at night and I could tell Teo loved it, but it only irritated me more and I didn't understand why.

Maybe it was the fact that he got to come and go as he pleased while I was trapped in the same place. Trapped in this God forsaken house or trapped in my mind? I hated both equally.

I wanted him to go and never come back again because he messed with my heart and my sense of reason. But I also wanted him to stay and hold me in his arms. I wanted him to touch me like he did two nights ago.

I wanted what we had two years ago.

I gulped the remaints of my wine down and lay back in my bed. My head was pounding and the pain killers I had taken a couple hours ago seemed to have done nothing. Granted, I wasn't supposed to be drinking and taking painkillers but what else could I do?

I let my eyes close, pretending to myself that I was going to sleep, but who was I kidding? I was wide awake in the middle of the day and Teo's screams and yells of happiness rang like a fucking church bell in my mind.

Did he always scream when he played or was I just becoming hyper aware now?

I sat up in my bed again, realising that I really wasn't in a good place. I was slipping and if I didn't get back on track again, it wouldn't take long before Dr. David but me back in medication.

I reeled at the thought of Dr. David. In all honesty, he had no power to make me do anything now, but if I wanted to be there for Mateo, I had to make sure that I was okay first and Dr. David knew how to make me okay. I hadn't spoken to him in weeks so I guess now would be a good time to reach out.

Just as I reached out to my bedside table to pick up my phone, a gentle knock came from my door. Not bothering to try and find out who it was, I yelled for the person to come in.

“Miss?” the dark hair of Abigail, one of Daniel's maids, came into sight. I forced a smile onto my face as she let herself in. “Um, Mr. Pablo is downstairs and says he wants to see you?”

I didn't want to see anybody. I had half the mind to make her tell him that I was asleep, but I realised that it probably wasn't good for me. With so many people in the house, there was no real reason for me to feel this lonely.

“Oh? Tell him I'll be down in a second.”

She nodded her head and picked up the wineglass on my table despite my protests before before making her way out of the room. I sat alone in the darkness for a few minutes, willing myself to get up and do something. Anything. I hated when I got like this. When even breathing seemed like a task.

I pushed myself up off the mattress and slowly made my way into the bathroom. Avoiding my own reflection, I splashed a handful of water onto my face to sober myself up a little bit and then brushed my teeth a second time to mask the scent of alcohol on my breath before fixing my hair into my usual lazy bun.

Thankfully, I had gotten dressed that morning because it had become a habit of mine to do so. All I had to do was find a pair of shoes to go with the pale blue dress that sinched in at my waist and flared out to my knees. I decided on a pair of black flats before leaving my room and racing down the stairs.

I felt myself easily brighten up at the sight of Pablo standing in the foyer with a happy-looking Teo in his arms. My steps seemed to have gotten faster before slowing drastically at the realisation that it was Daniel he was talking to.

Even though Daniel had spent the last two days in the house with us, I hadn't actually seen him. It was always the maid that let him in and walked him out and the door was always left open during the day so as long as the guards allowed him into the house, he had full access to it. I didn't mind him being here, but like I said, I hadn't seen him in two days.

As soon as I set my eyes on him, it was like all the hurt and pain and anger I felt towards him had gone. It was so hard to stay angry at him and I didn't know why, but I knew that it wouldn't take long before I finally blew up and brought everything down with me. And he hasn't even done anything to me.

All I could hope for was that Teo wouldn't be there to witness it.

“Pablo?” I called out, directing all of their attention towards me. I wasn't sure who seemed the happiest to see me; Teo or Pablo but the large smiles on their faces warmed my heart immensely. “What are you doing here?”

“I want to spend some time with you,” he said, only making me feel even warmer as I took Teo out of his arms and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Will you go out with me?”

“What? You mean like on a date?” I asked, crinkling my nose at the thought.

Pablo's expression shifted to one of disgust as he eyed me. “Eww, no. Just to hang out.”

“Watch the way you word things then,” I sneered before handing Teo to Daniel and then making my way towards the stairs. “Give me a minute. I'm going to get my handbag.”

