PART TWO

ALEJANDRO’S POV

The Castillo Mansion was a cathedral of quiet wealth.

And it was a cold and quiet as a graveyard.

long mahogany table. Crystal chandelier. Expensive china no one ever touched without gloves. The kind of place that was built for the dead rather than the living.

But here we were, for me, twenty one years and counting.

I sat across from my little brother, Diego, who was, as always, hunched over his phone, fingers tapping fast.

God only knows what he was really doing on his phone since he failed to have friends and made it his personal statement that social media was for retards like me.

My mother, Isabella, looked radiant in a soft silk blouse, though she kept glancing nervously at my father at the head of the table.

She was like a quiet trophy wife, just present to keep my father's name as a husband and father.

Guillermo Castillo.

Head of Castillo Pharmaceuticals. My father.

My nightmare.

He was cutting his steak with surgeon-like precision, silent, sharp and every movement controlled.

I had learnt to read his moods—tonight he was calm, which was worse than his anger.

Calm meant he was about to drop a bomb.

“Eat,” my mother said gently when she caught me pushing my food around.

“I am,” I lied, stabbing a piece of asparagus I had no intention of eating.

"Diego, put your phone down this instant. You are at the dining table."

"Mother..."

Mother gave him a sharp look and he reluctantly kept his phone to the side but I saw him continue to use it under the table.

Then Father cleared his throat.

“I have an announcement.”

Everything stopped.

Even Diego’s phone slipped quietly onto the table.

Father dabbed his mouth with a napkin, then looked at us like a man about to sentence someone.

“I plan to step down as CEO of Castillo Pharmaceuticals.”

My fork slipped from my hand and clattered onto the plate.

My mother’s reaction was even bigger—she froze, fork midair, then dropped it with a soft clang.

“What?” she asked, voice rising in shock.

“Guillermo, what do you mean step down?”

“I’m not young anymore,” Father said flatly.

“And I will not die at my desk. This company has survived for four generations; it will pass to the next Castillo soon.”

My stomach flipped.

I didn’t want it. God, I didn’t want it. I already knew where this was going.

I was the first son and the business alwaya went to the first son, just as it had always been.

“And so,” he continued, cool eyes sweeping between me and Diego.

“I will hand the reins to the son who proves himself the most capable.”

My mother’s brows knitted together.

“Guillermo… surely you mean Alejandro.” She glanced at me, then back at him.

“He’s the eldest. It's the Castillo tradition.”

“No,” Father said, voice hardening.

“I will not play favorites. This is a meritocracy. The son who graduates with the strongest academic record and demonstrates superior social and negotiation skills will become CEO. The Castillo tradition is old and no longer holds weight in this new world.”

My mother’s lips parted in disbelief.

“You’re… pitting your own sons against each other?”

“It’s called competition, Isabella,” Father said, eyes like cold steel.

“The world doesn’t hand power to the lazy. Alejandro’s charm doesn’t impress me, and Diego’s intellect means nothing if he can’t lead. Whoever proves both brains and influence will inherit the company. Final decision.”

“Guillermo—” she started.

He sliced the air with his hand.

“Enough. If anyone here is uncomfortable, you’re welcome to step out of the race now. My word stand and it will not change.”

Silence. Only the ticking of the antique wall clock.

My heart was pounding so loudly I could hear it in my ears.

This was classic Father—make everything a test. Never a father. Always a judge.

Now he was doing this again like he had done for most of our childhood.

Pitting us against each other like dogs in a dog fight.

But this waa going way overboard.

Diego’s lips curled into a smug little smile. He loved this. Loved it.

He enjoyed every opportunity to compete against me like it was his pleasure.

And anytime he won, he always made sure to rub it in my face.

Dinner ended in silence after that.

My father left for his office. My mother sat there pale, staring at her untouched wine. Diego looked like a vulture who’d just spotted a wounded animal.

---

Later that night, I was in the pool.

It’s where I went to think—or to not think.

The water was cool against my skin.

I’d done a dozen laps already, just to get my father’s voice out of my head.

All I ever did in this life was for him and this stupid Castillo name.

My future, my everything was in his hands.

Even my sex...

“Planning to drown yourself before finals?”

I looked up.

Diego stood at the edge of the pool, hands in his pockets, smirk plastered on his face.

I sighed.

“Can’t a guy swim in peace?”

