And so, the day for Omar’s family to finally meet Andrea’s family arrived. Since Thanksgiving was just around the corner, Dolores had decided that mixing the festivities with the not so cordial meeting would be best to cushion the scathing words that would undoubtedly be exchanged by the two families. Omar was the one most nervous about it all because he hadn’t told his parents about Andrea, or the fact that she was expecting his child. Having been brought up by strict parents, he was absolutely petrified to find out their reaction, even though he was turning 26 soon, their opinions still had a bearing over him.

Omar had always been the black sheep of the Pedrad family. The youngest of five, he was usually left to his own devices hence his wild behavior and lack of caring for consequences of his actions. He knew for a fact that they would be pissed, he had imagined the scenario several times over the past couple of months in his head. Adding Mr. Dos Ramos to the mix was just going to make it all the worse. At least his wouldn’t be there; that would have been the icing on top of the cake.

A big dinner hosted by the Dos Ramos family at their luxurious mansion would seem like an event anybody would want to attend, except for Ximena. She still didn’t agree with Emilio’s ultimatum and the thought of her baby sister being given off in a marriage of convenience, like she had, made her feel nauseous. By now she was well aware that nobody would dare attest to Emilio’s wishes so she had kept her mouth shut and prayed for an opportunity to somehow weasel her way out of the ordeal.

About a week from Thanksgiving, her divorce with Adriano would be finalized and they would part their ways. And she was still very much conflicted about it. It didn’t help either that when they had met up the previous week with their lawyers, he had begged her not to go through with it. It was sad to watch but since her father had been in the room, along with Humberto who looked somehow pleased with the situation, she had tried so hard to not let it show that she was on the verge of tears.

It was no longer about what she wanted, but it was about what her father had told her to do. He was a stubborn man, and this time around he wouldn’t budge even though she hadn’t voiced her thoughts to him. Chelsea had been right, she ought to have given Adriano a chance to explain himself.

But she couldn’t get Amanda’s words out of her mind.

Before you stupidly ask, Adriano and I have known each other for some time now. In fact, he was mine before he was ever yours. And judging by what we just did, hmm, he still is mine. He has tattooed himself all over my body and heaven knows he’s an expert at that. But you wouldn’t know what that’s like right? Because he’s never been with you. And you know why? Because he doesn’t love you; he loves me.

Maybe a divorce is exactly what she needed, or so she tried desperately to make herself believe…so desperately. This is the right thing to do, right? She asked herself mentally over and over again. Chelsea walked into her room a moment later, looking all dolled up from a ad she had just shot for some skin care line.

She smiled broadly at Ximena. “Guess who’s going out tonight?” she spoke, and then did a twirl miraculously in the six-inch Louis Vuitton’s she was wearing.

“You are?” Ximena asked, as she continued to go over the contract, she had been working on for an oil field that had requested to do business with them in Saudi Arabia. Since she wasn’t yet 100% okay, she had been granted permission to work from home for the time being.

Chelsea strutted over to her bed and shut her laptop, receiving a cyan glare. “Put that damn work stuff away and go look for something to wear. We are going out tonight,” she demanded impatiently, flipping her brown locks for good measure.

“You do realize that there’s a dinner downstairs that I am required to attend, right?” Ximena asked sarcastically and Chelsea scoffed.

“Yeah, I know that but papa Emilio and mama Lola said it’s fine for you to miss it. The only people that actually can’t miss it are Omar and his parents, who should be here soon. Now, I don’t know about you but I don’t not want to be here when he tells them he knocked up a teenager so get your plump butt off that couch and into your closet,” she added cheekily as she dragged Ximena off the couch and began to push her towards her walk-in.

“But I don’t want to,” She whined and then pouted like a child. “I still can’t walk properly and my mood is awful today.”

Once in the closet, Chelsea flicked on the light and began to peruse her dress section. “Please, you’re walking just fine sweetheart. Besides, it’s thanksgiving. We should be out there, celebrating and giving thanks for the fact that we’re young, successful and beautiful,” she told her, picking out an orange halter neck cocktail dress and held it against her friend’s body. She shook her head and then put it back in place, before shuffling through again.

Ximena sighed. “I really don’t have a say, do I?”

“Nope.”

After ten minutes of searching, they both found one dress that Ximena owned but had never worn before. It was a navy-blue Arabic sheath cocktail knee-length dress. The design was intricate, with one arm sleeveless and the other had a flurry sleeve curtaining it. Her back was pretty much exposed and the back had a slight slit. The color perfectly complimented her skin tone and accentuated all the curves she had.

She decided to wear the same gold 4-inch pumps she had worn at her birthday gala, a strong sense of nostalgia hitting her as she slipped her feet into them. She could still vividly remember the night, how Adriano had behaved like such a gentleman, his jealous fit that had culminated in them sharing their first kiss. His lips felt so good on hers, like she could never get enough of them and his hands, they held her like she was a fragile piece of porcelain.

