Chapter 52 52. Please Don't Go
"What? I swear, I didn't-"
"I know." Maya swallowed hard. "Or I should've known. But I was too hurt and I did so many stupid things. Edmund said things that-" Her voice cracked. "It stopped me from talking to you like a decent human being. I took it out on you instead."
"You were hurt."
"That's not an excuse." Her eyes welled up, and I thumbed her tears away. "You're my best friend. My sister. And I threw you away over a guy who was twisting everything."
I pulled her in again, both of us shaking. "I forgive you. Of course I do."
"I don't deserve-"
"Yes, you do. Because I love you, you short brown witch. We're fine."
That made her laugh, watery and messy. We clung to each other until Mama Cortez's warm voice cut through the moment.
"Enough tears, girls. Come eat."
We broke apart, and I went straight to Mama Cortez, hugging her tight before she spoke softly into my hair.
"I saw your letter, dear."
"Please don't mention it." I felt myself shrinking inside my clothes. "I was too embarrassed to write it that day, but I knew I owed you the truth."
"Nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm glad you trusted me." She patted my cheek. "Now let's eat before the food dies."
The evening unfolded like a warm blur.
We sat around the low coffee table instead of the dining room because it felt more like us. Mama Cortez cooked everything herself. Lucien had arranged for her to come in this morning.
I so wanted to straddle and kiss him senseless right now as he and Javier taunted each other about something.
Stories flowed with the wine. Javier roasted Rafael's childhood. Maya and I relived our awful first apartment. Lucien even admitted to almost burning his dorm kitchen at nineteen.
"I was trying to impress a girl."
"Hmm." A tiny stab of jealousy sparked even though it made no sense. "Did it work?"
"No. The fire alarm went off and we got evacuated at 2 AM."
Everyone laughed at him.
Much later, when everyone was stuffed and half-passed-out on couches, Mama Cortez pulled me aside.
"Walk with me, baby."
We stepped onto the balcony, city lights stretching below us.
"I know things with your mother are rough," she said gently, taking my hands. "I don't know everything, but I know what carrying anger does to a person."
My chest squeezed. "What are you saying?"
"Before you do anything, statements or whatever, try talking to her first. Not for her, but for you. So you don't wonder later if you should've tried."
"She won't sit with me."
"Then keep showing up. Make her face it. Give her the chance to do right. Because if something happens, that regret will stick."
I thought about the video I'd recorded in the bathroom hours ago. The one where I defended myself, called out the lies... and maybe bashed my mother a little.
Vivienne's words echoed: "You decide how your story ends."
Maybe that didn't mean fighting, or trying to gain sympathy from social media. Maybe it meant healing first.
"Okay," I whispered. "I'll try."
Inside, Lucien was on the couch beside Rafael and Javier, half-watching a muted soccer match. Maya dozed in an armchair.
I squeezed into the space beside Lucien. His arm went around me instantly, pulling me close.
"You good?" he murmured.
"Yeah." I looked around the room at the people who'd shown up for me, who made me remember I wasn't alone. "Really good."
His lips brushed my temple. "That's my girl."
We stayed like that until people started leaving. Mama left with Javier, refusing to spend the night and promising to visit again.
Rafael with Maya, offering to drop her home.
When the door clicked shut, silence filled the penthouse. And both of us moved at once.
Our mouths crashed together, desperate and hungry.
"I've been waiting," I breathed.
He lifted me without breaking the kiss, my legs locking around him as he carried me to the living room. We stumbled once, laughing into each other's mouths, and then the couch hit my back.
His lips moved to my jaw, then my neck. Each kiss sent heat curling low in my stomach. His fingers worked my buttons open, his mouth following the path down my skin.
When he sucked at my neck again, harder, a jolt shot through me. He kissed back up, eyes locking with mine. Something raw flickered in them.
"Please don't go."
I stilled. "What?"
He sat up slightly, dragging a hand through his messy hair, chest rising and falling.
"You're supposed to move back to your apartment tomorrow." His voice was rough. "I don't want you to."
I straddled him, hands on his face. "Lucien..."
"I didn't realize how empty this place was." He gestured around the penthouse. "How empty I was. I thought it was normal to come home to silence, to cook alone everyday, to sleep alone."
"And now?"
"Now I hear you singing in the shower. Horribly, by the way." His mouth twitched. "I wake up to you stealing my shirts. I smell you on my pillow. You burn the eggs, and I pretend not to notice."
My throat tightened.
"I don't want to go back to silence, Camila. I don't want to wake up alone again."
"I don't want to leave," I whispered. "But maybe we should slow down a little. And Maya and I just made up. I need time with her too."
His jaw ticked. "So you're leaving."
"Just to my apartment. Not away from you." I brushed my thumb over his lip. "Besides, distance might be good. Make you miss me more."
"I already miss you when you're in the bathroom too long."
I laughed softly. "You're ridiculous."
"I'm serious." His hands slid under my blouse, palms hot against my bare skin. "Stay."
"Maybe..." I leaned in until our noses touched. "If you beg nicely."
Something dark sparked in his eyes, deepening the color to something feral and sharp. The hunger in them was a slow burn that held my breath in my throat.
"You want me to beg?"
"Yes."
In one smooth motion, he flipped us. I landed on my back with a surprised breath, his body pressing down on mine.
"I don't beg, fiera." His lips grazed my neck, right where he knew it made me melt.
"I take."