‘Don’t tell me I’m to be a prisoner in this house until you sell me off,’ Noelle muttered as she stared mutinously at her brother.
Cisco puffed his cigarette as he watched her with narrowed eyes, his fingers drumming on the surface of his polished study.
‘Come on,’ Noelle persisted. ‘I haven’t been in the city in months. I need some new clothes too and…’
‘You expect me to believe you will just behave?’ Cisco raised a brow at her.
‘I’m not going to run off, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ she rolled her eyes. ‘Where would I even go, anyway? It’s not like you wouldn’t find me in a second,’ she grumbled.
Cisco smiled.
‘I’m glad you know that. Fine. I’ll let you go shopping. But,’ he paused as Noelle’s eyes sparkled with renewed hope. ‘Yuyu will accompany you.’
Noelle frowned.
‘Why?’
‘It’s either that or ten bodyguards. You decide,’ he shrugged.
‘Ten?’ Noelle blinked in outrage. ‘Ten?’
‘You’re a prized commodity, Noelle. I won’t take any risk with your safety.’
‘What do you mean by prized commodity?’ She enunciated the words slowly, her upper lip twitching in displeasure.
‘By now people should know you’re meant to marry Sergio Villanueva. He has enemies. As do I. Anywhere but at home you’ll be an open target, so it’s better to be safe.’
Her mouth curled up in a sardonic smile.
‘You’re telling me Yuyu is the equivalent of ten bodyguards?’ she asked ironically.
‘No,’ Cisco chuckled. ‘Yuyu is the equivalent of a small army. You’ll be safe with her.’
With that, the matter was settled. Yuyu would accompany Noelle to the city the following day, and Cisco was gracious enough to bestow a generous budget on Noelle for her shopping spree.
Trudging her way back to her room, Noelle was happy Cisco had at least allowed her to go out. After all, she had plans that she’d been carefully concocting for weeks now.
Ever since her conversation with Blue, she realized they might be compatible intellectually, but she wanted him to like her physically too. From what she’d managed to glean from their conversations, Blue liked feminine women, who were as dainty as they were graceful. And though Noelle might fit in the former category by virtue of her small build, she had no clue how to act or dress like the latter. In short, she had not one graceful bone in her body.
Yet not all was lost.
Despite having her arranged marriage looming in the distance, Noelle was not deterred. One way, or another, she would succeed in escaping that dire fate. And if everything went according to plan, she would enlist Blue’s help to do so. It wasn’t an entirely mercenary goal, for as much as she wanted to be the master of her own fate, she wanted Blue even more.
Of course, it wasn’t a simple matter, or an issue that could be solved within a day. No, she was merely laying the foundation for the future, quietly biding her time until everything would fit into place to perfection.
From the moment she’d heard about her marriage, she’d known that she would never solve anything by throwing a tantrum or crying about the injustices of the world. The only way she could exact change was for her to be change in itself, and that meant tackling everything in a non-impulsive, intelligent and calculated manner.
Noelle had never been one to quietly succumb to her fate, nor had she ever been the type of person to let life pass her by while others took her choices away from her.
She wanted to live, and she would do so on her own terms.
If she needed to show a rather obedient front to the world while she put her plans in motion, then so be it.
The following day, Noelle donned her a regular black shirt and a pair of dark sweatpants and went downstairs at the appropriate time.
Yuyu was already waiting for her in the foyer.
Dressed in a pair of loose dress pants, a smart dark shirt and combat boots, Yuyu had her hair tied up in a bun atop her head. Black sunglasses rested low on the bridge of her nose as she fitted her crossbody bag on her right hip.
‘Ready?’ she asked with a kind smile, turning to face Noelle.
Noelle flushed, averting her gaze as she gave her a brisk nod.
It would be so easy to hate Yuyu… So, so easy. But even when her thoughts had been darkest, Noelle had never managed to quite revile her as she’d attempted to.
Yes, Yuyu was the indirect cause of Noelle’s current circumstances, and likely her relationship with Cisco had set everything in motion. But Yuyu had always been kind to her.
Since young, when everyone had criticized and blamed her for things that were out of her control, Yuyu had been different. She’d been the only one to be there for Noelle, be it with a kind word, a piece of candy, or an understanding gaze. She’d been the only one to make an effort to understand her when everyone had branded her abnormal, and consequently, she’d been the only one to try to engage with Noelle and make her feel normal.
How could she hate her when Yuyu was the reason she learned how to smile when she was little? When she’d given her more affection than her own mother?
And so she found herself in a seemingly unsolvable conundrum.
How could she reconcile the warm and kind Yuyu who’d been like a true mother to her with the Yuyu that she was looking at now—the cause of all her misfortune.
She couldn’t. And if she were really honest with herself, she didn’t want to.
She’d rather put all the blame on her brother as long as she still had this—the only memories of the past that mattered to her.
‘I’m ready,’ she muttered in a low voice as she reached Yuyu’s side.
‘I’m so happy we’re going out,’ Yuyu gushed. ‘It’s been so long since we’ve had a girls’ day, hasn’t it?’
‘So it has,’ Noelle strained a smile.
Before she could protest, Yuyu placed her arm in the crook of her elbow, steering her towards the exit and to the parking lot.
