Charity, with red eyes but a serene voice, replied:
—I’m married to him. I’m not going to leave him for another woman.
Liliana smiled venomously.
—Well, deal with it, queen.
Gerardo thought he had won.
I didn’t understand something: patience isn’t always weakness. Sometimes it’s silent strength.
Days later, an invitation arrived that changed everything for him.
A business dinner hosted by Grupo Becerra, a powerful firm seeking a new chief operating officer for a massive contract. That night, Gerardo would sign the deal that would propel him to the next level.
He read and reread a line that weighed on him like a stone:
“The guest is requested to attend with his wife.”
His throat closed up.
He couldn’t refuse. The contract was too big. But he didn’t want Caridad by his side, he didn’t want to see her “plain” in front of wealthy people.
Caridad noticed his tension. She had spent years learning to read him like one reads the weather.
He approached with a gentle smile.
—You seemed happy. What happened? Something good?
Gerardo nervously folded the letter and hid it.
“What are you looking at?” she blurted out. “Are you spying on me in my own house?”
Charity stepped back, wounded.
—I’m not spying on you… I’m just—
“There’s nothing!” she shouted. “You just cook and clean, okay? There are things that aren’t for you.”
That sentence hit Caridad like a slap in the face. She went to her room, sat on the bed, and wept softly, wondering when loving became a crime.
That night, Gerardo called Liliana.
“I have a dinner where I’m signing the deal of a lifetime,” he said excitedly. “But they’re asking me to bring my wife.”
Liliana laughed.
—Well, take me. I’ve got the right image.
And Gerardo, a coward, accepted.
The day arrived. Gerardo put on his best suit, looked in the mirror, and felt “new.” Caridad greeted him in the kitchen, but he left without answering.
