Jose’s POV

It was wrong, everything was going wrong.

Jose had acted on impulse and now he regretted it. Adriana was truly one of the most beautiful women in the world, but still — He had just broken up with the woman he had imagined his entire life with. It didn’t feel right to be catching feelings for the next woman who crossed his path.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

“It’s going to cost you a whole lot more, Miss Tholles,” he responded sharply and could feel her eyes on him. Jose ran his hands through his hair frustratedly. He only proved Silvia right by accepting Adriana’s proposal.

They had just met and now he had jokingly accepted her offer to go who knows where with her? No one would believe nothing was going on between them, especially not Silvia.

The things he had said and done were on impulse; he cared about Silvia. He rested his head on the car seat and thought about how he could give the woman a second chance. Silvia wasn’t a bad person; she was just deeply hurt and required a lot more love than the average person, but apart from that, she was a sweetheart.

He had to fix things with her but hopped on a trip with someone else. The dark-haired man reached for the door but his phone stopped him mid-air. The edges of his lips curled into a smile as the caller’s name flashed across the screen.

It was Silvia. He could fix things right now.

“Silvia—” he began in the sweetest tone he could muster but the sharp and arrogant pitched voice from the other end cut him short.

“You traitor! You left with that stupid actress! You were just waiting to cheat on me!” Silvia gritted out and Jose’s forehead creased.

“But that’s fine, I won’t do anything to mess up your life. I promise,” Her voice was low and breathy. “I will forgive you.” Jose felt his stomach churn at her words. The woman didn’t sound remorseful for any of the things she had said or done. It sounded like she was doing him a favor.

“Silvia…”

“Come back to me, I promise we’ll fix things and I will accept your apology, okay? It’s okay to make mistakes, love.”

“Silvia, I’m not the wrong one here,” Jose informed her and ran his hands over his face. He could feel Adriana’s eyes on him.

“Then who is?! Me?! Are you going to blame me for your mistakes?! What do you want?! I’ve already agreed to forgive—” She roared from the other end of the call and Jose ended it before she could say more.

“Is the yelling one of the reasons why it ended?” Jose registered Adriana’s voice almost immediately. He frowned and looked out the window, while the woman behind the wheel kept her gaze on the road.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me; that was out of place anyway.” She shrugged it off but Jose did not need to be a genius to know the atmosphere had gone from cheery to awkward.

“She thought I was cheating on her,” he blurted out after a while but kept his gaze out of the window. “Taunted me about it each moment and threatened to lie to the press about it.”

Adriana pulled the brakes at a red light and turned her head to him. “Well, did you?” Her voice was calm and composed.

“Excuse me?”

“Did you cheat?”

“No.”

“Well, that sucks. It sucks to be blamed for something you didn’t do.”

“I tried to fix things but I just realized there’s nothing else to fix.” The traffic light changed just as he finished and Adriana shot him a sympathetic look. “And it sucks because I feel it’s my fault she developed those tendencies.”

“The easiest thing to do is blame yourself for the mistakes other people do, or justify how they treat you because that’s easier than accepting that someone you loved could be plain cruel.” Her voice shook with emotion as she spoke and sped down the road. Jose raised an eyebrow at the switch in emotions.

“And you?”

“What about me?” Adriana shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Why is one of Mexico’s most desired celebrities out in the middle of nowhere with no security and driving on an adventure to the other side of the world?”

Adriana chuckled dryly and glanced at him.

“You could have brought that friend of yours if anything,” he added to lighten up the mood.

“She’s too busy having sex with my fiancé. I doubt she’ll be intrigued.”

Jose froze and his eyes darted at Adriana who seemed too composed for someone who just admitted that her best friend and fiancé were rolling in the sheets together.

“I—”

“It’s alright, really,” she brushed it off and ran her hands through her hair. “I’m over that crap.”

“It feels recent,” Jose countered as he took in her reddened eyes now that the sky was clearing up and it was almost dawn.

“It was today.” The green-eyed woman admitted. “I wanted to surprise him…but the joke was on me. I got the surprise of my life.” Adriana’s voice cracked and her heart ached.

“You want me to drive?” the man offered softly.

“Please,” Adriana responded and pulled over. She got out of the car and switched with Jose.

Once they were settled and a few seconds had passed, Jose asked a question that had been bothering him. “So why ask me to tag along? I assume that this was some well-needed break alone?”

“I–” Adriana began but the sound of her phone ringing stopped her mid-sentence. She caught sight of the caller ID and ran her hands over her face as the phone continued ringing.

“You need help with that?” Jose’s voice came playfully and Adriana frowned.

“Not really— You know what? Yes, I do,” she confessed and handed him the phone. Jose parked the car in confusion.

“Pick up the call. If the other person tells you they are my boyfriend, inform them in the most nonchalant way that you are my new boyfriend.”