Chapter 2 An Uncomfortable Truth

The night continued at the gala, filled with laughter, music, and glasses of champagne. However, for Mateo, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Every conversation sounded like a distant echo, and every congratulation was a reminder of how fragile his position was.

Lucía, unaware of her fiancé's inner turmoil, glided among the guests with natural grace, shaking hands and accepting compliments. Her smile lit up the room, and Mateo couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt seeing her so happy.

Meanwhile, outside the club, Clara and Dana had managed to leave without attracting too much attention. Despite the cold seeping in between New York's buildings, Clara hardly felt it. Her mind was swirling with thoughts as she clutched her belly with both hands.

"Are you okay?" Dana asked, walking beside her with a pale face.

Clara nodded, though in truth she wasn't.

"I can't believe he's there, acting as if nothing is wrong," she muttered through clenched teeth, pressing her lips together to hold back tears. "I feel like going back and screaming at that woman everything I know."

"And ruin her night, for what?" Dana replied with a mix of exhaustion and frustration. "It's not going to change what he did."

Clara stopped dead in her tracks, forcing Dana to do the same.

"And what? Are we just going to let him get away with it? Let him keep playing with our lives as if it doesn't matter?"

Dana lowered her gaze, uncomfortable. She couldn't deny that she shared Clara's anger, but she also knew that Mateo had a particular knack for coming out unscathed from any situation. They had witnessed it more times than they cared to admit.

"Look, Clara," Dana finally said, "I understand how you feel. But right now, the most important thing isn't Mateo-it's our children. I'm not going to let him drag me into another scandal that ends up affecting them."

Clara clenched her fists but didn't respond. She knew Dana was right, even though the idea of leaving Mateo and moving on with her life without consequences gnawed at her from within.

Back in the hall, Mateo was trying to resume a conversation with a group of investors that his future father-in-law had introduced him to. However, his mind couldn't focus. He kept replaying the fact that Clara and Dana had been there, watching him.

When he finally found a moment to slip away, he approached Lucía and whispered in her ear:

"I'm going to get some air. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Lucía smiled at him, suspecting nothing.

"Don't take too long."

Mateo left through one of the side doors and headed to the club's garden. The night was cold, and the fresh air hit his face, but it didn't manage to calm him. He walked among the perfectly trimmed hedges, trying to figure out a way to handle the situation.

He knew Clara wouldn't just stand by. He had seen the determination in her eyes, even from a distance. And Dana... well, she had always been more cautious but also more methodical. If the two decided to join forces, it would only be a matter of time before everything came to light.

"What can I do?" he thought, running his hands through his hair. The only solution that came to mind was to talk to them, try to convince them that exposing everything wouldn't benefit anyone. But that meant confronting them, and the idea terrified him.

Then, like a whirlwind, came the memory of Clara and Melina. The last time he saw them, Clara was sitting in her living room, her six-month-pregnant belly carrying twins, her eyes filled with tears. Melina, her daughter, sat by her side, worry etched on her face.

The twins on the way filled him with a mix of joy and terror. Although he would never admit it, he had imagined more than once what it would be like to have a family with Clara, but all that now seemed so distant, so impossible.

Mateo felt a knot in his stomach. It was unfair that he was there, in that elegant club, celebrating his engagement to Lucía, while Clara and Melina bore the weight of his absence. And Dana's expectations-the other woman involved-were not easy to ignore either. Both had trusted him, and he had betrayed them.

"You're a coward, Mateo," he murmured to himself, stopping next to a fountain that shimmered under the lamp light.

He turned on the fountain's spout and let the cold water flow between his hands before bringing it to his face. Looking at his reflection in the water, he barely recognized himself. The image staring back wasn't that of a happy or triumphant man, but someone struggling to maintain a lie.

He knew he had hidden too much from Lucía. Although he had told her that Dana was pregnant, he had downplayed the situation, assuring her it posed no obstacle to their relationship. But he never mentioned that Melina, his daughter, lived with Clara, nor that she was expecting twins.

Mateo closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out the thoughts that tormented him. Yet the weight of his decisions continued to crush him, as if every step he took brought him closer to an abyss from which he could not escape.

With a heavy sigh, he wiped his face with his hands and forced himself to return to the hall. Lucía was waiting for him, still surrounded by guests congratulating her. Mateo joined her, striving to maintain his composure. But deep down, he knew that his façade was beginning to crumble, and that the price of his lies would be higher than he had ever imagined.