Deserve

Gregorio turned around and shouted at Santa Lidia. Carmen fought him, yanking him around, but he resisted. I’m not yours, Carmen. He would never see the town’s colorful streets again, rebuild it weeks after, or watch another parade. You’re mine. And his family would be proud, as he was the only one in their lineage who was still eligible. Gregorio’s family ended with him.

That didn’t matter. Carmen was his. He won. He made it.