Kabanata 33 El Filibusterismo

After secretly registering our marriage, my lawyer husband, Benedict White, proposed holding a public wedding ceremony every time he gained favor with his lover, Anna Lester. Over three years, Benedict asked me thirty-three times and broke thirty-three promises. The first time, Anna’s dog died. He said we had to mourn for three months to honor it. I stood in a wedding dress and apologized endlessly to the friends and relatives seated below the stage. The second time, Anna had menstrual pain. He turned around on the way and went to care for her. After that, every ceremony he promised came with a new problem from Anna. I cried. I protested. Yet Benedict always said, “She's just a friend with benefits. You’re my wife. Don’t be so petty about it.” After the thirty-third time, I finally grew tired. I slid a divorce agreement across the table in front of him. “Let’s get this over with.”

Sylvia Frost and Victor Rothwell's wedding had been postponed 33 times. This time, it happened on the night before the ceremony. She was struck by a car and left with 19 broken bones. She was rushed to the ICU three separate times before her condition finally stabilized. Once she was strong enough to leave her bed, she braced herself against the wall and shuffled into the hallway. As she reached the corner, she overheard her fiancé speaking with a friend. "Last time it was drowning. This time you used a car. That gets you another two months. What are you going to do next?" Sylvia's blood turned to ice. Victor stood there in his white coat, his phone turning slowly in his hand. "No more delays." His voice remained flat.

After I register my marriage with Gabriella Archer behind everyone's backs, whenever she unlocks a new bedroom position with her childhood sweetheart, Nathaniel Taylor, she tells me that she'll throw a wedding to make it up to me. In three years, Gabriella has brought the wedding up 33 times. Of course, she has broken her promise 33 times as well. The first time she did, it was because Nathaniel's dog had died. In order to pay respects to it, Gabriella told me that she couldn't host any auspicious events for three months. I was still clad in a tux as I kept apologizing and making amends to all of our family, friends, and relatives beneath the stage. The second time Gabriella flaked out on me, it was thanks to Nathaniel's stomachache. She had the wedding car turned around so that she could buy medicine for Nathaniel and take care of him. In every wedding after that, Nathaniel would get into all sorts of troubles and ailments. I fought with Gabriella, and I lost my temper multiple times. But Gabriella often hit me with, "Nate and I are just friends with benefits. You're my actual husband here, so don't be petty." After Gabriella breaks her promise for the 33rd time, I'm finally done with her. So, I slide a divorce agreement in her direction. "The cooling-off period is over, so let's just finalize the divorce."

We were supposed to be in love for eternity. But my vampire fiancé, Caius, has stood me up at our blood-bonding ceremony thirty-three times. The first time, the girl he’d sired, Evangeline, lost control during a hunt. He raced to her side, leaving me alone in the church under the blood moon. The second time, he vanished mid-ceremony because Evangeline was being bullied by another clan. He left me to face the elders’ mockery alone. After that, his little fledgling always had some fresh disaster for him to avert. And he always had an excuse: “I sired her. She’s like a child to me.” Then I saw the fresh bite marks on their necks. They had shared blood—the ultimate intimacy between mates. My heart turned to ash. It was time to burn our betrothal to the ground. The day I finally disappeared, he went mad, tearing our world apart to find me.

She was a package and he was the devil. And the devil always deliver.  Hired to deliver a package within a week, he was up to the task but he never expected unforeseen circumstances to delay his efficiency in his work. Vowed to live up to his reputation, he was ready to go through anything to see that he delivers but what would happen when he started getting close to the package? Or the fact that he started going beyond his belief wondering what would become of her when he let's her out of his sight? This was wrong, he is El Diablo, he has no heart, no emotion. He doesn't feel, he is not compassionate. What he does is accept jobs, deliver and gets paid and if you cross him? He doesn't hesitate to put a bullet straight to the head.  His name is feared all around, he is neat, he is never crossed, even his employers fear him. Parents tell his story to scare children and the ground shake at the very mention of his name. He is El Diablo and no one challenges him, no one except her that kept defying his orders.

