LOGINJavier stayed speechless for a moment, lips parted, eyes fixed on Pedro, then on Sofia, as if searching for a denial on their faces. Then a nervous, almost unconscious laugh escaped him. A laugh of shock, of total denial an incongruous, tearing sound in this end-of-the-world atmosphere."But… what are you talking about? Pedro? Sofia? Is this a joke… a bad joke?"Ellie repeated, louder, without a tremor in his voice, as if he wanted to drive the nail all the way in:"Dad… He's fucking Sofia. Your daughter. I saw them. Not once twice. I saw them kissing in the car, and just now they were in the bedroom about to… They were laughing at us, Dad. They were laughing at everyone."The silence that followed was total, absolute, heavier than anything they had ever known. A leaden silence a cemetery, a tomb silence. Javier staggered, his legs buckling under him as if the bones had been removed. He leaned his full weight against the back of an armchair, gripping the fabric with both hands, his fa
"What did I expect, coming from you, Sofia." He shook his head, a bitter, disillusioned sneer floating on his lips. "You swore to me. You swore to me, Sofia, that it was over, that it would never happen again." His voice rose a notch, charged with powerless rage. "You've been lying to me from the start." He turned his gaze toward his father, and his voice grew even colder, sharper. "And you, Dad. You… You're no better than garbage, both of you. You disgust me."The silence that followed was deafening, heavier than a tomb. Sofia opened her mouth, lips trembling, but no sound came out. She desperately searched for a sentence, an explanation, a lie, but words failed her. Pedro, face livid, eyes bulging, remained petrified, unable to move, his hand still suspended in the void where Sofia's waist had been a second earlier.Pedro and Sofia burst out of the bedroom like trapped wild animals, their hearts pounding so hard against their ribs they nearly lost their hearing. The hallway air sudd
Sofia pushed the door shut behind her, closing it with a dull thud. She approached him, her voice low but resolute, charged with desperate determination."Yeah, I understand perfectly what you told me, Pedro. But don't worry about that." She paused, holding his gaze. "We just have to be more careful, both of us. More discreet. That's all. It's not the end of the world."Pedro shook his head wearily, running a nervous hand through his wet hair to push it back. Drops of water scattered around him."I don't understand how I let myself get here, Sofia." His voice was hoarse, charged with guilt. "I knew he was in love with you. I've known for a while. I saw it in his eyes, in the way he looked at you, in his unhealthy jealousy. And I, his own father, I did this. I went past it. I betrayed him in full knowledge of what I was doing."Sofia looked at him, eyes narrowed, as if trying to read the depths of his soul."You knew?" she asked, her voice suddenly lower, deeper.Pedro nodded, features
Sofia was elsewhere. Completely elsewhere, floating in a thick, cottony fog where the sounds and smells of the real world reached her muffled. She stood in the kitchen beside her father, hands busy cutting vegetables, but her mind wandered far from the cutting board and the sharp knives. Her movements were mechanical, almost robotic. Yet her eyes stayed fixed, lost in the void, riveted on a grain of wood on the counter she didn't even see.Pedro had left. He had left the house without a word, without a gesture, without even a glance over his shoulder, and that silence weighed on her like a boulder. He hadn't answered any of her messages. She had reread them dozens of times those little blue texts she'd sent him with growing frenzy: "Where are you?", "We need to talk,", "Please, call me back," and later, in a surge of desperation, "I'm begging you, Pedro, answer me." Nothing. The implacable silence of the phone, that absence of response eating at her from the inside. It was the same wi
Ellie woke slowly, head heavy, mouth pasty, as if someone had filled his skull with damp cotton. The apartment smelled of pie in the oven a sweet, warm scent of apples and cinnamon that violently contrasted with the icy void in his stomach. He stayed lying there for a long moment, eyes fixed on the white ceiling, images from the day before returning in painful waves: Sofia and his father in the car, their bodies entwined, the stifled moans, the betrayal. Each memory was a blade sinking a little deeper. He forced himself to get up, legs weak, body still heavy from the previous night's alcohol.He passed Sofia's room. The shower was running behind the door. She was there, behind that simple wooden door, as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn't destroyed everything. He clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms, then continued on his way without a sound.Downstairs, Diego greeted him with a broad, innocent smile."You're finally awake! We thought you'd sleep until tomorr
Sofia stood still for a moment, petrified in the middle of the living room, Pedro's gaze still fixed on her. That gaze was heavy, worried, almost accusing. She felt the pressure rising in her chest like a wave ready to swallow her. She had lied, she had hidden things, and now she could no longer back down. The words were there, stuck in her throat, but she knew she had to let them out. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a second, and launched in."You're right… something happened."Pedro straightened slightly, eyebrows furrowed, body taut as a spring. His voice was low, pressing, almost an order."Then tell me, for God's sake."Sofia lowered her eyes for a moment, staring at the cold tile under her feet. She felt her heart beating too fast, her fingers trembling. She looked up, her voice trembling but determined not to evade."He… he told me he has feelings for me. And I told him that…"Pedro didn't let her finish. He ran both hands through his hair in a brusque gesture a ges







