The Forbidden Promise (29 page)

While Lucas was struggling in anguish for a love that he was
losing, in Mexico City Don Cristobal spent his days in peace, working
diligently to break down the barriers that Aurora had built up and to finally
win her heart.
Like every day before going to visit Aurora, Cristobal went to the post office
to collect their mail.
He asked the clerk if there were also any post for Viviana or Aurora.
The clerk, who now knew the elegant gentleman, gave him the envelope that had
just arrived from Tampico for Aurora Navarra y Reyes.
Sometimes fate causes two hearts in love to come so close to touching each
other but they never manage to touch.

Cristobal looked at the
envelope with curiosity and noticed that the sender was Father Julian.
Nevertheless, he had a strange premonition. Pretending that nothing was amiss,
he thanked the young clerk and left the post office, walking slowly down the
crowded sidewalk.
I’m so close to success ... I can’t let anything go wrong right now! I’ve
done everything to have Aurora for myself... I have concealed Don Eduardo’s
true will, I’ve entered into an evil agreement with Doña Raquel, I asked for
and have achieved, that by any method Lucas and Aurora are separated ... and
now that we’ve reached this point I have to be careful! The slightest misstep
could cost me dear!
Overcome by his doubts, he decided to open the envelope as it had not been
sealed with wax. Immediately he fell silent. His suspicions were well founded,
the letter was actually from Lucas! Lucas had written to Aurora about his
current situation and begged her to wait for him. Cristobal knew of Lucas’
arrest because it had been talked about in all the papers. In truth he did not
believe for a moment that Lucas could have committed such a murder, but
revealing the news to Aurora could have triggered a protective reaction against
him and pushed her back into Lucas’ arms. For this reason, he had also
convinced
Doña
Viviana that they had to keep the news a secret. He was
very surprised, however about the explanation for Lucas’ alleged betrayal. The
justification seemed far-fetched, but Cristobal knew that it could be the truth
... Doña Raquel is a truly diabolical woman. She had implemented an
extraordinary plan, I'm sure she’s there behind this perfect trap. And Lucas’
fortuitous arrest makes me think ... the man who died with Don Costantino was
Don Hector Navarra y Reyes and I well know what danger he constituted to the
powerful Doña Raquel! My God, who am I allied with? Has that woman really such
an evil soul?
However, the memory of the pain caused by his wife’s death
that had almost swallowed him up, that he had overcome only by his passion for
Aurora, made him put aside his scruples.
He carefully put the letter in his pocket, he would burn it as soon as he
arrived home. He was glad, that this time, he had been able to silence his
conscience.
He could not let Aurora escape him, he was sure he had almost won her heart.
He then went to Dolores’ house, where Viviana and Aurora were guests.
Without hesitation he climbed the stairs that took him to his beloved,
after
all
, he thought
, in love everything is allowed.
"Good morning Aurora, you look beautiful," he said kissing her hand.
" Cristobal, what a pleasure to see you," said Dolores, still focused
on embroidering. "You’ll stay and have lunch with us, won’t you? You know
that I won’t accept no for an answer!"
"With pleasure," replied Cristobal, holding Aurora’s hand in his.
Aurora however, was not smiling. Her face was pale and distressed.
"Are you all right, Aurora dear?" Asked Cristobal worried.
Aurora nodded without enthusiasm. In truth yet another disappointment tormented
her. It had been over a month since she had sent the letter to Zacatecas and
she had not yet received any reply from Lucas.
Throughout lunch while her mother and Cristobal spoke of this and that, Aurora
could not help thinking of her marriage that she was now sure was over, of
Lucas, who had forgotten her and, of what a great mistake she had made by
getting married.
Just picturing Lucas’ face was enough to make her heart beat wildly, she was
convinced that sooner or later even this unrequited passion would be
extinguished.
He had even thrown away the last chance I gave him like powder
in the wind, my marriage was just a farce. I was a fool to delude myself that
it could really work. I must resign myself, there's nothing else I can do.
Aurora sighed sadly, trying to control her emotions.
"I’d like to ask your permission to start the paperwork for the annulment
of your marriage," Cristobal suddenly asked.  Viviana winced, fearing
Aurora’s reaction. But Cristobal, being a connoisseur of human nature, knew
that it was now time to take the plunge and finally break down the determined
defense that his beloved had erected around herself.
Aurora aroused from her thoughts, took a deep breath and remained silent.
"My dear, I think it's the best thing for both you and for him. I think
that Lucas wants to regain his freedom..." Said
Doña
Viviana.
