MasukCamila’s POVI was supposed to stay inside. That had been everyone’s rule. “No seeing the groom.” “No sneaking out.” “No exceptions.” I lasted exactly forty-three minutes.Lena looked up from her phone as I quietly opened the bedroom door. “…Where are you going?”I froze. “…Kitchen.”“With shoes?”I looked down. “…It’s a very committed kitchen trip.”She sighed dramatically. “You can’t lie.”“I know.”“You’re terrible at it.”“I learned from Alejandro.”She laughed. “That explains everything.”I walked back toward her. “I just…” I smiled helplessly. “…I miss him.”Lena’s expression softened immediately. “I know.”“I shouldn’t.”“I know.”“But I do.”“I know.”She stared at me for a second before reaching into her pocket. A car key landed in my hand. I blinked. “…What?”She shrugged. “I didn’t see anything.”“You didn’t?”“No. If anyone asks… I’ve been asleep.”I laughed quietly. “You’re the best.”“I know.” She pointed toward the door. “Go. Before I become responsible.”I hugged her q
Alejandro’s POVI should’ve stayed in my office. That was my first mistake. My second mistake was believing the house would be quiet. It wasn’t. Someone yelled upstairs. Someone laughed downstairs. Brian ran past me carrying three garment bags.I frowned. “…Should I ask?”He didn’t even slow down. “No.”“Excellent. I wasn’t planning to.”“You’ll regret it.”“I probably will.”He disappeared around the corner before I could ask another question. Karen appeared two seconds later. “Did Brian come through here?”“I think a tornado did.”“Same thing.”She sighed dramatically and hurried after him. The house somehow became even louder. I looked toward the staircase. “…Maybe I’ll just…”“No.” Lena’s voice came from upstairs before I even moved. “Don’t come up.”I blinked. “I wasn’t.”“You were thinking about it.”“…That’s creepy.”“I know you.”“I hate that.”She laughed. “Stay downstairs.”“I’ll survive.”I walked toward the kitchen instead. Santiago sat comfortably at the table drinking te
Camila’s POVNobody warned me dinner could become this loud. Brian was arguing with Dylan before dessert even existed. Karen had already threatened both of them twice.“This is a family dinner.”Brian looked offended. “We’re bonding.”“You’re yelling.”“That’s how I bond.”Dylan pointed across the table. “I object.”Karen sighed. “Nobody asked the lawyer.”“I object to that too.”Santiago chuckled into his soup. “I’ve missed noisy dinners.”Maria smiled warmly. “I forgot how wonderful loud people can be.”Brian raised his hand proudly. “I’m exceptionally loud.”“We noticed.”Alejandro leaned closer to me. “I almost canceled.”I blinked. “What?”“I thought it might be too much.”I looked around the table. Brian was trying to convince Dylan that mashed potatoes counted as vegetables. Karen was losing patience. Maria was laughing so hard she almost spilled her tea. Santiago looked happier than I’d ever seen him.“No.” I smiled. “It’s perfect.”He quietly reached under the table and squee
Dylan’s POVI had argued billion-dollar cases. I’d faced judges. I’d cross-examined dangerous people. None of that prepared me for standing outside Lena’s apartment holding a ring.I stared at the door. “…I can do this.” Then I immediately turned around. “…No, I can’t.”“Dylan.”I nearly jumped out of my skin. Brian stood behind me holding two grocery bags. “How long have you been talking to the wall?”“I wasn’t talking.”“You apologized to the mailbox.”“I was warming up.”Brian nodded thoughtfully. “That’s somehow worse.”I rubbed my forehead. “Please leave.”“No. I want to witness history.”“I want privacy.”“You’ll embarrass yourself.”“I know. I don’t want an audience.”Brian grinned. “I absolutely do.”Before I could throw him down the stairs, the apartment door opened. Lena stepped outside carrying a trash bag. She stopped immediately. “…Why are both of you standing here?”Brian answered first. “I’m emotionally invested.”She looked at me. “What about you?”I lifted one hand. “
Lena’s POVI had officially lost my best friend. Not to marriage. To bridal magazines. Camila sat cross-legged on my couch with six wedding magazines spread around her, staring at dresses like they contained the meaning of life.I folded my arms. “…You’re crying.”She immediately wiped her face. “I’m not.”“You literally sniffled.”“It was… dust.”“In a brand-new magazine?”“…Emotional dust.”I burst out laughing. “Oh, this is beautiful.”“What?”“You used to roll your eyes whenever anyone talked about weddings.”She groaned and covered her face. “Don’t remind me.”“I have to. It’s my duty.”She peeked at me through her fingers. “I hate you a little.”“I know. But you love me more.”She sighed dramatically. “Unfortunately.”I snatched one magazine from her lap. “Let’s see.”She reached for it. “No.”“Why?”“You’ve circled thirty-seven dresses.”“I have not.”I flipped through the pages. “One. Two. Three.” I kept counting. She slowly shrank into the couch. “…Maybe.”“You’ve circled for
Camila’s POVAlejandro picked me up before sunset without explaining where we were going. I looked at him suspiciously. “You’re smiling too much.”He immediately looked away. “I smile normally.”“No. You smile like you’re hiding something.”“I’m hiding traffic.”“There isn’t any.”“…Exactly.”I laughed and folded my arms. “You’re terrible at lying.”“I’ve improved.”“You really haven’t.”He placed one hand dramatically over his heart. “That hurts.”“I was aiming for honesty.”He sighed. “I walked into that.”The car followed the coastal road until I recognized the view. I turned toward him slowly. “Wait…”He kept both hands on the steering wheel. “…Don’t.”“Don’t what?”“Don’t make me emotional before we get there.”My heartbeat quietly sped up. “This is…”He nodded. “I know.”The Malibu beach stretched out before us exactly as it had the first time. Same waves. Same breeze. Same endless horizon. Only everything else had changed.We stepped onto the sand together. The wind immediately
Alejandro's POVI don't expect her to come back.Not because the offer isn't tempting enough. Half a million dollars in treatment and a settlement large enough to change someone's life would tempt almost anyone.I don't expect her to come back because she's Camila Reyes.The woman who looked me in
Camila's POVHospitals are strange places when the person you're worried about is on the other side of the bed.I've spent years walking these hallways in scrubs, moving from patient to patient, crisis to crisis, always knowing what to do next. But the moment I step onto the cardiac floor as a daug
Alejandro's POVThe door closes behind Camila, and for the first time all afternoon, the conference room falls silent.I should be relieved as the meeting is over, the contract remains unsigned. Nothing has changed.Instead, I find myself staring at the door she walked through, replaying the conver
Camila's POV"I want you to be my wife for sixty days."For a second, I honestly think I've misheard him.Maybe the air conditioning in this ridiculously expensive conference room is too loud. Maybe exhaustion is finally catching up to me after three consecutive double shifts and months of survivin







