The Forbidden Promise

by Helena Rose

  My God, she’s still as beautiful as ever, time hasn’t changed her. He thought with rapture, Viviana, my love, you are as wonderful as I remembered ...

  He tried to move closer without being noticed. He turned behind a fruit stand and walked back along the road in the opposite direction, so he could look at her as she gave instructions to her maid.

  Up close, he noticed that something about her had changed. When they had been in love she had not had that haughty look, that stern and determined expression. My Viviana was always sweet and tender, in need of protection and willing to give support. Of course, life had changed her, he had changed her by his cowardly and horrible behavior. He had destroyed her that night on the beach, when he had left her for good.

  She had married Costantino, after all. As he himself had advised her to, that night so many years ago.

  Lost in a flood of memories, he did not notice that Doña Viviana had turned, and for a moment their eyes met. The ice-colored eyes stared at the warm hazel eyes that immediately widened in surprise.

  Hector hesitated for a second, then hurried back behind the fruit stand and disappeared into the side streets.

  Doña Viviana however, remained motionless, her breath broken with emotion, her hands trembling.

  " Mistress, what’s happened to you. Are you ill?" Carmen asked, worried.

  Viviana did not answer as she was too distressed. It can’t be him, I'm just a fool. It can’t be Hector ... but that look, those blue eyes ... I would recognize them among a thousand.

  She heard Carmen continue to ask her if she was all right, but still did not answer.

  "Let's go quickly, let’s go home." Viviana suddenly ordered.

  " Mistress, are you sure you're fine? You’re so pale; you look like you've seen a ghost!"

  Viviana became irritated.

  " Don’t talk nonsense, please, I'm fine and leave me alone."

  Without another word, she headed quickly home. My God, let it not be him ... after all these years, let it not be him.

  Chapter 11

  The time passed quickly, punctuated by days of hard work and nights of burning passion. Lucas seemed to be tireless, every day at the mine he assisted in the silver extraction that would allow them to first pay off their debts and then would guarantee them a comfortable life. For her part, Aurora continued to work as a doctor at the clinic, the residents of the nearby village had now begun to trust her ability and even offered to pay for it with the fruits of their humble labor.

  As always, every evening they told each other the events of the day, but now they were in a hurry to retire for the night, to enjoy each other's company in another way.

  Lucas was ardently devoted to Aurora and she reciprocated passionately, but deep in her heart a doubt never left her, preventing her from fully enjoying the joys of their new married life.

  Aurora watched Lucas who was always caring and attentive towards her, and could not help but wonder if his ardor was dictated by love or by the desire for a female body. After all, their marriage was not born from love, but from a pact, a business agreement where intimacy had not been contemplated.

  Yolanda treated Aurora extremely rudely making continual allusions to the many lovers that Lucas had had, which increased Aurora’s insecurities. Yolanda had however, cunningly adopted irreproachable behavior in front of Lucas, with the clear purpose of putting Aurora in a position of not being able to complain to him.

  Aurora realized that constant doubt was poisoning her life, and when she was alone she felt the beginnings of regret for having yielded to passion without Lucas having confessed his love for her. But doesn’t he show it even without words? she asked herself, trying to calm herself down. Sometimes she thought that it might have been more honest to make Lucas aware of her thoughts, but then she decided not to, fearing that Lucas would interpreted her grievances as an intrusion into his life. In the pact we made it clear, he may have other women. Yes but what value had the pact ever had for her? It had been established for him, she had given him her heart and her body and if Lucas was not in love with her, Aurora would find herself definitely lost, without dignity and without honor.

  Preparations for the trip to Tampico to attend Federico and Marisol’s marriage were meanwhile coming to an end, and they would be leaving the next day.

  Lucas was unusually late that evening and Aurora, already very nervous about seeing her parents, Marisol, and especially Federico, was preparing the last suitcases with Yolanda’s help.

  " Lucas is very late, maybe something has happened at the mine?" said Aurora.

