Chapter 15
Triana~
I was such a mess that I had no choice but to call Sonia to tell her everything.
Not only was I still reeling from what my parents had done, but Kairo kissing me had changed everything, even if it wasn’t supposed to have.
No matter what, Kairo and I couldn’t have a future together, so I wasn’t sure what would come of that kiss, if anything.
Nonetheless, what I did know? I’d never been kissed like that before, and I could still feel him on my lips.
Still, when I’d gotten home, I had immediately called Sonia, then had sent Kairo a text, telling him that I was home, but that I also needed a moment, to which he had graciously granted me.
I also hadn’t heard from my brother, but he’d find out that I’d been fired soon enough.
In fact, I was kind of surprised that my parents weren’t already harassing him about the situation.
When a knock sounded on my front door, I raced to answer it, and when I saw Sonia standing on the other side, I couldn’t stop my eyes from immediately watering. I’d never felt this overwhelmed before, and I was just so damn happy to see her.
“What’s going on?” she asked as I stepped aside to let her in.
“My parents fired me,” I blurted, making her eyes widen with shock.
“What?”
I let out an exhausted sigh as we both made our way over to the couch, both of us needing to get comfortable for this. Since it wasn’t usual for me to drink at home, I didn’t have anything strong enough for this conversation, and I really should have stopped at the store on my way home earlier.
After we both got comfortable, I told her what happened. “They fired me after work today because I still refuse to marry Romelio. My father said that I didn’t deserve to benefit from our family if I wasn’t going to put our family first. He basically called me selfish, then disowned me.”
“That’s bullshit, Triana,” she bit out, always on my side. “You’ve always worked your ass off for your parents and their business.”
“Apparently, that doesn’t matter,” I replied dryly, wiping my eyes. “All they care about is how I’m ruining their good name by refusing to honor their arrangement.”
Sonia leaned back against the couch, her face looking as incredulous as I felt. “I...I don’t know what to say,” she stammered. “I mean...this is fucking wild, Triana. No one engages in arranged marriages anymore, and even if they did, disowning you seems rather...oh, I don’t know, insane.”
“That’s not all,” I told her, my heart beating faster inside my chest at just the thought of Kairo.
“Christ, there’s more?” she asked, flummoxed.
“I...” I let out a calming breath, scared to say the words, even to my best friend. “What I’m about to tell you, you can’t tell anyone, Sonia. I mean it. You can’t...you can’t utter a word about it to anyone.”
She immediately scowled. “You know me better than that.”
“I know,” I quickly assured her. “I do...it’s just...”
“Jesus, what is it?”
Steeling myself, I told her everything about Kairo from the first moment that I’d met him to what just happened earlier. I left nothing out, and I even admitted how I felt about him. After all, Sonia wasn’t going to be able to give me any useful advice if I wasn’t completely honest with her.
When I was finished, she stared at me in shock, her eyes wide. “Are you serious? I mean...is this for real? You’re not bullshitting me or having some kind of psychotic break?”
“Oh, I’m probably having a psychotic break, but I’m not lying,” I told her. “Kairo Booker kissed me, and I’m thinking about that more than I’m worried about being jobless.”
“Jesus Christ, Triana,” she remarked carefully. “I...I don’t know what to say. I mean, you know that...that nothing can come of this attraction between you two, right?”
I nodded dejectedly. “I know.”
After a few seconds, she said, “Okay, look...while this thing with Kairo Booker is...is huge, we need to discuss the aspects of your life that you can control, and that’s your next steps to finding a new job. That, or else you cave and marry Romelio.”
“I’m not marrying Romelio,” I told her. “I mean it. I’m not backing down on that. I will not allow my parents to control my life to such a stifling degree. Plus, Romelio hasn’t even reached out to me, and he has to know by now that I’ve said no, or else my parents wouldn’t be so pissed.”
“Well, we don’t know that for sure,” she replied softly. “Being so concerned with their supposed good name, they might be holding off telling him until they absolutely have to.”
