by Ruben Soto
“Hi Enrique. Did I wake you?”
“No, it’s okay. Are you all right? You sound worried?”
“I’m fine. Roberto hasn’t come home yet. I wonder where he is. I can’t continue to let him do this to me. The thought of him with another woman is making me sick. I’m losing respect for him. I’m starting to despise him.”
Jennifer began crying uncontrollably.
“You’re such a gorgeous woman. I can’t believe your husband would treat you in such manner. Men would do anything to have a woman like you. I hope you’re not offended by what I just said? But I want you to know that I’m here whenever you need someone to talk to. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met in my life. You don’t deserve to be treated in that fashion.”
“Thank you for being so understanding. I don’t believe I’m doing this. I’m actually calling you and divulging my personal problems. Please forgive me. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. But thanks again for being so understanding. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.”
Jennifer hung up before Enrique could reply. He just stood there and knew that soon Jennifer would be his. She could no longer restrain from hiding her true feelings for him.
The next evening Jennifer made her daily visit to Enrique’s apartment. She wasn’t her usual self. Tonight she had a worried look. She had been wondering where Roberto had been last night. She felt her love for him was drifting away. He no longer loved her the way he used to. She felt devastated by this sudden realization. She felt unloved and taken advantage of. She needed to feel that someone loved her and cared for her. She needed to feel the arms of a man wrapped around her body. She needed to hear him tell her how beautiful she was. She needed to be with a man who wanted to be with her. She was finally going to succumb to Enrique. The timing was right and her defenses were weak.
When Jennifer walked in she stood there staring at Enrique. He noticed there was a different look in her face. Something was troubling her and her whole body was shivering. He walked over to ask her what was wrong and found himself wrapping his muscular arms around her. This was the first time they had ever embraced. He saw tears building in her eyes. She told him why she was feeling this way. She told him Roberto didn’t love her anymore and she felt confused. He wiped the tears softly away from her eyes. He knew the moment had come. This was the perfect opportunity to declare his love for her. His large hands took her face and held it gently. He first kissed the tip of her nose, then her eyes, and, finally he satisfyingly kissed her soft mouth. Enrique’s kiss sent new sensations of ecstasy through her entire body. She kissed him passionately, savoring every moment.
Enrique took her into the bedroom and softly eased her onto the bed. His hands moved magically, slowly over her sensuous body. He undressed her gently, worshipping her beautiful physique along the way. Her defenses were weakening. They took the time to explore and incite each other. Finally their bodies joined together and they were in complete harmony with each other. She welcomed him into her body. The pleasure was worth waiting for. Enrique was more in love with Jennifer now that she was his. This was the best experience he had ever had. From now on nothing was going to stand in their way. Their lives would never be the same again. They would live only to give each other love and pleasure.
Jennifer was speechless lying there in bed next to Enrique. She had never experienced this kind of love and passion before. Roberto never made love to her the way Enrique just had. Enrique had made her feel like a complete woman. Now she knew exactly what Monika was talking about.
Afterwards they got into the bathtub to take a warm bath. Jennifer brought a sensual smelling bath soap and she poured it inside the tub. She playfully poured some over Enrique too. They held each other tightly and kissed passionately.
Jennifer had never felt so fulfilled and happy. She didn’t want this moment to end. How could she have been so deprived of a love like this? She was enchanted by Enrique’s exceptional lovemaking abilities.
“Jennifer, I am so in love with you. I thought I would never be able to fall in love again. But you have proven me wrong. Te quiero mucho. Te adoro. Haz llenado mi vida de gozo y amor. Eres todo para mi. You are everything to me.”
They continued kissing and made love over and over again.
It was close to midnight when Jennifer got home and to her surprise Roberto was there. He was angry and wanted to know where she had been. She told him she had to stay at the boutique to place some special orders. He knew she was lying since he had stopped by earlier there and she was gone. He saw how different she looked. The first thought on his mind was that she had been with another man. He was too experienced in this area to know when someone was lying. But unfortunately it was his wife now that was doing the lying.
“Jennifer where were you tonight? I stopped by the boutique earlier and there was no one there. Why are you lying to me? Tell me the truth, where were you?”
Fear suddenly consumed Jennifer’s body. She had never been unfaithful to her husband before. She couldn’t tell him that she had been with another man. If Roberto were to find out heavens knows what he might do. But she knew he was too smart and would eventually find out the truth. But for now she had to conceal the truth. But he had just caught her in a lie. How was she going to get out of this one?
“Roberto, please lower your voice. You’ll wake the kids up. Why don’t we talk about this in the morning? I don’t think this is an appropriate time to discuss it. Besides, Becky’s in the house and I don’t want her to hear us quarreling. Let’s have breakfast somewhere tomorrow and we can talk privately there.”
“I have a better idea. Why don’t we discuss it in the privacy of our room? It’s far enough from the kids’ and Becky’s rooms where they can’t hear us. I won’t be able to sleep tonight until I know where you were. You’ve never come home this late before. It’s not like you, Jennifer.”
