Rosa giggled at Cecilio's cheesy lines.
"You're terrible at flirting, Cecilio. Now get out," she said, nudging him with a grin that betrayed her softness.
"But I miss you already," he whined dramatically. "I don't want to go."
She rolled her eyes. "When did you become such a baby? If you don't leave right now, I'm not moving into that beach house with you." Her voice was stern, but her fingers still curled around his hand like she didn't believe her own threat.
"Fine, I'll go..." he sighed
except Rosa didn't let go.
Cecilio caught it instantly, swooped in, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her forehead like she was the center of his universe.
"I know you don't want me to leave," he said, half laughing.
"That's a lie," she muttered
a lie they both heard cracking around the edges.
"I know," he hummed, holding her even tighter.
"I'll just drop these papers at the club so Parez can help us find a buyer," Cecilio said. "Then I'll run straight back to you."
"Why can't I go?"
He sighed,, the loving, dramatic kind.
"We're not doing this again, Rosa. There's going to be smoke everywhere, and what if someone tries to make you drink? Either way it's bad for your health. So it's a no no. You are not stepping foot in there again."
His tone was firm... but his voice? Warm as sunrise.
Rosa chuckled. "Okay, I got it, sir. Just hurry back."
"Missing me already?"
"No," she scoffed, hiding her face with her hair. "I'm just worried I'll have to pack alone. It's a hassle."
"Okay, baby," Cecilio said, smiling. "I'll hurry back..."
He paused at the door, turned, and let the words fall out like a quiet blessing:
"I love you, Rosa."
The sound of it washed through her,, a warm wave, a lucky coin tossed at her feet.
When the door shut, she stood in front of the mirror, cheeks flushed, heart pounding.
"I love Cecilio," she whispered. "I love him very much."
She pressed her palms to her cheeks, trembling with realization.
"That's it. I want to say it to him."
She ran to the balcony, ready to shout it into the street
but Cecilio was already gone.
Her hand hovered over her phone.
She almost called.
Then she shook her head.
"No... I want to say it to his face. I want to see his reaction. I want him to say it back. I want to kiss him..."
She touched her lips, smiling softly.
"I miss him already."
She leaned on the railing, voice barely a whisper carried by the wind:
"Hurry back, Cecilio... I have something to tell you."
Is this real? Tomorrow I'll move into the beach house with Rosa... finally. No drugs, no violence. Just our love and the sea."
He smiled faintly. "I miss her already."
"Follow that car! It belongs to Rosa."
Gael's voice crackled like static fury. "Because of her, all my plans to find Antonio's son have been ruined. If she keeps getting in the way, then take her out.
Cecilio's car was cornered,,one vehicle blocking the front, another sliding in behind him. A trap. It didn't take a genius to see they wanted him dead.
He didn't hesitate.
He sliced through the tiniest gap, metal shrieking, and the two cars behind him smashed into each other, erupting into a brutal collision. The crash roared like something alive.
But more cars came.
More danger.
Cecilio slammed his foot on the gas and tore down the highway, dragging them into a violent chase. One of the pursuing cars swerved too sharply, flipping over the edge of the bridge,,
vanishing into the ocean below with a splash so loud the bystanders screamed.
Shots exploded across the open street.
People scattered, running for their lives as bullets tore the air apart. Cecilio didn't slow,,he pushed through the chaos, eyes locked on the flashing police lights waiting at the far end of the bridge.
Safety.
He was inches,,,three inches,,,away from salvation.
Then the shot hit him.
Breaking news from the coastal highway," the reporter announced, her voice thin with barely-contained panic. "Police are responding to what appears to be a violent, coordinated car chase involving multiple vehicles. Eyewitnesses report gunfire, explosions, and a major collision on the east bridge"
Rosa didn't hear the rest.
Rosa stepped onto the balcony barefoot, the tiles cold beneath her skin, the night air brushing against her like an unwelcome omen.
She wrapped her arms around herself, staring down the street as though sheer will could pull Cecilio back to her.
"He's late," she whispered.
But the words felt wrong...too small, too tidy for the storm in her chest.
She tried to laugh at her own anxiety… but the sound died before it left her lips.
No. Something was off.
Her heart knew it before her mind dared admit it.
Her fingers shook as she grabbed her phone.
"Just call him. Just ask when he's getting here," she muttered, pacing the balcony like a trapped bird.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Then someone picked up.
But it wasn't Cecilio.
A ragged breath, the sound of sirens, someone shouting instructions in the background.
"Emergency Medical Services," a man said. His voice was steady,,,but behind him the world was chaos. "Are you the owner of this number? We're trying to identify the injured."
Rosa's heart simply… stopped.
She didn't breathe.
Couldn't breathe.
She gripped the railing until her knuckles whitened.
"Injured…?" She choked. "W-who… who is injured? Where's Cecilio? Put him on the phone. Please...put him on."
There was a pause. the kind that only happens when someone is searching for the softest way to destroy a life.
Papers rustled. A radio crackled. Someone screamed in the distance.
And then...
"Ma'am… the phone was found at the scene of a collision on the coastal bridge. We have a male,,mid-thirties.
critical condition. Are you a family member?"
Something inside Rosa shattered so violently she swore she heard it.
"I'm…" Her throat closed. She pressed a shaking hand to her mouth as if she could physically hold in the scream clawing to escape.
"I'm his girlfriend."
The words were barely sound,more a whimper than a sentence.
"He...he's okay, right? He's going to be okay… right? Just tell me he's okay,
please...please...please..."
Silence stretched thin as wire.
Someone shouted "He's crashing!" in the background.
Rosa nearly vomited.
"Ma'am, we're doing everything we can. You need to come immediately."
The phone slipped from her hand.
Hit the ground.
But she didn't hear it.
The world had gone silent.
She dropped to her knees, breath ripping from her chest in jagged, helpless sobs. Her palms slammed against the cold tiles,once, twice,,like she was trying to wake herself from a nightmare.
"No… no… Cecilio… not today… you promised…"
Her voice was shaking so violently she could barely form the words.
Tears streamed, unstoppable, dripping onto the concrete as though she was dissolving right there on the balcony.
He needs me… he needs me," Rosa whispered, wiping her tears with the back of her shaking hand. Not now. Not now.
"This isn't the time to fall apart. Cecilio promised me...he promised he'd come back, that we'd travel together, that we'd finally live like normal people."
Her breath hitched, but she forced herself upright.
"The coastal bridge… it's not far. I can reach him. I can reach him if I run. Cecilio, you told me you'd return. You swore it."
Her voice cracked, breaking open like something fragile dropped on concrete.
"You don't get to leave me. Not today. Not like this. You promised me, Cecilio… you promised me."
She grabbed the phone with trembling fingers and forced herself up, stumbling, tripping over her own steps as she ran.
All she felt was the terror,,ancient, bone-deep, suffocating.
"I should've gone with him,why didn't I go?" she sobbed, breath hitching, lungs burning.
"It should've been me, you will not die today cecilio...not today.
Her vision blurred with tears, the streetlights melting into rivers of gold. Every step was a plea. Every heartbeat was a prayer she didn't even know how to say.
"Cecilio…"
His name left her lips like a dying wish.
And she ran into the night like a woman sprinting toward the edge of the world.