Dario scrutinizes me for a few seconds before handing me over to Dante. I guess he’s pondering whether or not it’s appropriate for me to hold his son in my arms.
I understand.
He’s been alone these past few months.
It’s something that, as coldly as he expresses it, I know it must not have been easy to raise the baby alone and come to terms with the loss of his wife in the same way.
“Do you know how to hold babies?”
“No.” I can’t help but be honest. I’ve never held children after adulthood.
With my sister, me being three years older, I don’t remember if I ever carried her at all. But, nevertheless, I ha
In a matter of three seconds, I feel little Dante’s body being ripped from my arms. I hold on to a strong, muscular wall.It’s Dario or maybe his twin.My God, I can’t believe this is happening to me! Since when did Dario have a twin? This is something I hadn’t thought of before. It can’t be! This can’t be... Oh my God, it can’t be!Suddenly the memory of the night of pleasure with Dario comes to my mind. What if I didn’t really sleep that night at the lake with my husband but also with his twin? Oh no! No... no... this can’t be! This can’t happen to me.I feel my body slacken a little more, how the tingling in my hands increases, and my legs don’t cooperate to r
I stroll, still feeling the men’s stares behind me. I don’t let them intimidate me, I can’t do it, because to let their gaze hurt me, their presence pains me and their coldness wound me, is to admit that I’m alone in this house and I can’t do it, no matter how obvious it may be.I head for the door I saw when I got to the main floor, near the study, and walk there with intentions of looking for a juice or something I can feed Dante, who starts to wiggle in my arms. He must be uncomfortable, given that I am a stranger to him. As calm as I may inspire in him, in the end, I am a stranger, one who came to invade his family, his home, his very existence—a person who came to change his life forever. I don’t want to be one of those stepmothers who erase their mothers, who carried them in their wombs for nine months, from the lives of the children. I do
The sound of a door closing scares me out of my sleep and paralyzes my blood.“Who’s there?” I pull the sheet up to my neck, fearful.My vision is still blurry, perhaps from the fright of waking up in a strange bed and in a room that is not my own. Waking up in a different place for the first time in twenty-three years is a little scary.Moonlight streams through the glass window that is almost my size and illuminates the room a bit.A shadow moves beside the door.It is the intruder.“Who is it? Know that I will scream if you come any closer.” Even though I’m peeing my pants in fear, I try to push him away.
I wake up the next day with dark circles under my eyes, like shadows in the night: stalking and judging me. I am awake as if on the eve of a funeral. I see myself in front of the mirror. Early in the morning, Donatella brought up a suitcase with clothes my mother sent me. Just the right thing, since I brought nothing but my body and the commitment to be with Darío for the rest of my days on this earth.The reflection looking back at me seems even sadder than I feel.It is the true face I wear.Is it normal to feel caged, a prisoner of my own body and soul? What a fool I was last night to approach Darío! What was I thinking when I begged for a kiss from his lips?I shake my head, annoyed by my distress. I am not the one who will stay locked in
I don’t wait for Darío’s answer. Instead, I leave the room in a hurry. My footsteps sound on the tile. I don’t know where I’m going. I don’t care. I just want to get to my parents’ house. Before she does something stupid, I need to talk to Teresa, a major one, because just considering marrying Dawson is absurd and a terrible decision. And to think that I thought he was the one I spent the night with for a short time.“Tatiana! Wait!” Darío’s voice echoes throughout the place.I finish walking down the steps and turn for a second to look at him.“What? You’re not going to tell me that they’re free to marry whomever they want, are you? Because if that’s what it is, let me save you the breath. I’m not going t
“What could you solve?” asks Darío as he stands next to me in the garden.I hold the cell phone against my chest. It hurts my soul to know that my sister feels so lonely, heartbroken, and sad. It is true. I am not there with her. I don’t know what she is going through. I don’t know the loneliness she feels in her heart. She was abused by a person who was in my house for a long time. It was my partner, the man with whom I thought I would have my children. Besides, I thought we would live to old age together.Those wounds are the hardest to heal because you don’t see the abuse coming, you don’t notice the looks, you don’t determine what is in front of your eyes because it is a person you consider your friend, your brother, your partner, your father... someone you carry in your heart and fo
The bag is ready to go on the trip I’ve been planning for a few weeks. I take what I need: a couple of shirts, dress pants, matching shoes and belts. Donatella took care of getting everything ready. She knows I hate this kind of dressing up. It’s not for me. I see people wasting money, bragging about having all the possibilities to buy cars of the year, brand-name clothes, and expensive cell phones. Vanity fills the heart and mind. For me, those material things are totally fleeting. The fondness I feel for those details is a foam that, little by little, dissolves with time.I hand the suitcase to the driver, and he nods as he closes the trunk door.I don’t want to think about Tatiana. Thinking about her makes my soul ache. The confusion day after day has begun to overtake me, and it is more than I can handle. To admit
I hate hospitals.If I could say I hate anything in life, it’s actually going to a medical center with all the people looking at you like you’re hopeless. Maybe I feel that way. The truth is, I’m not ready to leave my son alone. Having brain surgery makes me consider every single option and everything that can go wrong with this. However, I must do it. My responsibility and duty as a parent are to look at every alternative, not to leave my child alone.Since Arianna passed away, I started having memory loss, first forgetting where I put the cell phone, then it increased, and I started to worry. I wondered if I fed the baby or if I ate in all day. Banalities and issues that were not important or noticeable. Donatella has always been there to take care of Dante. She never thought of leaving me. Even from the time I was