He motioned for me to go before turning back to Daniel to pick up their conversation where they left off at. As I climbed up the stairs towards my room, I couldn't help but feel a small bit happy. I wasn't too excited about the fact that I was going out since I would rather be alone, but I couldn't deny the fact that seeing Pablo's face made me happy.

I quickly grabbed the black, diamond encrusted bag from my desk chair before racing out of my room again. This time, Pablo was on his own and I couldn't help but look around for Daniel and Mateo with a frown.

“Where's Mateo?” I asked him as he beckoned me out the door. “Is he with Daniel?”

“Why do you want to take him with us?” Pablo bit back, making me roll my eyes dramatically.

“I was just asking. Jesus.” I walked around to the side of the car and let myself in, not saying anything else until Pablo had got into the driver's side and put on his seat belt. He began driving out of the gates and I couldn't help but look back at the house in confusion. “Are we not taking guards with us? Daniel will throw a fit.”

“He knows I'm with you so I can protect,” he declared confidently, making me snort and roll my eyes. “What?” he asked, glaring at me.

“You?” I pointed to him. “Protect me?” I pointed back to myself and he nodded, making me laugh again. “Can you even fight?” I reached out and poked his biceps, not missing the way he flexed at my touch. “What is this? Inflatable balloons?”

“You're right, we should have brought guards,” he mumbled, shaking his head as he slapped my hand away from his arm. “I'm the one who needs protection from you.”

I couldn't help but let out a carefree laugh, feeling the persistent headache from earlier start to fade away.

***

“So, how are you?”

“I should be asking you that.”

“Yeah, but I asked first.”

“Why do you always argue?”

I narrowed my eyes at Pablo and urged myself not to reach over and send a fist into his face. “I asked first, asshole. Now answer me.”

“Jesus, forgive me for caring about you,” he said sarcastically, making me roll my eyes and look up at the ceiling.

The both of us had been frolicking around town for the last hour as weird as it sounded. It was only five minutes ago that we had settled down in a quiet coffee shop by the side of the road and now here we were. Impatiently waiting for our orders while we made small talk.

“I'm fine,” I huffed, hating the fact that I had given in first. “That's what you wanted to hear, right? Now answer my question.”

“You may say you're fine, but are you really fine?” he asked, leaning across the table to get closer to me.

“If I say I'm fine, I'm fine, Pablo. Now tell me how you are.”

“I'm good,” he shrugged, turning away from me and conveniently showing me that he really wasn't.

I think maybe the both of us functioned on a deeper wavelength. We didn't have to talk to understand each other. God, it was so hard for me to lie to him just like it was for him to lie to me.

“You don't look fine,” I said, my voice coming out softer than I had expected.

Pablo turned to me with a warm smile and shook his head, attempting to clear all worries from mine. “Don't worry about me, Araceli. I'll be alright.”

I wanted to reassure him and let him know that I would always be with him, but that was when the water had reached our table with our coffee and pastries. I thanked him, smiling at the young man before he walked away and it was just Pablo and I again.

“Emma asked for your number by the way,” he said, breaking the silence while he stirred his sugar into his mug. “She said she'd like to meet up with you.”

“Tell her that Daniel will give it to her.” Pablo raised an eyebrow at my strange request, making me give him a sheepish smile. “I can't remember what it is and I don't know how to find it on my phone.”

“You're weird.”

“You're weirder.”

“Stop using the same insult I use on you.” He glared at me and pursed his lips. “It's lame.”

“How old are you? Seven?”

“Five, actually,” he corrected, making me let out a snort of laughter.

“So, have you spoken to Emma lately?” I asked. The air around us seemed to have changed and Pablo's happy aura disappeared to one of coldness as he brushed off the question with a shrug.

“Yeah. Sometimes.”

“How is she?” I pressed, but I didn't seem to be getting anything out of him.

“She's good.”

“Like you, huh,” I snorted, but covered it up at the unimpressed look on his face. “Sorry. Shouldn't have said that.” He shook his head and strained a smile before ducking down to take a sip from his sweetened black coffee. “Have you met her fiancé yet?”