"So why hasn’t he come and told me that?" Retorted Aurora harshly.
"Is that what you want? You want him to come looking for you?" Asked
Cristobal staring at her frowning. "He’s lied to you, he’s humiliated you
and you still hope he comes back to you? Don’t you think that if he really
still loved you he would have come looking for you, at least to try to explain
what happened?"
"No. It's over!" She said dryly.
"Then my dear, let Cristobal help you, he has proven very generous with
us," interrupted
Doña
Viviana.
"But how do we to seek an annulment?" Aurora asked nervously fiddling
with her fork.
"Well, we'll talk about complete betrayal under the marital roof, we’ll
say what kind of individual Lucas has shown himself to be, and finally we will
say that the marriage was never consummated... "
Both looked at her straight in the face to see her expression. Aurora sat
petrified.
" But ..." She stammered.
" No buts, trust, it is the best thing for everyone." Said Viviana.
Aurora swallowed desperately trying to hold back tears.
"Isn’t evidence needed?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
" Why, is there evidence? If there is, it would be great!" Exclaimed
Cristobal taking her hand. “It would greatly facilitate things!"
Aurora bit her lip nervously,
My God what should I do? If they know about
the pact, it’ll be truly over, they won’t leave me in peace until the wedding
is annulled. On the other hand why continue with this farce, I have to turn
over a new page if I want to get out of this turmoil of pain that is killing
me.
"There is a pact ... signed by me and Lucas before the wedding
..." She said in a low voice with her eyes fixed on the plate in front of
her.
" A pact?” Cristobal asked excitedly.
Aurora explained briefly what the pact between her and Lucas contained, despite
all her attempts she failed to prevent copious tears sliding down her cheeks.
Doña
Viviana and Cristobal listened dumbfounded. Cristobal could hardly
contain his happiness, not only had their marriage obviously been a farce but
above all it would soon be just a memory.
Viviana, although she realized how difficult it was for Aurora to make them
aware of the existence of the pact could not keep quiet any longer.
"How could you Aurora? You lied to everyone! You insisted on marrying
Lucas rather than Felipe Braganza, swearing to love him when in fact it was all
a sham! You and that man have made fun of me and your father, may he rest in
peace, how could you? I'd have expected that from that adventurer husband of
yours but not from you! I thought you were different!"
" Please forgive me mother, I didn’t want to offend anybody! I just wanted
to continue to be a doctor."
" Because of what you desire, you felt authorized to cover your family
with ridicule! What will people say when this thing is made public? You didn’t
have a shred of decency or shame!" Viviana’s hazel eyes burned with anger.
"I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done! You’ve squandered the dowry
that your father and I made available to you, giving it to that beggar!"
Viviana could not suppress her anger, she raised her hand and slapped Aurora.
Aurora put her hand to her flushed cheek, but did not dare reply. She sat with
her eyes downcast, as they filled with tears.
"Come on,
Doña
Viviana, don’t be so hard! Aurora has certainly
learned an expensive lesson. The important thing now is to annul this marriage
as soon as possible," said Cristobal. "In addition, Aurora has been
able to preserve her virtue, the most priceless asset that exists."
"Pray to the Lord that this nonsense can at least give you back your
freedom, otherwise you’ll be linked to that wretch for the rest of your
life!"
Doña
Viviana concluded with a dark expression still on her
beautiful face.
"Where is this document?" Cristobal said impatiently.
"It’s here, I entrusted it to Dolores before the wedding."
Dolores jumped, "The letter you gave me that day? ... That was a  pact? My
dear, you don’t know how sorry I am..."
Aurora could not stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
It’s really
over ... now I've lost him forever. Lucas ...

For the unfortunate Marisol things were not much better.
Not a trace remained of the carefree girl and lover of life, she was forced to
live with a husband who beat her when he came back drunk from the worst taverns
and a despotic and tyrannical mother-in-law who did not respect her privacy.
She cried every night, praying that Federico stayed at the brothel to sleep
rather than come home to avoid enduring more violence
. I, who has always
been liberal, who supported the European feminists, am reduced to being the
slave of a terrible man!
The life she had imagined with her husband was quite different, the kisses
and caresses during the engagement period had vanished immediately after their
return from their honeymoon and in their place was recrimination and violence.
Before getting married, she had been convinced that she knew the masculine
nature, Federico’s gentleness and good manners had not given her the slightest
suspicion of the ordeal to which she was going to encounter. By day she was
forced to stay at home under the close supervision of her hated mother-in-law
and at night she had to share the bed with Federico.
