Chapter 2: The Man He Hated
Mateo woke up the next morning with a headache and a strange feeling in his chest.
Not guilt.
Not yet.
Something else.
A warning.
Sunlight poured through the hotel curtains.
Valeria was asleep beside him.
For a few seconds, he forgot everything.
Then he saw his phone.
Airplane mode.
He turned it off.
Immediately, notifications appeared.
Twenty-seven missed calls.
His eyebrows tightened.
All from Camila.
He stared at the screen.
Then another notification appeared.
Unknown number.
A message.
"Call me immediately. It's about Camila.""
The name beneath it made his stomach drop.
Alejandro Ruiz.
Mateo sat up.
"What the hell?""
Valeria opened her eyes.
"What happened?""
Mateo ignored her and called.
Alejandro answered instantly.
"Where were you?""
No greeting.
No patience.
Mateo frowned.
"Excuse me?""
Alejandro's voice was ice.
"Your wife called you seventeen times.""
Mateo stood.
"And?""
A pause.
Then Alejandro said:
"She was lying at the bottom of her stairs.""
The room went silent.
Mateo felt the blood leave his face.
"What?""
"She was unconscious when I arrived.""
Mateo couldn't breathe.
"How did you—"
"Because unlike you, someone answered.""
The words hit harder than an insult.
They were worse.
Because they were true.
"Is she okay?""
Alejandro didn't answer immediately.
That scared him more.
"She's in surgery.""
Mateo grabbed his shirt.
"I'll come.""
"You should.""
The call ended.
Valeria sat up.
"Mateo?""
He looked at her.
For the first time all night, he saw what he had done.
Not the affair.
Not the lies.
The choice.
He had chosen not to answer.
He had seen her name seventeen times.
And chosen another woman.
"I need to go.""
Valeria grabbed his arm.
"You're leaving?""
He looked at her hand.
Then at her.
"My wife might die.""
Valeria's expression changed.
But instead of fear, there was frustration.
"Don't say that.""
Mateo stared.
"Why?""
"Because now everything becomes my fault.""
That sentence followed him out the door.
At the hospital, Mateo arrived running.
He expected tears.
He expected forgiveness.
He expected Camila to be waiting for him.
But instead, he found Alejandro.
Standing outside the operating room.
Calm.
Powerful.
Controlled.
Everything Mateo hated.
Alejandro looked at him.
"You came.""
Mateo stopped.
"What happened?""
Alejandro stepped closer.
"Your wife fell because she was dizzy and alone.""
"Don't blame me.""
The words escaped too quickly.
Alejandro's eyes hardened.
"I didn't say your name.""
Mateo looked away.
The silence was unbearable.
A doctor walked out.
Both men turned.
"Family of Camila Valdés?""
Mateo stepped forward.
"I am her husband.""
Alejandro looked at him.
The doctor removed his mask.
"She lost a dangerous amount of blood, but we stabilized her.""
Mateo exhaled.
"And the baby?""
The doctor hesitated.
That hesitation terrified him.
"The baby is alive.""
Mateo closed his eyes.
Relief.
Then the doctor continued.
"But Camila had complications. The next twenty-four hours are critical.""
Alejandro looked through the glass window.
Mateo noticed something.
Alejandro looked worried.
Not satisfied.
Not victorious.
Worried.
And that confused Mateo.
Because he had spent years believing Alejandro wanted to steal everything from him.
His money.
His success.
His life.
But standing there, Mateo realized something uncomfortable.
Alejandro had never wanted Camila.
He had only ever wanted her safe.
Later that afternoon, Camila finally woke up.
Mateo entered her room first.
He expected her to cry.
Instead, she looked at him silently.
Her face was pale.
Her voice weak.
"You came.""
Mateo swallowed.
"Of course I came.""
She looked toward the window.
"You didn't come when I called.""
The room became painfully quiet.
"I...""
He had no excuse.
For once.
Camila touched her stomach.
"Seventeen times, Mateo.""
He looked down.
"I know.""
"No.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You don't know.""
Her voice cracked.
"I was lying there thinking my baby would grow up without ever knowing you.""
Mateo stepped closer.
"I'm sorry.""
Camila laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because it hurt.
"Sorry is what people say when they spill coffee.""
She looked at him.
"You almost lost your family.""
Before Mateo could respond, the door opened.
Alejandro walked in.
Camila's expression softened immediately.
Mateo noticed.
And jealousy burned through him.
Alejandro looked at Camila.
"How are you feeling?""
She smiled faintly.
"Alive.""
Alejandro nodded.
"Good.""
Mateo stepped between them.
"Thank you for helping her.""
Alejandro looked at him.
"You should thank yourself.""
Mateo frowned.
"What does that mean?""
Alejandro's expression didn't change.
"It means you gave me the opportunity.""
"The opportunity for what?""
Alejandro reached into his coat.
He placed a folder on the table.
Mateo looked at it.
"What is that?""
Alejandro answered quietly.
"The reason your life is about to change.""
Mateo opened the folder.
The first page contained a document.
A signature.
And a name he recognized.
His own.
May you like
But the second signature made his heart stop.
Because it belonged to someone Mateo thought he had destroyed forever.