He surprised the both of us when he started choking on his drink, drops of the warm beverage splattering all over the table as he tried to control the laugh that got us into this predicament in the first place.

“God, Araceli, you just don't know when to stop, do you?” he laughed as he wiped down the table with the napkin that had been provided. He looked up at me as soon as he had discarded the tissue, a warm, genuine smile on his lips. “I don't want to talk about this.”

“Right, sorry.” I waved my hands to apologise. “Just know that you always have me if you ever need me, okay?”

“I already know that.”

“I'm just reminding you because sometimes, we do dumb things and somehow forget about the people that love us the most, you know?”

Pablo stared at me long and hard, his eyes creasing as he smiled. “When did you become so mature?”

“Please,” I hufferd, waving a dismissive hand. “I've always been mature.”

“Tell that to someone who doesn't know you,” he snorted. “But in all seriousness, I should say the same to you.” He reached over the table and grabbed my hand, rubbing his thumb on the back of it. “Even when you were gone and everyone thought you had turned on us, I had always been on your side.” He brought my palm up to his lips and pressed a small kiss onto the ring I wore on my middle finger. “You'll always have me.”

I couldn't help but bite down on my bottom lip, tears threatening to spill out because I knew these promises were never real. With the business he was in, I was scared one day I would receive a call telling me that I would no longer see him again.

“You promise that I'll see you grow old and become bald?”

“I'll try my hardest to make sure you do.”

He laughed, but no matter how hard I analysed his words, I realised that he had never promised a thing.

***

“So have you and Anna spoken yet?” Pablo asked as he followed me into the sitting room.

After switching on the lights, I turned to look at him with confusion at his question. “No. Why are you asking?”

He let out a sigh and stepped up to me, not hesitating to place his hands on my shoulders once he was finally in front of me. I glanced at his hands before looking back at him as worry began to build in my stomach.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No,” he shook his head, looking as if he was struggling. “No, nothings wrong. But I care for you. And unfortunately I care for Anna too. I don't want a misunderstanding to be the thing that tears the both of you apart.”

I stared up into his eyes, obviously seeing that there clearly was something else that was disturbing him but instead of prying further, I brushed his hands off shoulders as if trying to brush of the conversation of my best friend.

“Yeah, well I tried and she doesn't want to talk to me.”

“She does now,” he said, making me raise an eyebrow at him. “I'll give you her number right now. It's imperative that the both of you speak to each other.”

“Imperative,” I giggled as he stared at me in confusion. “I taught you that word.”

“Shut up,” he tried to say in a serious tone, but it was difficult for him to hide the smile appearing on his lips at the funny memory of us when we had been younger. “Just listen to me, Ara. Call Anna as soon as you can. Before it's too late.”

I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at him. He kept claiming that there was nothing wrong, yet was using words that deliberately increased my heart rate. “Okay, okay. I will.” I opened my mouth to say something else when a daunting realisation had come over me.

I had been walking around the sitting room, my eyes glancing from one place to the other. Clearly searching something but it was only now that I realised what it was.

“Why did you stop speaking? Is something wrong?” Pablo asked, taking immediate notice of my changed mood.

“The house is empty, Pablo,” I pointed out. He looked at me as if that was all, maybe not realising the point I was trying to make. “I have a child.” I began making my way up the stairs, hoping for the life of me that Daniel hadn't left Mateo sleeping in his crib on his own. Upon seeing the completely empty room, my reality became much worse than a lonely baby. “Mateo!”

“Hey, calm down,” Pablo said, grabbing my waist and stopping me from going crazy, searching for my son all over the property. “Let's think logically. Daniel probably took him with him.”

“You're right,” I agreed, turning around to nod at him. “You're right.” I looked again at my surroundings, searching for anything to confirm Pablo's theory before giving up and turning to him. “Can you call him? Just to make sure?”

“Of course.”

