Page 63 of In a Perfect World

Chapter 32

Kairo~

I was waiting by the tree, my heart in my throat, my lungs refusing to work.After Triana’s release had made the headlines, I had left countless text messages and voicemails, begging her to meet me, and two days later, I had finally received a text back, agreeing to see me.

This also wasn’t about taking credit for getting her home.When my father had called Benicio Cortez to tell him about the ‘rumor’ that he’d heard, Benicio had been quick to take advantage of the situation.With the world viewing the RNA as if the country was without any redeeming qualities, Triana getting arrested had presented the perfect opportunity for the RNA to play the victim and garner some sympathy from other nations.Mexico was going to look like the bad guy here, and rightfully so.At least, in this situation.

So, after Triana’s release had made headlines, my father had called me to inform me that she’d be heading home and nothing more.In order for Benicio Cortez to milk this for all that he could, it wouldn’t serve his agenda to have Triana arrested for trying to flee the RNA.So, if only for political reasons, she was free to move on with her life, and while I couldn’t be happier for her, if she moved on without me, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to handle that.

When I finally heard the familiar sounds of her footsteps echoing through the foliage, I looked over to see Triana walking towards the cherry blossom tree, dressed like a celebrity that was doing everything that she could to hide from the paparazzi, which I could hardly blame her.Right now, she was the biggest story in the world, and I could only imagine the barrage of public scrutiny that she was suffering from the press.

Nevertheless, the dark jeans, t-shirt, jacket, and baseball cap did nothing to distract from that stunning face of hers, and my chest felt like my lungs were never going to work again.In fact, I felt lightheaded from just the sight of her, knowing that I had let her down in the worst way.

As soon as she was next to the tree, she said, “You have to quit calling and texting me.”

It hurt to hear that, but I’d been expecting as much.“If that’s what you really want, then why haven’t you blocked me yet?”

“Because I know that your father called Benicio Cortez on my behalf, and so I didn’t want to block you just yet,” she answered brutally.“On the off chance that I need to speak with him to get our stories straight, I thought it’d be best to still be able to get a hold of him, even if it’s through you.”

“Baby, I’m so fucking sorry-”

She put her hand up to stop me, and I wisely shut my mouth.Whatever she was owed, I was more than willing to pay it, and that included holding my tongue, so that she could get all of her hurt and frustration off her chest.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think, and I think that the apologies are pointless when we were both wrong,” she said.

“No, I’m the one who was in the wrong here-”

“Yes, you are,” she agreed.“But you’re not the only one.We were both in the wrong the second that we came back here after that first day, and I can own that.”

“So, is this the part where you tell me that these past few weeks were a mistake?”I asked through clenched teeth, doing my best to take the hits that I deserved, but really fucking struggling.

“Yes,” she replied evenly, and if I could have anything in the world right now, it’d be a do-over.

“No, they weren’t,” I argued.“Except for me not being honest with you about Mexico, nothing about us was a mistake.”

“Everything about us was a mistake,” she countered.“I mean, what had we’d been thinking?To meet here for the rest of our lives like idiots?”

“No,” I replied firmly.“I planned on filling out the petition-”

“Again, was the plan to meet here for the rest of our lives?”she retorted.“Because you and I both know that no petitions are ever approved, especially one entered byyou.”