Since it had been confirmed that Noelle was to marry Sergio Villanueva, Cisco, Yuyu and Val had moved back upstate. Noelle supposed it was to keep a closer eye on her since her brother was intimately acquainted with her stubborn streak and the fact that she was capable of doing something—a rather drastic something—in order to escape her marriage.
Alas, she might be stubborn, and she might be the type to defy authority, but she was also smart. And being smart in this instance meant acting against herself and planning every little step of the way carefully—not only to avoid that fate, but also to prepare for the worst in case it did come to pass.
She’d already started learning Spanish. With her background in Italian, and the fact that Blue himself was taking Spanish classes, it made everything easier. She’d also been studying the culture and history of the country. Since Blue’s interest was in the pre-Columbian Americas, he’d been sharing things with her, and she’d been learning everything alongside him.
And that was her backup plan.
If you can’t stop a train from collision, the least you can do is change its course.
If she couldn’t escape her marriage—despite the fact that it was her main goal—she would do everything in her power to prevail even in such a dire situation.
At the end of the day, knowledge was her best ally.
Know thyself, as the Greeks said. But in Noelle’s case, it was know thy enemy; then turn yourself into their biggest nightmare.
Coming upon the parking lot, Yuyu headed to a pink sports Lamborghini in the back, beckoning Noelle to take a seat by her side.
‘I haven’t seen this car before,’ Noelle said as she took in the pink interior of the car.
Everything was…pink.
‘Cisco gifted it to me for my birthday. Do you like it?’ Yuyu’s eyes sparkled as she ran her hands over the equally pink steering wheel.
‘It’s…very pink.’
‘It is, isn’t it? He had it custom made for me since he knows how much I love it.’
‘But,’ Noelle paused as she frowned. ‘I’ve never seen you in pink before. I didn’t know you liked it.’
‘I can’t say I have too many opportunities to indulge in it,’ Yuyu sighed. ‘As a Deville wife, people have expectations of me, just as they have a preconceived idea I have to meet. I can’t engage in frivolities.’
‘But if you like it…’ Noelle continued.
Yuyu gave her a sad smile.
‘You should see our room. I have free rein there and I decorated it to my taste. Unfortunately, that is the extent of what is allowed of me. Well, that and now this,’ she returned her attention to the car, her eyes gleaming as a blinding smile spread across her face.
‘Is it because of my brother? Is he forcing you to live like this?’ Noelle suddenly asked, never having entertained the idea before. She knew Cisco could be a tyrant when he wanted—the way he managed the family business being proof enough of it. But was he a tyrant to Yuyu as well?
Noelle bit her lip in worry, because just as the thought came to mind so did the fear that Yuyu could have been coerced into this situation. After all, she’d started out as her brother’s bodyguard, assuming a male identity in doing so. Had Cisco forced her to do that, too?
‘Cisco, forcing me?’ Yuyu laughed, shaking her head. ‘No, he would never force me to do anything, much less give up on things I love because it’s the right thing to do.’
‘Then?’ Noelle blinked, more confused than ever.
‘It’s because I respect him and his position and I know that my actions and the way I comport myself reflect on him and our family. Yes, I love this car and it’s a small extravagance. But I’m not likely to drive it in an official setting, for a business meeting or an important social event. This is just for me to have fun,’ she explained. ‘I knew when I married your brother that my life would change. Hell, I knew it when I first met him. But I’m willing to make these small sacrifices to be by his side.’
‘So he’s not…controlling your life?’ Noelle probed further, somehow still unconvinced.
Her brother was the definition of a control freak with a good dose of OCD. Maybe she hadn’t recognized that in the past since she’d been too young to see it for what it was, but since he’d moved back into the house, Noelle had noticed just how peculiar her brother was.
He always ate the same breakfast, at the same time, with the same type of cutlery and always with stark white dinnerware, devoid of any embellishment. The one time his plate had been mistakenly swapped with a white one that had slight decorations around the corners, he’d simply stared at it for the longest time, his eyes narrowed, his body tense. Breakfast had come and gone and he hadn’t eaten one thing.
Not. A. Single. Thing.
And that was just one of the many things Noelle had noticed about her brother. There were other, smaller instances, where he simply befuddled her. He would never read a list from the beginning, like a normal person—only from the end. Sometimes he would stare at you for long periods of time, his features impassive, almost as if he was looking into your goddamn soul.
Noelle could understand that some people had quirks. But her brother seemed to be a quirk in itself. How Yuyu put up with that, she didn’t know.
‘No,’ Yuyu smiled. ‘Cisco is not controlling my life in any way. Despite your brother’s gruff exterior, he’s a teddy bear.’
Somehow, Noelle doubted that. A grizzly bear, maybe, but even then he’d probably be in charge of an army of other bears, dictating when and how they could growl.
‘Then I really don’t understand. If he’s not forcing you to behave a certain way and if he’s not pressuring you, then why do it? Why not…do what you love? Dress and decorate the way you like?’
‘One thing you’ll learn as you grow, Noelle, is that being an adult means willingly giving up what you love if you know the situation demands it. And in my case, my actions have been scrutinized from the moment I married your brother. Everyone is waiting for the moment I screw up, or do something wrong. Everyone is waiting for me to fail. And I won’t give them that satisfaction.’
