Secrets in coffee

The vibrant atmosphere of the birthday party lasted until dawn. I found myself trapped, attending to the guests, among them Nelson's parents, my future in-laws, whose eyes shone with happiness knowing that we already had a date for the wedding.

What had started as a birthday celebration turned into my worst nightmare. The wedding commitment overshadowed what should have been the most special day. However, the real storm broke when my eyes met those of an attractive man, only to discover that he was my sister's husband. Forbidden love blossomed in my heart, a thorn that stabbed deeply, leaving a very painful wound.

I was looking forward to the end of the party, wanting to lock myself in my room for the next 50 years.

(…)

The next day…

Daylight filtered through the curtains, and I was still trapped in my room. I didn't want to face the outside world, but April, like old times, came looking for me. We were a happy family then, before all this happened. At that moment, I just wanted to be able to turn back time and not have met Luis José, but it was like trying to pick up spilled water.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he said as he opened the curtains. The aroma of freshly prepared breakfast filled the room, but I hadn't slept all night. I had no appetite, but April insisted.

“Please, Ana Paula, join me for breakfast. Dad and Mom aren't up yet, and I don't want to eat alone, so I thought I'd make you breakfast like in the old days.”

He said this in a soft voice, but at the same time, there was an urgency in his attitude.

“Alone!” I repeated. “And your husband? Where is he? I figured everyone was going to have breakfast in the dining room.”

“Luis José left very early,” April responded, a little discouraged. “A congressional colleague in Cancún called him. It seems he has something important to tell him, and they had to meet first thing in the morning. It was all sudden.”

The shadow of uncertainty passed over her face, and her gaze became lost, as if she were not convinced of what she was saying.

Thus began another day in our complicated family, where secrets and forbidden emotions threatened to crumble what was left of our happiness.

“And does it always come out suddenly like that?” I asked, intrigued, although inside I imagined that perhaps he had left home to find the opportunity to meet with me so we could talk.

“Oh, sister! I know what you are implying, but let me tell you that my Luis José is the most faithful man in this world. He is incapable of deceiving me. And for your peace of mind, we have never had any problems with that.”

I swallowed deeply. I couldn't believe that April trusted him so much. For me, the thought of living with this regret and not being able to look my sister in the eyes was unbearable.

Just then, my cell phone rang. I had received a message. She said very politely:

“Oh, let me hand you the phone!”

Immediately, I told her, terrified, as I jumped out of bed:

“No! Don't bother, I'll look for it.” She looked very surprised by my attitude.

“It seems like you were waiting for that message. And I don't think it's your fiancé's, because the face you had last night when Nelson showed up was more like a wake.”

“I was very tired from the trip and, as I told you last night, I had a bad migraine.”

“Don't tell me that message they gave you is from your unknown savior. That stranger you met in Cancún, and you didn't tell me anything else. You left me wanting to know what really happened. Be very careful, Ana Paula. Look, you already have the wedding date; you can't give so much importance to a stranger that you may never see again.”

While April was talking non-stop, I opened the message. It was from an unknown number and said:

“Hello, it's Luis José. This is my number. I need us to talk, please. I'll wait for you at Café Garibaldi in half an hour. Don't miss it.”

A chill ran through my body. What should I do? I had the opportunity to tell April everything at that moment, but I didn't have the courage to do it. Furthermore, I couldn't stop thinking about what Luis José had told me about his state of health. If it was true, it could cause a massive heart attack, and I was not willing to be the culprit of putting my sister's life at risk.

“Oh no, don't even think about it, better not,” I murmured without realizing that April was listening to me.

“Better not what? What are you talking about?” April asked, surprised.

Without realizing it, I had thought out loud. At that moment, I felt like the heart attack would hit me.

“Ah! I better not have breakfast because a friend just wrote to me who wants to see me because she has to tell me something urgent.”

“A friend? Did a friend seriously write to you? Could it not be rather that unknown savior?” April questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course not! I already told you that it is a friend. You go have breakfast because he's expecting me in half an hour, and I have just enough time to get ready. We'll talk later.”

April left me alone and went to the dining room, a little upset. We hadn't seen each other in a year, and the most logical thing was that I was with her. However, I urgently needed to talk to Luis José first and make things clear. I sent a message letting him know that I was leaving for the café. I dressed in the first thing I found and left the house before my parents woke up.

