63. Mrs Carlos

“Be careful, V. Don’t let anyone ruin your wedding with Ivan again,” Brenda said, her voice full of concern as we walked out of the shop. “Your life is finally getting on track, and I really think you should tell Ivan about all of this, except the kissing part, of course. No one wants to hear their brother kissed their bride.”

I gave her a confused look, my mind racing. It felt like my head was going to explode with everything I’d been thinking about lately. “I told Ivan once,” I sighed. “But what can he do? Nathaniel is his brother. If I push this, it’ll just create more problems between them.”

Brenda shook her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. “V, you’ve got to stop protecting everyone but yourself. Ivan deserves to know the whole truth. What if Nathaniel doesn’t stop?”

I hesitated, knowing she was right. Keeping this secret was eating away at me, but the thought of adding more stress to Ivan’s already full plate was unbearable. I didn’t want to be the reason for a rift betwe