On the Night of the Storm, He Chose His Stepmother

"Good. I'm glad you're home."

Sophia paused, then continued with smug triumph in her voice. "Oh, and the cyclone's about to hit. Luis says he'll probably have to stay at my place tonight. He won't be coming home."

I gripped my phone so hard my fingertips went white.

Just then, I heard Luis's voice on the other end.

Even over the phone, I could hear the concern in his voice.

"Sophia, put on that velvet robe. You'll catch a cold."

Sophia giggled.

"Luis, it's the middle of summer. You want me in a robe that heavy?"

Right. It was the middle of summer.

But as the seawater crept in around my heels, I felt cold all the way through.

Before I could say anything, the call ended abruptly.

I opened my chat with Luis. There was no message about a helicopter.

The last thing he'd sent was still that four o'clock text telling me to wait for him.

Maybe he really had sent it. Maybe it just hadn't gone through because the signal was bad.

But even so, that only meant he'd never looked at our chat again after trying to send it.

He hadn't even checked whether I'd gotten it.

Luis hadn't always been like this.

When we first met, Luis was never without his phone, afraid he'd miss a message from me.

Sometimes, when I was too busy to reply, he'd keep texting me anyway—about a weird-looking tree he'd passed on the road or a cloud on the horizon.

Even when a stray dog barked at him on the street, he'd text me to complain in mock outrage.

Whenever I texted him, he answered within seconds.

He said he'd never leave me waiting. He couldn't stand missing even one of my messages, and he was even more afraid that if I ever texted him while I was in danger, he wouldn't see it in time.

And now, all that care had gone to someone else.

I couldn't say exactly where it hurt. A bitter ache spread through me.

The wind slammed against the windows, and every time they rattled, my heart gave a jolt.

At six, the cyclone officially made landfall.

I was trapped alone in an office with no water and no power.

I went into the break room at the back of the office and shut the door tight.

The room was pitch-black and silent except for the roar of waves crashing against the docks outside.

Then my phone suddenly lit up, and I stopped breathing.

I fumbled to unlock it, only to find that the notification still wasn't from the person I was waiting for.

It was a citywide emergency alert.

The last line read, "During the storm, all residents should shelter at home. The wind and rain may rage, but God is with Sicily."

I gave a bitter smile.

Suddenly, my stomach growled, loud and embarrassing.

That was when I remembered I hadn't eaten all day, because I'd been going over Luis's books for him.

I dug a pack of emergency crackers out of the supply cabinet in the break room and washed them down with ice-cold bottled water.

I opened Instagram and scrolled aimlessly through my feed, trying to distract myself.

The next second, my finger froze.

Sophia had posted a photo on Instagram.

Luis, his shirtsleeves rolled up, was making fish soup for her himself.

The caption said, [What do you do when your stepson is this good a cook? I'm hooked.]

Luis had learned to make soup just for me, because of my weak stomach.

He used to say that before he met me, his hands had known only power and gunfire.

After we met, he'd found another use for them. He promised he would cook for me for the rest of his life, and for no one else.

But the forever he'd promised me hadn't even lasted through one rainy season.

I looked at the photo calmly, then left a public comment under it.

[Then why not just marry him?]

In less than a minute, Luis texted me.

[Isabella, delete your comment! That's way out of line!]

Out of line?

Wasn't what they were doing a lot more out of line than one sarcastic comment?

He was so busy accusing me that he never noticed his message about the helicopter had failed to send.

He didn't even ask where I was or whether I was safe.

I gripped my phone hard, my knuckles white.

I was about to tell him I was still at the office on the docks and had never made it home.

But before I could say a word, a violent crash sounded outside.