Chapter 8 - The Weight of Betrayal
Mateo looked down at the woman he had intended to marry.
He didn't pull his arms away immediately. He looked at her tear-stained face, searching for any shred of the genuine woman he thought he had known.
"You didn't do this for our future, Valeria," Mateo said, his voice incredibly quiet, yet carrying a profound, crushing sadness that silenced the entire courtyard.
"You did this because you thought my kindness was a weakness. You thought I would be too much of a coward to stop you from robbing my own father."
He gently, but firmly, removed her hands from his suit jacket.
"You didn't love a life with me," Mateo stated, taking a slow step backward. "You were just waiting for an inheritance."
The civil judge, having realized the severity of the situation, quickly gathered his books and stepped away from the altar, entirely washing his hands of the fraudulent union.
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The wedding was officially dead. There was no applause, no romantic music, no cutting of the multi-tiered cake waiting in the reception hall.
The guests began to leave in small, shocked groups. The very same women who had laughed at Ramón and called him "the gardener" at the engagement dinner now scurried past him, keeping their heads down, terrified of making eye contact with the man they had so arrogantly dismissed.
