“The devil? Well, I’d rather be the devil who has his eyes open to what’s in front of him than be so high up in the clouds that I think I’m in love with any floozy who smiles at me,” Sebastian hissed.
Elonzo lunged at his younger brother. He would have had him pinned on the ground were it not for me jumping in between them just in time.
“You take that back,” Elonzo growled, his fists clasped on either side of him.
“You think you’re so in love with what’s-her-name, huh? Give me a break,” Sebastian shot back.
“Sebastian,” I whispered, my voice pleading. “Please stop.”
Elonzo shook his head. “You’re broken, Sebastian. There’s something wrong with your head and your heart. No wonder no one can love you. Wait until everyone hears that the only way Sebastian Rojas will ever get to the altar is if he pays someone. Pshh, and even then, the poor girl can’t go through with it. You are disgusting.”
Sebastian didn’t move. We were close enough now that I could hear his breathing, coming in fits and starts, the shock and hurt all mixed up. I wanted to run away but I also wanted to run straight into his arms, to hug him tight and tell him…tell him…what?
Elonzo lunged at his brother.
“Wait! Stop!” I yelled, my hands outstretched, holding my ground between the two men. “Please don’t fight.”
“You have some gall showing your face here, Elly, after your wholeperformance,” Elonzo hissed at me, his chest puffing up as he advanced towards me.
I winced. But just then, I felt an arm around me and Sebastian positioning himself in front of me. Guarding me.
He snarled at Elonzo. “Leave her out of it. My actions have nothing to do with her, so don’t you dare say anything against her.” Sebastian was the same height as his brother but just then, he looked bigger, taller. He was shaking not from fear but the prospect of a fight.
And there would have been one, had Emanuel Rojas not stepped onto the scene.
He watched his youngest son for a long while, his face the picture of thunder. I don’t know how Sebastian took it, but I could feel my knees shaking, ready to fall unconscious.
Finally, Mr. Rojas spoke.
“Leave,” he said. Then he turned his back on Sebastian.
If I’d thought this night couldn’t get worse, I was wrong. With that one word, Sebastian’s entire plan came crumbling down.
CHAPTER35
SEBASTIAN
Idid some pretty wild things as a teenager. The typical rebellious stuff. Crashed a couple of neighbors’ cars. Faked my grades. Let a few non-venomous snakes loose in a classroom.
Nothing came close to being kicked out of my parents’ house. There was no going back from that.
I didn’t say anything for a long time after my father’s last word. Not to my mother crying her heart out in disbelief, not to my brother’s continued attempt to rile me up again, not to any of the other guests looking for some more drama to report back to their families and friends the next morning. If there was something I had never grown out of, it was providing great gossip content for Cartagena and beyond.
There was only one place I wanted to be that night. One place that could calm my mind. Not that it would erase any of the events that happened away. But it would give me just a few minutes to breathe.
The beach.
As soon as I parked the car, I marched across my property and headed straight for the path that led to the sea. There was a strong breeze that night, and the crash of the waves was almost deafeningly loud. Perfect. I didn’t want to hear myself anyway.
What I did hear, though, was her presence beside me. Saying something that the waves were obstructing me from hearing.
“Sebastian…I’m so sorry. I didn’t…I really didn’t mean it to go like this…”
Her voice broke through me. I grimaced.
“But it did,” I said. “And there’s nothing to be done now.”
“There has to be something… Tell me, please, what can I do?” She was so close I could see the goosebumps on her shoulders, the trembling of her skin. She touched my arm.