The Devil's Love For The Heiress

Chapter 10

Chapter 10: All I See Is You

*** FLASHBACK: During One Of Carlos‘ Highschool Tennis Practices. ***

After tossing the ball up in the air, Carlos‘ knees flexed, and his trunk rotated at a forty–five degree angle in a pro–drop position. “Arrghhh!” He grunted as he hit the tennis ball with his racket in a powerful serve.

The ball landed on the opponent‘s service area, garnering Carlos his last points.

“Game Ronaldo!” The referee announced the win, making Carlos‘ supporters jump in their seats, cheering him on.

When Carlos took the side bench to rest, Kate rushed across the court. “Here, let me get your water.”

“You did such a good job! I‘m so proud of you, Carlos!” Kate squeaked in excitement. She was so happy for Carlos that she unwittingly helped him wipe the sweat off his face. “Kate!” Carlos groaned. “My team is looking at me now.” “So, what?” Kate replied, her eyes wandering to Carlos‘ opponent for that practice match at school. “I can‘t take care of you?”

When she saw Tyler walking in their direction, Kate‘s eyes widened. Carlos may have won this match, but Tyler had that confident walk, that sexy smirk on his face, and that warm aura he gives to most girls at school.

“Nice game, Ronaldo. Too bad you won‘t join the juniors tournament,” Tyler said. “You would have easily outranked me if you participated more often.”

“Junior tournament?” Kate asked Carlos.

“He is talking about the ones from across the state, Kate. I won‘t fly my ass there and spend for tickets and hotels,” Carlos reasoned while wiping his back with a towel.

Glaring at Carlos, Kate suggested, “I‘ll tell dad –” Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“Wait. Wait. Your dad pays for Carlos‘ tennis tours? Haha!” Tyler laughed. With his fist up to his mouth, he cleared his throat and remarked, “Sorry, man. It‘s just weird, you know. So if you two went out, Kate‘s father would pay for it too?” “Why not? We are family,” Kate suggested. “Carlos is like a brother to me.”

“Ah, that‘s right.” Referring to Carlos, Tyler suggested, “Since you are like a brother to Kate, then I guess you aren‘t together.” Tyler winked at Kate, and Carlos saw how she flushed at the attention she was given. Kate giggled, and she answered, “We aren‘t dating. Haha! We are just friends.” Returning her gaze to Carlos, she urged him to back her up. “Right Carlos?” Kate failed to notice how Carlos‘ grip on his towel tightened. He huffed profusely and faintly replied, “Yeah. We are… just friends.” Carlos saw that devilish grin on ‘Tyler‘s face. He knew Tyler secretly ridiculed him for not earning Kate‘s romantic affection.

“Maybe we should go out sometime, Kate. Like on a date,” Tyler suggested. He winked at Kate again before leaving her on cloud nine. After seeing Tyler go, Kate squealed. She shifted her attention to Carlos and said, “Oh, my god. This is it, Carlos. This is it –.”

“Why do you like him?” Carlos pointed out, cutting off her enthusiasm. His brows met as he collected his things.

“He just has this appeal, you know. Plus, he is super handsome,” Kate replied. “Is just the looks, Kate? Sure, he is like the perfect Ken, but can‘t you look past that?” Carlos asked, his voice strengthening. “Why are you angry? What did I do?” Kate groaned. “You aren‘t a very supportive friend.”

“We‘ve known each other since we were kids, Kate? Don‘t you know me at all? I wish… I wish you would look at me the way you look at Tyler.” Finally, Carlos admitted. He looked Kate attentively in the eye and said, “I care for you more than that Tyler will ever do.”

Kate was dumbfounded. Her mouth parted, struggling to find the words. Ultimately, she asked, “What? What are you saying, Carlos?” “Do I have to spell it out for you, Kate? I like you. I always had,” Carlos confessed. “But – but, Carlos. You are like a brother to me,” Kate stuttered in her words as she replied. “I – I don‘t see you that way.”

Carlos walked away, alerting Kate. She repeatedly called for him, “Carlos?” Running after him, she pleaded, “Carlos, wait. Don‘t do this!”

Catching up with him, Kate grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her. She embraced him outright and rested her face on his chest, saying, “Tell me what I need to do to make it right? I‘ll stay away from him. I‘ll ignore him.” “Why will you stay away from him?” Carlos asked. “Because you want to? Or do you feel sorry for me?”

Looking up at Carlos, Kate replied, “Because I don‘t want to hurt you. And I don‘t want to lose you as my friend? And you are like family to me.”

Dead air fell upon them for seconds. Carlos returned Kate‘s embrace, weakly saying, “You don‘t have to do that, Kate. Really. I‘ll be fine. That would be… selfish of me to ask of you.”

“But –.”

“I‘ll be fine. This will all go away… In time,” Carlos suggested.

“Nothing will change between us?” Kate asked.

Carlos‘ jaws clenched, but he nodded silently. He took a deep breath and leaned down, pecking on Kate‘s forehead. He suggested, “Nothing will change… I will always be here for you.” ***END OF FLASHBACK: Back To Present.*** Kate was taking her breakfast. She was drinking coffee at their dining table when she remembered the past.

That incident at the school‘s tennis court was just one. It made her reflect on the many more

instances when she may have hurt Carlos, and he said nothing. Kate concluded how Carlos took it all in.

Last night, when Carlos left their mansion grounds, Kate just stood at the gates. Even if Carlos car was no longer in her line of sight, she kept looking at the road. A big part of her wished the car had turned around and Carlos stayed longer.

Kate wanted more of him. She wanted Carlos. Just when he finally appeared back in her life, he was gone, just like that.

‘You did not see me.‘ Those words he spoke lingered in her head throughout the night and left her restless. She did not sleep a wink. Kate sighed, feeling her heart squeezed by a hand, and she said under her breath, “Now, all I see is you.”

“Pondering about something?” Kate turned to find her father. He sat next to Kate, and soon her mother followed. Ethan asked. “You seemed to be troubled.”

“… I just remembered something back in my high school days. Those times I spent with Carlos.” Kate stated. “I wish I could turn back time. Why was I so blind?” “Are we still talking about how you realized you love him?” Samantha asked. “Sweetie, sometimes, you‘ll never really know the person‘s true worth until they are gone. It‘s a sad truth… But it‘s a lesson learned.”

Turning to her father, Kate asked, “Dad, why did you let him go to Paris? It‘s dangerous for him? Why did you let him go alone?” “Kate,” speaking softly, Ethan explained, “He has the French Police and the US detectives working on this operation. They won‘t let him go through with this plan if they think it was too risky.”

She could not help it. Kate still frowned, worried about Carlos. He had to be safe. There were so much more that she wanted to say, so many questions in her head, too. Heck, she still wanted to tell him how she felt.

“And who said anything about letting him go alone?” Ethan declared, giving Kate a wink.

A smile formed on Kate‘s face as she returned her regard to Ethan. Water Welled in her eyes when she answered, “Thanks, dad… You are just the best.”

***

Meanwhile, continents away, Carlos was sitting in front of the man who was said to be responsible for his father‘s death. Deep inside, he was enraged, but he held his pent–up anger and forced a smile on his athletic face. Carlos extended his hand to Hugo Bonnet and greeted, “Mister Bonnet, it‘s so nice to finally meet you.” Mister Bonnet grinned playfully. While shaking Carlos‘ hand, he said, “You take a lot from Manuel Ronaldo.” Carlos did not know why, but his skin crawled at how his father‘s name rolled off Hugo‘s tongue.