He gave me one of his charming smiles before reaching into the pocket of his pants and taking out his phone. I tried not to pace up and down the room as he took his sweet time dialling Daniel's number. I knew that there was a higher chance of Daniel actually having Teo than of the both of them just randomly being kidnapped.

I had allowed a minute to pass between the both of us before turning to Pablo upon realising that it had been a minute yet he still hadn't seem to have gotten to Daniel.

“Have you called him yet?” I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. It didn't help when Pablo had looked up from his phone with a frown.

“Yes,” he answered slowly, trying to control my reaction. “I've called him three times now and all of them have gone straight to voicemail.”

“Crap.” Not even a second had passed before I was already out the door, making my way over to the gate. Pablo followed quietly after me, understanding that it was best not to get between a mother and her child. I stormed right up to one of the guards I briefly remembered was called Ruben. “Ruben.” He immediately turned his attention to me at the sound of my voice and bowed his head. “Did Daniel leave this place with Mateo?”

“Yes, boss,” he answered quickly, making me let out a sigh of relief. At least I knew they were together.

“Did he tell you where they went?”

The guard frowned and shook his head. “No, boss.”

I let out a groan and cursed lowly under my breath. Of course they couldn't just make it easier for me.

All I needed to give Pablo was a simple look that let him know exactly where my thoughts were. He moved faster than me to the car and had already started it before I had even closed the door shut.

With the way we sped down the road, I was fully expecting one of two things to happen. We got into a car crash or we got pulled over by the cops and with the way the country was right now, I would rather get into a car crash.

At least there'd be a higher chance of surviving.

To my pleasant surprise, neither of the two happened and I instead found myself in front of Daniel's gates in record time. As soon as the guards let us in, I hadn't even waited for Pablo to kill the engine before I jumped out of the car and made my way over to the front door.

As expected, it was left open, letting me barge right in. I used my fading knowledge of the house to climb up the stairs and turn corners until I met face to face with a door I was all too familiar with. Even if it looked liked all the other doors on that hallway.

I made to throw it open and let myself in before realising it maybe wasn't the best idea. Deciding against it, I instead raised my fist and knocked on the door three times.

It hadn't taken too long before it was pulled open, revealing to my greedy eyes, Daniel in nothing but a pair of sweatpants hanging low around his waist. My breath hitched at the sight of the small droplets of water racing down his chest and along his abs before being soaked up by the material of the pants making me realise that he had most likely just stepped out of the shower. His curls were weighed down and hung against his forehead and little beads of water dropped from them onto his face, only highlighting his sharp jaw and beautiful lips.

The lips that I found myself wanting to kiss so badly.

“Why are you here?” His voice had snapped me out of my trance making me bring my gaze away from his body and to his face instead.

“Do you know how many times I've been calling you?” I asked once I had finally come back to my senses. “You took my child out of my house—”

“Our child.”

“—and it didn't even occur to you to tell me?” I hissed, narrowing my eyes at the cold look on his face. “At least pick up your phone when I call you. Instead of making me race down here in half the time and almost get into an accident.”

He remained quiet and only stared down at me blankly as I waited for him to say something. Anything that showed that he realised his mistake.

Instead, he opened his big, fat mouth and said, “Is that all?”

I stared at him with a look of disbelief. I couldn't understand how he could remain so nonchalant about this when I felt my anger was completely justified. Sure, maybe I was a bit dramatic freaking out over Mateo not being there, but was it so unreasonable to ask him to at least pick up his phone?

All I could do was stare at him in disbelief and slight confusion before I shook my head and glared at him. “You really don't get it, huh?” I asked, not expecting him to answer.

I gave him one last sweeping glare before I turned around and proceeded to walk away. I had to tell him something, but I decided he could receive that message via text. That was if he wasn't going to treat his texts like he treated his phone calls.

“Hey, hey.” I hadn't gotten very far until I felt his hand wrap around my wrist and pull back. “Wait.”

His tone was much softer now and that was the only thing that compelled me to stay there and listen to whatever else he had to say. I didn't turn to him as he spoke because I didn't think he deserved that much so I stood there facing the direction I wanted to be walking in with my hand slipped into his.

