I knew.
So what?”
Alejandro froze.
He had probably never seen me like this.
Without fear.
Without softness.
Without giving in to avoid conflict.
He grabbed his phone in a hurry.
“No.
I have to call my mother.
She needs to speak to the owner.”
I smiled.
“Of course.
I’ll send you the contact right now.”
I slid Lucía’s digital business card toward him.
Alejandro swallowed hard when he saw the logo of a famous real estate corporation in Mexico City beneath her name.
The kind of people his family would never dare to challenge.
At that exact moment…
Alejandro’s phone began to ring.
The screen read:
“Mom.”
He answered with trembling hands.
And Carmen’s excited voice burst through the line.
“Son!
Did you collect the rent money yet?
Because tomorrow I’m trading in my SUV for a brand-new one!”
Carmen didn’t even wait for Alejandro to answer.
Her voice continued sounding excited on the other end of the line.
“Tomorrow I’m going to see the new SUV I found in Santa Fe. Red. Beautiful. It’s about time your mother started enjoying life.”
Alejandro swallowed hard.
I remained leaning against the kitchen counter, watching him in silence.
The rain continued tapping softly against the penthouse windows.
The lights of Polanco reflected on the marble floor as if the whole city were watching the scene with me.
“Mom…” Alejandro’s voice came out dry. “There’s a problem.”
“What problem?”
“The rent doesn’t cost twenty thousand.”
There were a few seconds of silence.
Then Carmen let out a carefree laugh.
“Oh, son, don’t scare me. So how much is it? Twenty-five?”
Alejandro closed his eyes.
“Eighty thousand pesos.”
The silence on the other end was absolute.
So absolute that I could even hear the sound of the rain more clearly.
And then—
“WHAT?”
Carmen’s scream tore through the apartment.
“ARE YOU AN IDIOT OR WHAT?!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN EIGHTY THOUSAND?!
THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!”
Alejandro pulled the phone away from his ear.
I calmly picked up my glass of wine.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” I murmured.
Alejandro shot me an angry look before speaking again.
“Mom, the contract already arrived…”
“Then don’t sign it.”
“If we don’t sign, we have to leave tomorrow.”
“SO WHAT? THEN WE LEAVE!”
Carmen was breathing heavily.
“Who the hell pays eighty thousand for an apartment?”
I smiled slightly.
Because she didn’t know the best part.
Alejandro swallowed again.
“Mom…”
“What?”
“I already told all my coworkers where I live.
I also posted photos in the office group.
And yesterday you bragged about the penthouse to your friends…”
On the other end, there was silence again.
Different this time.
Heavier.
Because Carmen understood exactly what was at stake.
It wasn’t just money.
It was pride.
Just the day before, she had called half the world saying that her son was living “like a high-level businessman” in Polanco.
She had sent photos of the dining room, the terrace, and even my mother’s piano.
She had even bragged that “the mother-in-law had already been put in her place.”
And now…
To be kicked out of the penthouse in less than a week?
The humiliation would be unbearable for her.
“Then negotiate,” she finally said. “Talk to the owner.”
Alejandro looked at Lucía’s digital business card again.
The real estate firm listed beneath her name was famous for evicting delinquent tenants without mercy.
He knew perfectly well that he had no power against someone like that.
“I don’t think it will be easy…”
“Then try!”
Alejandro took a deep breath.
Then he slowly lifted his eyes toward me.
“Analia…”
“What?”
“Did you already know the owner before?”
“Yes.”
“And you never thought to tell me the real price?”
I looked at him for several seconds.
For the first time since we got married, I felt like I was seeing the real Alejandro.
Not the kind man who brought me flowers.
Not the patient boyfriend who talked about building a family.
But the man who had remained silent while his mother humiliated mine.
The man who watched as my mother was thrown out of her own home…
And chose not to say a single word.
I set my glass on the counter.
“You didn’t say anything yesterday either.”
Alejandro stood motionless.
“When your mother tried to throw my mother out of the apartment…
You said nothing.
When she wanted to take our money…
You said nothing.”
My voice remained calm.
But every word seemed to freeze the air.
“So I don’t understand why you expect honesty from me now.”
