ログインThe first thing Inés heard when she woke up was an silence. The kind that feels wrong.She lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling of the bedroom she shared with Carlos, watching the pale morning light stretch across the room. Carlos's side of the bed was already empty and cold, which wasn't unusual. He was always up before her, already showered and dressed.She reached for her phone out of habit. And that's when the silence ended.Notifications flooded in faster than she could process them — Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, email, missed calls — the numbers climbing so fast they blurred together.*247 missed calls.**1,842 unread messages.**Instagram: You have been mentioned in 3,291 posts.*Inés sat up slowly, her heart beginning to beat too fast, knocking against her ribs like it was trying to escape.She opened Instagram first because her brain chose the familiar over the unknown, and what she found made the air leave her lungs in one silent, devastating exhale.Photos. Her p
The bar was the kind of place men like Carlos usually avoided—dimly lit, slightly shabby around the edges, but that was exactly why Carlos had chosen it. No one from his world would ever think to look for him here.He sat in a back corner booth with three men whose names didn't matter because they weren't the kind of people who existed in his real life. "Well, well," one of them said, a heavyset man with a scar running down his left cheek and hands that looked like they'd done significant damage over the years. "Look who finally remembers he's got friends that aren't CEOs and country club members. What's it been, Carlos? Six months? A year?" "I've been busy," Carlos said, his tone clipped and distracted as he scrolled through his phone with barely concealed disgust. "Getting married tends to consume a lot of time and energy." "Right, the wedding." A second man—with eyes that never stopped moving leaned forward with interest. "We saw the pictures in the society pages. Very fancy. Y
Inés had made it exactly three steps down the hallway before Maria's voice stopped her."Well, well, well. Did you enjoy the show?"The words were delivered with such casual cruelty that Inés felt them like a physical blow. She stopped walking but didn't turn around, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her entire body rigid with humiliation and rage."I'm talking to you, Inés." Maria's heels clicked against the marble floor as she approached, the sound sharp and deliberate. "It's rude to walk away when someone's speaking to you. Didn't your mother teach you better manners?"Inés turned slowly, forcing herself to meet Maria's eyes even though everything in her wanted to run. Maria stood there looking perfectly composed, not a hair out of place, her lipstick still immaculate despite what she'd just been doing."What do you want?" Inés managed to get the words out, though her voice was rougher than she intended."I want to know if you enjoyed what you saw." Maria tilted her head,
She needed answers, and Miguel was the only person who might have them.The executive floor was quiet at this hour—most of the staff had already left for the day, leaving just the dedicated workaholics and senior management who treated the office like a second home.As Inés approached his offiice, she noticed his door was slightly ajar, a sliver of light spilling out into the darkened corridor. She raised her hand to knock, her knuckles hovering inches from the wood. When she heard a sound that made her freeze mid-motion, her breath catching in her throat.A female gasp.Inés's hand dropped to her side. She should leave. Should turn around and walk away and pretend she'd never come here, but her feet wouldn't move.Another sound. Lower this time. Miguel's voice, rough and commanding in a tone that sent unwanted heat through Inés's body because she recognized it, knew exactly what it meant, had heard it directed at her in moments she'd been trying desperately to forget.Through the gap
Inés needed answers. Needed to know how Uncle Clifford and Luz had known about her wedding, had known the exact date and location and timing to show up in the most disruptive way possible. That kind of information didn't just float around randomly—someone had told them. Someone had wanted them there. And Inés needed to know who.Uncle Clifford was in his office, as Inés had known he would be at this hour. She didn't bother knocking, just pushed open the door with more force than necessary and walked in like she still had every right to be here."Well, well, well," he said, removing the glasses and setting them aside with deliberate care. "If it isn't the blushing bride herself. Back so soon from your honeymoon? I hope married life is treating you well.""Cut the pleasantries," Inés said, her voice harder than she'd intended. "I need to know how you found out about my wedding. Who told you?"Uncle Clifford leaned back in his chair, his expression giving nothing away. "News travels fas
The moment the Alvarez estate came into view through the car window, something in Inés's chest constricted with an emotion she couldn't quite name.It wasn't relief. It wasn't joy. It was something more complicated, something that felt suspiciously like dread mixed with desperate longing.Carlos squeezed her hand from the driver's seat, mistaking her tension for excitement. "Home sweet home, right? Or at least, one of our homes. Are you ready to see everyone?"Inés managed a nod, her throat too tight for words.The car pulled to a stop in front of the main entrance, and before they'd even fully exited the vehicle, the front door burst open and Carmen came rushing out with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for lottery winners or people who'd narrowly escaped death. "You're here! You're finally here!" Carmen's voice was pitched high with excitement as she practically ran down the steps, her arms already outstretched. "Martha! Martha, come quickly! They're back!"Carmen reached t