He crouched slightly, eyes gleaming with that smug brilliance I’ve hated since we were kids.

“You should just quit now, hermano. Save yourself the humiliation.”

I laughed under my breath.

“Why’s that? Getting scared, D?”

“Because,” Diego said, straightening,

“your grades are trash. They’ve always been trash. You barely pass, and I—” He gestured to himself dramatically.

“—I’m a genius. Father knows it. Everyone knows it. This competition? It’s already mine. Father changes the Castillo legacy because he knows how incompetent you would be as CEO.”

I floated on my back, staring at the night sky.

This was his usual tactics and it was old

“Oh, yeah? And what about social skills?”

He frowned.

“What about them?”

“You have the charisma of a malfunctioning robot,” I said lazily.

“You make people uncomfortable just by existing in the same room.”

His nostrils flared.

“There’s nothing special about talking to people.”

I laughed—loud and real this time.

“Then why don’t you have any friends, huh? Remember Gloria that got so creeped out she had to love states away from you?”

That hit. His face darkened instantly.

Gloria was his first crush we all knew about and he stalked her everyday until she got so creeped out, she moved away with her family.

He had gone as far as to enter through her bedroom door to keep gifts under her bed.

“Pendejo,” he snapped.

And then—karma.

He stepped closer, maybe to look intimidating, but his foot slipped on the wet tile.

With a yelp, Diego toppled into the pool with a splash so big it drenched the deck.

He also couldn't swim.

I burst out laughing. Couldn’t stop. It was ridiculous—this evil genius little brother thrashing around like a wet cat.

“Need help, baby brother?” I called, grinning.

He sputtered, flipping his soaked hair out of his face, pure murder in his eyes.

I swam to the edge and climbed out, water streaming off me.

“Let the best man win,” I said casually, stepping past him without offering a hand.

“Alejandro!” he shouted behind me, but I was already walking away, smirking.

---

I’d barely closed my bedroom door when a gentle knock followed.

“Mijo?” My mother’s voice.

I sighed and opened it.

She slipped inside, looking softer now, her silk blouse replaced by a robe. Her eyes were worried.

“Can we talk?”

I nodded and sat on the edge of my bed. She perched beside me, taking my damp hand in hers.

“You heard what your father said.”

“Hard to miss,” I muttered.

She squeezed my hand.

“You know Diego can’t run that company. He’s brilliant, yes, but he… he doesn’t understand people. He doesn’t care for them. You know he has a problem...”

I knew what Diego was diagnosed with.

“So?” I said quietly.

“Why do I have to care either? I don’t even want the company, Mamá. I’ve done everything he’s ever asked. Pharmacy, even though I hate it. Swimming, even though I loved taekwondo. Always following his rules like a dog. And for what? He never sees me. He just wants… perfection. Nothing is enough for the old man.”

Her eyes softened with pain.

“Alejandro…”

“I’m tired, Mamá,” I admitted, voice cracking a little.

“Tired of being a soldier in his stupid tests.”

She cupped my face in her hands.

“Listen to me, corazón. Maybe you don’t care about the company. Maybe you don’t want to prove anything to him. But do it for me. Please.”

I blinked at her.

“For you?”

Her smile trembled.

“That company has been our family’s pride for decades. If Diego takes over… he’ll destroy everything. He doesn’t have the heart for it. You do, even if you don’t see it. Castillo Pharmaceuticals belongs to you.”

I swallowed hard.

“Why should I keep fighting for a father who doesn’t even fight for me?”

“Because I do,” she said softly.

“Because I believe in you.”

That hit me harder than I wanted to admit.

I loved her. God, I loved her more than anything.

With all the coldness and harshness of my father, she was the light I always leaned towards.

I sighed, rubbing my face.

“You’re really not gonna let me sit this one out, huh?”

She smiled faintly.

“Never.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Fine. I’ll try. But this is the last time I break myself to prove I’m not useless.”

She kissed my forehead, relieved.

“Good. I’ll hire you the best tutor money can buy. We’ll get those grades up.”

“Great,” I groaned.

“Another stranger to watch me fail.”

She chuckled softly and stood.

“Thank you, mijo.”

After she left, I sat there in the quiet, staring at the ceiling.

Another battle. Another chance to prove I was worth something to a man who’d never said he was proud of me.

Somewhere deep down, I hated that I’d agreed.

But I hated even more the idea of Diego winning.