Chapter 1 - The Restaurant Confrontation
The warm amber lighting of the upscale modern restaurant hummed softly against the polished mahogany walls, offering a stark contrast to the glacial chill hanging over corner table four. Valeria stood poised in her sleeveless burgundy midi dress, the expensive diamonds of her luxury watch catching the ambient light with every slight movement of her wrist. Beside her, Julian stood in his impeccably tailored grey suit and tan dress shirt, his jaw tight as he looked down at the seated couple. Across the table, a distinguished older man in a dark suit with a red pocket square adjusted his luxury wristwatch with agonizing slowness. Beside him sat Eleanor, a woman in her mid-forties wearing a green dress and a beige blazer, her gold hoop earrings glinting as she turned her head.
Valeria shifted her beige handbag to her other hand, her fingers brushing Julian’s palm in a deliberate, possessive gesture before she looked directly at Eleanor. Her voice cut through the ambient restaurant murmur, sharp and laced with thinly veiled contempt.
“Three days divorced and already found a rich older man?”
The words hung in the air, dense with accusation and bitterness. Julian flinched slightly, shifting his weight on his leather shoes, but he remained silent, letting Valeria take the lead.
Eleanor did not flinch. She listened calmly, her face maintaining a slight, composed expression that suggested she had anticipated this exact confrontation weeks in advance. She slowly looked up from her water glass, her eyes locking onto Valeria’s with a disquieting serenity.
“Careful, sir,” Eleanor said, her voice dropping an octave as she addressed Julian directly. “Valeria is very good at looking innocent.”
Before Julian could formulate a defensive response, the older man across the table stood up abruptly. The scrape of his chair against the hardwood floor was deafening. He smoothed the front of his suit jacket with a precise, calculated movement, staring hard at Julian.
“To avoid further confusion,” the older man said, his voice deep and resonant, “is my daughter, Arturiu Mendoza?”
Julian’s face drained of color. The silence that followed was absolute. Without waiting for an answer, Eleanor stood up, dropping her napkin onto her plate. She walked away from the table with supreme confidence, her head held high, leaving the two men standing in awkward suspension.
As she passed Julian, she leaned in just enough for him to hear her final, parting blow.
“Take good care of it,” Eleanor whispered, glancing down at Valeria’s luxury watch. “You seem to like things other women already decided to leave behind.”
Valeria stared after Eleanor in sheer disbelief. She turned to Julian, her eyes narrowing as a cold realization began to dawn.
“Who the hell is Arturiu Mendoza?” Valeria demanded, her voice rising in panic.
Julian swallowed hard, avoiding her gaze entirely.
May you like
“We need to leave right now,” Julian muttered.
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