(…)

I drove the car in a hurry, eager to get there. I parked a few streets away from the café and put on some sunglasses along with a sports cap.

Upon entering the café, I saw Luis José sitting at one of the tables. He was wearing sports clothes and looked as handsome as the first time I saw him. He stood up immediately when I approached slowly. When I was in front of him, he told me:

“You are precious.”

“I didn't come here to receive praise,” I replied. “I'm here to talk about my sister April.”

“I'm sorry, Ana Paula. It was not my intention. Please take a seat. Want a coffee? Have you already had breakfast?”

“I don't want to drink or eat anything. I just want to know if it's true about my sister's illness. I need you to tell me the truth and tell me everything that is happening.”

He ordered a coffee, took a sip, and then looked me in the eyes as he began to tell me:

“We met a year and a few months ago. She came to my office for a routine check-up, but I referred her to a specialist since the tests indicated that she had a heart problem, and I am only a resident doctor at the hospital. So I advised her to consult a cardiologist, and she did.”

He paused, visibly affected. Then he continued:

“Days later, she returned to my office, this time very depressed. She told me that she had been diagnosed with heart failure. That is why she suffered frequent episodes of lack of oxygen, swelling in her legs, dizziness, and extreme fatigue.”

“Why didn't you tell us? We are your family; we have the right to know.”

“She decided to avoid confrontations with the family after our wedding. She didn't want to talk to your parents anymore. I just respected her decision. And, as you will understand, you cannot tell her that you are already aware of her illness, because the only one who knows is me and, of course, her cardiologist.”

“It is impossible for me to tell you that I know about her illness. Let's see, what would I say? That her husband, with whom I was in Cancún over the weekend, asked me to remain silent so as not to cause him a heart attack? You are a cynic! My poor sister doesn't deserve to have a man like you by her side.”

“Please, Ana Paula, try to control yourself. You haven't let me finish explaining to you how we got married. When you know the whole truth, you will understand many things. I am not a womanizer or a scoundrel as you imagine.”

“The only thing I know is that I never want to see you again in my life. This has been the worst thing that could have happened to me. I have betrayed my own sister without knowing it. And all because of you.”

The café was plunged into an awkward silence. But something happened that was not planned and that left Luis José and me completely surprised. It was the unexpected appearance of Nelson. What was he doing here? How had he arrived right at this crucial moment?

Before he could say a word, the door to the café creaked open, and there was Nelson, his expression one of shock and confusion. His eyes met mine, and his jaw tensed when he saw me next to Luis José. He immediately walked slowly until he approached our table, very surprised, since he did not understand what I was doing at that time of the morning accompanied by my brother-in-law.

“Ana Paula…” Nelson murmured my name, as if he couldn't believe what he saw.

The tension in the café was palpable, as the three of us, highly surprised, confronted our secret feelings. The love triangle had become even more tangled with Nelson's unexpected arrival. I felt trapped between loyalty to my sick sister and my growing connection to Luis José, yet I tried to force myself to remain calm.

Nelson, with his penetrating gaze, was not willing to accept a simple explanation. The question hung in the air: what was really happening between Luis José and me?

I tried to find the right words, feeling the pressure he was exerting with his gaze fixed on me. I had to do anything to keep Nelson away from everything that was happening.

He least of all could know the truth, because that would unleash a big scandal in the whole family, and now my sister's health came first before anything.

“Luis José is my sister's husband, Nelson. I won't allow you to think anything inappropriate; things are not as you imagine.”

Nelson frowned. “Then explain to me what is happening. You're too nervous for this to be just a casual conversation.”

“My sister, Abril, has a heart condition,” I told him before the surprised look of Luis José, who had asked me to keep it a secret, but it didn't occur to me to say anything else to justify our presence in the café. So I continued telling him:

“She doesn't want the family to know. Luis José asked me to speak away from home so he could tell me what is happening with his health. Do you realize how serious all of this is?”

Nelson ran a hand through his hair, visibly shaken. “This is a disaster. I didn't think something like that was happening with April; the truth is that last night I saw her very well; she doesn't seem to be sick.”

The story was getting even more complicated, and I just wondered if I could ever find a solution that wouldn't break hearts or betray trusts. The café, once a quiet place, now harbored secrets and emotions ready to explode. How would I move forward with all of this? The lies were growing like a snowball.

But I had no choice but to tell Nelson about April's illness; it was either that or he imagined that something was happening between Luis José and me. At least that would calm him down a little...