Federico returned only at dawn completely drunk and slept still dressed. Often,
however, he preferred to remain sober enough to end the evening with Marisol
since his lust was not usually satisfied only with the girls in the brothel.
Marisol was also much more beautiful than the prostitutes that he spent his
evenings with, so it was normal that he wanted to keep the most delicious
morsel for the end.
Marisol tried to talk to her parents about it but they did not give due weight
to her plea for help, they told her that she just had to get used to married
life.
Her mother’s look of indifference was the thing that had hurt Marisol the most.
"Darling, men are men and have their flaws, but you have to be patient ...
Pray to the Lord to help you."
Marisol was annoyed to see her mother’s happy face, as she waved her fan
rapidly. "You’re cruel... you don’t care about your daughter!" She
cried in anger.
Her father did not even answer, he looked at her with a vague air of pity,
"The important thing is that the honor of our good name is preserved ...
look at the shame that befell your cousin Aurora."
Marisol was shocked when the news came that Lucas was in prison. She could not
believe that a man like Lucas could have been involved in a crime as serious as
her uncle Costantino’s murder. She was also shocked when she noted the
indifference and quiet enjoyment that she saw on Federico and Raquel’s faces. A
fierce indignation engulfed her and, once alone with Federico, she had vented
her anger.
"How can you be so inhuman? In the end, Lucas is your brother ... and the
one who died along with my uncle was your uncle Hector! The whole town is
talking about it!"
In response, Federico had slapped her and without a word, had gone out on one
of his usual nightly forays. Marisol found herself alone, weeping, her cheeks
reddened and sore thinking about her happy and carefree maiden life. Everything
was now gone forever, the nocturnal escapes, the unrestrained enjoyment, the
passion with Lucas ... Now she was married to a brute, Lucas was in prison and
Aurora had left him and moved to Mexico City.
She had received a short letter from Aurora who told her, coldly, that she
intended to request the annulment of her marriage.
Finally, unable to resist any longer, she took the first opportunity that
presented itself to go out alone without arousing Federico and Raquel’s
suspicions, to see Lucas.
She left her maid at the prison entrance and entered the barracks. She had
brought with her some money to "soften" the guards that let her pass
without many problems as soon as they saw the jingling coins.
One of the guards walked her down the stairs and then she made her way along
the gloomy corridor.
When Lucas saw a young woman move in prison’s shadows, he walked quickly to the
bars with a heart full of hope. On recognizing Marisol, he was glad to see his
friend again, even though it was not her that he was anxiously waiting for.
"How are you?" She asked, worried.
" All in all pretty good," Lucas said. "The lawyer is looking
for evidence that could prove my innocence and Santos and Pablo are taking care
of my business while I'm here. Have you heard from Aurora?"
Marisol was a bit hesitant, then said, "I heard from my parents that she
is the guest of her cousin in Mexico City and ... " Marisol hesitated
again for a moment. Then biting her lips she said, "I hate to tell you
Lucas ... But it seems that Don Cristobal visits her every day and that she has
already signed the request for the annulment of your marriage."
Lucas, staring ahead, remained silent with his fists clenched around the cold
bars.
Marisol put her warm hands on his.
"I made a big mistake in marrying Federico, he has made me an unhappy
woman. If only I could go back in time! I should have married you, I wish I
could correct the mistake!"
She burst into tears and Lucas gently stroked her head. On feeling his gentle
touch, Marisol looked up and moved closer to him, touching her red lips to
Lucas’.
Lucas did not accept Marisol’s invitation and pulled away slightly and in his
deep warm voice said, "I'm in love with Aurora and I need you to help me
win her back."
Marisol looked down.
"I don’t know what I could do... I don’t want to go home to Federico. I
can’t stand his violence anymore. I don’t care about the scandal or my parents,
or
D
oña Raquel’s fury! He beats me every day ..."
Lucas hit the bars angrily.
"Damn him, I’ll make him pay for everything," he said. "Go to
the Fisherman’s Tavern, there you will find some of my men. Ask for Pablo or
Juan they are my friends, and tell them that I sent you and that they must
accompany you to Zacatecas where you can stay at my estate under
protection."
"Thank you Lucas ... I don’t know how..." stuttered Marisol.
He put a finger to her lips and said,
" Go, before it gets dark."
He looked at her as she walked away, thinking about how the beautiful Marisol
had changed. Federico and Raquel had succeeded in destroying her innate love of
life quickly.