Juan had never really seen her before. But now—the soft curve of her jaw, the fierce light in her brown eyes, the way her hands clutched her skirts as if holding back a storm of her own—he saw everything.
Juan smiled—a cold, terrible thing. "I am no brother of yours. I came for what was stolen from me."
His name was Juan del Diablo. Illegitimate son of the late Marqués de Montemayor. Outcast. Bandit. Rumor said he had been dragged to prison years ago. Rumor lied.
He stopped before the great iron gates of the Hacienda del Cielo. The house where his father's true family lived. The house that held the two women who had sealed his fate. corazon salvaje capitulo 1
Then his gaze slid past Aimeé. It landed on Mónica.
"Not the land," Juan said, his voice low as thunder. "The woman."
"I will leave," he said, his voice for her alone. "But I will return. And when I do, this house will burn. Not for revenge. For you ." Juan had never really seen her before
Something shifted in his expression. Not pain—discovery. The final piece of a puzzle he had refused to solve. He nodded slowly, as if acknowledging a death sentence.
Aimeé froze. Andrés stepped forward, drawing a pistol. "You are not welcome here, brother."
A soft voice replied. "He is a wounded animal, Andrés. Wounded animals are the most dangerous." "I am no brother of yours
Juan took one step toward Mónica. Then another.
"You," he whispered. Not a question. A recognition.
The storm arrived not from the sea, but from the south. A lone rider, cloaked in black, spurred his stallion through the mud-soaked streets of the coastal town. Men whispered and crossed themselves. Women pulled their children inside. They didn't need to see his face—they knew the horse. They knew the whip-crack of its hooves. They knew the devil had returned.
End of Chapter 1.
His eyes found Aimeé. She felt the heat of his gaze and for a moment, a flicker of the old fire burned in her chest. But then she remembered: she was to marry Andrés next week. A tidy union. Two legitimate heirs, binding the fortune. She lifted her chin.