Chapter 35

Mira’s POV

The car drew nearer and my blood instantly boiled when I realized it was the man I was running from. Alejandro.

“Get inside the car, Mira.” Dro called out, driving slowly beside me and matching my walking pace.

“No! Leave me alone.” I yelled, dragging my box of clothes through the rain.

“Please, Mira, it’s raining and freezing. Stop being so stubborn and just get in.” Dro shouted over the heavy downpour. “You won’t find a car or a place to sleep at that pace. Just get in.”

I halted and he pressed the brakes as well.

I glanced around, realizing he was annoyingly right about this part. The street was empty, the rain relentless, and the cold biting deeper into my skin. But if going back to his house was the only option, I would rather sleep on the damn street.

“Come on, Mira. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll explain better about what happened, but just come back first.” Dro pleaded.

I ignored him and kept dragging my bag forward. My entire body was soaked and the cold was beginning to settle into my bones. My lips trembled and my legs ached from walking along the deserted pavement.

“Please, Mira.” He begged again, his voice softer this time.

I paused and looked up at the heavens.

“Why do you fucking hate me so much, universe?” I muttered bitterly. “Why must it be him? Why not literally anyone else?”

“You can curse the universe later,” Alejandro replied calmly. “For now, just get in.”

This time my body reacted before my pride could argue again.

The cold had become unbearable. At this rate my heart might actually give up before my stubbornness did.

Once I nodded, accepting defeat, he rushed out of the car, opened the door for me, tossed my bags onto the back seat, then got inside himself. He was just as soaked as I was.

Served him right.

It was his fault we were out here at this ungodly hour anyway.

“Mira… I—”

He tried to say something, but I cut him off.

“Just drive.”

The rest of the ride passed in silence.

By the time we reached the house, the rain had turned even heavier. I rushed inside without sparing Dro another word and ran straight to my room, shutting the door behind me.

Outside, the storm roared like it was the end of the world.

I quickly changed into warm clothes and wrapped myself tightly in a blanket, trying to shield my freezing body from the violent thunderstorm raging outside.

Thunder cracked once. Then again.

The second strike was so loud it felt like the whole building trembled.

By the third one, the lights suddenly went out.

“Oh no, fuck!” I screamed, scrambling to grab my phone and turn on the flashlight.

My heart began racing as goosebumps spread across my skin.

If there was one thing I feared more than dogs, it was darkness.

After everything I had gone through growing up with my stepdad during those power outages, I couldn’t stand being in complete darkness. The moment the lights went out, panic always followed.

The second I found my phone, I ran out of my room in search of Alejandro.

We collided at the staircase, but he caught me before I could crash into the railing.

“Hey, hey. Calm down. It’s just me.” His voice softened as he steadied me. “Are you okay?”

I clung to him without thinking, squeezing his shirt as I shut my eyes. My breathing was uneven and my whole body trembled.

“I hate when the lights go out,” I muttered against his chest.

He didn’t laugh.

Honestly, I expected him to. Alejandro teasing me would have been very on brand for him.

But instead his arms tightened around me, almost like he understood more than he should.

“It’s okay,” he murmured quietly. “The generator will kick in soon.”

Another loud crack of thunder exploded outside and my grip on his shirt tightened instinctively.

“Mira…” His voice dropped lower, more careful now. “I’m really sorry.”

I stiffened immediately.

There it was again. That apology I didn’t want to hear.

“For what exactly?” I asked coldly, pulling back slightly so I could look at him. The faint glow from my phone lit half his face.

“For what I said when I was with the guys,” he replied. “For not telling them the whole truth. For not admitting that I love you.”

My jaw clenched.

“You acted like I was nothing, Dro,” I snapped. “Like I was just one of those random girls you pick up and bring home to fuck.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said quietly.

“That’s exactly what you meant.”

Another flash of lightning lit the hallway, and for a second I could see the guilt on his face clearly.

He ran a hand through his wet hair. “I panicked, Mira.”

“Oh please,” I scoffed. “Spare me the excuse.”

“I didn’t want them knowing anything about you,” he added.

“That’s not protection, Alejandro. You humiliated me. And if Ace hadn’t told me the truth, I would have kept believing you loved me.”

The silence between us thickened.

Rain hammered against the windows as he clenched his jaw.

“So Ace did this,” he muttered, letting out a dark chuckle. “That fucker.”

I glared at him. “That’s what you care about? Who told me doesn’t matter, Dro.”

“I was wrong,” he admitted after a moment. “I know that.”

I crossed my arms and hugged myself.

“You think an apology fixes everything?”

“No.”

“Good. Because it doesn’t.”

I turned to walk away, but his hand caught my wrist gently.

“Mira, wait.”

I froze.

His touch sent an annoying spark through me and I hated that it still affected me.

“I said I’m sorry,” he continued quietly. “Not because I feel forced to. Because I mean it.”

A small sarcastic smile formed on my lips.

“You don’t have to pretend to like me, Dro. First thing tomorrow morning I’ll be out of your hair and you can go back to living your life however you want.”

Dro pulled me closer, his hands sliding around my waist. He exhaled softly before tucking a strand of wet hair behind my ear.

“There’s nothing I want more in my life than you, Mira,” he said. “You’re all I think about. When I sleep, when I breathe, when I eat. Everything somehow leads back to you. Please, just trust me when I say I’ll make everything right.”

The anger that had been burning inside me slowly began to fade.

We stayed like that for a moment. My body pressed against his, his eyes locked onto mine.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

For once, I had nothing to say.

After a long quiet moment, Dro leaned down and his lips finally met mine.