All Chapters of Tainted Love: Chapter 61 - Chapter 64

I was locked in the room by one of Mateo’s men. The air felt heavier with each passing second, but I slipped into the bathroom, clutching the phone like my last lifeline, waiting for Sandra’s call. I didn’t even realize I had dozed off until a vibration buzzed in my hand, jolting me awake. I answered the call before the second ring.“We’re safe. Moreno is fine,” Sandra’s voice whispered urgently through the line. “He’s stepped out to make arrangements to come and get you. He said to tell you that he wants to end this, once and for all.”I nodded instinctively, forgetting she couldn’t see me. God, I wanted to speak to Moreno, to hear his voice just once, but Sandra was right we didn’t have the luxury of time. Every second we hesitated gave Mateo more power.After the call, I hid the phone under the bathroom sink and walked to the window, trying to calm my racing heart. Cars kept coming and going. Something was happening outside, but I couldn’t figure out what. The door flung open. I f

The wedding was a blur of white lace and suffocating silence. I felt nothing as Mateo slid the ring onto my finger my mind was elsewhere, screaming for freedom.Moreno’s face haunted me. I could still see the rage in his eyes as he walked away that day. It wasn’t defeat. No, Moreno never backed down. He did what he did to protect Gustavo. He’d come back.Days passed, each one heavier than the last. Mateo tightened his grip, turning the house into a prison. I wasn’t allowed to speak with anyone without his approval.“Smile more, Cupcake,” he would say, brushing my hair back like I was some porcelain doll. “You look prettier when you remember who you belong to.”Each time, I bit my tongue and smiled. I couldn’t afford to fight him head-on. Not yet.That night, while pretending to sleep, I overheard two of Mateo’s guards talking outside my door.“Do we tell him?” one whispered.“Are you crazy? Mateo will lose it. Losing the kid was bad enough,” the other hissed.My pulse quickened. The k