|Javier|
I had, in some strange way, braced myself for this.
Ever since my conversation with Granddad—ever since he sat me down and shared that old story I had half-dismissed—I’d been waiting for a moment like this to arrive. Back then, I thought his warning sounded exaggerated, almost absurd. Why would Katherine’s grandfather, Antonius Lopez, of all people, care enough to hold a personal grudge against me? It seemed impossible, too far-fetched to take seriously.
But the instant Antonius’s piercing gaze fell on me, the way his eyes sliced through every layer of pretense, I felt the truth. He didn’t need to raise his voice or make a scene. His rejection was quiet but absolute—delivered the second he learned who I was.
And in that silence, Granddad’s words came back to me, haunting, prop
