Mariana whispered, “Why didn’t Sofia tell us?”
Javier looked at her.
“She did tell me what her mother did.”
Teresa went completely still.
“You knew?”
“I knew she worked in hospitality.”
“You knew her mother was Elena Mendoza?”
“Yes, but Sofia never—”
Teresa slapped both palms against the table.
“And you let us leave her on the road?”
Javier stared at her in disbelief.
“You told me to!”
“And you’re her husband!”
The hypocrisy would have been almost funny if the consequences had not been so serious.
Suddenly everyone was reaching for their phones.
Teresa called Sofia.
No answer.
Mariana called.
No answer.
Javier called once.
Twice.
Five times.
Ten.
He texted.
Where are you?
Call me.
Please answer.
Then:
This is serious.
Sofia looked at the messages while sitting inside a roadside diner.
After nearly half an hour in the rain, an older couple had seen her walking along the road and insisted on driving her to the nearest safe place.
She had accepted.
Now she sat in a booth near the window wrapped in a dry blanket the waitress had found in the office.
A mug of coffee warmed her hands.
Her hair was still damp.
Her boots were soaked.
Her phone showed forty-seven missed calls.
Twenty-six were from Javier.
Sofia stared at that number for a long time.
When she had been alone on a dangerous road, nobody had called.
When Altavista canceled the contract, suddenly she mattered.
The diner door flew open.
Javier rushed inside.
His hair was plastered against his forehead.
His shirt was soaked.
He scanned the room until he saw her.
“Sofia!”
Every head turned.
He hurried toward the booth.
“You need to talk to your mom right now!”
Sofia slowly set her coffee down.
That was his first sentence.
Not Are you okay?
Not I’m sorry.
Not I should never have left you.
She looked at him.
“Is that really the first thing you’re going to say to me?”
Javier stopped.
His breathing was heavy.
“The contract was massive for us, Sofia.”
She said nothing.
“You have to tell her it was a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding.”
“Yes.”
Sofia’s voice remained calm.
“When your mother left me standing outside the terminal, what exactly did you misunderstand?”
Javier ran a hand through his wet hair.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“When Mariana filmed me?”
“Sofia—”
“When your family mocked me?”
“I didn’t know she would post it.”
“When your mother said daughters-in-law need to learn obedience?”
“She’s old-fashioned.”
“When you sat beside her and told me not to make a scene?”
His mouth closed.
Sofia leaned back.
“Why didn’t you get out of the car, Javier?”
He looked away.
“Why?”
“I didn’t want to make a scene in front of my mom.”
“And now?”
“This is different.”
“How?”
“We’re talking about my family’s entire financial future!”
There it was.
Clean.
Simple.
Ugly.
Sofia gave a short laugh that carried no humor.
“You didn’t come looking for me because you were worried.”
“That’s not fair.”
“You came because the contract disappeared.”
“I came because everything is falling apart!”
“No, Javier.”
She looked directly at him.
“Everything was already falling apart. You just didn’t notice until it cost your family money.”
The waitress nearby pretended not to listen.
Javier lowered his voice.
“Please come back to the manor.”
“Why?”
“Everyone wants to apologize.”
“Did they want to apologize before they learned who my mother was?”
He had no answer.