Jennifer was now terrified. Would Roberto be capable of harming her in any way? He had never laid a hand on her or been disrespectful towards her. She didn’t like the way he looked at her when she came in. It’s as if she had escaped from prison and the warden was waiting to take her back. She pleaded with him that she didn’t want to talk about it. Not now at least. Why had life just been so cruel to her?
Earlier she had experienced the most passionate love there can exist between a man and a woman. And now she was confronted with possibly the worst moment of her life. It didn’t seem fair.
“Roberto, you have no right talking to me in that manner. I’ve put up with your lies up to now. You’ve been coming home late for over a month now and you tell me it is business. But other sources have told me that I’m a fool to believe you. I had complete trust in you all of these years. However, it seems you’ve been seen with another woman. Is that where you’ve been all this time? And now you’re accusing me of being with someone else? Where is the fairness in this?”
This revelation hit Roberto straight between his eyes. How did Jennifer find out about his other woman? Who could’ve leaked this information to her? Now he was the one that needed to do the explaining. He softened his tone with her.
“Honey, who told you those lies? You know that’s not true. How could I be with another woman when I’m married to the most beautiful woman on this earth?
“It doesn’t matter who told me Roberto, because you haven’t been yourself lately. When you came back from Chicago I could see it in your face. Was she with you? My eyes have been opened for the first time. Now I can see right through you. I’m no longer that innocent young girl that you married ten years ago. I thought our love would last forever. But now I can see that it can’t be possible. I can’t sleep in the same room with you tonight. Please let me sleep in our bed and you can stay in the guest bedroom. I refuse to discuss this any longer.”
With that said, Jennifer ran upstairs and Roberto pleaded with her not to go. He began crying knowing that he had hurt her deeply. Becky was hearing everything from her room. She didn’t dare co
me out when they were fighting. If she could only tell Roberto what caused all of this. That Jennifer had been obsessed with Enrique since he came here. That she suspects they have become lovers. But no, she wasn’t going to be the one to ruin this marriage. Things would gradually start to crumble and they would eventually find out each other’s secrets.
Roberto went to the library and fixed himself a drink. He couldn’t believe what had just occurred between Jennifer and him. Why was he so forceful with her? She could’ve been visiting Monika or another friend. Maybe she was at Starbucks drinking a cappuccino. Maybe she was feeling alone since he obviously wasn’t home much lately. He needed to find out once and for all. He got on the phone and called Monika.
“Hello, Jennifer is that you?” Monika looked at her caller ID and saw the call was from the Del Castillo residence.
“No, Monika it’s Roberto. Did I wake you?”
Monika was shocked to hear Roberto calling her at this time. He wasn’t one to call frequently and certainly not at this time of the day. She started worrying whether something had happened.
“No, you know I don’t go to sleep until after midnight. Is everything okay? How’s Jennifer doing?”
“She’s upstairs in our room. I’m downstairs in the library. We just had a big fight. I feel so guilty. We’ve never fought like this before. She came home late tonight and I asked her where she had been. She retaliated by accusing me of cheating on her. Was she at your house tonight?”
All Monika could think about was where Jennifer could’ve possibly been tonight. She started sensing something wasn’t right when she declined her invitation to the cocktail party. She had to be careful as to how she responded to Roberto.
“I wish I could tell you she was here, but she wasn’t. Maybe she did some last minute shopping. Why are you so concerned? Don’t you trust her?”
“It’s not a matter of trust anymore, Monika. I feel that I have lost Jennifer to someone else. It seems she heard that I was cheating on her. She accused me of being with another woman all this time that I’ve been coming home late. I can’t even start to think that she was with another man. It would destroy me.”
By now Monika was getting tired of Roberto’s sob story. She knew perfectly well that he had cheated on Jennifer. Jennifer was obviously lacking the love she needed from him. She could not hold back any longer. She was going to let Roberto have it.
“Listen, Roberto we’ve had this conversation before. You know darn well that you can’t fool me. I know you have a mistress and that’s final. Stop playing games with me. Your wife has finally grown up and you think she may be doing the same thing too. So you’re both even. What’s wrong with that? I haven’t talked to Jennifer lately and I haven’t heard anything about another man. I don’t suspect it because she’s a decent woman. Please don’t be so hard on her and yourself. I hate to see your marriage dissolve because of a stupid suspicion.”
Roberto hated it when Monika brought out the subject of his mistress. That was something private but he understood that she knew him too well. It was impossible to fool a woman like Monika.
“So help me, Monika. Where do think she may have been tonight? She’s never done this before in all of our years of marriage. Even when I go on my trips she stays home. Where was she tonight? I won’t be able to sleep until I find out.”
“Why are you playing so innocent as if you’ve never been unfaithful before? Didn’t you feel any guilt back when we were together? Or have you forgotten that we were once lovers? You were sleeping with your best friend’s wife long before you got married. Then you got married and our affair continued. You know I pleased you in a manner that Elena wasn’t able to. You feel tremendous guilt knowing that your marriage to her was also a farce. She was taken away too soon. Now you fear that life is punishing you for having cheated on Jennifer. You don’t want to lose her either. But you may already have.”
