Chapter 3 WHISPERS AND WOUNDS

Three days later

Rodrigo noticed it the moment he stepped into the bookstore: the shift in energy.

The customers were quieter. Glances lingered longer than they should have. A woman browsing cookbooks nudged her friend, whispering behind a forced smile.

Nattie didn't greet him.

She was behind the counter, her posture stiff, her eyes unreadable as she rang up a stack of children's books for a young mother. She didn't look at him-not once.

Rodrigo waited.

When the store emptied, he approached the counter. "Did I do something?"

Nattie didn't look up. "No."

"Then why does it feel like you're avoiding me?"

She finally raised her gaze, her voice sharper than he'd ever heard it. "Because I don't know what's true anymore."

He froze. "What do you mean?"

She held up her phone. On the screen, a headline:

"Rodrigo Sanchez Disgraced? Rumours of Corporate Scandal Surface in L.A."

Another article followed, speculating about fraud, betrayal, and internal sabotage at Sanchez Global Holdings. Rodrigo's name was splashed across every line.

Rodrigo exhaled slowly. "It's not what it looks like."

"Isn't it?" Nattie asked, eyes narrowing. "You never told me why you really came here."

"I came here to breathe," he said, voice low. "To escape the mess my brother created."

"Or the one you created?"

There it was-the doubt. Not just from strangers, but from her.

Rodrigo stepped back, as if her words had slapped him. "You think I'm hiding something?"

Nattie crossed her arms. "I know you're hiding something. The question is, what?"

He didn't answer. Because there was too much to explain-and no way to explain it without dragging his whole broken family into the light.

Back in Barcelona, Bernado sat with a glass of scotch in hand, watching it all unfold. His rumour campaign had caught fire faster than expected. News outlets were eating it up. The timing was perfect.

Rodrigo was on the defensive. And Nattie?

Exactly where Bernado wanted her-angry, uncertain, and on the verge of walking away.

He leaned back in his chair, smiling at the screen. "Let love chew on lies for a while. Let's see what survives."

Meanwhile, Nattie stood alone in the bookstore after closing, replaying Rodrigo's voice in her head.

"I came here to breathe."

He sounded sincere. Hurt, even.

But sincerity meant nothing when it came from a Sanchez. She'd watched her father crumble beneath that name.

And now, here one was again. In her life. In her heart.

Nattie locked the door and turned off the lights. But even in the dark, her mind wouldn't rest.

Because a new thought was creeping in.

What if Rodrigo was telling the truth?

And worse-what if her heart wanted to believe him?