Romances de Lushwrites

Chapter 5ANDREAThe drive home is a blur.My phone lies on the passenger seat, its screen glowing with missed notifications. I had seen it the moment I got into the car, countless messages from my aunt and uncle, Veronica and Marcus staring back at me.I don't return any of them.Each name represents a conversation I am not ready to have. A judgment I am not ready to face.With a clenched jaw I keep my eyes on the road and drive, the events of yesterday playing on a loop in my head.When I finally pull up to the house it is early enough that the neighborhood is still shrouded in a quiet morning calm, but my house is buzzing with activity.The sight of all the flowers and the lively energy feels like a punch to the gut. This isn't my reality anymore. It is a fantasy built on lies.I park and take a moment to steady myself before stepping out of the car. As I approach the front door it swings open and my uncle stands there, his face a mask of worry and fury."Andrea!" he roars, his voi

JULIANI stir awake and roll over instinctively. My hand meets only a cool sheet.I open my eyes, blinking against the sunlight flooding the room.The other side of the bed is empty.I sit up, the remnant of sleep still clinging to me, and look around the quiet suite. I glance at the clock on the nightstand. Nine in the morning. I frown, running my fingers through my hair.I swing my legs over the side of the bed and plant my feet on the carpet. I stretch and take a slow lap around the suite.Her clothes are gone.The only trace of her is the subtle fragrance still hanging in the air. Faint. Tantalizing. A reminder of a presence that is no longer here.I remember last night vividly. The intensity. The passion. The way she had looked at me like I was both the answer and the question. But now she is gone and the suite feels quieter than it should.Frustration gnaws at me. I had just returned to the country yesterday and the jet lag had hit me hard. I slept more soundly than I have in we

ANDREAThe man stares at me, taken aback by my question. "Why would I want to do that? Why would you want to do that?" he asks.I bet he is beginning to wonder if the whole accident and the tears had been a ploy to get to him.I feel my cheeks burn with a mixture of shame and a strange feeling of defiance. The words had stumbled out of my mouth before I could even think."I mean," I stammer, my voice barely a whisper. "Do you find me attractive?"He stares at me, his eyes narrowed in confusion. The silence stretches between us. Thick and heavy.I want to crawl under the seat and disappear. This impulsive act, born out of heartbreak, is already spinning out of control.Finally he speaks, his voice carefully neutral. "Yes," he concedes. "But I don't understand. Why would you want to have sex with me?"I take a deep shaky breath. Every fiber in my being is screaming at me to run, to get away from this man. The stranger who witnessed my breakdown.But the raw exposed vulnerability within

ANDREAHearing those words from Marcus and Veronica is one thing but seeing them entwined on the bed is another.My breath cuts in my throat and I feel the sting of betrayal cut deep.I back away, my vision blurred by my tears, and flee the house, my heart pounding in my chest.I get into my car and drive away, wanting to be as far away from them as possible.I think of going back home but I can't. I don't want to see anyone. I don't want to face anyone. I don't want to have to look at my Tío and Tía's face or even Veronica's. I can't.I keep driving, my vision a bit blurry, and stop in full force as soon as I see the signage of a club.I sit in the car for a moment, staring at the entrance. In four years with Marcus I have been to a club exactly three times. He didn't like it.He said bad things happened in places like this, that men couldn't be trusted, that he needed to know I was somewhere safe. I believed every word of it.I press the heels of my hands against my eyes and hold th

ANDREA At twenty-two, I know exactly what I want.I have known since I was fifteen and it has never changed. Marry the love of my life. Build something beautiful with my hands. Wake up every morning feeling like my life belongs to me.Tomorrow I graduate from the most prestigious fashion school in Madrid. The day after, Marcus stands before both our families and asks my Uncle Felix formally for my hand. La Petición. The moment that makes everything real, everything binding, everything official in the eyes of everyone who matters.Forty-eight hours from now my life begins.I am still smiling about it when I walk out of my stylist's studio with my engagement ceremony dress in a coverup over my arm. The fitting went perfectly. Everything is going perfectly. I get into my car and sit for a moment with the dress across my lap and think about Marcus's face when he sees me in it and I cannot stop smiling.Veronica left twenty minutes ago to check on the event planner. I should go home, re