The Forbidden Promise

by Helena Rose

  Although Aurora took care to put him at ease, Lucas continued to feel an intolerable sense of guilt for having accepted such an agreement. He felt he had lost some of his dignity and found it hard to accept that to realize his plans he had been reduced to a marriage of convenience, although, this was not actually completely true. Certainly, it had not been he who had thought up the pact. Aurora had proposed it and chosen him as a partner, but in fact, she had put him in an awkward situation. He often wondered what would have happened if he had refused. He would not have had the chance to buy the hacienda and moreover, he would probably have crushed Aurora’s hopes of freedom. A woman so beautiful, courageous and strong, did not deserve such pain, especially after Federico’s deception.

  But Lucas did not feel at ease with his conscience. For this reason, he sought in every way to involve Aurora in every aspect of the organization of their new life together and the work to be carried out in Zacatecas. It was right that she should be able to voice her opinion and have the same authority that he had.

  " I hate her!" Exclaimed Yolanda. "I hate her with all my heart, because she is taking you away from me!”

  Lucas turned serious and took Yolanda by the shoulders.

  " I don’t want to hear you talk like that!" He exclaimed harshly. "Aurora is a wonderful woman, good and selfless. If you speak ill of her, you hurt me too, remember this."

  Yolanda suffered the rebuke without a murmur.

  "You'll get on with her well, if you abandon these prejudices, you'll see." He added in a sweeter voice.

  " What do you mean?" Yolanda asked curiously.

  " What! Santos hasn’t told you?"

  "Actually no," said Yolanda timidly. “I didn’t let him finish talking after he told me of your marriage."

  Lucas laughed and stroked Yolanda’s hair.

  "You're a silly thing." He commented, "anyway, be aware that both you and your brother are coming with me to Zacatecas. I need help there. Say something, you want to come to Zacatecas, don’t you?"

  " Oh, Lucas, of course I do, I'd follow you to the ends of the world!" Yolanda said, hugging him tight.

  " Good girl. You’ll be able to take care of the house, together with the staff that we’ll find there. Of course you also need to study, I suggest…"

  “Ugh! I'll have to take orders from that woman."

  "I’ll remind you that this woman, as you call her, will be my wife, so you’ll have to obey her. Is that clear?" Asked Lucas

  Yolanda did not answer.

  "Is that clear?" Lucas asked again, lifting her chin with his hand.

  " Yes, yes, of course!" She said finally, "But let me tell you one thing: she’ll never love you like I love you!"

  That said, Yolanda sulkily returned to her work, while Lucas looked at her thoughtfully.

  Yes it’s true, Aurora will never fall in love with me. This is just a pact that allows us to achieve our plans. I must not forget it.

  Shortly after her meeting with Yolanda, Penelope was on her way to the Navarra hacienda as Doña Raquel had sent for her with extreme urgency and it was not a good idea to make her wait. Penelope had had to suspend a session of divination with a daughter of a bourgeois but the messenger that Doña Raquel had sent had said that it was a matter of real importance.

  Penelope entered the huge hall of the house, but she did not even pause to admire it. She had no nostalgia for the time when she had had to clean and sweep the house. She climbed the stairs and went towards the master bedroom. She knocked on the door and received permission to enter the room.

  Doña Raquel was sitting in front of the mirror and combing her long black hair.

  " You've come at last," she said sternly.

  "I came as soon as possible." Apologized Penelope. She approached Raquel and gently took the brush from her hands. She continued to tenderly comb Raquel’s hair just like old times.

  Raquel closed her eyes, relaxed by the soothing movements of the brush.

  " Tell me everything you know about the marriage of that bastard," she ordered.

  " You already know?" Penelope asked, astonished.

  " Federico found out from Marisol Vargas de Coronado. That idiot was very disappointed, he had his eyes on Aurora but Lucas got there first," Raquel grimaced. "Idiot, I would never have allowed him to be bound to Viviana’s daughter, in any case. "

  "I know that the marriage was a surprise to everyone, no one was aware that the two had begun courting," said Penelope.

  " Ah, Is that so. Love at first sight."

