LEAVING MY EX FOR HIS UNCLE

Reality Check

Luz

The sunlight sifted through the curtains casting an intense glare on my eyes.

I turned over and felt a sharp pain in my head. Sitting up, I glanced around the room, forgetting how I’d gotten here. The last thing I remembered was drinking at the bar, and then Valeria showed up and brought me here.

“Oh no!” I gasped, covering my mouth in shock.

“No, no, no…” I tried to stand up but the pounding in my head stopped me in my tracks.

Slowly, the events of last night came flooding back, and I cringed as I remember everything that happened with Diego. Alcohol had always been my greatest undoing and now I was left to deal with the mess I’d made.

After hesitating for a while, I finally picked up my phone, gathering just enough courage to text Diego. Someone whose contact I’ve had for years but never found the need to reach out to him, until now.

{Uncle Diego, I’m so embarrassed about last night…Can we just pretend it never happened? I was really drunk and accidentally ended up in your room.}

As soon as I sent that text, I tossed my phone beside him, anxious to see his reply.

I’d always been wary of Diego. He was the youngest sibling of Paul Hill, Mateo’s father, and was known for his unpredictable nature. When I married Mateo, he had made it a point to tell me to stay away from him. And now…now I wasn’t sure what Diego would do.

I waited a while for his reply, but but there was still none, so I sent another text.

{Can we just forget about it, Uncle Diego?}

However, shortly after I noticed his profile had turned faint and his profile image had disappeared.

Then it occurred to me - Diego had blocked me and deleted my number. Clearly, he didn’t want to revisit what happened.

I heaved a long sigh of relief, grabbed my things, and checked out of the hotel.

***

I went straight home after leaving the hotel. The moment, I stepped into the living room, I saw Mateo sitting on the couch.

He turned sharply at the sound of my footsteps, his bloodshot eyes blazing with anger,

“Where the hell were you? I’ve been calling you nonstop. Why didn’t you pick up?”

Before I could answer, he got up and stormed toward me, but then suddenly stopped, sniffing the air around me.

“Have you been drinking?”

“Is this what you were out doing?” His voice was sharp, and his eyes cold.

“It’s funny, isn’t it, Mateo? You can stay out all night whenever you want, but I disappear for one night and suddenly I’m on trial?” I said with an icy tone, my anger rising as I spoke.

Mateo recoiled, surprised by my harsh tone. Throughout our entire relationship, I’d always been the level-headed one. And maybe that’s why he thought he could walk all over me. But that was all about to end.

“Since you want to talk, let’s.”

“Let’s talk about how I woke up in the middle of the night and found our bed empty. Or how somehow you managed to end up in what’s her name?… Right…Juliana.”

Mateo eye’s widened when he heard her name, and his expression suddenly changed.

“I saw you, Mateo…” I started, my voice breaking.

“How could you? How could you throw away everything we have for that?”

“I knew you’d find out someday.” He said calmly, with no trace of guilt or panic, as if he had somehow expected this day to come.

His unapologetic demeanor only made me grow angrier. With no hesitation, I swung my bag at him, my eyes red with anger.

Everything we shared had been shattered just like that.

I couldn’t believe that I’d been naive to think that Mateo could never cheat on me. Even when I saw the signs, I still chose to believe he was faithful.

Faced with reality now, I felt like such a fool. One whose love had been turned into a joke.

Mateo remained quiet the whole time, watching me keenly.

At some point, he opened his mouth to speak, but the words formed a lump in his throat.

Some time passed and I finally gathered myself. I took a deep breath and shifted my gaze towards him, my heart breaking at the sight of the man I’d dedicated six years of my life to. When I looked at him now, all I felt was disgust, and in that moment, my mind was made up.

“It’s over Mateo. I don’t think I can be with you anymore. Not after this. I can’t.”

Mateo’s relaxed expression suddenly changed, a cold icy gaze appearing on his face.

“Let’s talk about this, Luz.” He said, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen to any more of his lies.

“There’s nothing to talk about Mateo. You already ended our marriage when you slept with another woman. Whether you agree or not, this is the end. I’m divorcing you.”

With that, I turned without waiting for his response and went upstairs.

As soon as I entered the bedroom, I went straight to the bathroom.

I needed a place to just get away from Mateo for a while and wash off the reek of alcohol.

However, as I dried myself with a towel, I saw red marks on my chest from Diego’s hands, and my stomach churned in disgust.

Hurrying out of the shower, I saw Mateo sitting on the edge of the bed with his fingers dug into his hair, lost in thought.

When he noticed me, I quickly shot my gaze away, walking toward the wardrobe.

I grabbed a pair of pajamas and was about to put them on when I felt a pair of arms wrapping around my waist.

“Luz…” Mateo’s thick husky voice filtered softly into my ear, tinged with desire.

Up until the moment I caught him cheating, such actions would have filled me with tingling sensations, but now all I felt was disgust.

I turned hastily and pushed him away, “Don’t touch me!” My words were cold and sharp and for a moment I saw a trace of shock in Mateo’s eyes.

I’m sure he thought this was another one of his many mistakes that he could erase with a quick f**k, but that wasn’t going to happen. All I wanted right now was to be done with this marriage and him.

Mateo heaved a deep sigh and stared at me intently, his expression earnest, “You always wanted a child. How about we have one now?”

A light scoff escaped my lips. It was as if a veil had been lifted and I could see through all his mirage of lies and bullshit now.

I knew he didn’t really mean that, and even if he did, this was just his pathetic attempt to win me back.

“You are quite something, Mateo. But I’ll make this clear now. I will never have your child after this, not in this life or the next. You disgust me.”

My words enraged him and he suddenly grabbed me, more fiercely this time, throwing me on the bed. Before I could react, he quickly pinned me down.

“Say that again.”

His eyes were full of anger, but so were mine. I didn’t care anymore what Mateo felt or did, and so blurted angrily, “It won’t matter how many times I say it. I’d rather die than have your child!”

As soon as those words left my lips, Mateo leaned in and kissed me fiercely, leaving me even more disgusted.