“Araceli, look at me,” he muttered as he drew me closer to him and turned me so I could face him. I kept my face blank and even when he raised my chin, I did everything I could to not meet his eyes. He let out a sigh and used both his hands to hold my face gently. “I'm sorry.”

I couldn't help the surprise that fell over me at his words. Generally, I didn't normally see Daniel as an unreasonable person, but based on his earlier reaction, I hadn't expected him to own up to what he had done.

“You know me,” he continued talking, his voice so low he had to bring me in closer so I could hear him clearer. As if I wasn't already close enough. “You know I wouldn't ever purposely want to worry you. I should have called you.” Reluctantly I met his gaze, immediately seeing the sincerity in his eyes as his thumb softly caressed my cheek and he smiled carefully. “It's just that my phone died and once I got here it slipped my mind.”

I wasn't sure if we were still moving closer together. All I knew was that seconds ago, our foreheads weren't touching but now they were.

“You know I'm new to all of this.”

He had a point and I couldn't help but shrug in agreement because I did know.

“I'm going to mess up a lot before I get it right,” he said, his voice soft as he stared at me with an intense emotion burning in his eyes. “I'm just going to need you to be patient with me and always call me out when I do something dumb. Okay?”

“O-okay,” I stuttered out, wrapping my hand around his wrist as I willed my heart to calm down. Our proximity was making it hard for me to breathe but he didn't seem like he was going to pull away any time soon.

“You forgive me?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Thank you.”

I don't think I had ever experienced Daniel be so sweet to me in particular and what made it all the more special was the fact that he had been genuine and sincere throughout the whole thing. It was one thing to apologise, but what he had done was something entirely different. It felt a lot more intimate and maybe it was just one of his tactics to make me smitten towards him, but I still would've forgiven him wholeheartedly even he had just come out with an average apology.

The problem came when seconds had passed and he still hadn't pulled away from me. The longer we stayed so close together, the more and more sanity I lost. With his lips so close to mine, it wouldn't have taken anything for me to lean in and further complicate our already complicated relationship.

“Daniel,” I said, not missing the way his smile widened slightly at my breathy whisper.

“Hmm?”

“Close,” I muttered, letting my eyes flutter shut for a couple seconds before opening them again. “Too... close.”

His humour with the situation was made obvious with the chuckle he let slip out. Thankfully, he took a step away from me, letting me finally breathe normally as I put more distance between us.

He allowed me a couple minutes to catch my breath before he spoke again, directing my attention to him and only him.

“Are you not taking Teo home with you?”

I shook my head and let out a loud exhale. “No point in disturbing his sleep,” I answered after a long minute. “Plus, I was kind of hoping that you would be able to take care of him tomorrow as well.”

He narrowed his eyes at my words and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly unaware of how I went dumb whenever his chest muscles flexed the way they did. At least now I was free to drool over them since I was sure that Mateo was safe this time.

“Are you going somewhere tomorrow?”

“Uh-huh,” I answered, not fully aware of my surroundings anymore. “On a business trip.”

“Is that so?” As if knowing I could no longer fully function properly and taking advantage of that, he began making his way closer to me, realising that the closer he got, the less control I had over myself and the things I said. “And you only thought to tell me this now?”

“I-I forgot.” I made to take a step away from him, but by the time I has the sense to, he was already too close. Before I could even make a move, he grabbed my neck and pulled right into his hard body. My stomach flipped and my heart beat harder in chest as my body reacted the way it usually reacted whenever he grabbed me the way he was now.

I could feel the dominance radiating off of him and the only thing I could do was stand there and hope to God he decided to take me against the wall.

“Where are you going?” I willed myself to stand my ground but as soon as he applied the slightest bit of pressure, I found myself melting like chocolate in the sun.

“LA,” I answered. I gulped as fantasies of him and I butt naked doing all kinds of scandalous things filled my mind.

“That's five hours away,” he said as if I didn't already know that. “You know how dangerous that is, right?”