With that, Yuyu started the engine of the car, steering it towards the driveway before heading straight for the highway.
Noelle soon realized that she’d barely scratched the surface with Yuyu. Yes, she was kind, and warm, and just…nice, but she was so much more than that.
‘Hold on,’ she smiled at her before stepping on the gas pedal and going at the full speed allowed on the highway.
Noelle’s eyes widened in shock, but that soon gave way to uncontrollable laughter as she let loose and enjoyed the ride.
It didn’t last long, however, as Yuyu returned to a moderate speed as they entered the city.
‘What did you have in mind for today? I think I know a few stores that have your type of clothing…’
‘No,’ Noelle interrupted. ‘That is, I don’t want my usual type of clothes,’ she said as she nibbled at her lip. ‘I want to try something new.’
Yuyu’s brows went up in surprise.
‘Something new? What did you have in mind?’
Noelle shrugged, trying to seem as blasé as possible.
‘I don’t know. Something more…feminine? Dresses and that type of stuff. Maybe some other colors too. Something like purple, or violet,’ she turned to gaze out the window so that Yuyu wouldn’t see the blush marring her cheeks.
Of course, she would also be looking for something yellow to complement their discussion, but she imagined that if she wore Blue’s favorite color, she might be more appealing to him if they were to ever meet.
It seemed like such a silly thought that she was immediately embarrassed. But all was fair in love and war. Why wouldn’t she use every weapon at her disposal to get ahead?
Once more, she realized how mercenary she sounded despite the fact that her intentions were anything but. She genuinely wanted Blue to like her—want her. Which, of course, was foolish considering she’d never even seen what he looked like. Yet despite all that, she knew she would find him attractive. How, she didn’t know. There was just something about him that attracted her on a deeper level, one that was as instinctual as it was ineffable.
Noelle had always trusted her instincts. And with regards to Blue they told her he was hers.
That was it. He was simply…hers.
‘I’m glad to hear that,’ Yuyu replied, and Noelle shook herself out of her reverie. It was so easy to lose herself in her thoughts when it came to Blue. ‘In fact, I might have some store suggestions.’
‘Ok. Show me,’ Noelle nodded.
To Noelle’s greatest surprise, Yuyu pulled into a private parking lot before leading her to one of the busiest streets in New York where all the luxury department stores were.
Even to her untrained eyes the stores seemed entirely too expensive, and she recognized a few high-end brands.
‘Are you sure we’re at the right location?’ she asked with trepidation. ‘Isn’t this a few thousand for a shirt?’ she pointed towards the Chanel store, one she was familiar with since she’d watched a couple of seasons of Gossip Girl with Blue. That was her only introduction to fashion, and she was quite well acquainted with all the brands Blair Waldorf wore. After all, she’d been Noelle’s favorite character.
‘Of course,’ Yuyu chuckled, placing her car keys in her bag. ‘We don’t have money issues, Noelle. You can have nice things and it won’t break the bank.’
‘Yes, nice things. Not exorbitantly expensive things,’ she muttered. ‘I could buy an entire wardrobe with the price of one item from these stores.’
‘Maybe, but you wanted something different, did you not?’
Noelle reluctantly nodded. She did want something different. But not…this. Or did she? Maybe because she’d never worn any designer stuff—at least not in recent memory—she could not qualify the experience. Her mother had certainly tried to get her to wear expensive, girly stuff when she’d been a child. But she’d categorically eschewed that then.
Ironic that now she was the one voluntarily seeking it out.
‘Fine. Let’s do this,’ she sighed, allowing herself to be led inside the department store. ‘Do you usually shop here, too?’
Yuyu nodded.
‘I might go for more formal styles since Cisco and I are always on the go, but I have to admit that designer clothes are one of my weaknesses. I don’t know if I ever told you, but I grew up poor. Dirt poor. After my mother died, it was just me and my grandmother and she was too ill to work. So I had to do what I could to put food on our table. I could barely clothe ourselves for the winter, let alone allow for any extravagances but…’ she trailed off, swallowing hard at the painful memories.
‘I used to come on this street. Pickpocketing,’ she chuckles. ‘That’s what I did to survive back then. But as I was waiting around, scouring for the next person I could rob, I couldn’t help but stare at the wonderful displays and be in awe at the colorful dresses and the modern styles. There was one dress in particular that simply mesmerized me. It was a pink Chanel tweed dress that represented everything I wanted to be. Classy, feminine, rich. Someone with no worry about money or for the future,’ Yuyu smiled fondly.
‘I promised myself that one day I would have enough money to buy one of those dresses for myself. And after I started working for your brother, it happened. It might have taken me an entire year of penny pinching, but it happened.’
‘So fashion is personal to you, is it not?’
‘You could say so,’ Yuyu nodded. ‘It represents both a period of my life when it was out of reach, but also one of prosperity when I can buy anything I wish. More than anything, it symbolizes my journey and how far I’ve come.’
‘Is that why you like pink? Because of that Chanel pink dress?’
‘Yes. I think that one dress was imprinted on me. I still have it, you know. It’s been more than a decade, but it’s one of my most prized possessions.’
