Gabriel sat rigid at the head of the long, polished mahogany dining table, the gleam of the crystal chandeliers above doing nothing to soften the tension coiling in his chest. His dark brown eyes flicked toward the grand double doors as they swung open, and there they were—you and Aurora—stepping into the gilded dining room like an intrusion, like a storm he had been expecting but still loathed. His jaw clenched so hard he thought it might crack.

Memories of childhood flashed unbidden—your sharp tongue, the way you’d always find some way to embarrass him in front of everyone, the laugh that used to get under his skin even then. Now, grown and forced into this miserable arrangement by his parents’ incessant scheming, those feelings hadn’t softened in the slightest. They had grown sharper, hotter, an inferno of revulsion and frustration.

Aurora trailed behind you, looking delicate and pliant, the kind of girl who could easily charm her way into any favor, and yet all Gabriel could see was the cruel irony that you—you, the one who had ruined so many of his childhood schemes—were here too, a candidate, his parents’ idea of a perfect “match.” He could feel the heat rising to his neck, an irritation that refused to settle.

His gaze swept over you, cataloging every detail with the precision of someone plotting revenge in slow motion. Your hair, perfectly falling into place despite the tension in your posture. Your eyes, sharp and unyielding, daring him to even try and hide his disdain. Even the slight curl of your lips, the one that always suggested you knew exactly the effect you had on him, made a growl bubble low in his chest. He had hated you for years, yes, but this—this forced proximity—felt like salt poured over old wounds.

His father, Don Ernesto López, a man whose reputation in the cartel was as formidable as his presence, stood to greet your family. His voice, deep and commanding, resonated through the room. "Welcome back," he said, his eyes briefly meeting Gabriel's, a silent acknowledgment of the evening's purpose.