“I know, but I'll take my guards with me.” I wasn't telling him this so he would let me go because quite frankly, whether he liked it or not, I was still going to go. I was telling him this because whenever I got in such a mind frame, my whole world revolved around Daniel. Everything I did was to make him happy because seeing him satisfied made me satisfied. “I'll take as many as you want me to.”

“You already know what to do,” he hummed in satisfaction, bringing a smile to my face. “Smart girl.” He trailed his nose along my neck, taking in my perfume before bringing his head up and teasingly brushing his lips against mine. “My pretty little businesswoman.”

“Am I interrupting something?”

Emma's voice was like a bucket of cold water being spilled over my head. I snapped out of my daze and pulled away from Daniel who let me go to glare daggers at his sister.

She stood at the end of the hall, arms crossed and a teasing smile on her face as she took in the both of us.

“Um, no you're not interrupting anything. I was actually on my way out,” I rushed out as heat flushed my face. I couldn't help but wonder what I was about to let myself do if it wasn't for Emma who came in just in time. Mentally, I thanked her for her interference.

“Oh no, I can come back later if you want,” she said, the same teasing smile on her face as she looked between the both of us. “I only came her to get your number from Daniel because Pablo told me to. Honestly, it can wait.”

“No, I've got to get home now.” I returned her smile and turned to Daniel only to giggle at the glare he was giving her. “Give Emma my number will you?” He briefly glanced at me, his eyes softening before turning back to Emma and glaring at her again. I grabbed his face and forced him to look down at me before speaking. “Try not to kill her.”

My words amused him and briefly his lips lifted up into am amused smile. I turned away from him, but before I could get far, he grabbed my arm.

Instead of acknowledging it, I turned to him as I slowly slipped out of his hold. “Give Teo a kiss for me,” was the last thing I said before I finally slipped away from him and began walking to the exit. “Talk to you later, Emma.”

“See you, Ara.”

I skipped down the steps and found my way to the door, thankfully nor forgetting all my years here. I didn't think my experience would ever serve me later in life, but I guess I had been wrong. I hadn't made it far from the door when a familiar voice had called for my attention.

“Araceli!”

I whipped around and found myself smiling at the sight of Anna making her way towards me.

By now I was outside, making my way over to Pablo's car after taking the key from the side table. I wasn't sure how much he trusted me with driving it, but clearly he wanted me to get home somehow if he made it easy for me to access it.

“Hey,” I said as soon as she reached me. “How are you?”

“Can we talk?” she asked, nor bothering to answer my greeting.

My lips pulled into a frown as I looked over to the black audi just waiting to drive me home. “I've got to get home now, but maybe when I—”

“Please, Ara, this will only take a minute. I just need to talk to you quickly,” she said, making me let out a small sigh and gesture to the car.

It was left unlocked so I didn't need to fumble and figure out how to unlock it. As soon as I got in, I started the car and got the heater going to combat the cold of the night as Anna got into the other side with me.

As the car slowly began to warm up, the both of us had sat in an awkward silence while we waited for the other to talk. I had no idea what she wanted to talk to me about. I had tried to talk to her multiple times and she had only brushed me off, so this conversation wasn't something that I was too keen on but I tried not to hold a grudge on her for that. It's not like she knew what I had been through anyway.

“Daniel told me everything,” she finally said, making me turn to her with a raised eyebrow. If I would've guessed, Pablo would've been the one to tell her since he seemed to be the one that actually cared, but when did Daniel ever fail to surprise me? “He called me into his office, sat me down and explained everything to me and I am so sorry, Ara. I didn't know.”

I remained quiet because I just couldn't think of anything to say. What was I supposed to say? That it was okay? It wasn't. I understood her, I did. But it didn't take away from the fact that I was still hurt by the way she treated me and I was only beginning to accept that that was okay.

It was like she was just willing to throw away years of friendship like that. Then again, to her I had been the one to toss our friendship out the door.