Noelle smiled at Yuyu. Odd how with one small anecdote she felt closer to her than ever before. But truth to be told, no one knew much of Yuyu’s past. Even the fact that she’d been Cisco’s bodyguard was known only to a select few who’d interacted with her as Yu.
‘Then I’ll leave everything to you,’ Noelle chuckled.
Yuyu took her assignment seriously, taking Noelle to every single store and introducing her to brands she’d never heard of before.
Despite wanting a change of style, Noelle didn’t expect to like the selection of clothes very much, merely forcing herself to bear them for the sake of her goals.
Yet as Yuyu pointed out dress after dress, coupled with some skirts and fancy shirts, Noelle found she didn’t mind it much.
Especially as they entered the Chanel store and Yuyu led her to their ready-to-wear rack, pulling a tweed dress and showing it to Noelle.
‘It’s violet,’ Noelle whispered in awe, greedily eating up the design and imagining herself in it. Yet more than anything, she imagined what Blue would think of her dressed like that.
‘Come on, you have to try this,’ Yuyu said, asking the sales assistant for her size before leading her to the changing rooms.
Just as the sales assistant brought in the dress, Yuyu found five more for Noelle to try.
Shaking her head at her sister-in-law’s enthusiasm, Noelle set about trying the first one on.
‘Oh, wow,’ she muttered to herself as she looked at the person staring back at her in the mirror.
It wasn’t her. It couldn’t be her.
No longer a combination of goth and tomboy, she looked like a woman—a dainty, graceful woman.
‘You need to add some shoes,’ Yuyu declared, bringing her a pair of pearl flats. ‘And a bag,’ she added after a second thought, picking a black Chanel mini square and handing it to Noelle.
‘Yuyu, this is…’
‘Perfect, isn’t it?’
Noelle could only nod, her throat clogging with emotion.
She…liked it. And not only for Blue. But also for herself.
She didn’t feel sick anymore at the thought of wearing anything else but her comfort black clothes. She actually felt beautiful, a first for her.
‘May I get it?’ she asked in a tremulous voice.
‘Of course! We’re getting the shoes and bag as well,’ Yuyu added matter-of-factly before pushing more items into her changing room.
She spent an hour trying different Chanel dresses and two-piece sets, eventually buying all of them. When the time came for Yuyu to swipe her credit card, Noelle winced as she saw the number on the till.
Yet Yuyu said nothing, merely gushing about the pieces Noelle had chosen.
‘I have more places to show you,’ she said enthusiastically before asking someone to keep their purchases until they finished their shopping.
They went to a few more clothing stores, and Noelle picked a couple more flattering items.
‘I think this is quite enough, Yuyu. I only meant to get a couple of things, but now I have an entire wardrobe.’
‘And is it such a bad thing? Clothes are for you to feel good about yourself, Noelle. Don’t let anyone choose for you. I know Elena wasn’t the best at respecting your boundaries, but don’t think that everyone is the same as her. If you like something, we’re getting it.’
‘How come my mother was never so free with money? I’ve always been on a strict allowance.’
Yuyu pursed her lips.
‘Elena is…something else. Don’t mind her too much.’
Noelle nodded, noticing once more that despite their conflict, Yuyu didn’t say a bad thing about her mother.
‘Let’s get you a watch, too,’ Yuyu declared, stopping in front of the map for the department store. Tracing the locations with her finger, she finally found what she was looking for, somewhere on the third floor.
As she started in that direction, Noelle followed closely behind. She didn’t think she needed a watch, but she supposed a pretty one wouldn’t hurt.
Yet just as they reached the third floor, a loud scream permeated the air.
Noelle startled, while Yuyu simply tensed.
‘What do you mean I can’t return it? Can’t you see it’s scuffed?’
‘I’m sorry ma’am, but this no longer has the tags on it, so we cannot proceed with a refund as we cannot ascertain that the shoes have not been worn.’
‘What are you insinuating? That I’d wear the shoes and bring them back when I scuff them?’ the woman yelled in outrage.
‘I’ll never understand those types of people,’ Yuyu shook her head. ‘It doesn’t cost you anything to be a nice human being. Especially towards those in the service industry.’
‘Aren’t return rules known? I am aware you can’t return anything if you remove the tags. Especially for luxury items…’
‘You’re right. But that doesn’t mean some people will not try to get away with it. You think they don’t know what they’re doing?’
As they were watching the scene unfold, Yuyu’s phone rang.
‘Excuse me for a moment,’ she nodded at Noelle as she took a step back to answer the phone.
Noelle didn’t mind being left on her own too much as she was a little too curious about the display in front of her.
Was it bad of her to admit she liked chaos? Of course, not of her own making. She just liked to witness it and watch the fallout. But then she’d always liked to be an observer. She particularly liked to observe people at their worst, curious to see the choices they made.
Maybe this was a by-product of what had happened with Ann-Marie. Or maybe, it was simply her own morbid curiosity and the fact that, deep down, something was seriously wrong with her.
The woman continued to scream at the lady at the register, and Noelle walked slowly towards the entrance of the shop, getting inside and pretending to look around while covertly watching the situation unfold.
Would the lady succeed and get her refund? Or would the lady at the register call security?
