Imagine Book 2 (Requests Welcome)

A Second Chance- Armando Aretas (Bad Boys: Ride or Die)

As requested by latell01! Fem Y/N.

ꜱᴍᴜᴛ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ

It had been months since Armando Aretas cleared his name. His past was a shadow that no longer controlled his life—no longer a fugitive, no longer a hunted man. His connection to the cartel had faded, and with it, the bloodstained legacy left by his mother. Miami felt like a new city, alive in ways it hadn't when he was trapped under the weight of family expectations. Yet, as Armando walked through the bustling streets of the city he now called home again, something still felt missing—something more personal, more intimate.

Her.

Armando had moved on from his violent past, but there was a memory that had been haunting him ever since the chaos died down. Y/N. She wasn't like any other woman he had known. Her warmth, her strength, her heart. They had shared a love that once felt destined to last forever, but his world—his life of violence and danger—had driven them apart.

Now, fate had offered him one last chance.

__

It was a quiet afternoon in one of Miami's cafes, the kind of place where memories echoed off the walls. Armando had been sitting by the window, sipping a coffee, lost in thought, when his eyes caught a glimpse of someone familiar—a woman, her presence so magnetic that it felt like everything else disappeared.

Y/N.

Her smile was still the same, the kind that could light up a room without trying. But there was something different this time. She wasn't alone. A man sat beside her, holding her hand. The sight of the diamond ring on her finger sent a shockwave through Armando's chest.

His heart sank.

He stood frozen, battling the urge to walk away. But something stronger held him back—the need to see her, to talk to her. Before he could second-guess himself, Y/N's eyes met his.

"Armando?" she said, her voice a mixture of surprise and something else—a hint of the past.

Her fiancé turned to look at him, clearly unaware of who Armando was.

Armando forced a smile. "Y/N... it's been a long time."

She stood, her fiancé rising slowly beside her. "It has," she replied, her voice quieter now.

There was an awkward pause before she introduced her fiancé. "This is David."

Armando shook David's hand, the smile on his face doing nothing to dull the pain he felt inside. "It's nice to meet you," Armando said, his voice steady, though his mind was reeling.

David excused himself to take a phone call, leaving the two alone for a brief moment. Y/N looked at Armando, her eyes searching his face for something familiar.

"You look good," she said softly.

"Thanks. So do you," he replied, his voice dipping with the weight of unsaid words.

__

That night, Armando couldn't stop thinking about Y/N. He tossed and turned in his bed, replaying the moment they had met in the café over and over in his mind. The way she looked at him, the way she smiled—there was something there. He could feel it. But then there was the ring, the man she was going to marry.

His phone buzzed, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was Mike Lowrey.

"You okay, man? You sound down," Mike asked, his voice casual but laced with concern.

Armando let out a long sigh. "I ran into Y/N today."

"Y/N? The Y/N?" Mike's voice perked up, fully invested now.