Dahil sa pagiging broken hearted ni Alexa ay napilitan siyang umuwi sa hacienda nila na kanya ng iniwan, pitong taon na ang nakalilipas. She left and lived her life in the City because of Aslan. Si Aslan ang trenta y tres anyos na lalaking inampon ng kanyang mga magulang pero naging other man pa ng kanyang ina. As much as possible, Alexa doesn't want to see the guy anymore, who stole her inheritance and her mother. Ninakaw ni Aslan ang lahat ng mana na dapat ay kanya. At sa kanyang pag-uwi sa hasyenda Escobar ay babawiin na niya ang dapat na kanya bilang kaisa-isang anak at solong tagapagmana mula sa lalaking tinatawag ng lahat na hasyendero, peke naman.

Lucas Solís y yo éramos conocidos en la capital como la pareja más conflictiva. Él me despreciaba por considerarme una mujer sin escrúpulos que lo había obligado a casarse conmigo a toda costa. Yo lo odiaba porque cada noche le guardaba fidelidad a Claudia, mientras que a mí me trataba con una frialdad glacial. Durante ocho años de matrimonio, lo que más me decía fue que me fuera. Cuando llegó la inundación, Lucas, que siempre me había dirigido palabras crueles, me cedió el último lugar en el bote salvavidas. Me gritó: —¡No mires atrás, vete rápido! Elisa, ya no te debo nada. En la próxima vida, solo quiero estar con Claudia. Intenté salvarlo, pero me sujetaron con fuerza. Finalmente, solo pude ver cómo las aguas se lo tragaban. El equipo de rescate llegó tarde. Su cuerpo, ya hinchado y descompuesto por el agua, aún apretaba con fuerza el amuleto de Claudia, imposible de soltar. Más tarde, vendí todas mis propiedades para donarlas a la zona afectada y salté al vacío para seguirlo a la tumba. Al abrir los ojos, me encontré de vuelta en la noche en que drogaron a Lucas.

Natalia Cantú conoció a Samuel Ximénez al borde de la muerte. Como un caballero gentil, le hizo creer que estarían juntos de por vida. Hasta que, engañada por él para que llevara el caso de divorcio de su primer amor, descubrió por accidente que cinco años de amor eran falsos, que el esposo obsesionado con mimarla era falso, ¡incluso su parálisis de las piernas era falsa! Él sabía engañar y mentir, y ella también. El día que obtuvo el divorcio, Natalia se convirtió en tendencia por las críticas. Ella aprovechó la situación y ganó notoriedad. Un obsesivo magnate que la buscó durante cinco años voló esa misma noche, se arrodilló en un gesto solemne y, sosteniendo un anillo, le suplicó por su amor: —Mi princesa, si ya me salvaste una vez, ¿cómo podrías abandonarme tan fácilmente?

El día de mi boda, de repente, mis papás trajeron a mi novio a la casa y dijeron que la boda iba a tener otra novia: —Tu hermana tiene una enfermedad terminal, su único deseo es casarse con Iván. —Tú eres su hermana menor, sé buena y ayuda a tu hermana. —No te apresures —intervino también mi novio—, es nomás una ceremonia. Después de que ella se muera, nosotros todavía podemos casarnos. Yo no estuve de acuerdo, así que mis papás me amarraron. —Te soltaremos, después de que se acabe la boda. Pero, poco después de que se fueron, un ladrón que se metió a la casa me mató de forma brutal. Cuando por fin se acordaron de mí, solo encontraron mi cuerpo ya en estado de descomposición.

En mi sexto mes de embarazo, mi hermana menor, Clara Soto, sufrió un accidente de tráfico. Debido a la pérdida de sangre, requirió con urgencia un donante compatible. Y, según los exámenes, yo era la única que podía salvarle la vida. Sin embargo, debido a que durante los últimos meses de embarazo había perdido peso, me recomendaron no donar. Aun así, mi familia me obligó. Por lo que, sin fuerzas para oponerme, esperé que mi esposo me ayudara a salir de esa situación. No obstante, se quedó a un lado con los brazos cruzados, diciendo: —Estás bien de salud. Donar sangre no te afectará en nada. Clara tendrá un futuro brillante, no voy a permitir que lo destruyas. Después de la donación, me desmayé. Y, cuando desperté, supe que algo dentro de mí se había roto. Por lo que, sin decir ni una palabra, lo primero que hice fue agendar un aborto.