  " I don’t think so, ma’am," responded Yolanda, "I think he’s found female company for the night."

  " What are you saying? How could you even think he would do such a thing?" Aurora’s voice became nervous.

  "I can certainly imagine it. I’ve already told you what Lucas is like. One woman is not enough for him, you’ll have to get used to it, it’ll happen more and more often." Replied Yolanda.

  "It’s not true, you're lying," cried Aurora desperate.

  Yolanda put on a mocking expression that went unseen by Aurora that gripped by worry stared at the floor in despair.

  " Don’t be naive, Lucas has also been with me the whole time we’ve been here, and you haven’t ever noticed." Yolanda said, shrugging her shoulders carelessly, “and now he'll definitely be having fun with some other local girl. I’ve gotten used to it, I don’t care because he always comes back to me."

  "You're a phony and a liar!" cried Aurora and in the grip of jealousy she grabbed Yolanda by the arm, shaking her violently.

  "Think what you want about it, but soon the day will come when he’ll kick you out because he doesn’t want you anymore. In the end, yours wasn’t a real marriage, was it?" replied Yolanda freeing herself.

  Aurora recoiled in horror.

  " What are you saying?" She asked in a small voice.

  "He told me that your marriage is a sham." Said Yolanda, posing as if she were talking to someone mentally ill. "He tells me everything when we're together and you’ve been at the clinic so much. He really is an amazing lover ... "

  Aurora slumped in a chair , holding her head "It can’t be true, it can’t ... "

  "Of course, women who refuse him are an irresistible challenge for him, but now he’s had you, you won’t be of interest to him anymore." raged Yolanda "You have to accept it! "

  " Go away, I don’t want to listen to you anymore, go away!” cried Aurora.

  " Too bad for you, I warned you," said Yolanda leaving quickly.

  Yolanda was petrified, she had lied, but that might have been her only chance of getting rid of Aurora. I have to play my cards right ... she thought satisfied.

  If she believes that Lucas has just been having fun with her, she might choose to leave for Tampico and never come back. She hoped that her plan worked before Lucas or Santos got to know what she had done. Her brother would never forgive her for such a scheme and would certainly punish her severely. But, certainly worse would be Lucas’ reaction, he would never want to see her again.

  Aurora, in tears, went back to her old room and closed the door.

  She did not want and could not deal with Lucas when he returned from his amorous encounter. She felt deceived, duped, and exploited.

  Lucas only courted me for a challenge! He’s never been in love with me! The thing that she felt most serious about was the betrayal of the pact that bound them. He had told Yolanda the truth about their agreement, downplaying his role and failing in his honor. Who knows how many people at the hacienda were aware that he had exploited her only to get his hands on the money from her dowry!

  "Lucas and Federico are the same!" She repeated between her tears, "I’ve been deceived by both of you!"

  Lucas came back very late that night, the mine workers had kept him there to celebrate the first hundred pounds of silver extracted. His attempts to leave them after having drunk the first toast had been futile. He was also very happy, eve
rything seemed to be going well at the mine but above all with Aurora, his wife, his beloved wife. The next day they would leave for Tampico and would take with them the wonderful news about what they were building together. He could finally appear in front of his family and to society not as a poor underdog but as the owner of a prosperous hacienda, respectable and happy.

  He ran as fast as he could to his room eager to tell Aurora about the festivities but he could not find her there. He went back into the dining room, but dinner had already been served and the table cleared. He went into the kitchen, got some bread and fruit, and ate it hungrily.

  From the room that had been Aurora’s he could see a faint light filtering under the door. He knocked and called Aurora but got no answer.

  Confused and perplexed he returned to his own room and got ready to go to bed. He took one last look at the packed bags and Aurora’s personal effects that were left strangely out of place, Aurora was very meticulous in keeping everything in order.

  Lucas lay down, but fatigue overcame his concerns and he soon fell asleep.

