Chapter 1
The ambient murmur of the upscale Manhattan restaurant instantly evaporated, leaving behind a suffocating stillness. Valeria clutched her cream handbag so tightly that her knuckles turned stark white. Her burgundy one-shoulder dress felt suddenly restrictive, a heavy armor that no longer protected her from the wreckage of her own life. Across the intimate dining table, her mother—the woman with dark reddish hair and gold earrings, wearing a pristine green top and beige blazer—kept her gaze stubbornly fixed downward. The older man in the blue suit, holding his half-empty white wine glass with steady fingers, shifted his weight with a calculated slowness that drove Valeria insane.
"Three days divorced, and you already found a rich older man?" Valeria’s voice cut through the heavy air, trembling with a volatile mix of exhaustion and suppressed fury.
The man in the grey suit standing right beside her winced, his hand instinctively reaching out to steady her elbow.
"You don't have to expose yourself like this, Valeria," the man in the grey suit murmured, his tone laced with deep concern and quiet embarrassment.
Valeria whipped her head toward him, her dark eyes flashing with betrayal. "Don't play the saint with me, Julian. You knew about this. You’ve always known how she operates."
The older man in the blue suit finally set his wine glass down on the white tablecloth with a sharp clink. He slowly stood up, adjusting the lapels of his tailored jacket with deliberate calm. He looked directly at Valeria and Julian, his expression carved from stone.
"Dad, let's go," the older man said, his voice surprisingly steady and commanding.
Before anyone could process his words, the older woman in the green top and beige blazer stood up. She straightened her skirt, maintaining a stern, composed expression that revealed nothing of the internal storm. She walked past the older man without glancing at Valeria.
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"To avoid further confusion, Valeria is my daughter," the older woman stated coldly, pausing just long enough to deliver the final blow. "Take good care of it, you seem to like things other women already decided to leave behind."
Valeria staggered backward, the breath completely knocked from her lungs as the horrific implication of her mother's words set in.
