It's You

Chapter 21

The ballroom blurred. Music swelled. And for the first time in years, I felt something I swore I'd buried rage, not at enemies, but at the thought of another man daring to touch what should never have been his.

This was supposed to be a night of tradition. Of legacy. Of the Rebello name shining brighter than any scandal or shadow.

But as I stood there, the eldest son, with a woman from my past clinging to me and the woman I couldn't stop craving slipping further from my reach.
I knew this ball was going to be war.

-----

I don't know how long I've been watching her.

It could've been seconds.
Could've been an hour.
All I know is my body hasn't moved and my mind won't shut the fuck up.

She's still near Estella, smiling like the world hasn't spun off its axis.
Like she doesn't feel me staring at her with every broken piece of my restraint.

Alexus is still talking to her. Leaning in. Too close.
He's laughing at something she said, and she smiles polite, soft, maybe even real.

And fuck, that smile should be mine.

Emily says something again beside me, and this time I don't answer.
I just step slightly to the left enough to get a clear line of sight.

And maybe , Maybe that's what does it. Because in that exact second...

She looks up.

And her eyes find mine.

Across the chandeliers.
Across the violins.
Across the storm we left unsaid.

Brown into green.

And the noise in the room disappears.

It's not a surprise in her eyes. Not anger. Not even guilt.

It's something quieter. Recognition. Like she knew I'd be watching. Like she was hoping I would.

But she doesn't smile. She doesn't blink.

She just holds it. That look. Like it's the last thing she'll give me.

And God my heart fucking riots in my chest.

Because in that single glance, I feel everything I've been trying to kill inside me.

The night.The weight of her on top of me.
Her voice when she said, "Ruin me."

And then, just like that 

She looks away.

Back to her drink.
Back to Alexus.
Back to the version of herself that doesn't break for me anymore.

And I...I stop breathing. Because that glance? It was all I needed.

And it wasn't nearly enough.

Author's POV

The ballroom was alive.
Crystal chandeliers spilled golden light over velvet drapes, and the floor buzzed with laughter, whispers, and the slow hum of violins. The air was thick with perfume, expensive wine, and secrets people wore better than their gowns. Chaitra lingered near the edge, her fingers clutching the stem of her glass like it might anchor her in this world that wasn't hers.

Ten days.
Ten fucking days she had wrestled with herself, with the silence Zach left behind. He hadn't reached out once. Not a call. Not a text. Nothing. She told herself it was better that way—she didn't want to feel guilty, didn't want to betray Jay any more than she already had. And yet... in the quiet moments, her chest had burned with a longing she hated to admit.

Her mind kept looping back—Jay's touch, Zach's stare, the way her heart tripped over itself whenever the two collided inside her. Guilt tangled with desire until she didn't know where one ended and the other began. She thought Zach was avoiding her. And she was glad. Or at least she pretended to be.

Until now.

The room shifted when Estella walked in. Heads turned, whispers darted through the crowd like sparks. Chaitra's breath caught in her throat. Estella—gliding across the floor, every inch a woman who knew her worth, who wore her Rebello name like a crown.

That was it.
Rebello.

The realization slammed into Chaitra like cold water. Estella wasn't just another striking guest. She was Zach's blood. Part of the family. And with that came the danger—if Estella spoke, if Estella hinted, her carefully kept secrets could unravel in seconds. The fear clawed up her spine, cold and merciless.

But even as panic rose, her body betrayed her.
Because he was here.

Zach.

She felt him before she saw him. That damn presence, heavy and magnetic, pulling at her like gravity had chosen sides. He hadn't touched her, hadn't even looked at her yet, and still her skin remembered. Her chest betrayed her with that same treacherous ache she'd been trying to bury for ten days.

Her mind screamed walk away.
Her heart whispered you missed him.

The guilt was still there, coiled like a snake in her stomach. The fear was louder than the music around her. But none of it mattered the moment his eyes finally found hers across the glittering hall.

And just like that, every carefully built wall she had stacked over the last ten days began to crumble.