  The next morning Lucas arose and quickly got ready, then went into the dining room. Aurora was already there and was eating a slice of sweet bread. He greeted her cheerfully and bent down to kiss her on the cheek, "Good morning sweetheart "

  Aurora lifted her face and replied to his greeting with a cold nod.

  Lucas looked at her puzzled and asked, “My dear, are you okay? "

  "Yes, I'm fine." She replied standing up, "I've finished here, I'm going to make sure that all the luggage is loaded into the carriage. If you’ll excuse me."

  " Wait, keep me company, please," he asked insecure.

  Aurora looked up at him with a look that made him freeze "No, I'm busy."

  Lucas, his stomach constricted due to his anguish, could do nothing but watch her leave the room. His appetite had completely disappeared, he ate listlessly pondering why Aurora had treated him so coldly. She’s angry because I was late last night. She's right, but if she'd let me explain I'm sure she would understand. He sighed, the journey is long, I’ve a whole day in which to persuade her to forgive me.

  Encouraged by this thought he walked towards the carriage. Santos and Yolanda were already in the driving seats, ready to go. Even Aurora had already got into the carriage, and was apparently absorbed in reading a book.

  In the following hours Lucas tried to start a conversation with Aurora who however, resisted with a stubborn silence.

  "Aurora." He called for the umpteenth time "Will you tell me why you’re acting so coldly? May I ask why you're angry?" He had now given up coaxing her by trying to distract her by pointing out the beauty of the landscape.

  Aurora snapped her book shut and looked at Lucas angrily "You dare to ask me that after what you did?"

  "I was late and didn’t warn you, I know and I'm sorry, but I wasn’t able to ... "

  "I don’t care about your excuses and your justifications, I don’t believe you anymore."

  Lucas tried to take her hand, but Aurora jerked it away escaping his contact.

  " Don’t touch me!"

  " If you’d listen to me for a moment I could explain everything, it really is all very simple ... "

  " I don’t want to listen to you any longer. You won’t deceive me again with your pretty speeches. You're not worthy of my trust, you never have been." Aurora’s beautiful face was distorted by pain.

  “Aurora, why are you speaking to me this way? I swear I’ve never cheated on you." Lucas said desperately.

  "Shut up. Don’t lie. You're just like your brother Federico, a coward and a liar!" Retorted Aurora.

  She stared at Lucas through a veil of tears, but even so, she noticed that Lucas had suddenly turned pale, and a pang of pain struck Aurora’s heart.

  "I don’t deserve your words," he said in an icy tone. With a knock on the door he caught Santos’ attention and ordered him to stop. He got out of the carriage and climbed into the driving seat. Santos worried ordered Yolanda to climb into the carriage. Yolanda seeing the tears streaking down Aurora’s face could not hold back a smirk, she had finally succeeded in her aim.

  Aurora, on her part, could not manage to calm herself down and the presence of Yolanda did nothing but make her even more nervous and uncomfortable. She felt angry and the smirk on Yolanda’s face annoyed her, but at the same time the suffering evident on Lucas’ face had also sharpened her own misery. Desperation and pain took her breath away, she felt that everything was over for good, her happiness, her marriage, her life.

  Even if I wanted to enforce the pact and put an end to this farce, what do I have? I no longer even have my dignity ...

  Lucas grabbed the reins and sent the carriage in a wild ride that forced Santos to hold on tightly to avoid being thrown off. Seeing Lucas’ pain, Santos did not have the heart to stop him nor to search for words that could be of some comfort. Only when the horses gave signs of exhaustion did Lucas slow down.

  Lucas’ heart had also been racing desperately and now he felt drained. He did not even have the strength to be angry. Aurora had compared him to Federico, the person he hated the most and in addition accused him of deceiving her. Her words had deeply wounded him, no insult could have been more cruel. He was certain he had done nothing to deserve it. He was sure that he had always done everything in his power to make Aurora happy, he had courted her, gained her confidence day by day with perseverance and hard work and he had loved her like he had never loved anyone else.