If it were Noelle, she would have called security from the first moment the woman had yelled at her. That was no way for someone to behave, especially in society. Yuyu was right that those types of people were the worst. Yet the sad reality was that they rarely got their comeuppance, perpetuating the idea that they could get away with anything.
Then, there was also the stores’ fault in accepting this by maintaining that the customer was always right.
A loud bang erupted in the air as the woman slapped her hand on the counter.
Noelle winced, feeling bad for the lady dealing with all this.
Not wanting to be obvious about her interest, she slowly walked around the store. As she turned to the next aisle of clothes, her attention was still on the register so she didn’t realize when she bumped into someone until she was sent flying to the floor.
A pained whimper escaped her when she hit the ground, barely thrusting her arms back in time to cushion her fall.
‘Shit, I’m so sorry,’ a deep voice uttered in a low tone.
Still wincing, it took Noelle a moment to get her bearings together.
The first thing she noticed about the person she’d bumped into were his arms. Big arms that stretched towards her in an attempt to help her off the ground.
Her eyes widened as she slowly perused the tanned skin, the light blonde hairs and protruding veins. Yet there was something else that held her attention more than anything.
On the inside of his arm, there was a semi-smudged drawing of a cat, blue ink smeared around the edges from wear. But it wasn’t just any cat. It was a cat with five legs—or, at least, seemingly so because of the artist’s lack of talent. Even if the cat could have been a coincidence, though Noelle didn’t think she would ever mistake it for anything else—not when she’d imprinted the image in her memory—the words accompanying it could not.
A little smudged, but they were still right there for her to read.
Blued to the television.
It was the sketch Blue had drawn as a joke, promising to wear it for an entire week.
And it seemed he’d done so.
A shiver of awareness traveled down Noelle’s back as she swallowed hard, unable to believe this would happen. That the man before her was actually Blue…her Blue.
Slowly, she raised her gaze to meet his, coming face to face with the bluest eyes she’d ever seen—and the most beautiful.
If before Noelle had been in love with the person Blue had been behind his computer, now she was totally, utterly, unfailingly in love with Blue before her.
Strong cheekbones and sharp jaw, his features were both soft and harsh at the same time, giving him a combination of masculine and boyish looks that was devastatingly beautiful.
She’d never imagined he would look like this, and the breath went out of her lungs the more she stared—the more she found herself both speechless and unwilling to talk. For if she opened her mouth, then the spell would be broken, and their first meeting would be forever marred by the fact that he was clearly much older than her while she was…too young. Certainly too young for him.
If he knew her real age, she had no doubt he would stop talking to her, and she could never risk that.
Realizing she was staring, she allowed him to help her up, purposefully covering his hands with her own to feel his skin on top of hers. They were big and strong and warm. So, so warm they made her entire body heat up.
It was the oddest feeling she’d ever felt.
She recognized it as desire, but it was so much more.
It was the fact that she was absorbing the heat of the man she loved—of the man who’d been her best friend for so long and who’d given her back her confidence in herself.
God, how is this real?
She trembled lightly, unable to believe something like this would happen, that she would be so lucky to meet the object of all her teenage dreams. Yet it was more than that.
Where she’d fallen in love before with him for his kindness and his intellect, now she fell for him all over, his physicality impacting hers in such a way that she became lightheaded and intoxicated in his presence.
He was more than a foot taller than her. So much so, she only reached the middle of his chest as she stepped closer. She’d always been small, but in his presence she didn’t feel that small, despite the obvious size disparity. There was just something about him that made her feel safe. Where someone else of the same size might have come across as threatening, Blue was the opposite. Noelle felt wrapped in a cocoon, ready to be swallowed up whole and protected by the strength radiating from him.
There were maybe only a few inches separating them. But it was enough for Noelle to inhale his scent, his aftershave filling her nostrils as well as something else. Something she knew it was him and only him—a scent that would stay with her for a long time to come and which she’d seek to recreate at every turn.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he uttered again in that same low voice, his features apologetic, especially as his eyes flittered between her and the woman at the counter, a small grimace pulling at his lips as the screaming continued.
His voice was deep and husky and pure poison to the senses.
Goosebumps spread all over her body as she absorbed its full effect, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, almost as if she was savoring the timber of his voice—committing it into her auditory memory.
‘Are you ok?’ he asked, almost absentmindedly.
She nodded, more split than ever. On the one hand, she wanted him to never leave, while on the other, she couldn’t wait for him to disappear faster so he wouldn’t find out who she was.
He gave her a small smile, inclining his head before going over to the woman at the counter, leaning in and whispering something in her ear.
They were deep in conversation for a few moments, time that it took Noelle to realize how similar they looked and that she was likely his mother.
‘Rafaelo! How could you?’ the woman yelled, glaring at her son.
Noelle’s eyes widened just as her mouth moved, tasting his name on her lips.
Rafaelo.
It fit, she thought as she continued to stare. It was almost like being caught in a trance as she took in every little detail, from his body and impressive height to his expressive features and those beautiful, beautiful eyes.
Blue. Rafaelo. The most beautiful thing Noelle had ever seen.
‘Rafaelo,’ she whispered as she continued to look at him. ‘You will be mine. And I will be yours.’
She didn’t know how she would do it, but there was a conviction deep in her bones that Rafaelo was meant to be hers and hers alone. And she wouldn’t let anyone stand in the way.
