The air smelled of salt and brine, heavy with the weight of the sea.

    Alejandro stood at the edge of the pier, the wooden nks beneath his shoes creaking softly as the ocean stretched out before him.

    He hade here because it was one of the few ces that didn’t demand anything from him. No guards, no family politics, no weight of responsibility pressing down on his shoulders. Just waves. Endless, ceaseless waves.

    The ce had been his retreat for years–a ce only a handful of people knew he came to when he needed to think..

    He had always preferred spots like this: open yet private, exposed to the vastness of nature but hidden enough that no one would disturb hirm

    He shoved his hands into his pockets, staring at the horizon.

    He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps approach behind him. Steady, unhurried, familiar.

    He didn’t have to turn for he already knew who it was.

    “Why did you call me here?” William’s voice carried the kind of patience Alejandro had always known in him.

    William had never needed to raise his voice tomand respect.

    Alejandro’s lips curved faintly, humorless. “I wanted silence. You just happened to answer the phone.”

    William came to stand beside him, folding his arms as he gazed out at the water. The man’s hair had silvered over the years, but his presence hadn’t

    dulled.

    Where Alejandro’s father had been a storm, William had been the steady anchor in the aftermath both inside the family and beyond it.

    Unlike Miguel–Alejandro’s father–William had never wielded his authority with cruelty. He had been the closest thing Alejandro had to a father bfigure/b, even when Miguel tried to keep them apart.

    They stood together in silence for a moment, listening to the waves hit the pier. Then Alejandro spoke, his voice casual but edged with something sharper beneath.

    “How long has it been now? With you and Aunt?”

    William’s head turned slightly, a brow raised. “Almost thirty years. Why?”

    Alejandro shrugged, eyes still fixed on the water. “Just curious.”

    William gave a small chuckle. “You’ve never been the type to ask about marriage out of curiosity, Alejandro.”

    Ignoring the jab, Alejandro pressed, “You and aunt,” he began, his eyes fixed on the moonlit. Even though it didn’t appear as such but it took a lot of courage to even talk about the matter.

    “It wasn’t always… like this, was it?”

    William arched a brow but didn’t look away from the “Like what?”

    Alejandro shrugged as if the question barely mattered. “You two. I’ve seen the way you look at her, even now, after decades. You didn’t even want to

    you still can’t seem to get marry her at first. Yet thirty yearster, you still/..i” /iHe gestured vag

    The morning sun filtered through the curtains, pulling Nivera out of a restless sleep. She blinked against the light, rubbing her temples.

    For the first time in days, Nivera forced herself out of bed without lingering too long in thought. She had cried herself into resolve the night before, and this morning, she reminded herself of it.

    She needed her life back.

    She sat up sharply, swinging her legs off the bed. Today would not be wasted inside these suffocating walls, drowning in thoughts about Alejandro. She needed to get her life in order, piece by piece.

    The first step: independence.

    Her bank card had beenpromised months ago, and with Alejandro practically caging her in this mansion, she hadn’t had the chance to rece it.

    If she wanted any shot at leaving–and she was determined to leave–she needed ess to her own money.

    After a quick shower and light makeup to cover the faint bruising still lingering on her cheek, she changed into a simple cream blouse tucked into loose jeans and swept her hair into a loose ponytail. It wasn’t anything morous, but it would do.

    When she descended the stairs, Darren was already by the door. Alejandro must have instructed him to tail her, but for once, she didn’t protest.

    If a bodyguard was the price she had to pay for some freedom, she’d take it.

    The city was alive when they stepped out–cars honking, vendors shouting, and the hum of life she’d been starved of in Alejandro’s mansion.

    Yet, as she walked toward the bank, a strange prickling crept over the back of her neck. It was the unmistakable sensation of eyes. following her.

    She slowed and nced over her shoulder, wanting to see who was watching her, but there was nothing.

    Just people going about their morning–an old woman bncing a basket of oranges, two men arguing at a corner, and a teenage girl on her phone.

    She let out a shakyugh under her breath, trying to shake it off.

    ‘You’re being paranoid,‘ she told herself.

    “Is something wrong, miss?” Darren asked, his tone casual but his gaze sharp, scanning their surroundings.

    “No,” she said quickly, brushing it off. She didn’t want him reporting back to Alejandro that she was imagining things. “Just the

    heat.”

    But as they entered the bank, the feeling persisted, wrapping around her like an invisible cloak. Her pulse quickened even as she forced herself to focus.

    Recing her card took longer than expected–forms, signatures, verification. The clerk assured her the new card would be mailed to her address within days.