Chapter 2: The Secret Mateo Hid
Mateo barely spoke during the drive to the restaurant.
That worried me more than anything his family had done.
Anger I understood.
Silence was different.
We sat across from each other at a small taco place near the highway. The same place where we had celebrated when we bought our house.
Back then, we had been broke and happy.
We had eaten cheap tacos and looked at pictures of the empty property like it was a palace.
Now we sat there wondering who had been trying to take it away from us.
I placed the receipt on the table.
“Test her.””
Mateo stared at it.
“I didn’t know.””
“I believe you.””
He looked relieved for one second.
Then guilty.
“There’s more.””
I leaned back.
“What?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“A few days ago, I heard my mom talking to Paulina.””
“About me?””
He nodded.
“She said your promotion changed you.””
I almost laughed.
“Of course she did.””
“She said you were becoming too independent.””
“That’s not an insult.””
“No,” he said quietly.
“But she meant it like one.””
The waiter brought our food.
Neither of us touched it.
Mateo continued.
“She said women in a family should know their priorities.””
I looked at him.
“And what are my priorities supposed to be?””
He didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
I looked away.
The worst part wasn’t Beatriz.
It was realizing how long she had been saying these things.
And how often Mateo had heard them.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
His eyes dropped.
“Because I thought it would stop.””
“And did it?””
“No.””
The honesty hurt.
But I appreciated it.
“What else?””
Mateo took a breath.
“My mom wasn’t only angry about your job.””
“What then?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“She mentioned someone else.””
I froze.
“Someone else?””
“A woman.””
The restaurant suddenly felt colder.
“Who?””
Mateo looked at his hands.
“Camila.””
The name meant nothing to me.
It should have.
Apparently, it did to everyone else.
“Who is Camila?””
He hesitated.
“Before you and I met, my family wanted me to marry her.””
I stared at him.
“You’re telling me your family organized a test because of an ex?””
“It wasn’t exactly like that.””
“Then explain.””
Mateo swallowed.
“Camila was my father’s business partner’s daughter. Our families were close. They thought we made sense together.””
“And you?””
“I didn’t love her.””
“But you dated her.””
“For almost a year.””
I looked at the table.
A year.
A person.
A whole part of his life I knew existed but had never understood.
“Why is she suddenly relevant?””
Mateo’s jaw tightened.
“Because she came back.””
The words landed heavily.
“When?””
“Two weeks ago.””
“And you didn’t tell me?””
“I didn’t think it mattered.””
I laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because sometimes disbelief sounded like laughter.
“She came back, your family is suddenly testing me, and you didn’t think it mattered?””
“I was trying to handle it.””
“You were handling it by hiding it.””
He looked hurt.
“I was afraid you’d think—”
“I think your family is trying to replace me.””
“No.””
“Then why is her name in this conversation?””
Mateo looked away.
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who is it?””
He didn’t respond.
I looked at the name.
Beatriz.
He answered.
“Mom?””
A few seconds passed.
Then Mateo’s face turned pale.
“What?””
He stood up.
“What document?””
I watched him listen.
Then he slowly sat back down.
“Okay.””
He ended the call.
“What happened?””
He looked at me.
“My mother says tomorrow’s meeting isn’t only about the house.””
“What else?””
His voice lowered.
“She says there’s paperwork.””
I felt a strange calm come over me.
“Paperwork for what?””
Mateo looked terrified.
“I don’t know.””
That night, I barely slept.
At 6:00 a.m., I opened the cabinet where we kept our important documents.
The deed was there.
Safe.
Protected.
But when I opened the folder, something was missing.
A copy I had made six months earlier.
A copy I knew I had placed there.
And underneath the empty space was a handwritten note.
May you like
One sentence.
“Bring this if you want the truth.””
