Chapter 9: What She Left Unsaid
1110 Words
Chapter 9: What She Left Unsaid
Rafael arrived at the quiet corner café five minutes early, but Ysabel was already there, seated near the window. Her fingers were wrapped around a steaming cup, but she wasn’t drinking. She was staring out at the gray sky like it could answer the questions she hadn’t spoken aloud.
“Ysabel,” Rafael greeted, sliding into the seat across from her.
She looked up and smiled faintly. “Hey.”
“I didn’t expect to hear from you.”
“I know,” she replied. “But I think it’s time.”
He watched her, unsure. “Time for what?”
Ysabel took a breath, then began. “I liked you, Rafael. I did. Maybe I still do a little. But I never said anything because… because of Amara.”
Rafael stiffened. “She told you?”
“No. I just knew.” Her eyes softened. “She’s always been like that—putting everyone first, burying what she feels so deep that even she forgets it’s there.”
He lowered his gaze.
“I started pulling away from her in college,” Ysabel continued, voice tinged with guilt. “She was so… devoted to everyone. Her mom, her brothers, her work, me. It scared me, how much she gave without asking for anything back. I love my best friend.”
Rafael said nothing. Ysabel leaned forward.
“She’s going to break, Rafael. And if you’re going to love her, you have to be brave enough to stay. Even when she doesn’t know how to ask you to.”
He looked at her finally, his expression unreadable. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because maybe you saw me first, but clearly, I’m not the one you want. And she deserves someone who can see her.”
That afternoon, Amara stood at her mother’s grave for the first time since the funeral. The cemetery was quiet, the sky overcast. A gentle breeze brushed her hair as she knelt and placed a small bouquet of white lilies against the headstone.
She brushed her fingertips over the engraved name. “Hi, Mama.”
A lump formed in her throat. “I’m sorry it took me this long to come. I just… didn’t know what to say.”
Her voice trembled. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Mama. I promised you I’d marry Caleb, but I don’t even know him. I talk to him every week, and he doesn’t answer. Elena wants us to get married in three months. What if he wakes up and he doesn't like this marriage? What am I going to do? I am trying, I sit beside him and I feel like I’m vanishing.”
She paused, the wind rustling the trees.
“I know you loved Elena. I know you made a promise. But what if that promise is breaking me? I still can't get over Rafael, you know I like him for years, it's not that easy.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I wish you were here. I wish you’d tell me what to do.”
She sat there for a while, the sky darkening above her.
Meanwhile, back at the Ramos home, Jenny stood in the kitchen doorway, watching Elena prepare a tray of tea.
“Can we talk?” Jenny asked.
Elena looked up, smiling. “Of course.”
Jenny folded her arms. “Do you really think it’s fair to push Amara into this wedding?”
Elena paused. “It’s not pushing. It’s honoring what Lucinda wanted. And it’s what’s best for Caleb.”
Jenny’s jaw tensed. “But what if it’s not what’s best for Amara?”
Elena’s expression softened. “Jenny, sweetheart. I know this is hard. But Lucinda and I believed in this match. Amara will be taken care of. And Caleb… he deserves a future.”
"Mom, he's in coma, what if he never wakes up? what about Amara?" she asked.
Jenny didn’t respond. She simply nodded and walked away—but her heart churned with resentment. No one ever asks what Caleb would want. No one asks me either.
As Amara walked home from the cemetery, rain began to fall. She pulled her coat tighter around her and ducked under the awning of a small bookstore. The bell above the door chimed softly as someone exited.
She turned—and found herself face-to-face with Rafael.
They stared at each other, caught in the hush of rain and surprise.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she lied. “Just visiting my mom.”
Rafael glanced up at the clouds. “Want me to walk you home?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
They walked in silence for a while, the sound of their footsteps blending with the patter of rain.
“I saw Ysabel,” Rafael said at last.
Amara blinked. “What?”
“She reached out. Said she needed to talk. She told me the truth.”
Amara said nothing.
“She knew you liked me. That’s why she kept her distance.”
Amara looked down. “I never asked her to.”
“I know. But you loved her too, didn’t you?”
She stopped walking. “Not the way I loved you. But yes. I loved her. She was my best friend. She saw me when no one else did.”
Rafael stepped closer. “And I didn’t?”
Amara shook her head. “Not then. But maybe now.”
He touched her arm gently. “You don’t have to marry Caleb just because you promised. You’re allowed to choose what makes you whole.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I wish it were that simple.”
They stood in silence as the rain fell around them.
That night, back at her house, Amara curled up on her bed, still damp from the walk.
Her phone buzzed.
It was Elena.
“I’ve spoken to the priest and a lawyer,” Elena said calmly. “We’ll begin preparations. The wedding will be in two months.”
Amara’s fingers trembled. “Two months? I thought its three months?”
“Yes, dear. but the lawyer said it would be good if its done in two months. Everything will be in place.”
"Elena, I promised this to my Mom, so. O-Okay."
The line went dead.
Amara stared at the calendar on her wall, slowly flipping ahead to mark the date. Suddenly, she saw Rafael standing in front of his window, he might have heard everything.
Her phone buzzed again.
A message from Rafael:
If you want to run, I’ll run with you.
- Writer
