All Chapters of Taboo Dance : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

While Jane and I were having coffee at a café, Eduardo showed up. I was deeply upset by the situation. I had told him time and again that we needed to keep our distance.Sending me messages every single day and calling me constantly wasn’t enough for him— now he was showing up uninvited. He was being intrusive. He was not respecting my boundaries.I apologized to my new friend for having to leave her alone to speak with my brother-in-law. In my frustration, I forgot to introduce them. Jane noticed my anger and asked if I needed any help. I told her I didn’t and added that I was truly sorry for interrupting our conversation.Eduardo and I sat at a table tucked away from the rest so no one could overhear our conversation. He begged me to come back to him. He insisted that he loved me and that each day without me was driving him insane. I told him I was sorry I couldn’t return his love. I added that I would never be with him again. That this was our final conversation. That I was ending

That night, I silenced my phone so I could finally get some peaceful sleep. When I woke up, I saw I had over ten missed calls and five text messages from Cristian. His tone had shifted drastically—from expressing concern in the first messages to calling me a “stupid bitch” in the last. I immediately messaged my lawyer, asking if she thought I should respond. She advised me to tell him I’d stayed over at a friend’s place because it got late, and warned me not to let on that I had left him. The goal was to give me enough time to collect my belongings from Cristian’s house without incident. Once I’d done that, she would call him herself to inform him of my decision and to make it clear that any attempt to harass me would have legal consequences.I called Cristian, knowing he was usually in a meeting at that hour. My plan was to keep the conversation short, avoiding questions or insults. I told him exactly what my lawyer had advised me to say—that I had stayed at a friend’s place because

I thought the sessions with the psychologist would be more difficult. The topics we address are heavy, yet I find it easy to open up to her. Like Jane, I’m a very reserved person, and it embarrasses me to admit that I endured severe psychological abuse from my husband. I'm also ashamed of having had a lover. According to the values I was raised with, that was immoral—no different than being a prostitute. And on top of all that, I danced in a nightclub where illegal dealings took place.I told Amanda, my psychologist, about my toxic relationship with Cristian and how complicated things were with Eduardo. I explained that I was afraid of both men. She understood why I feared my husband, but she couldn’t see the danger in my ex‑lover. That was because I didn’t tell her everything. I omitted the fact that my brother‑in‑law is involved in shady business and once offered to kill my husband. I also didn’t mention that I had worked as a dancer in one of his cabarets after discovering my spous

When he left the highway, he slowed down, but he threatened me. He told me not to make a scene or ask for help, or else things would go very badly for me. As he said this, he showed me a gun. I realized my fears were becoming real. The terror I felt turned into a severe panic attack. I could barely breathe as I thought I was about to be murdered by my husband.Roughly, Cristian told me to calm down. He handed me a pair of dark sunglasses so no one would see my tear-filled eyes. He wanted to keep others from noticing I had been crying. He also asked for my phone so I couldn’t call anyone. With that, any possibility of someone helping me disappeared.We arrived at the parking lot of the building where Cristian owns an apartment. When we got into the elevator, we ran into one of the concierges, who very kindly asked how we were doing. My husband rushed to answer for both of us. He said we were doing great and had come to spend a few days relaxing.For Cristian’s convenience, no one else

To keep Eduardo from overhearing our conversation, I sent Jane a written message telling her that I was pregnant and that I didn’t know who the father was. She asked me if I was going to have the baby. I told her I wasn’t sure. Having it would put an end to my dream of becoming a professional dancer, and not knowing who the father was was a serious issue that could turn both Marín de la Cruz brothers against me.I told her that Cristian knew I was pregnant because he had forced me to take a pregnancy test. He believed the baby was his. In any case, as a doctor, he knew I had to see a gynecologist and undergo some tests to be certain about the pregnancy. I still hadn’t told Eduardo.So that my brother-in-law wouldn’t suspect anything, we stopped texting. We both deleted the conversation so there would be no trace of what we had said. Jane carried the suitcase into the living room where Eduardo was waiting. My friend and I said goodbye with a hug, and she told me that whenever I wanted