The question hung in the air like a suspended dagger. Damian ran his hands over his face, searching for words that wouldn’t come. At first, it was just a one-off thing. Ru had lost her job at the consulting firm and needed temporary help.
It would only be a couple of months until she found something new, and the jewelry and the apartment. That, too, was timeless. Damian lowered his gaze, unable to meet the olive-green eyes that watched him without blinking.
Ruth said that if we were going to be together, we had to live like a real couple, that if I truly loved her I had to show her that I could take care of her as she deserved.
As he deserved. Cristina repeated the words slowly. And what about what I deserved, Damian? What about what our son deserves? Cristina, you have to understand. I thought the company was ours.
I thought she was using money that was also mine, but even if it had been our money, Cristina’s voice hardened for the first time. Do you think you had the right to spend it on another woman without telling me?
The silence that followed was deafening. Elena cleared her throat softly and opened the first folder. “Damián, legally you have three options. First, Cristina files a criminal complaint for misappropriation. Given the amount involved, you could be facing between two and six years in prison.”
Damian visibly paled. Second option: you return the full €79,147 within 30 days. No interest, no penalties, just the full refund. Elena, I don’t have that kind of money, not even a tenth of it.
I know, that’s why there’s a third option. Cristina leaned forward, clasping her hands on the table. I designed the third option myself, and it’s the one I prefer for our son.
Damian looked up, hopeful for the first time in hours. “I’m listening.” Cristina took a deep breath before speaking. “You’ll continue as the administrator of Hurtado renovations. But your salary will be reduced to €1,500 per month for the next four years.”
The remaining €2,000 of your current salary will go directly to paying off the debt. But Cristina, with €1,500 I can’t even pay the rent for the apartment. That’s not my problem, Damian.
That’s the problem you need to resolve with your wife. The word “wife” sounded strange coming from him, as if it were a foreign language. Elena intervened, consulting her papers. With that payment plan, the debt would be paid off in approximately three years and four months.
Furthermore, Cristina is willing to waive the interest. What if I accept? What guarantees do I have? Cristina smiled for the first time in the entire conversation, but it wasn’t a warm smile.
The same guarantees I had when I used my inheritance to save you from bankruptcy. The same ones I had when I trusted you for seven years of marriage. None, just my word.
But if I accept this, how am I going to explain it to Ruth? She had hoped, she had hoped for a different life. Ruth had hoped for a life built on lies and stolen money. Cristina stood up slowly.
Now you’ll have the life you truly deserve. An honest life. Elena laid several documents out on the table. Damian, I need an answer now. Cristina has an appointment with her criminal lawyer at 11.
If you don’t sign this agreement before that time, she will proceed with the complaint. Damian looked at the wall clock: 9:30. He had 30 minutes to decide between prison and poverty, between total destruction and the chance at a second life.
If I sign this, we can get along for the baby’s sake. Cristina went to the window, watching the morning traffic on Balmes Street. Damian, I don’t hate you, but trust is like glass.
When it breaks, you can glue it back together, but the cracks will always be visible. He turned to look at him. We can be civil for our son’s sake. We can be business partners, but we’ll never be friends again.
And if Ruth can’t adapt to the new circumstances, Cristina shrugged indifferently. Ru made her decisions knowing the consequences. Now she’ll have to live with them, just as I’ve had to live with yours.
Elena placed a gold pen on the documents. “What’s your decision, Damian?” He took the pen with trembling hands. Images of the past few months flooded his mind: the lies, the deceptions, the nights Ru had led him to believe they deserved a life of luxury.
But he also thought of his son, who would be born in a few weeks and would need a father present, not a father in prison. One last question, Cristina, why are you doing this? Why are you giving me this chance instead of sending me to jail?
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