“Hmm, what’s that blush about Mena?” Chelsea teased her, as she worked on curling her black hair. Ximena blushed even harder and looked away from the mirror, embarrassed at having been figured out. All the while she had been playing with the ring on her finger subconsciously. “You still love him, don’t you?” she asked softly.

Ximena nodded her head slowly. “So why don’t you just give him a chance to explain. Maybe he didn’t do what you think he did.”

She bit her lip. “I c-can’t. I really want to b-but it’s hard for me to think about being in the same room with him alone-,”

“Because you’re afraid you’ll give into him?” Chelsea remarked with a knowing smirk and Ximena covered her face. “I think that all he wants to do is just talk, Mena. But I guess you’re afraid to go against your father and end up disappointing him, right? One day you’re going to have to put on some big girl panties and disregard what daddy thinks, okay? Running away from your problems won’t help you this time around,” she said earnestly and then retrieved a can of hair spray. Once done, Ximena coated her lips in lip gloss and stood up to grab her gold clutch.

They both made their way downstairs, where it the scent of well-cooked turkey was wafting in the air. After bidding farewell to everybody, the exited the house and got into Chelsea’s Mercedes-Benz Maybach. First off, they began the night with dinner at an upscale sushi place that they frequently went to whenever they had an outing together. It felt like it had been ages since Ximena had just gone out, grabbed a bite to eat and laugh about practically anything with the one person she would never get tired off.

They snapped some selfies over dinner, and in the parking lot before they hopped back into the car. Chelsea had just drifted into the late-night Miami traffic when her mood changed to a serious one. “You know I love you right? You’re the sister I’ve never had and I genuinely want to see you happy.”

Ximena smiled. “Yeah, I know. You’re the sister that I would have wanted to have, don’t tell Andrea I said that though.” They both chuckled at this.

“I need you to grab something from the glove compartment,” Chelsea coughed awkwardly and Ximena frowned but obliged. She turned and then saw that they was a purple blindfold in there. She held it in her hand and stared at it in awe. What the hell was Chelsea doing with a blindfold in her car?

“What’s this? Why do you have this?”

“I want you to put it on.”

“Why?” Ximena inquired, an alarm bell going off in her mind. Something didn’t seem right.

“Well, I have a surprise for you. Our next location is a secret so if you would kindly put the blindfold on,” she said in a saccharine voice, trying hard to not seem like she was up to something. But Ximena had long caught the drift, and curiosity was now floating around in her mind.

“Okay,” she said and then willingly put the blindfold on. “I hope this surprise of yours is worth all this suspense and intrigue, Chels.”

Chelsea remained quiet before clearing her throat. “Oh, it is. It’s something that you’ll thank me for much much later, if you don’t hate me for it afterwards,” she mumbled the last part and continued to drive to their unknown destination.

The rest of the car ride was silent, save for the trendy tunes that were resonating from the Mercedes’ lekker stereo. Ximena sang along to most of them, totally oblivious to the fact that she was in the midst of a grand scheme. About forty-five minutes later, Chelsea brought the car to a halt. “Are we there yet?” Ximena asked her and she hummed in response. Exiting the car, Chelsea came over to Ximena’s side, opened the door and helped her out of the car.

She handed her her clutch and held her in her arms for support. “You better not let me fall, Chels. I’m trusting you with my life here. Gosh, why do I feel like the protagonist in some horror movie who is about to be led to slaughter like a lamb?” she laughed, but Chelsea didn’t.

“It could be more or less along those lines.”

Ximena stopped walking. “What do you mean by that?”

“Forget I said anything.”

They proceeded to walk a couple of steps forward before they stopped again. Chelsea sounded a doorbell. It seemed like they were at somebody’s house, but whose house was it? About half a minute later, the door opened. Chelsea moved her into the inside, she could tell because the winter breeze no longer was biting her skin and the interior was remarkably warmer.

Ximena felt herself being transferred from one pair of arms she was familiar with to another pair of arms that felt firm and masculine. She stumbled into the stranger’s chest and caught a whiff of their spicy cologne. There was no doubt in her mind that this person was a man, but why did his scent smell so recognizable? It was a fragrance she was accustomed too, that she’d breathed in so many times…

“Chelsea, where are we?” she asked in a trembling voice but received only silence.

Chelsea’s heels began to click away and the door was opened. “I hope you two work things out and hopefully by the time I come back around tomorrow, everything will be fine. Adios!” she hollered before shutting the door behind her.

It was now just the two of them. By now it was becoming abundantly clear who the other person was. So, when she finally ripped over the stupid blindfold she wasn’t too surprised to find a pair of arresting jade orbs staring back at her, matched with a lopsided grin.

“Hello, my spoiled little brat.”

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Sike! I bet I had you all there for a second 😂. But honestly guys, were you expecting that? I really enjoyed writing this chapter....gave me goosebumps.

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