MI MILAGRO, JJ maybank

Chapter 11 - Super Rich Kids

Two days later, Maria was at the club in Figure 8. It was Sunday, and as usual, a brunch was being held attended by all the wealthy families on the island.

At one table, the Cameron family was seated with the Garcia family. They were not only gathered because it was an important brunch, but also because they needed to go over the details of Midsummers.

That day, JJ accompanied Pope to run errands for his father, as the club had ordered all sorts of food and drinks, which, of course, were being supplied by Heyward. Pope was swamped with work, and JJ, not needing to be busy around the house since the Garcia family was at the brunch, offered to help his friend. Plus, it was a good opportunity to catch a glimpse of Maria, even if only out of the corner of his eye.

"So Rafe will go with a blue tie. I think it would be most reasonable for Maria to wear the same dress color," Rose commented, showing Catherine a photo of the dress on her phone.

"Oh, yes! They'll look perfect together, and I've thought they could make an entrance together," Catherine said, and Rose nodded enthusiastically.

Maria stared at the ladies, perplexed. Were all the decisions going to be made without her input? Well, that's just great.

"Actually, I already have another dress," Maria said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "It's red."

Sarah pulled out a photo of her friend in that dress from her phone.

"And it looks gorgeous on her!" Sarah chimed in. "She'll be the most beautiful one at the party."

Maria smiled at her friend, giving her a grateful squeeze on the arm. However, Catherine shook her head.

"No, she'll look much better in blue, matching Rafe."

Maria looked at her stepmother with pure disdain. If she thought she was going to get her way without a fight, she was mistaken.

"Why doesn't Rafe change his tie to red?" the girl asked.

Rose looked at her as if she had said the most absurd thing in the world. She showed the photo of Rafe in the suit again and zoomed in on the upper body.

"See how Rafe's eyes are blue?" Rose held the phone up to her face. "They go really well with the color of the suit."

Maria pushed the phone away with her hand. That pig's photo was suffocating her.

"I agree," Catherine said, caressing Rafe's cheek. "He's such a handsome boy."

"Maria shrugged and poked at her food with her fork.

"I don't know," she said with little interest. "I don't think it's fair for me to change just to 'match with Rafe'."

Catherine suddenly dropped her utensils. She smiled at everyone and, getting up from the table, firmly grabbed Maria's arm.

"Excuse us for a moment, please? Thanks."

Catherine dragged her to the restroom area, far enough from everyone in the restaurant to avoid raising suspicions.

"I don't know what game you think you're playing, little girl," she accused, pointing her finger at her. "But it's crucial that you do what they want."

Maria laughed, brushing her stepmother's finger away.

"I'm not playing—"

"Your father is closing a very important deal with Ward. We have to show solidarity with their family. Do you want your father to lose a great job opportunity?"

Maria was taken aback, unsure of how to respond. Yes, she hated Rafe, and yes, being forced to act all buddy-buddy with him was the worst thing she could imagine. But she didn't want to do anything that could potentially make her father lose clients. She just wanted her father to be happy and satisfied with his new life and job opportunities.