“You might be right,” I conceded. “However, Romelio and his family will find out soon enough.”
“What do you think Tomasco will do?” she asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” I sighed. “He’ll be pissed, but I also don’t want him sacrificing his relationship with our parents. It’s no secret that he’s expected to take over the business once they retire, and in all honesty, this isn’t his battle to fight.”
“True, but you’re still his sister, Triana,” she said. “There’s no way that Tomasco is going to side with them.”
“No, he won’t,” I agreed. “Still, if I can keep him out of this mess, then I will.”
After a few seconds of silence, she said, “Okay, so...we’ll spend the rest of the evening creating your resumé, and then we’ll create a job search account and see what’s out there.”
“Honestly, I’m not even sure that I want to continue living here,” I confessed. “I’m so angry and hurt that I don’t even want to chance running into them at the store or anywhere.”
“Oh, Triana,” she whispered. “I...I’m so mad on your behalf that I hadn’t even considered how hurt you must feel right now.”
I shook my head, the tears coming again. “But if I move, then I’m leaving you and Tomasco, and that’s definitely something that I don’t want.”
“First off, as much as Tomasco and I would miss you, do not make any life choices based on what we want, Triana,” she said sternly. “After all, that’s what all this is about, right? If you’re going to make life decisions based on what we want, then you might as well marry Romelio.”
“No, I get that,” I sighed. “I really do. It’s just...it’s just everything, and I don’t know what to do about any of it. I feel like my emotions are all fighting each other in this...this tornado of chaos, and...I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
Sonia reached out to squeeze my leg. “Triana, even if you didn’t have all this...this craziness happening with your family, you know that you have to stop seeing Kairo Booker, right?’
“But why?” I asked like a stubborn child. “Why can’t he and I just...just enjoy this for a little while?”
“Look, I’m the first person to advocate for casual sex, but that’s not what you’re talking about,” she said.
“You said that you have feelings for him, and that’s a dangerous thing to have for someone that will only bring you misery, Triana.
You and Kairo Booker have no chance at a future, so why put yourself through the heartache that’s sure to follow if you don’t stop seeing him? ”
“He crossed the border just to kiss me, Sonia,” I reminded her. “I’ve never had a man want me like that.”
“While I get how that might impress a girl, shit like that will get the both of you arrested, Triana,” she pointed out. “This is serious, and more so since he’s Administrator Booker’s son.”
“So, I’m just supposed to forget that kiss?” I asked, my chest tightening with turmoil.
“Yes,” she answered brutally. “You need to forget that kiss and everything that is Kairo Booker. You need to forget him and focus your energy on getting a new job and figuring out what you’re going to do with your life now.”
I hated how right she was, and there really was a bigger picture to consider here.
Kairo Booker wasn’t just some random man that could get arrested without thought.
His father was a very important man, and it was even argued that he could have been President had we still lived in times when one was still elected.
If Alvin Booker ever found out that his son was breaking the law to be with someone from Rancher Hills, I could see him spinning the entire situation to appear as if I’d been the one to corrupt his son, and maybe I had been.
After all, it’d been me that had accidentally crossed the border, not Kairo.
“No, you’re right,” I said. “I need...Kairo Booker would just be another distraction that I don’t need.”
Sonia’s blue eyes narrowed. “You don’t sound convincing at all, Triana.”
“Maybe that’s because I’m not fully convinced that I can stay away from him,” I admitted. “I mean, I can try, but...but I can still feel his lips on mine, and...and it’s making me feel too many things.”
My best friend shook her head, but because she was my best friend, she said, “We’re going to give it a couple of days, give you some time to process all that’s happened, and then we’ll revisit both conversations.
If you still feel the same about Kairo Booker after you’ve had a chance to really think about everything, then...
well, I’ve been known to be a great alibi. ”
The tears immediately erupted, and when I felt Sonia wrap her arms around me, I got comfortable, then cried until the woman finally put me to sleep.