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“Basta!”
“Abuela, Diego just came home. He has a bride at home waiting for him. Maybe we can talk about this another day. I have to get back to the hospital,” Lucas says as he grabs my arm and practically drags me out of the room.
I’m speechless as I can see the accusing eyes of both Papá and Jorge looking at me. Abuela calls Papá in the translated version of his name in English, to differentiate between the two of them. Papá is holding on to his cheek and screaming at Abuela, Jorge is doing the same. I can jump in and rescue her, but Abuela is tougher than any woman I know.
Once we’re outside, Lucas hugs me. He wraps his arms around me and gives me the comfort he always did when he was a child.
“I love you, little brother, and you’re more of a man than he’ll ever be.”
I nod my head. I give him a reassuring pat on the back. “I’m fine.” He holds my gaze and then smiles as he cups my face. Then he practically runs to the elevator to get to the hospital.
I’m fucking not fine. I intend to go to a bar and get completely wasted, this has always been my way to deal with this sort of pain.
He shifts to the elevator and I do the same toward Belén’s desk.
“I’m going to the bar. Come.”
She shakes her head. “No. I have things to do.”
“I wasn’t asking you. I was telling you.”
She probably sees the fire in my eyes, because a hesitant Belén becomes a very eager one as she grabs her purse and joins me as I head toward the elevator.
I do have a wife at home, but I can’t let her see me like this. Not tonight.
1 Give me a kiss!
28
Diego
Itake Belén to a discreet bar in Manhattan for a quiet evening, so we can chat and discuss a way forward. She avoids my eyes as she stands in the elevator. I’m waiting for her to ask me where we are going or even why we’re leaving the office.
Yet, not a sound comes out of her mouth. Not a whisper. She may look the same as Leticia on the outside, but they are so different. There’s no way Leticia wouldn’t be staring at me, or even standing with her arms crossed, refusing to go any further with me, unless she knows the reason why.
Belén is the complete opposite, she doesn’t dress like her sister neither in a black shift dress and matching blazer which she’s probably warn to a few funerals. Her hair is neatly tied up in a bun, with not a strand loose. Even her scent is nothing like her sister’s, it’s more subtle and more rosy.
I don’t believe that Belén doesn’t have emotions, and she’s so detached from the outside world that she doesn’t care about a thing. Even I’m not a complete heartless bastard and still react to things. It dawns on me, something that I didn’t see as plain as day before.
“When you said you couldn’t have children, it was a lie, wasn’t it?”
I bet she made it up to get out of marrying me. She doesn’t reply, but as soon as the elevator chimes and we’re on the ground floor, she turns to face me coldly, sending a fucking shiver up my spine.
“No,” she says in a whisper.
Does it make me feel better her denying it?
No.
She could be lying, but I realize I’m just being Mr. Sensitive. This always happens whenever Papá is around, he brings out the need for me to feel like this, for me to seek comfort. I have a black book and any number in there could satisfy and complete one of my many sexual fetishes, but I can’t because of Leticia. I can’t and won’t do what her ex did to her, even if we’re not officially married.
“We’re going to The Velvet Lounge, it’s a couple of blocks from here,” I say as she walks beside me and we leave the office building.
“Where’s Leticia?”
I’m taken aback by her question, because since Leticia switched on her phone she said she has sent Belén messages with no reply. Leticia is like Lucas in ways, because they’re both the type of people that can never have any resentment. I need to learn how to be more like them, but I want questions answered by Belén, even if I don’t think she’ll answer them.
Within a few strides we arrive at The Velvet Lounge. it’s a hidden gem nestled between the towering buildings on a quiet street. Belén smiles, and I realize I’ve made a mistake bringing her here. It’s by no means a romantic gesture, but it is the place we shared our first kiss. I remember as I notice the dimly lit interior with rich, mahogany furnishings. Plush leather boothsline the perimeter, providing an intimate atmosphere for conversations.
