Little Miss Rich Bitch // {Ander Muñoz} ✓

ᴮᵒⁿᵘˢ

LAST SUMMER

Julieta stared silently at the flames of the campfire as her friends laughed loudly at a joke Guzmán had made. As much as she wanted to enjoy her summer with her friends, she was too distracted to even process what was going on around her, too busy worrying about the wedding she was scheduled to have by the end of the new school year. It had only become clear to her that she was getting married this morning when her father had informed her that Emilio was taking her ring shopping.

The brunette had been in such a trance that she hadn't noticed her friends getting up and heading inside Lu's house to get more marshmallows to roast over the makeshift campfire. Only when she felt her arm brush against something beside her did she snap out of it. The girl turned to see Ander looking down at her with a concerned look on his face. "Hey, are you okay? You've been quiet all night."

Julieta shrugged and looked back at the fire. "I've just got a lot on my mind, is all."

"Care to share?"

There was a short pause before the girl finally let out a sigh, laying her chin against her crossed arms that were resting on top of her knees. "Do you remember what I told you my dream job was when we were twelve?"

Ander immediately nodded, seemingly never able to forget anything the girl said. It was almost as if his mind made a special file, storing facts of all Julieta's favorite things. "A professional soccer player."

The girl smiled softly to herself, flattered at the fact that he remembered. "Well, I woke up this morning and it was like that dream was suddenly wiped away. It feels like- I don't even know...it's like the dream doesn't even exist anymore...and all that's left in its place is a wedding ring."

"You can still achieve your dream with a ring on your finger."

"As if my parents would ever let that happen." Julieta scoffed with an eye roll. "You remember how freaked my mom was when I quit ballet to join a soccer club. Do you really think she'd let the wife of a future CEO become a soccer player? It wouldn't be 'appropriate', she'd say. If I wanted a career then it should be something more 'elegant' and 'poised'. Something society wouldn't look down on."

The Muñoz teen nodded his head, understanding where she was coming from, however, chose to stay silent as he knew that she needed this moment to rant and let her anger and frustration out. It was something Ander had grown accustomed to ever since he met the girl. After a particular argument a few years ago that cause them to not speak to each other for nearly two week until Guzmán got fed up and locked them in a room together until they made up, the teen learned the hard way that Julieta had a bad habit of suppressing her feelings until one day, she just exploded. Like a million nuclear bombs going off at once, trying to disintegrate everything in its place.

"It's just so infuriating, you know? I feel like I'm living back in the 60's where men could do however they pleased and women just had to obey. I'm not a fucking puppet!" The brunette exclaimed angrily. "I have goals in life. I have things that I want to accomplish. I don't want to be a stay-at-home mother by the time I'm nineteen and depend on my husband for everything."

"And you won't." Ander protested, turning a full 90 degrees in his seat to look at the girl. "If I know anything about you, Julieta Suárez, is that you don't listen to what your parents say. You make your own rules. You're not the type to submit and just 'obey' and you shouldn't have to. You're the type to fight for what you believe in. Don't let a wedding ring hold you down."

Julieta shook her head softly and looked down at her hands. It was easier said than done. Not letting it hold her back would be the toughest thing she'd ever have to do. Because she knew the moment that ring was around her finger, she no longer had any control. It was like making a deal with the Devil, although in this case, she wasn't getting anything out of it. She was just selling her soul.