The Forbidden Promise (19 page)

The next day Lucas gently woke her with a kiss.
"I have to get up, unfortunately I have to go back to work," he
whispered.
Aurora nodded sleepily.
Shortly after she overcame the languor that urged her to stay in bed to think
back to the night before and she got up.
She returned to her room to wash, lingering to savor the sweet numbness of her
limbs the result of the unbridled passion of the night before. She ran her
hands over her lips still swollen and puffy from Lucas’ fiery kisses. With a
sigh, she shook herself from her thoughts, dressed and went down to the dining
room.
Lucas was just finishing eating and greeted her with a broad smile.
" I‘ve given Yolanda orders to move all your things into our room,"
he informed her.

Aurora nodded silently.
Lucas caressed her and gave her a kiss on the lips.
" I'll see you tonight," he said, standing up.
Aurora finished eating and went back to her room, full of thoughts
. I’ve
started something that I can’t stop now, she thought.
She told herself that
she was stupid.
It should be the happiest moment of my life, and yet I’m
poisoned with doubts and second thoughts. I love him, now I know it, but why am
I so insecure?
In truth, she knew what was troubling her.
If only I had the certainty that
he loves me ... if only I could convince myself that I’m not one of his many
achievements but the only woman in his life
! She also remembered the words
that her cousin Marisol had told her that day on the beach,
Lucas is not a
man that is content with just one woman
...
She was distracted from her thoughts because someone entered her room. It was
Yolanda.
"Oh, excuse me." Said Yolanda, "I thought you had already gone
out. Lucas has ordered the transfer of all of your belongings to his
room."
Strangely Yolanda’s manner was not as arrogant as usual, she seemed rather sad
and resigned.
"Fine, Yolanda. I’ll go now, so you can work quietly."
Yolanda began to empty the wardrobe.
"So you decided to give up the European fashion of separate rooms?"
She asked impudently.
" Yes, we’ve changed our minds." Replied Aurora coldly.
Yolanda said no more, but with deftness emptied the wardrobes.
Aurora took a moment to look at her.
Maybe I should make an effort to
understand her and to be her friend. I’d probably act the same if I was in her
shoes.
" You’ve known Lucas for a long time, haven’t you?" She asked
casually.
Yolanda turned to look at her with cocky air.
" Yes, ma'am, since I was very small. When his stepmother drove him from
the Navarra
hacienda
together with the cook, Amparo, my father decided
to leave too and we all moved to Tampico. I’ve practically grown up with
Lucas." Answered Yolanda
" You know him very well, then." Replied Aurora
" Yes, indeed. I know him better than anyone else apart from my brother
Santos."
"Were you very surprised to know that he would marry me?"
Yolanda grimaced.
" You can’t imagine how much, you’re not at all the kind of woman he's
interested in."
" Ah, yes," said Aurora resentfully. "And what kind of woman
would be more appropriate for him?"
Yolanda smiled nastily. "Joyful women, witty, lively, who would take care
of him and satisfy him in all ways, someone like me" She eyed Aurora from
head to foot and added, "and above all beautiful."
Yolanda gathered an armful of clothes and left the room without another word,
leaving Aurora stunned with astonishment.
Little witch
, she thought. Her
attempt to improve their relationships had failed miserably. Evidently Yolanda
had not yet given up her claims on Lucas and she had made it perfectly clear
that she was still considered a rival.

All Tampico was in turmoil over the wedding of the year. The
noble Marisol Vargas de Coronado Rivera was going to marry the wealthy scion of
Navarra y Reyes family.
If the previous marriage, Lucas and Aurora’s, had been considered a tempting
subject for the gossips of the coastal town, this second marriage between the
two families was definitely considered the social event of the year.
The Count and Countess of Rivera were paying no attention to the expense of
organizing the ceremony and had ordered much sought after flowers and tropical
plants from as far as Chiapas to decorate the church, and the bride's dress was
said to have been ordered directly from Paris .
On her part,
Doña
Raquel Navarra y Reyes was organizing the reception to
be held at the
hacienda
with every refinement possible. It was rumored
that she had specially hired an army of chefs from Europe to offer guests the
most sought after delicacies that would delight the palate.
There was no one in Tampico who was not speaking of marriage between the two
heirs.
Among all of these voices, at the market, in the taverns, outside the church,
moved a stranger who tried to go unnoticed. Short hair hidden under a
wide-brimmed hat, a long unkempt beard and aloof blue eyes that perpetually
stared at the road.
The person was Don Hector Navarra y Reyes who took long solitary walks along
the beach. Then he went to the market full of people, hiding himself in the
crowd, watching, searching for a face that he still dreamed about after all
these years. Once he caught sight of the young man who had traveled with him on
the ship during the voyage from Europe. Immediately he changed direction, he
did not want to talk to him. From the talk that he had heard in the Fisherman’s
Tavern, he knew that the young man had become an integral part of the town’s
social fabric. He was welcomed in the homes of the most prominent inhabitants,
participated in all the parties and get-togethers. In a short time he had
become the most famous lawyer in Tampico.
One day Hector finally saw her. She was walking in the market, accompanied by a
maid. She wore an elegant walking dress, her bronze hair tied back gracefully,
her warm hazel eyes examined carefully the goods on display.
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.

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, everything
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 girls 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
.
She roused herself quickly from her thoughts. She had to hurry if she wanted to
get to the church on time.
I’ve a duty to preform ... I have to do it for my
baby.