‘Noelle?’ Yuyu’s voice barely registered as she reached her side. ‘You’re watching the drama, huh?’ she chuckled as she pointed towards the register.
‘I was curious,’ she shrugged.
‘It seems they solved it somehow, and I don’t think it was to the benefit of the customer,’ Yuyu laughed.
‘I think her son solved it,’ Noelle added, still zoning in on Rafaelo. ‘He was the one mediating the situation.’
‘Good for him. I’m surprised anyone could nudge that crazy woman,’ she shook her head in disapproval.
‘Yeah, me too,’ Noelle said absentmindedly, still focused on Rafaelo.
How beautiful he is…
‘Let’s go get you a watch. It’s the shop across.’
Noelle reluctantly let herself be led to the other shop, absentmindedly picking a watch while her mind was still replaying the encounter from before.
If only she weren’t so young… If she knew for sure that Blue wouldn’t turn from her, she would have introduced herself at once—only to see his reaction at meeting her in the flesh.
What did he think of her?
Did he like her? Find her appealing? The short encounter had not been enough to ascertain either, as he’d been wholly focused on his mother, not on her.
While for Noelle the entire world had come to a stop the moment she’d recognized who he was, for him it had been just another mundane occurrence—nothing out of the ordinary.
Somehow the idea that what constituted a monumental moment in time for her had been nothing more than a fluke for him irked her. It made her seethe and it made her want to yell at the world and the injustice of it all.
He couldn’t be more than a few years older than her, maybe five or six. But because she was underage, she knew he would promptly cut contact. Because that was the thing. She knew Blue, and she knew how he would react in such a situation. He was too much of a good guy to do anything but that. Just as he was too much of a gentleman to ever make their conversations uncomfortable when they discussed sexual themes.
Her Blue was the perfect man. Of that, Noelle was sure. The only question remained…how could she make him the perfect man for her?
‘There’s a café a couple of blocks from here. Why don’t we go grab a bite before we leave? I’ve already arranged to have all of our purchases brought to the car.’
‘That sounds good,’ Noelle answered automatically.
Yuyu beamed, taking Noelle to one of her favorite cafes in the area. Since it was one of her favorite places in New York, Yuyu knew the entire fifth avenue like the back of her hand.
As they reached the cozy little French café, they each took a seat and ordered a desert, a coffee for Yuyu and a milkshake for Noelle.
‘Yuyu, how did you and my brother get together? I know you worked for him for a long time, but how did it happen?’ Noelle suddenly asked, curious about the matter but also eager to learn anything she might use to her own advantage later on.
Her meeting with Blue—though it had been entirely one sided—has been nothing but serendipitous. Noelle was absolutely sure of it.
It had been…fate. There was no other explanation for it when it had been the perfect combination of moments in time—the drawing, his promise, and her sudden idea to go out. The succession of events had happened in such a manner to ensure that the two of them would be in the same place, at the same time, and that Noelle would be able to recognize him in the flesh.
Maybe she’d known he was meant to be hers before, but this one encounter solidified everything in her mind until she knew that she needed to plan everything carefully so that he would eventually be hers.
And now that she had her goal foremost in her mind, she only needed to think of the steps she needed to take in order to get there.
‘It took us a long time to give in to our feelings,’ Yuyu said, tilting her head to the side as she remembered the past. ‘For the longest time I thought I was the only one in love with him. But that’s only because your brother is like a robot. You can’t get anything out of him,’ she shook her head in amusement. ‘We were best friends first. Partners. We shared everything. The rest… It sort of happened organically, even though we both knew we couldn’t be more.’
‘Did he make the first move, or did you?’ Noelle probed.
Knowing herself, Noelle would likely be the one to make the first move with Blue—but that was only because when it came to him she seemed to have no patience whatsoever. Yet at the same time, she found she wouldn’t mind it if he took the initiative. In fact, she might prefer it…
For once she wanted someone to gauge her needs and desires and act before she even rationalized them—someone who knew her so well, he intuited what she required before she ever had to vocalize it.
‘Both?’ Yuyu chuckled as she took a sip of her coffee. ‘We were on a mission and one thing led to another and things happened,’ she explained nervously, a blush marring her cheeks. ‘But it was even harder after that. Cisco was all but engaged to marry someone else while I was a man to everyone’s knowledge. Of course, you know your parents’ opinion about me. Everything was against us, so I didn’t think we would ever be together. But it happened,’ she smiled fondly. ‘Against all odds, it happened.’
Simultaneous attraction, Noelle nodded thoughtfully to herself.
She might be the one concocting the plan behind the scenes, but if she played her hand right, then maybe she could get him to think he made the first step.
‘How? I’ve always wondered about this. My brother is a stickler for order and discipline. For God’s sake, the man doesn’t ever change his breakfast preference. I can’t imagine him going against the status quo when it seems to be the only thing that keeps him…sane.’
‘You’re right,’ Yuyu nodded, her entire face lighting up at the conversation. ‘Cisco is…a difficult man, and I’m sure he can seem quite unyielding to everyone who doesn’t know him.’
‘But does anyone know him?’ Noelle interrupted, raising a brow.
Her brother seemed like an unsolvable enigma. One she was fine never solving, for that seemed too much of a headache.
