Episode 5

My routine continued the same as every day. Work and home. The cycle repeated without any change, and I felt the weight of it more and more.

But now, I was completely alone.

Leonardo had returned to the United States. According to one of the employees, he left the day after lunch and boarded without saying when he would return. I didn't know if he would ever come back. I didn't know if he ever really wanted to come back.

And now, with his absence, the house seemed even emptier.

Three days had passed, and in those three days, Eduardo hadn't come home. He didn't call, didn't send messages, didn't bother to pretend we had a marriage. Which led me to conclude that he was exactly where he wanted to be: in the arms of the woman he threw in my face that he still loved.

And me?

I was tired, tired of this life, tired of fighting against something that was never real.

The money I earned at work was barely enough to cover my father's medical expenses at the clinic. And to top it off, Eduardo stopped paying the house staff. One by one, they all started to quit.

And now, I was alone in that huge house.

No staff, no help, no one.

In addition to the work at the restaurant, I now made the coffee, lunch, and dinner myself. I cleaned the whole house, slept late, woke up early. I went to work exhausted. And so the days went by.

The loneliness and routine began to slowly consume me.

Today is Saturday, the only day of the week I didn't work.

I took the opportunity to do what mattered most to me: visit my father at the clinic.

I took the little money I had left and went straight there. I knew I had overdue installments and was already preparing to deal with the accusing looks from the receptionists.

But, when I arrived at the reception and approached the counter to make the payment, the nurse looked at me strangely.

"Mariana, your account is already settled."

My eyebrows furrowed immediately.

"What do you mean?"

The woman turned the monitor to her, typing something into the system before confirming:

"All medical expenses have been paid. Including the overdue installment accounts."

My heart leaped in my chest.

"Who paid?"

She analyzed the screen for a few seconds, then frowned.

"Strange... the payment was made from a private account, but there's no name registered."

My stomach churned.

This didn't make sense.

No one but me paid these bills. Eduardo never bothered to even ask how my father was doing. My mother? She didn't care.

So... who?

Still thinking about it, I walked through the corridors of the clinic to the room where my father was hospitalized.

My heart sped up a bit as I opened the door and saw him lying in bed, looking out the window, with a serene air.

He turned his face as soon as he saw me. A small smile appeared on his lips.

"Daughter..."

Whenever I saw him, I felt a mixture of feelings. Longing. Pain. Fear.

"Hi, Dad. How are you?"

"Better, now that you're here."

I smiled, trying to contain the emotion. I walked over to him and held his hand.

"Do you need anything?"

He shook his head slightly.

"The nurses take good care of me."

I nodded, still trying to understand what was happening.

I squeezed his hand a little tighter before asking:

"Dad... has anyone come to visit you in the last few days?"

He looked at me in a curious way.

"No, daughter. Only you."

If it wasn't my mother... and it wasn't Eduardo... Who paid all the clinic expenses? And, more importantly... Why?

When I returned home, already in the evening, the silence enveloped me as always. I opened the door and found Eduardo sitting on the living room sofa, with his legs crossed, a glass of whiskey in his hand, and a look that immediately put me on alert.

His expression was too light. Too relaxed. He had already taken a shower, was wearing casual clothes, ready to go out, as if he were on a date. After days without seeing him, he was there in front of me, as if nothing had happened.

As soon as I closed the door, he spoke:

"I was waiting for you."

"What for?"

He tilted his head to the side, an ironic smile forming on his lips.

"You almost destroyed my life, did you know that? You knew my father would be on your side, didn't you? You ran to tell him that I'm a black sheep."

I frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

Eduardo stood up slowly, picking up the glass of whiskey and swirling the liquid inside as if he were savoring his own anger.

"My father called me and said I'm a miserable man, that I let my own wife work in a coffee shop instead of giving her an allowance and a credit card with no limit."

He laughed, but it wasn't a laugh of amusement, it was of mockery.

He dropped the glass on the coffee table and came towards me, his steps calm but menacing.

My heart sped up.

"Eduardo, I never said anything to him."

"Oh, no?"

"No!"

"Then how the hell did he find out?!"

Before I could answer, I felt the dry impact of his hand against my face.

The pain burned immediately, and a shock ran through my body.

"You bastard!" I screamed, bringing my hand to my face, feeling the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

But Eduardo didn't stop. He grabbed my hair, pulling me brutally towards him.

"You think you can do whatever you want?! That you can turn my father against me?! And you still think you have the right to curse at me?"

I fought against the pain, trying to tear his hands from my hair, but he dragged me up the stairs, without giving me time to react.

My scalp burned, my breathing was ragged.

He was out of control.

When we reached the room, Eduardo threw me hard on the bed. My body hit the mattress, but before I could recover, he was already on top of me.

The first punch came fast, accurate. Pain exploded across my face.

"I'm your husband, damn it! You should be loyal to me!"

Another punch.

My body contracted with the impact, and tears of pain and hatred streamed down my face.

"Your miserable old man is about to die!"

My eyes widened, he was talking about my father.

"If you go to the police... if you even try to tell anyone about this..." Another punch. I sobbed. My whole body was numb. "I'll kill your father right away."

His threat froze my blood.

Eduardo moved away just enough to pick up a folded paper on the dresser.

With a cruel smile, he threw it on me.

"Sign this shit and get out of this house right away."

My vision was blurry, but I could read the words on the sheet.

Divorce.

He wanted to get rid of me. My eyes went up to him.

"Do you really think you can kick me out like that?" my voice came out weak, but filled with hatred.

Eduardo laughed.

"I don't think so, Mariana. I'm sure of it."

He took the pen, threw it next to me and leaned over me.

"This house doesn't belong to you. It never belonged to you. So get out of here immediately. When I come back, I don't want you here anymore, if you disobey me, I'll throw you out of the window of this room with your suitcase and everything, bitch."

He moved away, grabbing his coat and leaving the room as if nothing had happened.

The door slammed. And I stayed there, trembling.

I signed the divorce, and put the paper on the bed.

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