One month later...I smile as I see my reflection again in front of the full-length mirror. The dress Darío asked Donatella for is beautiful. He’s like a madman. Crazy in love. It fascinates me and lets me know that everything will be fine. We will be fine, more than fine. In him, I have found a partner, a friend, and a true husband.“Wow...” Dawson stands in the doorway and watches me with sad eyes. “You are without a doubt the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.”I don’t know what to say to him. I can almost feel his pain. He fell in love with my sister. And she... she’s not ready to be with him.“Come in a
“He’s a bastard!” Dawson is beside himself. He screams as if a dagger has been plunged into his chest. “I’m going to kill him!”“Dawson, that’s an extreme sentence. Calm down,” I try to calm him down, but I know it’s impossible. It’s like having a Lion in a cage. Seeing the key to the lock on the door, he will do whatever it takes to escape and break free from his prison.“Strong?!” he exclaims, raging. He spits out the words as if they weigh heavily in his mouth. “Strong? Strong is that that bastard is not in jail. Strong is that you...” he steps closer and points his index finger at me. Automatically, I recoil. His eyes, like light blue as Darío’s, shine so bright they scare me, “Knowing what he did to Teresa, you did nothing
“Are you sure?” asks my husband.Sure about what?I blink several times. Am I asleep?Slowly I regain my memory. Memories come flooding back and fill my head. I fainted! I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before. I’m pretty strong. I usually am.I remember Dawson’s arms carrying me as if I weighed less than a feather, Darío’s concern...Teresa. My sister suddenly comes to my mind.Lucian!Oh, no!I try to open my eyes, but the damn things won’t cooperate.
It is clear that I owe an explanation and not only to Darío but also to my brother-in-law, who has burst the bubble of happiness without realizing it. Darío places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes me gently. He is confused, and I understand. Couples have the time to share the names of their exes, as well as the events that set a precedent and the reason they broke up. In this case, the reason I was going to break up with Lucian was that I was being forced to marry Darío, although I later realized that he was nothing more than a fucking bastard who didn’t even deserve a greeting. However, I didn’t bother to tell Darío about him. Maybe I wanted to forget all about my time with that man, knowing I had been cheated on and understanding that Lucian didn’t deserve to belong in my past, not after he had ruined my life and Teresa’s life. By hurting her, he hurt me in the same way.
The days passed without any altercation as if Darío and I were suddenly living in a bubble of love, understanding, and affection. Weeks went by without even realizing it. We got used to getting up together at dawn and making love as if for the first time; we loved each other every moment and enjoyed each other’s company. I live in a paradise. I fell in love with my husband without intending or looking for it. Then, one day I woke up and could not imagine a life without him by my side. Least of all without Dante, that chubby, playful son that life bestowed upon me. He whines or laughs for me to carry him.However, not all is bliss in our paradise. Sometimes Darío becomes a desperate, frantic, and angry man because getting used to the fact that he can no longer see, that he had to depend on us to help him at all times, irritates him. Sometimes he forgets about manners, patience, and
His hands caress my body, and his lips run down my neck to transport my being to a place where only he and I exist. I wanted this as much as I tried to breathe. I want Darío. I want him inside me as he whispers my name and loves me as he did in the lake.“You’re beautiful.” He kisses one of my breasts; his mouth is like heaven.His words are shocking to me, as he can’t see me.He sucks and tastes me. He lightly bites my nipple, and my body vibrates, seduced by the wetness of his lips.“You don’t see me.” I smile shyly.I am with Darío at last, no reservations,
Tatiana MagghioI see Darío standing in front of me. He looks tired. It is incredible how the human body can reflect so many feelings in a matter of hours. I wasn’t gone for long, but long enough to be able to understand and accept what I have to do. My hands sweat, nervous. I am scared and anxious. The situation I am facing is not ideal. His words sank into my brain, driving it crazy, as I listened to each of his accusations. The only one that got to me was the fact that he compared his ex-wife to me.I am not like her and never will be.“Tatiana...” he calls out to me. I can see he intends to approach.I can’t help but feel awful about the way I am right now. I want to hit him. I want him to understand that
Darío MagghioHours later, I am still waiting in the dining room for Tatiana’s return. I shooed her away as if she were really guilty of some atrocity. My demons of the past made my present vilely affected. Now, feeling the house empty and knowing that I was responsible for Tatiana’s departure, I begin to understand that I must get used to my new present and stop focusing on the wrong things someone else did to me in the past. And that someone is none other than Arianna. Because of her, after so many months since her death, I take responsibility for not reaching her in time when she jumped off the balcony. Just thinking about it, my body freezes, and I feel raging anger over the months I have learned to control.What the hell was this woman thinking? What kind of depression so strong wrapped her up that suicide was the onl
I arrive at my parents’ house in ten minutes. I didn’t think for a second where to go when the family driver asked me for directions. The man was kind enough not to look at my appearance when I got into the black sedan.“Daughter, what are you wearing!” my mother exclaims as she opens the front door. “You’re a woman married to a respectable man!”“Forget what I’m wearing. Why don’t you ask me what he did to make me come to the house like this?” I tell her as I walk in and go straight to my room.“Don’t yell at me!”“Yes, I do yell at you!” I quickly look for something to wear. It’s getting late already. I look at the cuckoo clock I have ha