On a rain-soaked night, she ran, her belly swollen and pain racking her body. Step by step, she moved away from the house that had once been her refuge.
Behind her, her husband’s cold voice still echoed in her mind:
—“Get rid of that. That baby is a burden. I need my freedom.”
Seven years later, he returned—not with one child, but two. And with them, a carefully laid plan to make the man who betrayed her… break.
Mexico City, autumn 2018. The cold seeped through the cracks of an old mansion in Lomas de Chapultepec. Inside, Mariana remained silent on the sofa, her hands resting on her belly, where two tiny lives were beating ever more strongly.
She never thought that one day she would be afraid of being pregnant… least of all, because of her own husband.
Rodrigo, the man she had once loved blindly, was no longer the same. Now successful, ambitious, and unscrupulous, he had become cold and distant.
Lately, he was arriving late… or not at all.
One night, during a tense dinner, he placed his glass of water on the table and said bluntly:
“Get an abortion. I don’t want that baby. A great opportunity is coming. I need to be free.”
Mariana froze.
She knew exactly what “opportunity” he was referring to: Ximena, the daughter of a powerful real estate mogul in Santa Fe. Rodrigo didn’t even bother hiding his true intentions anymore.
“You’re sick! That baby is yours!” she cried through tears.
“So what? It’s in my way. If you decide to have it, it’s your problem.”
That night, Mariana made her decision.
She quietly packed a small suitcase, hid the ultrasound that showed she was expecting twins, grabbed some clothes… and disappeared into the rain.
She headed south—knowing no one, with no plan—with only the fierce impulse to protect her unborn children.
Guadalajara welcomed her with overwhelming heat and indifferent streets. But amid the confusion, she found a small room for rent in Tlaquepaque, offered by a kind old woman who, upon learning her story, allowed her to stay for the first few months without pay.
Mariana took any job she could: selling clothes online, collecting secondhand goods, cleaning restaurants. Although her belly grew, it never stopped.
On the day of delivery, she collapsed from the pain. The owner of the house immediately took her to the hospital. That night, her twins were born, healthy and strong. She named them Santiago and Emiliano, hoping they would grow up with intelligence and character… and never repeat the story she lived through.
The following years were a trial by fire.
During the day, she raised her children. At night, she studied. She enrolled in an aesthetic therapy course, learned about spas, products, management…
With effort and vision, five years later, she opened her first spa in Zapopan.
Her reputation grew rapidly.
The twins, curious and brilliant, would often ask:
“Mommy, where is our dad?”
She simply smiled, tenderly and with a hint of sadness:
“He’s far away. He and I loved each other once… but now, it’s just the three of us.”
When the children turned seven—on a rainy morning, similar to the one she ran away from—Mariana looked at herself in the mirror.
That broken woman was no longer there. In front of her was a mother with a steady gaze, a serene smile, and a commanding elegance.
She opened her cell phone, searched for flights to Mexico City, and whispered:
“It’s time.”
Mexico City International Airport, October. The air was fresh.
Mariana left the terminal, holding her sons’ hands. Santiago and Emiliano were already tall, attentive, with bright eyes. They didn’t ask why they were going. She just said:
—“Let’s visit the place where Mom grew up.”
But the truth… she had been planning this return for over a year.
Through contacts and social media, Mariana had researched everything about Rodrigo.
He had married Ximena, the real estate heiress. They had a six-year-old son, who studied at a prestigious international school in Polanco.
From the outside, he seemed to have it all: money, status, power.
But Mariana knew the truth.
Their marriage was a facade. Ximena was controlling, jealous, and oversaw Rodrigo’s every move. Although he held the title of Northern Regional Director in the family business, all the real decisions were made by her and her father. Any attempt at a project of his own was blocked. And his infidelities… severely punished.
The man who once abandoned his children for “freedom” now lived in a gilded cage.
Mariana enrolled Santiago and Emiliano in the same school as Rodrigo’s son—albeit in a different grade. She rented a luxury apartment nearby, on Reforma, and opened a new spa called “Esencia Mariana” in the Coyoacán area.
She never contacted Rodrigo directly.
She let fate take its course.
Two weeks later, at a beauty industry conference at the St. Regis Hotel, Rodrigo attended as a sponsor.
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