“Val?”
I look up at the sound of my abuela’s voice and find her standing in the doorway of my bedroom. “Abuelita? What are you doing here?”
Her eyes roam over my face, a hint of concern in them. “I rang the doorbell twice, but you didn’t hear me, eh? I was worried about you, so I came to take a look. You haven’t come home in a while.”
I rise to my feet and grab her hands, noting how cold they are. “How did you get here?”
She smiles at me. “I took the bus and walked. I called you a few times earlier, but you didn’t pick up. I had a bad feeling, so I used the code on your fancy door lock.”
I lift our joined hands to my face and warm her hand on my cheek. “I’m sorry, Abuelita. I’ve just been busy with work. I should’ve come to see you and Mom.”
She leads me to my living room and sits me down before taking my hands in hers. “You didn’t come home because you were worried I’d ask too many questions.”
I blink in surprise. “What do you mean?” I ask hesitantly.
She shoots me a knowing look. “What happened, Val? Why have you been so upset lately? It’s been a few weeks now, and you haven’t been yourself. Did you argue with Luca?”
I pull my hands out of hers and wrap them around myself. “No,” I lie. “He’s just my boss, Abuela. What are you thinking?”
She smiles at me. “You have worked for him for many years now, Chiquita. He is more than your boss. He’s like family, no? Perhaps more than that.”
My nails dig into my skin, and I shake my head even as my mind drifts back to the way he kissed me. It’s hard to explain just how betrayed I feel. To him, it was nothing but a quick hook-up, a way to control me when he thought I was veering off-track.
He has no idea it was the first time in years I let someone in. I trusted him with my body and let myself lose control. It was a foolish decision, and it’s one I profoundly regret. For a moment, he made the boundaries between us melt away, and he made me want things I know I can never have, only to remind me that I’m nothing to him. It’s everything my mother always warned me about, yet I still acted foolishly.
“No. He’s just my boss, nothing more. You should stop watching so many Telenovelas because you’re seeing things that aren’t there.”
“Am I?” she asks, her brows raised.
“Yes!”
She rises to her feet and starts to unpack the food she brought me, placing different containers on my coffee table leisurely. “If that’s true, then why have you been upset ever since you went to that wedding?”
I stare at her in surprise. How could she possibly have noticed that? “I’m not upset.”
She glances at me and shakes her head. “What is it then? Did the wedding make you think about settling down yourself? It’s about time, Val. By your age, I was already running after your mother.”
I groan and fall back on the sofa. “Abuela. I’m focusing on building my career. I just want to take care of Mom and you.”
She looks me square in the eye and pauses, a yoghurt container in her hand. “But who is going to take care of you, Princesa?”
I cross my arms and sigh. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”
She nods. “I know you can, Val. But sometimes it’s nice to rely on someone, even if you don’t have to. Sometimes it’s nice not to be alone. Life goes by fast, Val. When you get to my age, what will you have? What memories will you have made? Your work won’t keep you warm at night.” She hesitates, and then she sits down next to me. “That boss of yours? He cares about you, no?”
I think back to his harsh words and bite down on my lip. He genuinely thinks of me as a gold digger. I could see it in his eyes. He thought I was using him for his connections, that I’d get with Joshua just because he showed me some interest. He seemed to truly believe that if it hadn’t been him at that gazebo with me, I’d still have done what I did, like I’m some kind of whore eager for a rich man’s attention.
For years, I’ve done my best to stay away from those types of rumors, terrified I’d end up walking in my mother’s footsteps. I know better than anyone that he lives in a different world, and that if we ever got together, it’d end in tears for me. After all, I’ve gotten my heart broken in the exact same way once before. This time, there’s a lot more at stake than my useless heart — my livelihood is at risk.
“No, Abuela. He doesn’t care about me at all. Didn’t I tell you? That man is the devil. He’s heartless and emotionless. He cares about nothing and no one but himself.” I suppress the aching of my heart and straighten my spine.
I’m nothing but an employee to him, if that. His family might welcome me into their homes and hearts, but he never did, and he never will. I always knew we weren’t friends, but I thought… I suppose I thought too much. I never should’ve let things get as far as they did. I never should’ve kissed him back. I should’ve known he didn’t truly want me. He just wanted to control me.
She smiles ruefully and shakes her head. “You have been together for so many years. I suppose if there was anything there at all, something would have happened between you two. If you still hate him the way you did then, then perhaps he is not the man I thought he was.” She leans in and brushes my hair out of my face. “You should think about what makes you happy, Chiquita. This job? It no longer makes you happy. You haven’t been smiling lately, and you’re always stressed and overworked. Your mother and I are fine, Val. It’s time for you to start living your life. You shouldn’t always work so hard. You should find someone who will provide for you.”
I grab her hands and entwine our fingers. “I am living, Abuelita. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’m happy, and I still love my job. Everything is okay. I’m just having a couple of rough weeks, that’s all.”
She shakes her head. “You aren’t happy, and you don’t even realize it. I know what my granddaughter looks like when she’s truly happy. This, my beautiful girl, isn’t it.”
She cups my cheek and sighs. “Just promise me you’ll think about what I told you, okay? Think about what would make you truly happy, and promise me you’ll chase whatever that is. Life is shorter than you think, mi niña.”
I nod and wrap my hand over hers. “I promise.”
Abuela pulls away and turns back toward the food she brought me. “Here,” she tells me. “Have some of this—” she frowns as she stares at the container filled with Menudo in front of her. Her face pales as her expression goes blank. “Rosa,” she says, calling me by my mother’s name. “This? What is it called?”
Worry grips me as I wrap an arm around her. “Abuela?” I murmur, my heart racing.
She looks into my eyes and blinks. “Ah, Valentina? What is wrong, Princesa?”
What is going on? “Abuelita, have you been forgetting things lately?” I ask, my voice soft.
She laughs it off with a wave of her hand. “I’m old, Val. It happens.”
That seemed like more than momentary forgetfulness. She was confused, and for a moment, she thought I was my mother. “How about we pay a visit to the doctor? It would make me feel so much better.”
Her expression hardens and she shakes her head. “Sharks,” she tells me. “They’re all sharks. All they want is your money. Even if nothing is wrong, they’ll find something to make us pay. I won’t go.”
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “This is why we have health insurance, Abuela.”
She shakes her head, a stubborn glint in her eyes. “You know they don’t cover everything, especially for me. I won’t go.”
I nod reluctantly. It’ll take me a while to convince her to go, but I’ll have to. “Okay, Abuelita.”
I rest my head against her shoulder, a hundred different thoughts fighting for dominance in my mind. I’m worried about my grandmother, and though I won’t admit it, I truly am still hurt over Luca. He always warned me not to overstep our professional boundaries, but somewhere along the way, I did, and now I have to find a way to undo that. I can’t risk losing my job, not when my family needs me so much. I need to do better.
