Page 26 of Jetmir

Amara was by Gabriel’s side in an instant.

“I got him from here, Luis,” she said calmly as she held his hand and lifted up to kiss her husband’s cheek.

“I’ll see you all at the party,” Luis announced. “Well, all but the weird-looking dog.”

Then he promptly left, leaving me staring at my brother and his wife who even after three years still looked as happy and in love as if they were newlyweds.

Gabriel and Amara’s love was the only good thing that came out of the whole fiasco with Jetmir, although Gabriel should have never been hurt.

He lost his vision because I played with fire. Because I fell in love with a villain who built his world on schemes and half-truths, who treated people like pieces on a board and chaos like currency. One disaster after another followed in his wake, and in the end, my brother paid the price for every choice I should have walked away from.

The guilt wasn’t new; it never really left. It just waited for moments like this to remind me it was still there.

“Anya?” he called, the sound of my name pulling me sharply from my swarming thoughts. I moved quickly to his side.

“I’m great,” I said lightly, forcing a brightness I didn’t quite feel. I leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “But you’d better be careful. Isabella might not appreciate you calling me your favorite.”

Isabella Nikolaev was much older than Gabriel and the two shared a father, but she was too far removed from me. It was where the fact that Gabriel was technically my uncle came into play. Still, she’d always been part of our orbit, woven into the strange, complicated fabric of our lives.

Gabriel and I though… Our relationship was different.

We hadn’t simply grown up together. We had been shaped in the same home, under the same roof. He was there the day I was born, and I’d never known life without him in it. Our bond was solid, like something carved into bone, and we’d always have each other’s backs.

“You look handsome, brother,” I complimented. His tuxedo fit him perfectly and made his dark brown hair appear even darker. “Your wife better watch it. Women will be throwing themselves at you.”

Amara laughed, unperturbed.

She wasn’t the jealous type. It was almost unsettling, how easily she let things slide off her. No territorial flair, no instinct to claim the man as hers. Although she always stood by him; I saw it firsthand.

It was somewhat jarring when you compared it to us Santoses.

We had tempers that flared fast and hot, and jealousy that ran deep and instinctive, like something inherited rather than learned.

“It’s a good thing I have my wife watching out for me, then,” Gabriel joked. “Come on, you two. The party is probably in full swing by now.”

“Let me kiss my baby good night,” I said as I kneeled down and ruffled Dozer’s fur and kissed his smooth round head. “Be good. I won’t be long.”

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria just outside Miami. The decision had been made that this party would take place on a neutral ground, somewhere neither family could claim or control.

So here we were.

My parents met us there, waiting at the doorway. The moment they spotted me, they rushed to greet us.

“Here’s my preciosa,” my papa murmured, kissing my cheek. “Are you sure you want to do this? We still have time to leave.”

I smiled forcefully. “Of course. It’s all in the past.”

He watched me, zeroing in on any sign of discomfort. But I’d become highly skilled at hiding my feelings over the past years, so I knew he wouldn’t find anything. He must have been satisfied, because he nodded and said, “Okay, then. Let’s join this circus.”

He greeted Amara and Gabriel while Mama pulled me in for a hug. She kissed my cheek without a word, but she knew. Mama always knew.

As we started walking, she whispered, “Just let me know if you need anything. Anything. Okay?”

I nodded, but I would never tell her what I needed. I couldn’t even admit it to myself, because if I did, I feared I’d do something stupid again. Last time, it cost Gabriel his sight. What would it cost my family this time?

No, I would never tell anyone what, or who, I needed.

We entered the ballroom. It stretched wide and luminous, all polished marble floors and chandeliers that scattered light like shards of glass. The air carried a faint blend of expensive perfume, champagne, and the crisp bite of air-conditioning working too hard against the Florida heat. Somewhere beneath it all was the soft hum of restrained laughter and the unmistakable friction of people subtly measuring themselves against one another.