5

Reyna hesitated, resentment warring with longing for parental approval, which she still unconsciously craved. At last, she managed a tentative greeting. “Mother, Father, it’s been a while. You both look well.”

An awkward beat passed. Elisa arched one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “Come now, Reyna; let’s not play pretend. We all know exactly why we haven’t spoken in years. You selfishly put  your…love life ahead of this family’s good name and status.”

Carlos clenched his fists at his wife’s side. Reyna blanched, feeling again like a naive teenager unable to meet their exacting standards. Some wounds never heal, no matter how much time passes. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. What could she possibly say after all this time? Elisa gave a thin smile of satisfaction at having rendered her speechless once more.

Elisa gave a thin smile of satisfaction at having rendered her speechless once more. “Such a pity to witness the ruins of potential,” she lamented dramatically. “Why, just look at your younger sister Rebecca if you want to see what focused ambition looks like.”

Reyna tensed at the mention of her sister, who had always been the perfect, dutiful daughter they held up to contrast her own passionate but directionless spirit. Last she heard, Rebecca had made a pragmatic marriage alliance with a scion of old money to increase the family’s estate and prestige.

Carlos picked up Elisa’s thread with practised ease, further twisting the knife. “Indeed, Rebecca knew to harness her skills properly for the greater good. Now the Collins name commands more respect than ever, thanks to her. We always said you should have followed her lead instead of throwing yourself at rakes like Nicholas.”

Reyna saw red at this. “Nicholas did nothing to you!” she retorted  “You never approved of him till he became rich. And you call Rebecca ambitious? She sold herself to the highest bidder for your approval.”

Elisa silenced her with an icy stare. “Mind your words. Thanks to Rebecca’s duty and sacrifice, our ancestral estates remain sound, which is more than I can say for you. What achievements can you claim after all these years beyond youthful scandals and embarrassing spectacles?”

Stung at having her thriving winery dismissed so callously, Reyna drew herself up. “For your information, I’ve built a successful business myself without riding on the family wealth for once. Phoenix Winery is already turning enough profit to… "

“Phoenix Winery?” Carlos interrupted with a derisive bark of laughter. “Why isn’t your so-called successful vintage on the menu here, then?” He gestured around at the trendy restaurant. “It seems Havana Nights attracts rather more selective clients.”

His arrogant words hit Reyna like a punch to the gut. Before she could retort, Elisa twisted the blade deeper. “Face it, darling, you’re simply not cut out for high society or the entrepreneurial world. If you came crawling back, asking nicely for help, perhaps we could find some little hobby for you to occupy yourself with… under proper supervision, of course.”

The condescending offer, implying Reyna was helpless without them guiding her every move, made her blood boil with outrage. “I’ll never come begging at your feet again,” she spat. “Keep your poison strings attached and heartless manipulations too! I’m finally living life on my terms.”

Turning on her heel, Reyna strode away seething before her parents could get another word in, ignoring Elisa’s affronted gasp. Blindly rushing through the crowd in her haste to escape the oppressive atmosphere, she accidentally collided hard with a tall figure heading the other way.

Stumbling in her heeled shoes, Reyna barely registered a firm grip, catching hold of her flailing arms before she tumbled straight into the smartly dressed stranger’s muscular chest. An electric tingle raced through her hands as his long, elegant fingers clasped her bare skin. She glimpsed midnight hair, aristocratic facial features, and intelligent grey eyes peering down in concern through wire-framed glasses.

Reyna froze, immobilized by his imposing height and solid strength so close. An instinctual feminine response was sparked deep within, something she thought Nicholas’s cruelty had extinguished forever—raw attraction.

Before she could stammer an apology, the stranger’s expression shuddered abruptly. He released her with a muffled oath, Reyna swaying unsteadily at the sudden loss of support.

“Eyes front next time!” He bit out in annoyance, brushing past without waiting for her flustered response.

Cheeks burning in embarrassment at her flustered reaction, Reyna hurried towards the blessed escape of the exit. The altercation with the imposing stranger had shattered the momentary daze of awareness sparked by his commanding presence.

Reyna breathed a sigh of mingled regret and relief once outside Havana Nights’ suffocating atmosphere. The evening that had held such bright potential ended up dredging traumatic memories better left buried. Her parents’ heartless judgment, and the stranger’s dismissal—all reinforced the wary inner voice warning she was destined to always be an outsider rejected by the elite world she desperately tried measuring up to.

Wearily heading towards where she parked, Reyna tried focusing on what really mattered—her beloved daughter Mia, thriving under her devoted care and protection. Her pride and joy who looked at her with such innocent adoration, not condemnation.

Lost in melancholy thought, Reyna didn’t notice the sleek Jaguar until it pulled up just behind her car in the mostly empty lot. Squinting against the glare of headlights, she suddenly switched to high beam. She froze in dismay as two ominous figures emerged. One leaned nonchalantly against the sports car while the other strode towards her, features obscured in shadow.

“Working late, I see? Well, no rest for the wicked, as they say,” a hated, silky voice pronounced with sly amusement. Reyna’s heart stuttered to a terrified stop. No, it couldn’t be!

“Nicholas?” she whispered brokenly. “But…but how?” Blind panic gripped Reyna in icy talons as her abusive ex-husband prowled casually into the dim halo of a flickering lamppost, her trademark smirk firmly in place.

“Miss me, darling? I told you—no one walks away from me for long,” he purred dangerously. “As for how I found you, let’s just say I have eyes and ears everywhere, watching your every move.” His casual tone sent chills down her rigid spine.

Desperately, Reyna sought to escape, but Nicholas’ hulking companion had moved swiftly to block any retreat back towards the restaurant entrance. Heart hammering wildly, she could only watch paralyzed as her greatest fear unfolded. The past she tried so hard to outrun had finally caught up in this lonely parking lot. And it looked ready to swallow her whole once more.