ES DEMASIADO TARDE PARA AMARME AHORA

Chapter 1 – Betrayed

—Lucas, where are you? —Natalia's voice trembled as she covered one ear with her right hand, trying to ignore the orchestra's music and the murmur of the guests.

She had hurried to a quiet corner of the great hall, now filled with guests and associates who had gathered to celebrate her fifth wedding anniversary.

—I just arrived, I'll be right there—Lucas replied in a calm and serene voice.

A great feeling of relief washed over her and the tension in her shoulders dissipated.

She nodded as if he could see her, exhaling slowly to calm her nerves as she returned with a guest.

She felt much calmer, since her husband would take care of the guests, especially since she didn't know any of them.

"Who is that?" asked the woman she had been talking to as soon as she returned, with a broad smile.

-Who?

Instinctively, he followed the woman's gaze toward the entrance.

Natalia's smile froze when she saw a woman in a tight red dress approaching with Lucas Delgado, holding hands.

He recognized her instantly.

More than once she had caught her husband looking at her photo on his mobile phone late at night.

"She's a friend!" her husband had told her when she asked who she was. He couldn't press the issue, since she had already said she was just a friend.

Actually, they didn't have that kind of relationship.

"Hello, Natalia," the woman greeted her as she stopped in front of her. "Happy anniversary!"

She had a radiant smile that revealed white, perfectly aligned teeth.

 Natalia's heartbeat grew louder than the soft music floating in the room, as a cold fear gripped her.

She forced a smile, struggling to maintain her composure.

"The guests were staring at us," she reminded herself.

So he accepted the woman's handshake. "Thank you," he murmured.

"Hi, Natalia," Lucas said affectionately. He leaned towards her and kissed her on the cheek. "Happy anniversary!"

He offered her a gift bag, with a serene smile as he looked at her.

Natalia's gesture touched her.

"Maybe I'm overthinking things," he thought.

—I'd like you to meet my friend Elena— Lucas added, turning to her with tender eyes. —She's also my business partner.

Those words almost made Natalia lose her balance. Her eyes widened.

How could he have forgotten that name?

It was the name her husband whispered to her when they reached climax the only time they had made love.

Was it love or a mistake?

One night, he came home drunk. She helped him change his clothes and took care of him, expecting nothing in return.

 She thought it would be like one of their usual nights, sleeping at opposite ends of the bed, cold and lonely, but he had hugged her.

He pulled her towards him and made love to her.

It was a passionate night that I would never forget.

He found it impossible to forget her, because it was the only time he had ever touched her.

She hoped that this would put an end to the awkwardness between them and bring them even closer, since he had given himself to her that night.

But as he reached his climax, a name escaped his lips. It wasn't hers.

At that moment, Natalia realized that he hadn't been making love to her. He had used her as a substitute for Elena.

She would have hated that night forever if it hadn't given her a child, which was like a consolation to her.

With Elena in front of her, she feared losing Lucas, even though he had never really been hers.

It was Lucas's arm around her waist that brought her back to the present.

He turned around and saw a smile on her face.

"Come on, let's welcome our guests," she said warmly.

His smile reassured her somewhat, and again she thought that perhaps she was overthinking things.

Perhaps he had gotten over Elena.

Perhaps they were just friends and business partners, as he had told her!

They approached the guests, and each time, Lucas confidently introduced her as his wife, which reassured her greatly.

 They arrived with a group of two women who quickly snatched it away.

Lucas took the opportunity and apologized.

Natalia was so engrossed in the conversation that, by the time she finished talking to the two women, Lucas was gone.

She went to the garden hoping to find him there. "Maybe he went out to answer a call," she thought, but he wasn't there.

Somehow, he managed to get to the bedroom.

"Maybe she went to change her clothes," she said to herself.

But just as she was about to turn the doorknob, she heard his voice from inside.

"I've missed you so much," she murmured, her voice breaking with emotion. "You can't imagine how difficult it's been to live without you."

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the unmistakable sound of a kiss.

—I'm so glad you're back—.

His heartbeat grew louder in his ears with each passing second as he stood motionless by the closed door.

But he pushed away any thought; he refused to accept what he had just heard, until he heard his own voice.

"I've returned, and I've come to stay forever," he murmured between kisses.

Those words hit her hard, piercing her heart until she felt it break.

 Then Elena's soft moans reached his ears, followed by Lucas's name and her desperate pleas for him not to stop.

Right there... In her room... in her bed... her husband was being unfaithful to her.

She felt a lump in her throat.

His left hand trembled on the doorknob; the air around him turned icy. He wanted to burst in and tear Elena apart, but he couldn't, he couldn't even muster the courage to do it.

She was so broken that she couldn't move an inch.

Furthermore, she reminded herself:

—They were guests!—

"She shouldn't have aired her dirty laundry in public!"

—He still had to protect his reputation—.

She blinked to hold back the tears that blurred her vision, and just as she was about to walk away from the door, she heard something that shattered the last vestiges of her heart.

"I wouldn't have married her if you hadn't gone to New York and left me devastated. You're the only one I've ever loved."