Chapter 1 - The Ten Year Question
"Are you still alone, Lucía?" my sister asked, raising her crystal glass with the sweetest and most venomous smile I had ever seen.
We were gathered at an extravagant banquet hall to celebrate our parents' forty-year wedding anniversary.
The room was filled with golden balloons, warm ambient lights, and young cousins running between the expensive tables.
My uncles were laughing loudly, and my parents were tearfully thanking God for our unbreakable family unity.
And there she stood in the center of it all.
Valeria, my beautiful younger sister.
She was the woman who had married the exact man I was supposed to walk down the aisle with a decade ago.
She wore a stunning red dress that looked like it was straight out of a high-end fashion magazine cover.
Her expensive heels clicked against the marble floor, and her dark hair flowed perfectly down her back.
By her side, flashing his signature business magazine smile, was Diego.
He wore a perfectly tailored suit and a diamond-encrusted watch that caught the chandelier's light.
He still had the exact same dimple on his cheek that I had foolishly kissed a thousand times before.
I sat quietly, wearing a simple blue dress that Valeria had mockingly bought me using my own meager salary.
My back was completely straightened from pure pride, even though my hands were slightly sweaty under the silk tablecloth.
When she loudly asked the question about me being alone, I felt every single gaze in the room lock onto me.
A nosy cousin raised her eyebrows in sheer amusement.
My mother nervously clenched her lips, refusing to make eye contact with me.
Someone stopped eating completely, and their silver fork clinked loudly against a porcelain plate.
I had spent ten excruciating years waiting for this exact moment.
I had spent countless sleepless nights imagining what she would say if she ever dared to rub her stolen victory in my face.
What I absolutely did not expect was the chillingly calm laughter that suddenly escaped my own mouth.
"I am not alone, Valeria," I replied softly, my voice cutting through the heavy silence of the banquet hall.
"I actually brought my new business partner with me tonight."
The heavy oak doors of the ballroom suddenly burst open, silencing the entire room instantly.
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A towering man in a terrifyingly sharp black suit walked in, flanked by four heavily armed private security guards.
Diego dropped his crystal champagne flute, his face draining of all color as he recognized the man who had just entered.
