Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 8

EMILIANO I deliberately stayed away from home for two days, trying to avoid Valeria Jiménez Aguirre even though the truth was I was not avoiding her presence alone but the consequences of what she had already begun to see. I told myself I only needed time, space, and distance before everything collapsed under the weight of my own choices, yet even while staying away I knew I would eventually have to return because I needed fresh clothes and an explanation I was not sure I could give without everything falling apart. When I finally pulled into the driveway, the house felt heavier than I remembered. I walked in and found Valeria in the kitchen, but I ignored her completely, choosing silence over confrontation. I went straight to our bedroom, showered quickly, and changed into something more comfortable, pretending I could wash away the tension building inside me. When I returned to the dining room, she was already seated, eating in complete silence. I sat across from her and waited,

VALERIA That night, Xavier Jiménez Aguirre insisted on taking me to a hotel, refusing to let me stay in the place I had originally chosen because he claimed it was beneath the standard he wanted for me, and although I tried to argue, I eventually gave in because I did not have the strength to fight anything anymore. I spent most of the night lying awake, staring at the ceiling as my mind replayed everything that had collapsed around me, my marriage, my trust, and the life I had thought I understood, until exhaustion finally pulled me into a shallow sleep that did nothing to ease the heaviness in my chest. The next day, Xavier arrived earlier than expected, his presence calm but firm, and the moment he stepped into the room I could already tell he was carrying news I would not like. He told me I had to return home and face our parents, and the words alone made my stomach tighten as though I had been asked to walk into something I was not ready to survive. “I do not think I am ready

EMILIANO Her question hit the table like something sharp enough to draw attention in an instant. “You actually left your wife for me?” Camila Torres Beltrán’s voice carried a calm curiosity, but beneath it was something that felt almost like mockery, and I found myself pausing mid-meal with my gaze fixed on the plate in front of me before slowly lifting it to meet hers. The way she looked at me made it hard to decide whether she was genuinely interested or simply testing how far I would bend before I broke. “Why phrase it like that?” I asked, my tone quieter than I intended, because the truth was far less convenient than I wanted it to be. “Just to be clear, she was the one who filed for the divorce, not me.” Camila tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into something that resembled amusement. “But you still signed the papers,” she pointed out, as if that single detail carried more weight than everything else I had just said. And she was not wrong. The truth sat somewhe

VALERIA I had spent the entire day buried in the library, flipping through books and notes about real estate management until my head felt heavy with information. I did not want to appear like a complete novice in front of Damián Ibarra Cruz, especially not when he was going to be my coach. The thought alone made me push myself harder, even when my concentration started to blur. By evening, I returned home starving. Xavier Jiménez Aguirre told me we were going out for dinner, so I quickly took a shower and grabbed the first dress I saw on the hanger, a simple yellow one that I did not think too much about. I just needed to eat and relax my mind. When we arrived at the restaurant, I was surprised to find the place completely empty. It felt almost unreal. Xavier explained that he had reserved the entire space because he did not want to deal with crowds that night. I found his reason a bit excessive, but I did not argue because my main priority was food. While he stepped away to tak