  " Even my nephew and niece didn’t know that Lucas was courting Viviana Vargas de Coronado’s daughter."

  "There's something behind all this hurry," replied Raquel.

  "It’s probable, ma’am."

  “What are you thinking? Tell me!" Demanded Raquel

  "Lucas has just bought a hacienda in Zacatecas where he is going to live after the wedding. "

  " No!" The cry broke from Raquel’s lips.

  "I'm sorry."

  "He succeeded, that bastard! How did he do it? Don Guadalupe assured me that he would never get a loan! "

  " But Doña Viviana’s daughter would have a large dowry at her disposal."

  Raquel pursed her lips.

  " A marriage of convenience, then? That bastard has been really clever."

  Suddenly someone knocked at the door.

  " It's me, mother," said Federico.

  " Come in."

  Federico entered the room, embarrassed.

  "I‘ve whipped those rebels laborers, mother, as you ordered." Reported Federico.

  Raquel made a gesture with her hand.

  "Don’t bore me with this nonsense now! We're talking about your dear brother."

  " You know that he’s not my brother," muttered Federico.

  Raquel glanced sideways at her son, but did not reply.

  " However, thanks to this marriage, he’ll get that damn hacienda, you understand, don’t you?"

  "I'm afraid we can’t do anything about it, mother." Replied Federico.

  "We can’t allow it!" Retorted Raquel.

  Angry, Raquel stood up and began to walk around the room, wringing her hands.

  " It wasn’t enough to disinherit him, to put you, Hector and my son in the position that Lucas was entitled to! He’s always trying to raise himself up, first with the damn money from his mother, then the shipping company! Now even a hacienda in Zacatecas! I should have also forbidden him to use the Navarra name, so he wouldn’t have been able to marry a lady!"

  I vowed that day to Eduardo, I would destroy Lucas at any cost!

  “Calm down, mother, please," pleaded Federico. "You know that when you get agitated it makes you ill."

  "It's not over yet." Said Raquel. "No, I'll not let him get away with it. It won’t help him going to Zacatecas! I know I can get him there too!"

  She turned to Penelope.

  "I want you to find out as much as possible about this marriage. I want to know all the details! There will be something, some weak point, where I can strike!"

  Penelope nodded.

  "I’ll do as you say ma’am."

  " And you also need to do the same.” She said to Federico, "Marisol is her cousin, so it would definitely be useful to stay particularly close to her."

  " All right, mother."

  " It's not at all well! You should get married too! We could use that silly girl’s noble title! Also, I don’t want the first born of the next generation to bear the Navarra y Reyes name to be the son of that bastard!"

  In these moments of black humor, Raquel was definitely inflexible. Federico, therefore, could do nothing other than indulge her and agree to every reprimand that his mother made.

  Penelope almost laughed. Federico is just useless. He'll fail to do anything good in life. It was a punishment that fate had reserved for Raquel to repay her for the schemes that she had carried out to the detriment of the innocent.

  Aurora finished sterilizing the medical equipment. Sh
e was putting everything away in the dispensary, when Mother Agostina called her.

  "Daughter, it's time for you to go."

  " Yes, Mother Agostina, just one moment."

  " You know I promised your mother not to let you stay here beyond the agreed time. You have a wedding to plan!"

  Aurora smiled.

  "I know, mother. But tonight I have to wait for my fiancé. He’s coming to take me home. Tomorrow he’s leaving for Zacatecas and I won’t see him for a long time."

  "That’s fair, my daughter, who knows how much you’ll miss him!"

  Aurora did not answer. She now managed to play the part of Lucas’ loving fiancé so naturally that she was almost enjoying it. After all, the emotion she felt was real, even though it was the outcome of a perfectly planned pact, the marriage would still tie her life to that of Lucas’ in an almost unbreakable way, except to enforce the pact itself in front of an ecclesiastical authority. Soon she would leave her parents, in truth it would not be for the first time as she had lived several years in Mexico City, with her cousin Dolores. But this time was different; she would be living with a man, her husband, in the eyes of the whole world.

  Lucas arrived shortly after.

