MY FATHER'S FRIEND WANTS ME

Chapter Five: The Devil and His Smile

Sophia

It was already the third day and I still hadn't found accommodation. Everything was either out of my budget or fully booked.

I called Rosa. Maybe she had some good news.

"Hey Rosa, what's up?" Her voice came through with that particular tone where you could hear the panic sitting just underneath the surface.

"Where are you, Sophie?"

"I'm still home. Wait." I paused. "Are you in San José?"

She sighed. "Of course."

"But we planned to go together."

"Yes, but not until I heard about the latecomer rules."

I paused. "What latecomer rules?"

"Sophia, you have to be in San José today. The event is too important. They won't let you in even if you're an hour late. I had to leave, but you didn't seem to pick up when I tried to inform you."

My heart sank. It felt like my dream was crumbling in real time. This debate meant everything to me, and I was going to miss it because I couldn't sort out a place to sleep. I swallowed hard, gripping my phone tightly. I needed to find a way to get to San José today.

"I'll call you, Rosa."

"You're coming, right?" she asked. "We've worked so hard for this. You can't afford to miss it."

I inhaled slowly and exhaled. "Yes. I'll make it."

I hung up and ran downstairs after hearing the front door bang shut. My dad had just returned from work. I had told him about this three days ago and he had said he would find a way. Three days had passed and I still hadn't heard a word from him.

"Dad," I called out, running down the stairs. He turned, his briefcase still in hand.

"Yes, honey?"

"It's Thursday. I'm supposed to be in San José right now."

He paused. "I thought it was tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes. "No, Dad. It's today. I told you three days ago and you said you'd sort things out. If I'm not there today, I lose marks on my debate." I stepped closer to him. "I can't miss this, Dad. Rosa and I have put so much into this."

The expression on his face was surprisingly calm.

"I haven't forgotten," he said.

"What?"

"I got a place for you to stay in San José. A friend of mine has a house there. He volunteered to house you for the entire duration of the debate."

Before I even asked, my mind already knew the answer. I hoped I was wrong.

"Dad. Who?"

"Vicente," he said, as casually as if it were the simplest thing in the world. If only he knew what burned in my chest every time that name came up. A man I couldn't sit in a car with comfortably was now supposed to be my housemate.

"He has a large apartment there," my dad continued. "He says you can stay as long as you need."

"Dad, I can't stay with Vicente."

"Well, you can't overspend either. Accommodation out there is crazy expensive. You either stay there, or..." He looked at me, and I dared him silently not to finish that sentence. "Or you lose the debate," he said.

He was right, and I hated it.

I glanced at my watch. I didn't have much time to stand there debating it. Rosa's warning about the latecomer rules rang in my head. I was burning through what little time I had left just by standing still.

I ran back upstairs, packed my things, and headed out.

The drive to San José took three hours. It was a beautiful city, but not nearly as beautiful as Vicente's house. It was a detached duplex that screamed expensive from the gate down to the carefully kept grass lining the driveway.

He had maids, which I hadn't expected. We walked into the parlour and a butler collected my bag and disappeared around a corner with it before I could so much as blink.

Then I heard Vicente's footsteps on the staircase. He was coming down with a smile that told me he had been expecting this moment. He held a glass of wine in a silver cup, his shirt buttons loose at the top, exposing a set of abs that were far too defined for a man his age. My eyes didn't seem to get the message to move on, and they lingered there longer than they should have. It was his voice that finally snapped me out of it.

"I told you you'd come," he said, smiling.

I met his gaze and held it. "Don't take this as a victory. I didn't have a choice."

He walked closer. My body began to react, so I took two steps back. "Feel at home. I had your bedroom done in pink."

I scoffed. "I hate pink."

He smiled. "Well, it's a big house with many rooms. You can take whichever one you like." He paused. "Including mine."

My mouth parted slightly. That smile, those slow and deliberate smiles, settled onto his lips like he had rehearsed them.

"What game are you playing? Or do you plan to do to me what you did to my mom?"

He didn't answer.

"Why the hatred, Sophie? You used to love me when you were little."

"I was five."

"And?"

"I'm not five anymore."

"You certainly are not," he said, and the way he said it, low and unhurried, made irritation rise through me like heat.

I took a step forward and met his gaze squarely. "I will never get over what you did with my mother. Never." He still didn't answer. That unreadable expression stayed firmly in place.

"Get in the car, Sophie. You're late."

"For what?"

He turned. "Your debate. It starts at eight."

"How did you know that?"

"I studied your schedule."

"What?" I stared at him. "Are you stalking me?"

He turned back toward the car. "Get in the car. We're late." He walked ahead, and as much as I resented it, he was right. I followed him and got in.

I sat in the front, watching the city pass through the window as Vicente drove. The silence was exactly what I needed to mentally prepare myself for what was ahead. I hadn't told Rosa I was already in San José, and before I could send her a message her text came through first. I opened it with a smile that faded almost immediately.

*"Hey girl, I hope you're in San José. Anyway, I wanted to let you know our debate has been extended by a month. Girl, we are not going home until the fourth of July. So settle in because we'll be here for a while. See ya, babe."*

I froze.

I had assumed we were only here for a week. A month. They had shifted it to an entire month. That wouldn't have been a problem if I wasn't staying with Vicente.

"We're here," he said, pulling me back to the present.

I looked up. We had arrived at the venue. I glanced around and spotted my coursemates already filing into the building. Then my eyes landed on Zack, standing beside Payton. They were both laughing, probably at something she had said, looking completely unbothered and perfectly happy.

My mood soured immediately. Whatever calm I had managed to build on the drive over dissolved. My expression carried both disgust and something heavier that I didn't want to name.

Vicente noticed.

"Why are you staring at that couple?" he asked.

There was no point hiding it. "That's my ex. And his new girlfriend. The man who ripped my heart out on our anniversary."

Vicente said nothing. I turned to look at him.

"Want to make them pay?" he asked.

"What do you mean by..."

He was already out of the car. I scrambled after him, grabbing for his arm before he could do anything that would embarrass me in front of every person I needed to impress this month.

"What are you doing?" I whispered sharply. "Leave them alone." He looked at me with that blank, settled expression.

"He broke your heart. I'll break his spirit."

"What? No. Wait." But he was already moving in their direction with the calm confidence of a man who had already decided. He was about to derail my entire month, and he was doing it with a smile on his face.