Chapter Sixteen
“Hey! I thought you got lost.”
Valentina stands up from the log and walks toward me. She puts her arms around me in a warm embrace. It feels so good to be held by her, but I know it’s a fleeting feeling. I want to hold on for a moment longer, but I pull away awkwardly.
“Yeah, I found them—it was pretty dark, so I had a tough time.”
“Well, I’m glad you made your way back,” she says, smiling warmly at me.
Every word she says digs and twists into my heart like a sharp knife.
I thought I had found my way back, but here I am, getting ready to push it all away.
I feel trapped. I know what I want, but they are two different things.
I want to be with Valentina, but I can’t lose the restaurant.
It would be like losing my father all over again.
“Yeah, well, we should get back to the group,” I reply coldly.
I walk toward the campfire, but Valentina grabs my hand and stops me.
I notice Silvana watching as she roasts another marshmallow.
I bet she wishes she had supersonic hearing to get the pleasure of listening to me break this off with Valentina.
I turn around to face Valentina. Her brows are furrowed. She looks confused.
“Is everything okay?” she asks.
“I just think we need to take some time apart.”
“Wait, what?” She laughs nervously. “I don’t understand. We just started this. Tonight. Why do we need time?”
I don’t even know how to respond, and I can’t get myself to even look into her eyes, worried I’ll burst into tears and look even more pathetic than I do now following Silvana’s orders.
“That’s the thing. I don’t think we should start anything, Val,” I say in an exhale. “We’re different people. Living different lives.”
“Why are you doing this? I thought things were going great,” she says, her voice rising as her panic grows.
“I won’t need your help with the investigation anymore, either. So you won’t have to worry about seeing me for the rest of the week.”
“Isa, what the fuck? I don’t understand what happened between you leaving to get marshmallows and now, but are you under some sort of spell? This doesn’t make sense, and frankly, I’m hurt.”
I know she won’t stop until she has real answers, but I can’t give them to her without exposing myself as a liar.
What’s worse? Breaking up with her because Silvana has blackmailed me, or her breaking up with me because I’ve been lying this entire time about who I am.
We’re from different worlds, and she could be with literally anyone else.
Someone who is more on her level. Someone who doesn’t carry the baggage of a failing business and an empty bank account.
Valentina has the world at her feet—opportunities, success, the kind of freedom I can barely imagine.
I can’t afford to offer her the experiences she deserves, the travel, the adventures, and the luxuries that she could easily find with someone else.
I barely scrape by as it is, and I know what it’s like to be with someone who can’t keep up.
The long hours, the stress of constantly trying to stay afloat—it’s broken down every relationship I’ve ever been in.
I can already feel the strain it would put on us.
She’d end up resenting me, or worse, I’d start resenting myself for not being able to give her what she deserves.
By walking away now, I’m giving her the chance to live her life without that weight, free to find someone who can give her the world without compromise.
She deserves a love that isn’t burdened by overworked nights and canceled plans.
Maybe by letting her go, I can do something right for her.
“Val, I just don’t want to be with you, okay? Just drop it. Go live your best life with a rich girlfriend who can give you whatever you want. Sleep in your luxury condo and have amazing dinners with world-renowned chefs. I can’t do this anymore.”
I notice through my peripheral that the campsite has gone silent. Everyone is looking in our direction. I turn my head and see Silvana grinning. I wish I could slap that smile right off her face. I just need to remind myself of the big picture. Why I really came here.
“I gotta go,” I say, tears filling up around my waterline.
“Isa, please don’t go like this. Can we talk?”
This could be it. The moment I tell her the truth. I want to. I do.
“No. There’s nothing to talk about. Just move on.”
I walk around her and head down toward the lake, past the campfire.
“Isabella!” Maria shouts from her seat.
I start running until I make it to the dock, slowly losing the light from the campfire.
I stand on the pier’s edge and gaze at the still and silent lake.
It is a chilly late summer night, and the water is probably freezing.
I take a deep breath and step off the dock, plunging into the darkness below.
A sense of weightlessness washes over me as I sink deeper into the water.
The icy water envelops my body, and I feel a sense of freedom and release that I didn’t realize I have been longing for.
Trying to keep up this facade to every guest. Securing the investment.
Trying to solve my father’s puzzles. Trying not to fall in love with Valentina.
The silence of the water is a welcome change from the constant noise of my thoughts and emotions.
As I swim deeper, my eyes adjust to the darkness, and I see the shimmering outlines of fish and plants beneath the water’s surface.
