Chapter 2
Carlo and I were high school classmates.
Rich, arrogant troublemaker vs. poor, studious good girl.
Soon, the teacher made us desk mates.
Everyone expected me to be bullied. Shockingly, he seemed to change.
Hair dyed back. Stopped sleeping in class. Arrived early to wipe my desk clean.
A group of guys from the trade school started cornering me, demanding my number.
He found out, went after them alone like he had a death wish.
That day, eight stitches. Facing his parents' rage, he never said it was for me.
Seeing his bruised face, I cried.
Like magic, he pulled a wild rose from his pocket, a smile in his eyes.
"Aylin, I was actually out picking this for you. Dealing with those jerks was just on the way," he said.
Sunlight through the blinds lit his serious face.
"If you really feel bad, be with me. I genuinely like you," he said to me.
On my 18th birthday, he took me to his house.
I remembered clearly. His mother looked at me, blank-faced.
"Our family can accept someone without background. But we don't need a docile girl. We need someone who can stand with Carlo, a strong partner. Not a little flower needing his protection," she said.
Carlo flared up, said that was what he liked.
I carved those words into my mind.
For years after, I pushed relentlessly. Studied, grew.
To do business, I learned strategy. To smoke, to drink. Everyone called me "Miss Carter."
But the look in his eyes grew more complex.
Once, drunk, he hugged me, nuzzled my shoulder, then sighed on the couch. "Aylin, I still prefer how you used to smell. Like a little flower."
I just smiled, settled him, went back to contracts all night.
*****
I got home, slept all afternoon heavily.
Woke to a blown-up phone. Family, friends.
Even Carlo's mother had called over a dozen times to inquire about what happened.
After all these years, his parents approved of me. It was Carlo who had drifted away.
I texted, my finger on the screen. [Mrs. Rivers, it's not about that. Carlo and I just aren't right for each other anymore.]
Sending it, I lay in bed, watching dusk fade to dark.
The door opened, a chill entered. Someone climbed in, wrapped around me.
"Babe," his warm breath fanned my neck. "Today was my fault. I shouldn't have said those things. But you gotta understand, I'm the boss. If something happens to my employee, it's bad for my rep.
"I had her fired. Forgive me, okay? I'll take time off, stay home with you."
His breath hitched, his hands wandered. I pushed him away forcefully.
Carlo sobered up.
"Why?" He grabbed my wrist. "You're rejecting me?"
I stared numbly into his dark eyes. "You slept with your assistant. Didn't you?"
Even knowing, I wanted to hear it.
Two seconds of silence. Then he said, "No. Who told you that?"
I knew him too well.
His pause was the answer.
"You're lying. You did," I said.
My voice was terrifyingly calm. "She told me herself. Want me to call her right now and ask, with you here?"
His breathing grew heavy. "I'm sorry."
Then he dropped to his knees, wrapped his arms around me tight, tears pouring. "Aylin, I really love you. We can fix this, face it together, okay?
"Please. It wasn't on purpose. Don't leave me. I can't live without you."
He cried harder, his arms like steel.
He knew. Before, this always made me soften. I never refused him.
But this time, fighting the pain in my chest, I said, "Carlo. It's over."
I, Aylin Carter, didn't want a man who'd been with someone else.