Chapter 3: The Break
I didn't sleep.
Couldn't.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his hand coming toward my face.
I heard his voice.
Kneel.
I felt the sting of betrayal.
At 2:00 AM, I got out of bed.
Rosa was asleep on the couch in my hotel suite. She'd insisted on staying.
I walked to the window.
The city stretched below me, endless lights spreading across the darkness.
Somewhere in that city, Andrew was panicking.
Calling lawyers. Calling banks. Calling anyone who could save him.
And nobody would answer.
Because everyone had already been warned.
At 3:00 AM, my phone buzzed.
Andrew.
Again.
I finally picked up.
"Mariana—"
"Do you know what time it is?"
"Please. Just listen to me."
"I've been listening to you for four years, Andrew. I don't want to listen anymore."
"I know I messed up."
Messed up.
That's what he called hitting me.
Messing up.
"Where's Brenda?" I asked. "Is she standing next to you while you apologize? Is she in your bed? Wearing my clothes? Touching my husband?"
"Mariana—"
"What did you tell her?" I asked. "After I left? Did you say I was crazy? Did you laugh at me?"
Silence.
"Did you hold her while she cried? Did you promise her that I was nothing? That she would be the real Mrs. Whitmore?"
"None of that matters."
"None of it matters?"
"Just tell me what you want. I'll do anything. I'll give you anything."
"Anything?"
"Please."
"The necklace was in her purse."
"What?"
"The one I supposedly stole. She took it. Her and your mother. They planned the whole thing."
Silence stretched between us.
Andrew didn't deny it.
He was probably calculating.
Trying to figure out how to spin it.
"Brenda wouldn't—"
"She would. And you know it. But you don't care. Because it gave you a reason to hit me. A reason to feel powerful. A reason to remind me of my place."
"Mariana—"
"Did you love me?" I asked. "Even once?"
"I loved you the day I married you."
"No. You didn't. You loved what I could give you. And when you realized I wasn't going to give you anything else... you stopped pretending."
Andrew said nothing.
"Don't call me again," I said. "We're done."
I hung up.
For a moment, I just stood there.
Hand shaking. Heart pounding.
Then Rosa sat up on the couch.
"You okay?"
"No."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Want me to make coffee?"
"I want—"
I stopped.
What did I want?
"What do you want, Mariana?"
"I want to stop feeling like this."
Rosa stood up and walked over.
She wrapped her arms around me.
"You'll stop," she said gently. "Eventually. But right now... you're allowed to feel everything."
"I don't want to feel everything. I want to feel nothing."
"That's not how it works."
"I know."
We stood there for a long moment.
Then Rosa pulled back and looked at my face.
"You need to see a doctor."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. That's a serious bruise. Your lip is split. You might have a concussion."
"I don't have a concussion."
"How do you know?"
"I'm fine."
"You said that six times in a row."
I blinked.
"I'm fine."
"That's seven."
I laughed.
It sounded strange. Broken.
"I can't believe this is my life."
"Which part?"
"All of it. The lies. The cheating. The hitting. I spent four years with a man who never loved me, and I was too scared to leave."
"Fear is a powerful thing."
"I wasn't afraid of him. I was afraid of being alone."
Rosa nodded.
"That's understandable."
"You think I'm pathetic?"
"Mariana—"
"I loved him. Even after everything. I loved him, Rosa. How is that possible?"
She didn't answer.
"Am I stupid? Weak? Broken?"
"You're human."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer."
I pulled away.
Walked back to the window.
"I keep thinking about my mother."
"Your mother?"
"She was smart. Strong. She built everything from nothing. And she was alone."
"She had you."
"After my father died. She had nobody. Just me. And she never let anyone close again. Not because she was afraid. Because she knew."
"Knew what?"
"That loving people doesn't protect you. It just gives them more ways to hurt you."
Rosa came up beside me.
"That's a hard way to live."
"But it's safe."
"Is it?"
I looked at her.
"I don't know anymore."
At 5:00 AM, my phone buzzed again.
This time, it wasn't Andrew.
It was the mansion.
The security system had been triggered.
I answered.
"Mrs. Escalante?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Whitmore is attempting to access the safe. He's demanding we open it."
"Don't."
"Understood."
"Also—lock the gates. Nobody leaves. Nobody enters. I want the entire household locked down until I get there."
"Yes, ma'am."
I hung up.
"He's trying to steal from you," Rosa said.
"He's trying to save whatever he can before it all disappears."
"Can he?"
"No. Everything's frozen."
"Then why is he doing it?"
I thought about it.
"Because he doesn't believe me. He thinks this is a bluff. He thinks if he finds enough money, he can fight me."
"And can he?"
"Not with his money. But with his lawyers? His connections? Maybe."
"So we fight back."
"we will."
I grabbed my coat.
"Where are you going?"
"To the mansion."
"Mariana—"
"He thinks I'm weak. He thinks I'll cave. He thinks I'll let him get away with all of it because I loved him."
"Won't you?"
I stopped at the door.
Turned around.
"No. Not anymore."
Rosa's expression shifted.
May you like
Something like pride flickered in her eyes.
"Good."
