Rosa Sanchez. The first word that comes to mind is always 'power'. Known as Thorn by many, she seems to be the most dangerous woman in the world. But, she wasn't always like this. That leads many people to wonder how she came to be. What made an inn...
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three months later
The past few months had been a mess.
Ana's doctor confirmed stress was the reason she wasn't getting pregnant.
We decided to take a longer break than I had planned. Ana didn't mean most of the things she said when she yelled at me, but she was still right. I couldn't guarantee safety right now.
There was no reason to bring a child into this world until I was confident they would be safe.
Plus, Mother was getting worse by the day.
Occasionally she forgot events. Ana had a picture from our wedding framed a couple of weeks ago.
When Mother first saw it she asked me when we had gotten married.
A few times she had to ask what Ana's name was. She knew that she was important, but she couldn't remember her name.
Father was looking for a home. I hated him, but he was being kind now.
He insisted I take time off work to be with her. He was even searching for a home that would allow pets.
He hated Spice as much as I did, but he cared about her.
Even if she didn't feel the same way about him, he wanted to make her as comfortable as she could be.
I was almost glad Ana hadn't been able to get pregnant. It would've crushed Mother.
If she was forgetting Ana now, it was only a matter of time before she forgot me, or at least stopped recognizing me.
Nobody could predict how bad it would be in nine months. But we all knew she would have no idea why she was meeting a baby.
She had insisted I learned how to cook.
You need to have something to remember me by, even if I forget you. She told me.
I told her that I had plenty of things to remember her by.
She told me that she couldn't die knowing my cooking was trash.
We both laughed and cried a little that day.
She'd been over every day since. Apparently, I had a lot of work to do.
"Why is there so much onion in this." I stared at the notecard with the recipe. "Three seems excessive."
She snatched it out of my hand. "We don't question ancient recipes."
"Okay, but this would literally kill someone who didn't like onion." I stared at her.
"Oh, you're worried about killing people now?" She smiled.
I rolled my eyes.
She handed me an onion. "Dice that. Don't cut yourself."
"I've used throwing knives since I was seven. I think I'll be fine."
She smiled. "Last time you were in the kitchen you needed stitches. I think you said the same thing."
I smiled at her. "I'm surprised you remember that."
She laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised if my last memory was one of your snide remarks. I remember them so well because they terrified me. Back then I still thought you would marry a man because you thought you had no other options."
I carefully cut the onion. "I honestly don't know if ever would've married a man. Don't get me wrong, I would've tried. But there is absolutely no way a man would've kept me around."
She grabbed some of the onion I had already cut. "You've always been stronger than me too, you wouldn't have tolerated a man hitting you. Anyone who would've attempted to would've died."
I glanced down at the scars on my wrists. "I let Father hit me."
"Only because I would've been hurt if you didn't. Alonso would let you die alone, it's not bad for the image of The Cartel." She mocked. "Plus you would've only been offered to his good men. Once you killed one he would've said they can't hit you anymore. That's a dealbreaker."
I chuckled. "I wonder what people are going to think of me when I take The Cartel."
She shrugged. "They will be terrified. They will hate you. You will lose old allies, but gain new ones just because of who you are."
"Fairbain?" I raised an eyebrow.
"He's the reason I believed in you. If he can do it so can you."
"He's also a man who inherited it." I gave her a look.
"Baby, I have been in this cruel world for so long. I know everything I need to know about cartels and mafias. If you think I didn't read every word in your plans you have forgotten who I am." She leaned against the counter. "He is an exceptional individual, and he paved the way for people like you. However, you are blind if you cannot see that you are smarter than him."
I pushed the diced onion towards her. "I don't think I'm that much smarter than him. Our minds just work differently."
She smiled. "That's true. Your mind is meant to strategize. You make plans, you gain power, you strive for perfection and you achieve it. He avoids conflict, he is charismatic. He is happy with the land and power he has and will never ask for more."
"And that's bad?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Not necessarily, but sometimes people don't play in the game because they don't know they have cards."
"Now I'm lost."
"He might be content with what he has. He also might not know how to get more power. Give him some advice, see what happens."
I smiled. "How long have you been thinking about this?"
"Since he was outed." She shrugged and handed me another onion. "This one gets blended so you don't need to cut it very small."
... Prepare yourselves for time jumps and some depression.
My music is on shuffle rn, it's very strange writing about dementia when Guren No Yumiya is playing lol
Anyways, I'm trying to write a lot tonight so I apologize that this one is shorter than the past few have been.
Also, I think I am far enough in I can mention it. The chapter title letters are not random, have you noticed it? Also, I am a little pissed I didn't put Anastasia as one of the titles, but what's done is done.