The moonlight dances on the ripples above, casting a soft, ethereal glow across the lake.
Despite the beauty of my surroundings, my heart is heavy.
I broke up with Valentina, and we have only seen each other for a day.
We just kissed for the first time a few hours ago.
I sink deeper into the water, letting it bring me down.
Suddenly I feel something grab my shoulder. I scream, losing all my air. I kick my legs until I reach the surface. As I emerge from the water, gasping for breath, I see Maria leaning on the dock, reaching into the water to save me.
“What the hell are you doing, pendeja? Don’t you think this is a bit dramatic?”
I grab onto the dock and pull myself up.
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s the appropriate amount of dramatic,” I say, squeezing my hair to release the lake water it’s absorbed.
“Dude, what happened? We all went from laughing and having a good time to watching you two yell in the darkness. Everything okay?”
“No, everything is not okay,” I say, and begin to cry.
“Damn, you’re crying now too? I did not sign up for this,” she groans, scooching closer and putting her arm around my shoulder. “Tell me everything.”
“We kissed.”
“Yeah, we all saw,” she quips.
I nod slowly.
“And that’s bad?”
“No, it was great. I thought we were going to, I don’t know, start dating or something. But I just broke it off.”
“Uh, why? Don’t tell me it’s because of your stupid quinceanera dress, or I will throw you back into the lake.”
I sway my feet around in the lake water. They’re almost numb from the icy temperature, but it feels nice.
“Silvana knows.”
“About you two?”
“Yes, but also about me. The restaurant. My mother. She knows everything. She knows I don’t know shit about this fancy stuff. She knows we’re still poor and struggling. And worst of all, she knows the restaurant is behind on the rent.”
“Holy fuck, how did she find out?”
I groan and lay back on the dock, staring at the clear sky.
The stars shine like diamonds against the inky blackness of the sky, twinkling and sparkling as if they are alive.
The longer I stare, the more stars I see until it seems the entire sky is alight with their brilliance.
They make my problems seem so small and insignificant.
“Hello? Are you going to tell me, stupid?”
“Maritza is dating Gabriel. The landlord,” I whine.
“No fucking way. This is some telenovela shit right here. I wish I had a camera so someone could record my dramatic reaction to the news.”
I look up to see her posing with different shocked faces.
“Can you take my life seriously for once?” I shout. “I’m spiraling.”
“All right, all right. You really want to know what I think?”
“Yes, of course.”
“You need to get your ass up and apologize to Valentina.”
“What? Why?” I yell back, sitting up on the dock.
“Because she’s a good person, Isa. You acted like a total dick, and she doesn’t understand why. You must apologize and explain everything—or at least some of it. You don’t have to go into the details, but she deserves to know what happened. Wouldn’t you want to know?”
I stay quiet for a moment, scraping a piece of wood from the dock with my fingernail, ultimately chipping the fresh manicure I got from the on-site manicurist.
“All right, fine,” I finally agree.
“Good. Now get up and go. I think I saw her go back to your cabin.”
“Okay, I’m going. Damn.”
I step off the dock and take a deep breath, feeling a sense of nervousness wash over me.
An uneasiness looms over me as I trek back to the cabin.
Everyone has dispersed from the campfire, and all that remains are soft embers glowing in the wood.
Walking along the dirt path, I feel the cool night air brush against my skin.
The full moon casts a delicate and ethereal glow across the campsite.
The scents of pine and wood smoke fill the air.
I try to shake off the nervousness, but it lingers.
The last time I walked alone in the dark in this direction, I was practically attacked.
I want to sprint to the cabin at full speed just to feel safe, but I’m not entirely ready to see Valentina’s face.
She must hate me already. As I make my way back to our cabin, I hear the distant hooting of an owl.
A few fireflies make their presence known by some bushes.
Finally, the cabin draws near. I pause for a moment to take in the view.
The cabin is cozy and inviting, a warm glow emanating from its windows.
A soft lantern lights the porch, and I can picture Valentina inside, relaxing while reading a book.
If tonight hadn’t happened, I would smile and crawl into her space, resting my head on her shoulder and pretending to read.
I’d slowly fall into a deep sleep, and she’d keep me safe and warm in her arms until the early morning.
This thought alone excites me into hastily walking up the steps and opening the door.
“Isa!” Valentina shouts, her eyes wide.
“Oh my God.” I can’t believe what I’m seeing.