  Aurora said goodbye to Mother Agostina and Dr. Peron and left the convent with Lucas "Sorry I was late." Apologized Lucas, "but I had to finalize the preparations for my departure."

  "Don’t worry," she said. "Do you have it all planned?"

  " Yes, we’ll begin the work of restoring the house and ensure the safety of the mine."

  " Is the money that you have available enough? Otherwise, I could ask my father ... "

  Lucas interrupted her.

  " No, Aurora please. It’s my duty to prepare as best I can the marital home!"

  " Lucas, remember that ours is a pact, not a normal marriage," she replied, squeezing his arm. "You shouldn’t feel obliged to act like a real husband."

  " I swore to your parents that I would do everything possible to make you happy, and I’ll not fail in this oath." Replied Lucas looking into her eyes. "I'm not joking this time."

  Aurora did not answer and just kept on walking arm in arm with Lucas.

  "You'll see that when my father gives me the dowry, we’ll be able to pay off the hacienda and arrange for the payment of the rest, the furniture, the equipment for the mine ... "

  "Fine, fine," Lucas cut her short.

  Aurora sighed.

  The two arrived at the Vargas de Coronado’s house.

  " I'll be back in time for the wedding, however," Lucas joked, trying to ease the tension.

  "Fine, I'll wait for you," replied Aurora with a smile.

  "Have you prepared the document that we have to sign?" Lucas asked becoming serious again.

  "I’ll prepare it while you're away. On your return we’ll sign it." Responded Aurora.

  Lucas moved closer to her, remaining silent.

  " Then I'll go."

  " Have a good trip."

  " See you soon. "

  Lucas gave her a light kiss on the cheek. Without know why, Aurora hugged him.

  "Thank you for accepting my proposal." She whispered emotionally. "I know that it bothers you, you don’t feel comfortable, but you needn’t t be afraid. I'm so happy and I’m happy to be helping you realize your dream, like you are helping me to realize mine."

  Lucas chose not to answer, but stood there, embracing her, savoring the pleasure of her proximity.

  After a while, Aurora broke away from him.

  "Goodbye Lucas. "

  " Goodbye.”

  Lucas turned away along the road. Aurora felt suddenly alone. In fact he was the only one with whom she could freely be herself and not be acting a part. She felt that it was probably the same for him. When he comes back, it’ll only be a short time before he becomes my husband.

  The thought disturbed her, but also made her tremble with emotion. And then, I’ll be free.

  Chapter 8

  "Come on Aurora, Stay still." Rebuked her mother while the dressmaker that had come especially from Veracruz, was putting in the last pins into the wedding dress.

  "My dear, you look really beautiful!" Commented Doña Viviana.

  In fact, the white dress made Aurora look enchanting. She looked at herself in the mirror in her room, even though she unfortunately could not be see her full length.

  "So can I proceed to do the hem and apply the lace here?" asked the dressmaker.

  " Yes, I'd say it's perfect," replied Viviana enthusiastically. "The lace that you recommended the pale pink one, well there are going to be some magnificent tea roses in the bouquet and I'd like them to match the dress."

  Aurora was glad to see her mother finally happy with the marriage. In truth, her mother had not yet fully accepted that her husband would be Lucas Navarra y Reyes, even though Aurora could not yet explain why. The fact that he had been away from Tampico all this time, had caused Viviana to almost forget the particular identity of the groom, and she had thrown herself enthusiastically into the marriage preparations.

  Lucas had written several letters, to which she had responded. It seemed that the restructuring of the hacienda was proceeding quite well, even though he had been forced to buy various materials on credit, as well as some of the furniture for the house.

  Aurora sighed. Even with her dowry, the starting up of the hacienda was proving to be a real gamble in every way. She was however determined not to become distressed, and tried to get back to focusing on her wedding dress.

  "I've finished, you can take the dress off now." Said the dressmaker, finishing writing down some notes.

  Aurora nodded and began to undress, aided by her mother.

  "My dear, we must also decide on the wedding cake. Have you thought about what type you would like?"

  " I don’t know mother. The coffee and chocolate cake with whipped cream would be lovely."