“You have to understand me.” I do. I kept that thought to myself. “I thought... I thought you abandoned me. After I told you that I would go anywhere with you. I thought you heard that and just ignored it. I didn't know that you didn't have a choice.”

She had stopped talking to try and calm her shaky voice and I had never said a thing because I couldn't. I didn't trust my mouth and I didn't trust my thoughts either. Anna remained my best friend in my heart and in my mind and nothing she could do or say to me would ever change that. That being said, I had absolutely no idea what to tell her.

“Say something, please,” she begged, the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks like rivers. “Anything. Yell at me, curse me out. Say something.” I had said nothing, and that only seemed to worsen the blow because she only started crying harder. “I know I should've listened to you, but I was so hard-headed and stubborn. Oh, I'll just give her the cold shoulder after she was maltreated for God knows how long on a cargo ship to be sold and raped. Yeah, that will show her. I'm such an idiot.”

I couldn't help but smile a little at her words. I didn't know how this girl always found a way to be funny even when she was tearing herself down, but she succeeded.

But then I remembered where I was and who I was with and then I remembered how my best friend was right beside me, hurting. Begging for me to say something; anything to put her heart at ease. To her, it was as if I was deliberately being silent and my silence meant the end of our friendship, but it didn't. My silence was just my dumbass brain trying to figure out the right thing to say so I didn't drive a wedge deeper into our relationship.

Finally, I let out a troubled sigh and rested my forehead on the steering wheel.

“I... I understand.” The car went quiet and the night stilled. It was almost as if everyone on earth was hanging on a thread listening into our conversation just to hear the next thing that was going to be said. “How you treated me...” I gulped down, trying to keep my emotions at bay, “it hurt. But what I did to you? That hurt you more. A lot more, so I understand. I get it.”

“But you didn't do anything to me, though,” she cried, looking at me with bloodshot eyes.

Just watching her break down in front of me was enough to reduce me to tears, but I willed myself to stay strong.

“I know that,” I said, my voice coming out lower than a whisper. “I know that, but you didn't. They made you think I did, and you reacted to that which is normal. I can't hold you in contempt for that.”

Despite my words being there to comfort her, she still seemed to cry harder and after a moment, I realised why. After everything I had told her, never did I mention the fact that I forgave her. And maybe to some people, it was a given but our friendship was much more upfront than that. If we forgave each other, we forgave each other. There was no such thing as gradually drifting back to being friends after a rough patch.

We gave each other space and then after we ironed our shit out. If we still needed space, we gave space. That was just how it always had been and by my words, I knew she could tell that I still needed space.

Just to sort everything out. Maybe if I wasn't under all this pressure and didn't have as much problems as I did then, I would've forgiven her in a heart beat, but times were different. I was questioning everything and with my mental state, I couldn't find the energy to focus on more than one task at a time.

I was broken and Anna wasn't the one to fix me.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug that made me feel like perhaps it was the last one I would ever receive from her. So I wrapped my arms around her tight and hugged her back as hard as I could too.

“You hurt me, but I understand why.”

*****

WE DID IT, GUYS! WE HIT 100K ON HIS WOMAN. You guys are literally stars. I never thought we would make such an accomplishment, but you guys proved me wrong.

I just want to thank all of you for your nice words as well. You've all been so kind to me and supportive and I don't think it's physically possible to show you all how much I appreciate you, but I do. Just from the sweet comments you leave for me, you've helped me tremendously and always bring a smile to my face.

I don't know how to smoothly transition from that into the next thing I'm going to say, so I'm not going to try and I'm just going to say it outright.

Araceli seems much more submissive in this book. And I don't mean in regards to her life (next chapter will definitely show you that she is a boss ass bitch). I mean in regards to Daniel sexually she is way more submissive.

Hmm... I wonder how that will affect the smut that's coming in the next few chapters.

Whoops! I wasn't supposed to tell you that! Oh well, it's out now what can we do about it?

*wink wonk*

Anyways guys, it's late at night and I do dumb shit when it's late at night (if this A/N isn't a prime example) so I'm going to go to bed lmao.

Love yall. And thanks again for all the support.