“You know I’ve always loved you Monika. I loved you from the first time I saw you. But I promised myself I wouldn’t ever get involved with a married woman. You were the most beautiful woman I had ever met. I tried avoiding you anyway I could, but you were successful in seducing me. Once I had you I couldn’t let go. You refused to leave your husband for me. You two have a very sick relationship. I don’t understand how you can live with someone you don’t love. Your rejection was very hard on me and then I met Elena. She was able to make me forget you. She transported me to a different world - a world that was so pure and wonderful.
Roberto continued.
“After her death I lost all sense of love for anyone. I stopped loving you. I blamed you for her death. I felt I was being punished for this awful sin. But I couldn’t hold you accountable anymore. I had to go on with my life and so did you. Now, you’re just someone that I used to love.”
Roberto hung up the phone with Monika. He was momentarily lost. He found himself running towards the woman he had once loved. Jennifer could never find out that Monika and he had been lovers. That would shatter her. She would’ve felt betrayed by both her husband and her best friend. He poured himself another drink, then another until he got drunk. He fell asleep in his chair.
The next morning Jennifer got up early and left the house. She went straight to Enrique’s apartment. She knocked on his door as he was getting ready to leave. She thrust herself into his arms as soon as he opened the door. He could tell that something terrible was bothering her. She was trembling and felt safe with his arms around her. She had fallen deeply in love with Enrique. She had never felt like this about any man before. She wanted to reassure herself that what had happened between them yesterday wasn’t a dream.
“Roberto and I had a fight last night. He was waiting for me when I got home. He was angry. He wanted to know where I’d been. I told him I didn’t want to discuss it. I accused him of cheating on me. I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t think of anything that would convince him otherwise. He’s going to find out about us Enrique. I know he is. Roberto isn’t one to give up. He’ll find out about us. I can’t let him harm you.”
“Why do you say that? There’s no possible way he’ll find out about us. Who’s going to tell him? Come here, sit down and rest a while. You’re taking this too seriously. Let me get you a hot cup of relaxing tea. It’ll help calm your nerves.”
Enrique walked to the kitchen and started fixing the tea. He was feeling bad for Jennifer. He knew she had never cheated on Roberto before. Enrique knew she had fallen in love with him. And he had fallen in love with her. It was no longer lust that they felt for each other. This was true love. He was going to do everything possible to protect her from Roberto. But he also had to protect himself.
He handed her the cup of tea and sat next to her. He put his right arm around her and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek. All she needed now was to be close to him. She needed to feel the warmth of his body and the reassurance that their love would survive any obstacle.
“Drink the tea. Don’t say anything. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Chapter Ten
Enrique arrived at the Del Castillo mansion and he saw the look on Olga and Lupe’s face. He then saw Becky who tried her best at ignoring him. Today was going to be different. He knew they suspected something had happened between him and Jennifer. What he didn’t know was that they found Roberto sleeping in the library. Roberto had asked them if they had seen Jennifer going out with anyone lately. They had all told him they had not. But they knew the truth. How much longer until one of them finally had the guts to tell Roberto?
None of them spoke to Enrique all day long. They didn’t feed him or offered him any water, as was their custom. Enrique went out to get a quick lunch and bought himself some bottled water. He was able to finish another cabinet and the kitchen was starting to take shape. He could only think of Jennifer all day long. He wanted her to spend the night with him. But he knew that was impossible. How would they be able to be together for the rest of their lives?
Jenni
fer would never leave Roberto for someone like him. He wouldn’t ever be able to give her the lifestyle that Roberto could. But that wasn’t important now. What was important was that they could share their love with one another. That’s all that mattered now.
Monika drove up to the boutique to see Jennifer. She was certain that she would find out what Jennifer was up to. She walked in and there was no one there except Jennifer and one of her employees. Jennifer saw her and told her to come into her office so they could talk in private. Jennifer hugged her and started telling her what had happened. She told her about her and Enrique and how this affair had been building up from the time they first met. She also told her how she realized that Roberto had another woman. She also confessed how unloved she felt and how she fell more in love with Enrique each day. This experienced had changed her forever. She was no longer the faithful wife she was brought up to be. She was afraid of what Roberto would do to her. But she was more afraid of what he would do to Enrique once he found out about their love for each other.
Monika was shocked by what Jennifer had just told her. She didn’t expect her to fall for someone like Enrique. Although the thought of being with Enrique crossed Monika’s mind one too many times. She was really just kidding every time she would mention her sexual attraction towards Enrique. Monika reassured her that Roberto was incapable of harming her. As for Enrique, as long as they kept their secret well hidden, no one would find out. Monika now saw a different, more mature Jennifer. Gone was the naïve Jennifer that she had met when Roberto brought her to San Antonio. Monika now had to teach Jennifer to overcome her emotions. She couldn’t lose her mind over someone like Enrique. She had to know how to go on with her life and separate her public and personal life.