I had been by Zaldy’s side for four long years—through negotiations, bloodshed, alliances, and quiet nights behind the iron gates of Corell Manor. Yet none of that could rival the magnetic pull of his resurrected past. Whenever Maria entered a room, his gaze followed her. Every decision he made seemed to revolve around her presence, and I felt myself fading into the background of his world.
The day of my graduation arrived—a milestone I had dreamed of sharing with him for years. He had promised he would attend. Instead, I stood alone as the ceremony began, while Zaldy traveled with Maria to New York for an elite international fashion and business summit designed to launder influence through art and luxury.
I was left fielding questions, swallowing humiliation, offering excuses on his behalf to people who already knew the truth.
When I confronted him later, he brushed off my pain as if it were a minor inconvenience.
“Don’t exaggerate,” he said coldly. “Look around you. You live in a fortified estate. You’re guarded, funded, protected. Maria doesn’t have that. She’s rebuilding her power base alone in Providence. She needs my backing.”
And what about me?