  They stopped for refreshments and to rest the horses, but they did not try to talk to each other. When they left Lucas returned to the driving seat. By evening they had reached Lucas’ house in Tampico, they ate a simple meal in silence and each went to their own room. They did not seek to remedy what had happened that day, neither with gestures nor words. The next day Federico and Marisol’s marriage would take place, and they both thought fearfully that they would have to face hostile relatives and curious acquaintances without being able to count on each other’s support.

  Lucas, furious, could not get to sleep, he thought about Aurora’s cold stare that had struck him hard, accusing him of being like his brother. And to think that I agreed to come here just for her! I was talked into it like a poor fool! I’ll never again let a woman treat me like a puppet with no will ... and yet he knew in his heart that the pain of not being able to be near her was deeper than any wound to his pride.

  The morning of the wedding of the year began sunny and breezy. The coastal town woke up early, like its industrious inhabitants.

  In Don Gonzalo’s venta, however, everyone was still sleeping, because the last customers had left very late and the girls had only been able to go to sleep towards dawn. Everybody but one.

  Alma was literally desperate. As she had been crying, her face had become flushed and swollen, her bloodshot eyes ached. She put her hand to her swollen stomach, she was now not far away from giving birth and the baby's weight hindered her more with each passing day.

  Fortunately, she had recently no longer been able to work with clients. Don Gonzalo, who had complained several times about the fact that she could no longer earn her room and board with her performance, had assigned her to cleaning the plates and glasses. She was thus forced to stay on her feet for long periods of time and her legs ached with the effort.

  As she always had to be at the bar now, the night before she had heard something that had taken her breath away. The glass that she was drying fell from her hand and smashed on the floor.

  A loyal customer had claimed to have been invited to the wedding of Federico Navarra y Reyes and Marisol Rivera Vargas de Coronado.

  It can’t be ... it can’t be ... I must have misunderstood ... Alma tried to calm herself down, she knew that agitation could be harmful to her child, as Penelope had often told her this during her visits to the brothel.

  But the news had upset her. She asked Don Gonzalo’s permission to go to her room. Don Gonzalo, who was holding one of his girl
s in his arms, had looked at Alma with disgust and motioned for her to go up, without deigning to reply.

  At that point, being careful not to be seen, Alma took from the shelf under the counter one of the spare keys of the rooms on the upper floor and slipped it down the neckline of her dress. Then she climbed the stairs, accompanied by a helper who had the task of locking her in her room to prevent her from escaping.

  In recent months she had tried to escape on several occasions, but unfortunately all her attempts had failed miserably, Don Gonzalo had always discovered her and forced her back to her room, and the only outcome from those escape attempts had been no food and beatings.

  If she had not been pregnant, she would have tried to jump out the window, if she died in the attempt, so much the better, she did not have much to live for. But her baby was everything to her, it was the fruit of her unconditional and naive love, a creature of God, and should not have to pay for the sins of adults. And then Penelope had recommended that she do nothing rash because the cards had foretold a bright future for her and the baby. If she disobeyed and rebelled, however, fate would turn against her. Further, Penelope had threatened to curse her and punish her with one of her black magic spells.

  So she spent her days trapped in a room by herself until sunset when she was forced to entertain clients, vulgar and uncouth men who touched her, humiliated her, harassed her.

  But the news of Federico’s marriage could not leave her indifferent.

  She would do anything to see him and prevent him from marrying someone else! It was she who was expecting his child, his firstborn, not that other woman! She’ll be noble and will have a lot of money, but she’ll never love him like I love him, I bear all this in the name of my love for him.

  So that morning, while all the other girls and the servants slept peacefully and Don Gonzalo was locked in his room with one of his prostitutes, she opened the door of her room and went down the stairs, trying not to make the slightest noise. She crossed the bar and went out into the street, clutching her shawl around herself. For a moment she stayed like this, still and shocked, breathing in the fresh air and feeling the sun directly on her skin, not through a window. I'm free ... free at last.