Zero: Behind the Label
Now to fully understand what the deal was between me, Rafa, and Abri, we had to go back to a month ago.
The thing between the two of them was teledrama complicated (and it was the kind of story I couldn't tell without thinking that I plunged into a scripted episode):
Mrs. Daniella San Alonso and Don Santiago San Alonso were blissfully married for 15 years. She lost a baby after she got into a car accident, heading to a meeting that he begged her not to go to. They tried again here and there, but she told him she was done. He got upset, left the country, and cheated.
With Rafa's mother, Serena di Matteo.
She was one of the women you swore were perfect: gorgeous, intelligent, and had a thriving career in real estate. She was the agent for the new Botella Alonso property where Don Santiago fled to.
In that whirlwind love affair, Rafa was conceived and Don Santiago came home to say goodbye, only to find out that Daniella was pregnant with Abri.
Doing what he thought was best, he left Serena and Rafael, but made sure to sustain them for as long as they needed. Daniella found out about them and actually arranged for them to move to the San Alonso house. She was a goddess, that woman.
Before they could come, Serena passed away from a rare family disease. She begged Rafa to live with his father so he would not have to fend for himself. He flew to the city alone and he's been with the San Alonsos ever since.
Abri hated him because Santiago and Daniella were always in awe of him - as if he was their firstborn son. As much as Rafa worked to get Abri on his side, it never panned out.
Rafa was just good at getting things without little effort.
It didn't help that Catalina, Abri's first and only girlfriend, fell for him too.
It was safe to say that the hatred was strongly one-sided, but Rafa never apologized for taking Tali away from him.
In college, Abri graduated a year early. Rafa fucked around, delaying his graduation. Surprisingly though, he still graduated with Latin honors.
When they both ventured into business, Abri was sure he was above it, because he was the legitimate San Alonso. He inherited it all, made it thrive - all while Rafa was still in school.
Then Rafa sold a digital media app he was playing around with, for an ungodly amount of money. He stayed on as CEO and Creative Director.
Bottomline, in this race, whenever Abri thought he was ahead, it was only because Rafa stopped to tie his shoes so he could run faster.
It ended up being the same when they dealt with me.
It never occurred to me that I would ever exist in this situation. This was the kind of predicament that other girls faced. Not on an attractiveness-based scale, because I am in no way saying I’m unattractive.
It just so happened that this was the shit you can only read about.
It took one drunk night, a wrong Uber pin, and a Knight in a ridiculously expensive suit. It changed my life from ‘new career girl in a big city’ to public relations consultant for two of the most successful (and honestly, unrealistically attractive) CEOs - who just happen to be step brothers.
Rafael Di Matteo and Gabriel San Alonso.
Rafa - the tall, tattooed Boy Wonder - who founded a thriving digital media company from his college dorm and Abri - the brusque and built Golden Boy - who followed in the footsteps of all the San Alonso men before him, inheriting Botella Alonso, a beverage manufacturing company that’s been around for over a century.
This life was the kind that you only read about - and I was not complaining.
Because aside from the money, the career boost, and the free living, I can honestly say that the sex was insane.
