“Engagement ring resizing. 18k white gold with a two-carat center diamond. Client: Rodrigo Mendoza. Received: April 15th.” He paused dramatically. “But there’s something else written here. It said:
“Initials engraved inside: RM and CV.”
The world has stopped.
Mrs. Elena let out a strangled scream, as if the air were being squeezed out of her lungs. She covered her mouth with her hand, and her eyes immediately filled with tears. Her initials were ES de Mendoza. Before the wedding: Elena Sánchez.
The CV wasn’t him.
The mask falls off.
“Rodrigo…” Mrs. Elena’s voice was a broken whisper. What is this?
The children were still on the stairs. Sofia, who was only six years old, was clinging to the arm of her brother Mateo, who was nine. They didn’t understand the words, but they did understand the tone. They understood that something terrible was happening.
Mr. Rodrigo tried to go to his wife, but she backed away as if Rodrigo were infected.
“Elena, my love, let me explain…”
“Don’t touch me!” she screamed with a rage I had never seen in her before. Mrs. Elena was always calm, elegant, even cold. But in that moment, it was pure fire and pain. “Explain to me who CV is! Explain why you bought MY ring for another woman!”
And then it all made sense. The ring I was supposed to have stolen wasn’t missing by accident. Mr. Rodrigo took it. Her own husband.
I’ve noticed some strange things in the past few weeks. Mr. Rodrigo has been leaving very early and coming home late, always with his phone pressed to his ear. He said it was business. He said he was building a company. But now, as I watched it crumble before our eyes, I knew he was building a new life with someone else.
“It’s nothing,” he muttered, his eyes turning red. “It was a mistake, Elena. A moment of weakness.”
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