‘I do,’ she smiled. ‘But I’m probably the only one. Your brother… He has difficulties dealing with matters of an emotional nature. It’s not that he doesn’t want to, or that he thinks it’s beneath him as a man. It’s simply that he cannot understand emotions very well. He can feel them just fine, but he has great difficulty in conveying them, or recognizing them in others. Quite simply put, he is the epitome of rationality, which sometimes can be quite tiring, and if I’m being honest,’ she paused, a mischievous smile pulling at her lips, ‘quite annoying.’
Noelle giggled at that.
‘It was a surprise to me, too, that he decided to go against the status quo and choose me,’ Yuyu grimaced, no doubt realizing that his choice had far reaching repercussions that Noelle was going to bear.
Noelle pursed her lips into a sad smile.
‘I’ll never experience that, will I? To be loved by a man so much he’d go against his entire family for me…’ she trailed off.
‘Noelle,’ Yuyu reached for her hand. ‘I promise you we’ll think of something. Don’t think for a moment that we’re ok with this situation because we’re not. We just…’ she took a deep breath. ‘We need to find a way out of this mess so it won’t blow in our faces.’
Noelle blinked in surprise at Yuyu’s words.
‘But my brother…’
‘Cisco didn’t want this any more than I did. But it happened. And I’m so sorry this fell on you when it shouldn’t have. But you have my word that we will fix this somehow. I don’t want to give you false hope,’ she paused, looking increasingly troubled. ‘But I do want you to know that I am not ok with this. I don’t condone it and I would never be on board with it.’
There were things Yuyu wasn’t telling her. Noelle didn’t know the specifics of what had gone in the negotiation, but her senses told her Yuyu was being truthful—she didn’t agree with the match, but she didn’t know what to do to stop it.
‘Thank you,’ Noelle wet her lips as she regarded her sister-in-law. ‘Thank you for telling me this.’
Yuyu squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture. As the conversation continued, Noelle found herself more at ease than before, able to let her guard down a little and enjoy their little outing.
It was easy to forget how young Yuyu was, too, due to her position by her brother’s side and the fact that she usually assumed a far more serious persona in formal environments. Yet she was barely thirty years old, despite looking no older than twenty. And as they discussed fashion and pop culture, and other current events, Noelle realized just how much fun her sister-in-law could be. She might appear serious and sometimes frightening, but she had a bubbly personality just waiting to reach to the surface.
‘It’s getting dark out. Your brother’s probably wondering where we are,’ Yuyu shook her head as she glanced at her phone. Not for the first time, she’d received texts from Cisco needing updates on them.
‘And you say he’s not controlling,’ Noelle joked.
‘I wouldn’t frame this as controlling,’ Yuyu laughed. ‘Cisco doesn’t like it when I’m away from him.’
‘Don’t tell me he’s jealous,’ Noelle rolled her eyes, still not convinced that her brother wasn’t controlling of Yuyu as he was of every other aspect of his life.
Yet as soon as she uttered that out loud, she realized she wouldn’t mind it if her Blue were jealous—that would mean he cared; that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
Because…
Her lips tightened into a thin line as she felt a surge of anger spark within her at the thought of any other woman getting close to her Blue.
She’d been jealous before, when she’d only thought of him as her online best friend. Now? After she’d seen how beautiful he was, how incredibly attractive and mesmerizing, she couldn’t ever imagine him touching another woman with the same hands he’d touched her.
The moment her mind conjured up scenarios in which he was close to another, she felt herself slip.
‘Hmm,’ Yuyu paused, seemingly deep in thought.
Noelle whipped her head to her, giving Yuyu a tight smile so she wouldn’t realize her train of thought. Here she was criticizing her brother when she exhibited the same tendencies.
‘He is generally jealous,’ Yuyu started. ‘But not in a way that he doesn’t trust me. Merely that he doesn’t want to share me with the world.’
‘Same thing,’ Noelle muttered under her breath, but her lips were smiling.
Yes, Noelle could very well understand not wanting to share her Blue with the rest of the world, either.
Laughing, Yuyu shook her head, grabbing Noelle’s hand and they both headed out of the café and started back towards the parking lot.
They only walked a couple of blocks before Yuyu suddenly gave Noelle a sharp look.
‘Someone’s following us,’ she whispered.
‘Where?’
‘Don’t look now. There are three men on the other side of the street and two behind us. They were waiting outside and started walking the moment we did.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t recognize them. It could be anyone,’ Yuyu pursed her lips. ‘See that corner that leads to a back alley up ahead?’ she asked as she pointed to the location with a tip of her chin.
Noelle nodded.
‘We’re going to turn the corner there, and see if they follow. But if they do,’ she paused. ‘I need you to promise me you will do as I say. If I tell you to duck, you do it. If I ask you to hide, you do it. No questions. You just listen. Ok?’
Yuyu’s countenance was completely different than before and Noelle found a hard time reconciling the cheerful and carefree Yuyu from before with the one she was seeing now.
She looked like a general in a time of war, giving strict instructions to his troops.
Noelle didn’t argue, following Yuyu as they rounded the corner, walking down the small alley. It was a cramped space, unpopulated and perfect to launch an attack on two unsuspecting women.