  " Good choice, dear, although a bit predictable."

  Aurora finished dressing.

  "I have to go to the church mother, to speak with Father Julian about organizing the ceremony details."

  "Fine my dear, go ahead."

  Aurora left to go to the church, accompanied by Carmen.

  This was, all things considered, one of the most difficult things to deal with. Father Julian, who had helped Lucas so much during his adolescence, was literally over the moon about the wedding. It broke Aurora’s heart the thought that they were deceiving him so badly and ultimately they were falsifying the sacrament of marriage. But there was no other solution.

  Father Julian received her joyfully and together they chose the readings for the ceremony and the songs that the choir would sing.

  Aurora found it hard to look Father Julian in the face. With great effort, she continued the conversation with him, then finally left the church.

  I’ll have the strength to get through this. She had felt so alone in the last few days, as she hadn’t been able to really confide in anyone. Certainly, I’ve at least one thing in common with Lucas, deception.

  Lost in thought, she decided to go to the beach to relax. The sea was slightly rough and the white foam from the waves made extraordinary patterns on the last stretch of the beach.

  She did not realize at first that another woman was also watching the sea, accompanied by her maid. When she saw her, she immediately recognized her cousin Marisol.

  Marisol had not yet noticed her presence and Aurora was tempted to leave without being seen. They had not seen each other since the day of the argument, when Marisol had heard about her marriage to Lucas.

  "Look, Miss, there's your cousin!" Carmen exclaimed loudly and Aurora had to give up any hope of escape. Marisol, had turned round when she heard Carmen’s words and was looking at her. Aurora decided to go over and say hello.

  "Good afternoon, Marisol."

  "Good afternoon, Aurora." replied Marisol in a calm voice.

  For a moment the two sat in silence staring at the waves.

&nbs
p; "Won’t you miss the sea when you're in Zacatecas?" Marisol asked casually.

  " I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it yet." Hesitated Aurora. "Probably yes, but there are the mountains so there will certainly be some beautiful landscapes to admire. "

  " You're right." Replied Marisol.

  Marisol turned to face her.

  "Look, Aurora, I’m very sorry about the argument that we had. I had no intention of offending you, really."

  Marisol voice seemed sincere and she looked so desolate that Aurora softened.

  "It’s fine, don’t worry. You also have to excuse me, I was out of control and I said things that I didn’t mean."

  Marisol smiled.

  " Probably what you really thought, but thank you for asking me to excuse you."

  Aurora waited for Marisol to speak again. It was clear that she wanted to say something.

  "You know, when I heard about you and Lucas, I ..." Marisol hesitated." I didn’t feel anything but anger and jealousy. It's true, he and I had argued and we had pretty much left each other, but to know that he would be marrying my cousin, made me go crazy."

  " I can imagine that it was painful for you," said Aurora understandingly.

  "It was then that I realized how much I cared about him. And above all, what a fool I had been, I thought only of my good name, the noble title and economic position of my future husband. And so maybe, I’ve let happiness slip away from me."

  " Are you telling me that you love him?" Aurora asked her.

  " I don’t know how I feel about him. Maybe it's just a sense of possessiveness and jealousy. But I miss him."

  Aurora thought for a moment of Lucas and Marisol together, like when she had surprised them that night in the shack here on the beach. She immediately felt a pang in her heart, but decided not to pay attention to it.

  "I'm sorry to say this to you Aurora, but enjoy this happiness while it lasts. Lucas is not a man who is content with only one woman."

  That said, Marisol said goodbye to Aurora and walked away along the beach.

  Aurora was still staring at the sea, baffled by those last words. What if Marisol is right? Would Lucas be able to at least maintain the facade of a faithful husband without succumbing to the temptations that would be presented to him, including probably Marisol? She felt sorry for her cousin’s suffering. She had not anticipated this situation. Lucas and Marisol had already parted when she had conceived the plan. I’m sorry for her, but I can’t give up, Lucas is the key to my freedom, I’ll never give him up! With cold determination, she felt that she could overcome any doubts. Lucas will be my husband!