The scent hit me first, mango. I began choking almost immediately, my throat tightening, lungs gasping for air.
“Let me go!” I wheezed. “Regina… you know I’m allergic to mango—”
She paused for a second, but turned ruthless the next second.
“Oh, please. After everything you’ve done to Hector, you think this is some kind of tragedy? It’s just an allergy. You’re not going to die. Stop being so dramatic. You're a grown man. Now finish the damn cake and apologize.”
My throat swelled faster than I could speak. My eyes burned and puffed shut. Breathing felt like sucking air through a straw. Darkness started creeping in from the edges of my vision.
Then I stopped struggling. The moment my hands went limp, Regina froze. Panic flickered across her face.
“Where’s his allergy meds? The ones he keeps in the house! Find them! Now!”
Someone must’ve found them, because minutes later I was swallowing the bitter pills and little by little, air trickled back into my lungs. My vision blurred, my face burning, but I could breathe.
I opened my swollen, bloodshot eyes.
Regina let out a shaky breath, trying to compose herself. “Alright,” she said, her voice uneven. “You and Hector are even now. But I want your word—swear to me that from now on, you’ll never hurt Hector or his child ever again.”
“Hector’s a rising star in the business world now. He’s got real potential.” She smirked. “You, on the other hand, get to lounge around playing house all day. So do the decent thing—promise you’ll help him raise his kid. Treat the child like your own.”
She looked pleased with herself, already spinning fantasies in her head. “I’ll make time to visit you and Claudia once or twice a week. That should be enough.”
I said nothing. Her smile faltered.
“What are you even angry about?” she snapped. “If you hadn’t meddled all those years ago, our baby wouldn’t have died. Hector wouldn’t have been forced to leave the country. And I wouldn’t have had to give up everything just to marry you for the company shares. Don’t you get it? By now, our child would be the same age as Claudia.”
Her voice rose, “Everything you and Claudia have, it was all stolen from Hector! So what right do you have to be upset?”
I couldn’t take another word. I cut her off, my voice hoarse with rage. “Don’t you dare talk about my daughter again. I’m done. I’ve already sent you the divorce papers. You can go back to Hector.”