« That’s great, » I replied calmly. « So you’re a ‘real man’ now, aren’t you? Congratulations. Now support your family with what you have in your pockets. »
And I hung up.
Five minutes later, Lidia, my ex-mother-in-law, called with her voice like a fallen queen:
—Ungrateful wretch! After everything we did for you!
That’s when I understood the ultimate truth:
They never loved me. They managed me. As if I were a bank account with legs.
« Mrs. Lidia, » I replied, « the only thing they did for me was teach me what kind of love I never want to accept again. »
And I hung up too.
VALERIA LOOKED FOR ME… AND I DIDN’T DO WHAT SHE EXPECTED
Two days later, I received a message from an unknown number:
“Sofia, please. I need to talk to you. Mauricio told me the house was his… I didn’t know…”
We met at a discreet coffee shop, far from Polanco. She arrived without makeup, with dark circles under her eyes, her pride wounded.
And when she sat down across from me, I sensed something uncomfortable:
Valeria wasn’t the brains.
She was the tool.
Even so, that didn’t make her innocent. It just made her… human.
« She promised me that you knew… » she whispered. « That they were already separated. »