Chapter 1: Everything Fell Apart - part 2

By now, people were crowding the hallway and the doorway, eager for the drama.

Fucking vultures.

“Wait? Go to hell, Patricio!” I shouted, tears burning my eyes. “How could you do this?”

“It’s not a big deal; it was just a—” he tried, buttoning his pants and stepping toward me.

“Not a big deal? You cheated on me! With my sister!” I didn’t care who was watching anymore. “Don’t come near me! I never want to see your face again!”

“What? You’re going to break up with me over this? Don’t be ridiculous, Celeste!”

The disbelief in his voice only made me angrier.

Just a fling? Sleeping with my sister was a fling?

“You know what? You two deserve each other. Enjoy, Lya,” I spat, turning and pushing past the crowd. “Out of my way!”

I was walking fast—just not fast enough. Patricio caught up to me near the stairwell.

He was still shirtless, his hair a mess, and his skin flushed and sweaty. I’d seen him like this so many times, in bed with me. I used to think he was perfect—with that golden hair and sculpted jaw. Like a prince straight out of a fairytale.

Now, all I felt was disgust.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“What am I doing? What you’re doing, Patricio! Leave me alone!” I yelled, yanking my arm, but he gripped it tighter.

“You think you can just dump me like this? Who do you think you are, Celeste?” His tone cracked something already broken in me, and I sniffled. “Keep acting like a brat, and you can kiss that money goodbye. You’ll be back to working yourself to death just to stay here. You’re really gonna throw all that away over something so stupid? It was just a quick fuck. Stop being hysterical!”

“This has to be a nightmare,” I whispered, yanking my arm free and stepping back, looking at him like the stranger he really was.

“Well, guess what? I’d rather work myself to the bone and earn my own damn money than stay with you!”

He lifted his chiseled chin, lips curling into a smirk I’d never seen before. Maybe I never really knew him at all.

“If you wanna throw a tantrum, be my guest. But you’ll come crawling back, and maybe—maybe—I’ll take you if you behave.”

“You bastard!” I snapped, slapping him hard across the face before bolting out of the building.

I didn’t know where I was going.

Not only that, but I didn’t care.

I just needed to get out of there—needed air—anything to help me forget what just happened.

Everything had fallen apart.