“Sorry, who are you?” Ruby asked in confusion.
“Who am I? How easily you forget your sins!” he hissed.
“What did I forget? What are you talking about?” Ruby felt that this man was making no sense.
“Hey! Is your memory that short? We just met this afternoon!” The man shouted again.
“What afternoon? I haven't met anyone today!” Ruby protested loudly. She hadn’t left the house today.
“Don’t pretend! I still have it!” The man reached into the backpack he had been carrying, pulling out a battered laptop.
“Look at this! This! Are you still pretending to forget?!”
“I don’t know what that is! Are you sure you’re okay?” Ruby questioned his sanity.
“I’m fine! You’re the one who’s not okay! Seems like…”
“ENOUGH!” A heavy shout made the living room fall silent. Ed ap
"What's wrong with you?! Why have you suddenly become like this?!"Lori released her grip on Liz's hand and pointed at her. She didn't want to get angry, but she had clearly seen Liz making out with a man in the corner of the bar. Lori initially didn’t want to forbid anything, but she couldn't stay silent after witnessing that fatal mistake."Don't act so righteous! You did the same thing! You don't even know that guy!" Liz pointed to the man waiting behind Lori. As she was half-drunk, her hand wobbled unsteadily.Lori sighed, because that was true. She didn’t even remember his name."But I'm not married—not married to Rosas, Liz! Are you looking for trouble?!" Lori grabbed Liz's hand again when she saw her waving at the man she had just left."Whether I get into trouble or not is none of your business! It's my decision! You don't need to interfere! Mind your own business! Shut up!" Liz waved her hand dismissively in front of Lori
“Senorita, please…”Otiz tried to resist, but Lori quickly moved onto his lap. Otiz froze, sitting on the bed's edge with Lori on top of him.“Hey… You said you’d stay with me, didn’t you? Why are you so confused?” Lori asked, her eyes heavy-lidded.“I… I didn’t mean this.” Otiz groaned, gently lowering Lori’s hands from his shoulders. He was trying desperately not to be rough. He had only brought Lori to the hotel because she was severely drunk, intending just to put her to bed, not to wrestle her off him.But getting Lori to the room was already a miracle. She could barely keep her eyes open, and what brought her back to her senses was accidentally hitting her head on the door. This brief awareness only made things worse, as Lori refused to let go of Otiz.“Senorita, I…”“Lori! Why are you acting so formal with me? I’m not Ed! I&
“Will you always be around when Ed is?” Lori asked, leaning on the balcony railing.Otiz was on the terrace, as usual, watching from a distance whenever Ed had an event.After the bar party, they found themselves at another, more formal gathering. Lori detested one of those events, yet she was compelled to attend due to her mother's close relationship with the host. Lori couldn’t even remember what the event was about, but it must have been important since Ed went through the trouble of attending.She hadn’t seen him yet, but if Otiz was around, it was likely Ed was too.“I don’t have to be. I’ll be here if Don Rosas needs me,” Otiz replied politely, lowering the wine glass in his hand.It would be better if he didn’t touch alcohol near Lori. Even now, Otiz wanted to snatch the glass from Lori’s hand and pour it out.“Why are you so loyal to him?” Lori asked curiously. S
"Hai!"Otiz jolted. Someone had just bumped into his back, clearly on purpose, because now a bright face was peeking out from behind his arm.Even the clear blue sky above couldn't match Lori's usual enthusiasm."I didn’t know you played golf, Otiz." Lori was accompanying her father today and found Otiz crouching near one of the holes, measuring the distance to make his next shot."I didn’t know you played golf either," Otiz replied."Not at all. This is… the first time I’ve ever held a club. I’m only here because my dad forced me," Lori complained, showing the golf club in her hand. She was wearing all the right gear, from the hat, clothes, and shoes to the gloves, but it was obvious everything was new."So you’re running away?" Otiz glanced around and didn’t see anyone. As usual, Lori didn’t like being told what to do."Well, if I can. My dad was a bit pushy today. I just hope he does
"Hi, Dad. I didn’t know you were here," Lori said, trying to act casual while assessing her father's face. Was he angry or just normal?He seemed normal; maybe he really hadn't heard her argument with Otiz."I’m here because you weren’t. Why did you disappear? You made Michael confused." Lori's father shifted his slightly stocky body, revealing a very neat man who did indeed look confused. Handsome, smooth, and clean. A typical rich kid."You suddenly disappeared." Michael smiled wryly."I… I went to greet someone. It's just impulsive, so..." Lori lied, of course. She had left Michael because he was boring. His conversation was uninteresting."Greet someone? Who?" Lori’s father looked at Otiz, not recognizing him."This is Otiz Montoya." Lori normally introduced him, but she added something daring."And we’re close." Lori grabbed Otiz's hand and held it, clearly indicating that he was more than jus
“Sorry, I didn't mean to…”“I don't know who you are, and so far, you seem suspicious. I won't bring up the fact that you slept with my daughter, but if you hurt her, I won’t stand by.” Andres threatened.He had apparently overheard the argument between Lori and Otiz earlier but chose to stay silent. However, after seeing Lori cry, Andres believed Otiz was in the wrong.“Sorry, Señor Sallazar. I understand your anger and will explain anything you ask. But later. Right now… I need to go after Lori.” Otiz reluctantly brushed Andres’s hand aside and ran off.Otiz knew what he did was impolite, but he couldn't just leave Lori in that state alone. At the very least, he wanted to apologize.Otiz had never scolded or protested Lori's behavior toward men.The sun shone and moved as usual. The sun was normal, cheerful, and seemingly enjoying the world, but the slightest disturbance
“Oh… you weren’t drunk?” Lori always thought they were drunk, and they accidentally slept together.After that, it was Lori who suggested they just have fun. Otiz agreed, and that was that. There was nothing more to discuss.“Then what?” Lori asked, still not understanding why Otiz was bringing it up in this argument.“I did it because I wanted to, Lori. I agreed to whatever you asked, not just because I wanted to have fun! I was hoping for something to happen.”Lori froze, looking up at Otiz. She searched for what had been hidden all this time.“I... I tried… I wanted to stay close to you... because I wanted to. I stayed even though I knew my hopes would never come true. I was chasing the sun. A sun that was determined to shine for one person—so in love with that one person, even though he were no longer here.”Otiz sighed. He wanted to stop, knowing that whatever he
"Wait, I don't want to cause trouble or make threats. I just want to talk to him," Andreas said, raising his hands. The aggressive demeanor vanished, replaced by panic at Ed's warning.He might not have any business with Ed, but everyone wealthy in Puerto Vallarta or Guadalajara would know what kind of business Ed was involved in besides tequila and how dangerous it was to mess with him."Talk about what?" Ed asked, lowering the tension in the conversation. He still wasn’t going to reveal Otiz's whereabouts until things were clearer."I… It's about Lori. Do you know about their relationship?" Andreas inquired as he rubbed his strained neck. His face was no longer panicked but somber."Lori? And Otiz? Yeah, I know enough." Ed didn’t know, but he didn’t want to admit it.Since the Zurich incident, Ed had sensed they were closer than he had imagined. It's no wonder Ed often notices Otiz glancing at Lori when they're in the sam