Chapter 19

Hadina

Meeting Darío’s family—and by extension, Itza’s—went better than Hadina could have expected, yet she felt a heaviness in her heart. Despite their agreement, Darío had encouraged Itza and promised her a future. That was something neither of them could do, and Hadina would be the one to pick up the pieces if the worst were to happen.

It felt like Darío was stealing her daughter, and she hated that about herself. But no matter how much she reminded herself that Itza was just her niece , Hadina knew that love didn’t differentiate like that. She loved Itza fiercely and it didn’t matter that they weren’t blood related—a piece of her would always belong to that girl.

“Enough moping, Hadina. You have work to do,” she muttered to herself.

“You know that talking to yourself is the first sign of delusion, mija ?”

Hadina looked up, smiling as her father walked into the office, two mugs of coffee in each hand. He handed the larger to her, as he always did, knowing that her body survived on caffeine. “ Hola, Papi .”

She watched as he slowly lowered himself onto the seat on the opposite side of her desk. He was becoming frailer and it hurt her heart to see it. His gray hair seemed to be whiter, his wrinkles deepening across his face. If she blinked, she could still see the handsome young man he was when she was young, throwing her around the garden and teaching her how to be respectable.

Sometimes, on her rare sentimental days, she missed those years. She’d caught herself wishing for a repeat more than once, just so she could spend her childhood years with both her parents and really treasure every moment with them.

“ ?Qué pasa, Papi? ?Estás bien? ”

Her father smiled, nodding his head slightly. “ Sí, mija. I’m perfectly fine. I’m just worried about you. About all of my girls.”

Hadina tsk’ d and waved her hand dismissively. “Ay, Papi , you worry too much. We’re fine. I am fine .”

“Then why does my house feel so tense? Something is wrong here, Hadina. Tell me.”

“You’re a meddlesome old man, you know that?” She let out a long sigh. “I have some… personal things I’m trying to battle in my head. And while that’s happening, we’re all also on high alert for that pinche perra who seems to have fallen off the face of the earth.”

A worry crease formed between his brows. “Really? Nobody has seen her?”

“Not that we can find. Every lead we get turns out to be a dead end. I just wanna find her and make her pay for what she did to Peyton, Papi . She deserves retribution.”

Her father studied her for a moment before he hummed. “Well, mija , you just need to get your shit together and stop all this woe is me attitude.”

Hadina sat up straight in her chair, tilting her head slightly as she looked at her father. He was always blunt, straight to the point, but it was rare that he spoke to any of his daughters in such a way. A slow smirk teased at her lips.

“Rude… But I think you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I taught all of you what you know. But I also know just what you’re capable of. Stop letting Demi Treyva have the upperhand. You’re the head of Adis you get the honors of annihilating that bitch.”

Peyton looked as though she wanted to argue but after glancing at the room around her, she conceded with the dip of her chin.

“Okay!” Hadina barked, clapping her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Y’all have been given your orders. Everyone clear on what they need to do?”

A chorus of yes, boss echoed around the room before she dismissed everyone with a clap of her hands.

The anger in her veins that she tried so hard to dampen down was slowly coming to the surface. Every time they planned their next steps, Hadina was reminded of why they were doing this, how badly Demi had hurt Peyton, and it made her fury rise. She needed her team to act fast because she wouldn’t be able to keep it contained otherwise.

Hadina was ready to burn the world down around her, if only to make sure there was nobody left to hurt Peyton ever again.

“Take a breath, baby,” came a soft voice from her side. Just the sound of it made her body relax, the tension slowly seeping from her shoulders.

She felt Peyton’s arms slide around her waist, her face pressing gently against Hadina’s back. It was amazing, Hadina thought, just how much her body reacted to Peyton. Nobody had ever had that effect on her before, and she knew nobody else ever would.

Peyton was hers , and she was Peyton’s. Their crazies called to each other, their hearts destined to entwine. Hadina didn’t believe in fate, but she knew that Peyton was a gift from a higher power.

She allowed herself to stand in Peyton’s embrace for a few moments until all the tension had left her. Everyone had left the room, off to start working on their assignments otherwise they’d have to face Hadina’s wrath. Which meant, thankfully, both of them were alone. Hadina spun around, leaning the back of her thighs against the table, and pulled Peyton into her.

“Better?” Peyton asked.

Hadina hummed, pressing her face into the crook of Peyton’s neck. She always smelt so sweet and Hadina forever wanted to be in her embrace.

“It’s always better when we’re together.”

Peyton leaned back, her blonde hair tickling Hadina’s cheek. “What do we do next?”

Groaning, Hadina pouted petulantly. “ Mierda , I hate that these words are even going to come out of my mouth but…Zellie needs to help you train. She was right, in her own bitch way—I won’t be as tough on you because I love you. But we need you to be fully prepared for anything.”

“Then let’s do it. Plus,” Peyton said with a sly grin, “It’ll be extra fun for you when I’m a pro and you get to see me kick Zellie’s ass.”

Hadina barked out a laugh, grabbing Peyton’s waist to bring her into a kiss. She was beyond lucky to have found someone like Peyton, and she never wanted to take that for granted ever again.