“When do you turn into this?” His tone held back anger. “Jealous, mean, can’t even accept a kid, not the same as before.”
I stayed in place, one side of my face hurting with heat.
My fingers curled tighter little by little, and even my knuckles looked white.
The last small piece in my chest broke apart right then.
I laughed in anger, forcing myself to keep my voice from shaking.
“What are you saying about change? Do I need to question nothing, worry about nothing, always act calm and understanding, just to prove I didn’t change?”
“Then what about you, Lorenzo? Didn’t you change, too? Are you still the Lorenzo who said he would love only me?”
Lorenzo clearly froze for a second, his eyes shifting away.
A sharp pain suddenly hit my stomach, my breath stopped, my body dropped without control, I could only crouch down, my hand pressing over my belly, and cold sweat quickly covered my back.
Lorenzo’s face shifted, and he stepped closer without thinking.
“Wife, what’s wrong with you?”
“Lorenzo, Miguel lost consciousness!” But before he could reach me, Ariella quickly caught Miguel, her voice shaking as she called his name.
Without stopping, Lorenzo turned back, picked up the child, and walked away, not even looking at me again.
When he reached the door, he seemed to think of me and turned back to leave a line.
“Wife, calm down. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
The room went quiet once more.
I crouched where I stayed and closed my eyes. I had already made up my mind not to cry for this man again, but the tears still wouldn’t stop.
Lorenzo.
I had regretted it long ago.
If I hadn’t fought with my family because of you and hadn’t left the place that should have protected me without thinking, maybe I wouldn’t have reached this point today.
How could I be this foolish, believing you would love me for life?
After I got back home, I kept getting ready to leave.
Ariella sent me three awful photos. I couldn’t eat or sleep, and before I go, I have to leave three big gifts for this cheating pair.
These past few days, Lorenzo seemed to think I had become more understanding.
To make up for it, he started buying me things more often, jewelry, presents, and all kinds of costly toys for the child.
I had someone throw all of those things away.
Lorenzo didn’t notice at all.
Because he was busy staying with Ariella, bringing her and Miguel in front of different cameras, building attention, and talking online.
Comments online kept coming. Some said that even the cold Lorenzo could be this gentle when he meets the person he loves.
When I read that line, my heart moved a little.
That kind of praise used to belong to me in that circle before.
Five years earlier, several men bothered me in a narrow street, and it was Lorenzo, still studying at the university, who brought me out of that mess.
At that time, I felt something change inside me.
Later, I worried he might feel less than me, so I hid who I was and acted like my family was only at the same level as his.
I stayed by his side from having nothing to having something, quietly gave him help, supported him through the hardest time, and little by little turned that distant man into someone who smiled at me and would bow his head for me.
During these five years, I gave so much effort, and only then did that cold man slowly become warm.
The Lorenzo who loved me used to be the most admired boyfriend and husband in that circle.
When I got sick, he stayed by my bed all night, and in front of others, he never hid that I was the only one for him.
But now I understand I was never his only one.
In his heart, Ariella was.
When he was younger, she was the sister-in-law he looked up to.
Later, she became the widowed sister-in-law he needed to care for.
After that, she turned into a woman he could stay close to in a proper way.
And I was only a part that could be replaced.
There were only two days left before I left.
That day was his mother’s sixtieth birthday. She had treated me well, so in both feeling and reason, I should go.
I went by myself.
After all, Lorenzo didn’t come home, and he didn’t come to pick me up.
But when I walked into the banquet hall, I saw Lorenzo standing in the middle of the crowd. Ariella held his arm. Their clothes clearly matched, and their expressions looked natural and close.
Miguel, who looked like Lorenzo, stood beside them and made them seem like a real family.
And I stood by the doorway, like an outsider.
When the nearby relatives noticed me, their faces changed a little. They likely thought I would cause a scene like before.
But I just looked away, walked over, gave the gift to his mother, and smiled as I wished her good health on her birthday. My tone stayed calm, and my manners were proper.
I didn’t look at him again.
Lorenzo stood there, his face going stiff for a moment.
I didn’t cause any trouble. He should’ve felt at ease, but instead, he became strangely annoyed.
