Chapter 8. I Choose My Heart

My mamita stepped nearer until I’m a breath away, unknowingly clenching my hands into fists as if they had a life of their own. “You don’t know anything about love,” she studied the painting on the wall, her hands and stick behind her back. “You don’t know the responsibility it has to take, to be loved, and to love someone. It’s risky and cruel and dangerous. Very dangerous. It’s a big word, Cassidy.”

“I know, Grandma.” I whispered genuinely. My arms crossed in between my chest while looking at her. “I know what love is, mamita. I saw it… with Zarion. In Zarion’s eyes.”

She gasped, her eyes widening because of my answer. Licking my lower lip, I tried to talk again but the right words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.

“You knew it was love… the moment you just saw a strange man in the middle of the night?” Mamita is now furious. Though her voice is soft, that’s an indication she can no longer hide the rage in her anymore. Exasperation and unspoken anger—and fear—were b