Dear God, but what was Yuyu thinking?
Noelle’s eyes flared in shock as she realized there was a dead end far ahead, making any type of escape impossible.
And as they walked further, surely enough, five men followed.
‘Yuyu… What are we going to do?’ Noelle asked in a small voice.
She remembered Cisco’s words that Yuyu was the equivalent of a small army, and given that she’d been his bodyguard in the past, Noelle supposed her sister-in-law was quite capable of taking care of herself.
But these were five men. Five burly men. And though Yuyu was a little taller than Noelle, she had a slight, fragile frame. Noelle couldn’t imagine how she could ever overpower even one of those men—not when the size differences were to her disadvantage.
‘You’re not going to do anything,’ Yuyu whispered. ‘You’re to continue walking until the end of the alley. I promise nothing will happen to you.’
‘But what will happen to you?‘
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Yuyu said. ‘This is actually better since no one will notice us. There are no cameras, too…’ she added, musing as she took in her surroundings. ‘Might be able to find out who sent them…’ she trailed off.
Noelle was confused by the fragmented sentences and what Yuyu meant to do. But as she instructed Noelle to continue walking by herself, she obeyed.
She put one foot in front of the other until she felt she was far enough before turning to watch. She was far too curious to not do so.
The sky was a dark blue, night quickly falling. There were a few lights around from the buildings and the street lamps in the distance, but other than that, everything was quite dark. Yet even so Noelle could make out the outlines of the six people as they faced each other.
Yuyu was standing in the middle of the alley, her back to Noelle as she watched the five men approach. They were saying something—Noelle couldn’t hear exactly what. But her sister-in-law didn’t seem in the least surprised or scared.
She simply waited for them to come closer.
When the first guy was upon her, she simply sidestepped, tripping him before bringing her knee to his stomach, delivering a sharp but effective blow that had the man writhing in pain on the ground.
Noelle’s eyes flashed wide open with surprise.
Two of the guys were equally shocked, so they went for her at the same time. One of them removed a knife while the other aimed to hold her in order to hurt her. That might have been the plan in the beginning, but as Yuyu gave both men a beaming smile, she moved faster than Noelle had ever seen anyone move before.
In less than a second she had the man’s knife out of his hand, the blade jammed in his neck while the other man lay sprawled on the ground, clutching to his chest.
Noelle hadn’t even noticed when she’d hurt the other man. Everything was simply a blur as Yuyu moved like a shadow, killing one man after another before they even got the chance to get close to her.
When only two men remained, they took their chances by charging against her in the same idiotic way the others had done, and that too resulted in their premature defeat.
Yet even as all of them were lying on the ground, Yuyu didn’t stop. She crouched next to one of them, her fingers tight in his scalp as she asked him questions.
She was interrogating them, Noelle belatedly realized.
So immersed she was in what she was saying, she barely realized when everything was over and Yuyu was back at her side.
‘We should go,’ she said matter-of-factly.
‘You… Ehm,’ Noelle wet her lips as she regarded her. ‘You’ve got some blood here,’ she pointed to Yuyu’s cheek.
‘Oh,’ she merely shrugged, wiping herself before leading Noelle out of the alleyway and back to the main street. In the process, they bypassed the men on the ground and Noelle could see the full extent of their injuries.
How could Yuyu have done that by herself?
When Cisco had joked that she was a small army in itself, Noelle had thought it was merely that—a joke. But now she wasn’t sure anymore.
Yuyu calmly led her back to the parking lot where their car was waiting with their purchases, sliding into the driver’s seat and nodding for Noelle to do the same.
‘Yuyu… What was that?’ Noelle finally asked as they were on the way back to the house.
‘Don’t worry about it. Just a little…misunderstanding.’
‘But you kicked their asses,’ Noelle burst out.
Yuyu smiled furtively.
‘You could say I did.’
‘But how? I’ve never seen anyone move like that. How did you do it?’
‘I’ve had some training,’ Yuyu replied vaguely.
‘Yuyu, that was more than just some training.’
‘There was a reason I was your brother’s bodyguard for so long,’ Yuyu winked playfully.
‘Yeah but…’
Noelle was still in shock, and likely would be for a long time. Not at the violence itself, but at the fact that Yuyu, as a small woman, had been able to easily defeat five burly men in a matter of seconds.
‘Teach me,’ she suddenly said.
Yuyu turned her head to look at her, her brows drawn up in surprise.
‘Please, teach me how to fight like that!’
‘You want to learn to fight?’
Noelle nodded fervently.
‘I don’t want to think of myself at the mercy of anyone. Please…’
Understanding what Noelle was asking of her, Yuyu gave her a brisk nod.
‘Fine. But don’t expect me to go easy on you.’
‘No! I promise. I just want to be able to take care of myself—protect myself if the worst should come to pass.’
Yuyu pursed her lips at her words, not liking the implications but knowing Noelle was right. They were throwing her to the wolves. The least they could do was make sure she knew how to handle herself.
‘We start on Monday,’ Yuyu declared.
Noelle’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.
‘On Monday,’ she agreed.
And just like that, another piece for Noelle’s plans fell into place. If Noelle was able to take care of herself…then she was one step closer to becoming the master of her own destiny.
