Chapter 3 Do you accept me as your wife

The church filled with murmurs and perfumes. Large arrangements of white roses adorned the altar, and the stained-glass windows cast multicolored sparkles over the guests. The air smelled of fresh flowers mixed with incense.

The priest looked at them seriously: Sebastián and Valentina were standing in front of the altar.

Sebastián's heart pounded violently in his chest. When he heard the question: "Do you accept this woman as your lawful wife?" time stopped. He didn't know what to do: he ran a hand across his forehead to wipe away the sweat and then rubbed both hands against his pants. Restless, he looked away, not wanting to see any face, only fighting against himself. Seeing that he couldn't utter the words everyone was waiting to hear, Valentina grew nervous.

The groom saw Camila in his mind. He remembered her cold hands at the end of a shift, the way she silently sought his gaze, the taste of the forbidden turned into need. His soul screamed for her.

Valentina, on the other hand, turned pale. She noticed Sebastián's distant expression, his lost eyes, and although she didn't understand, she sensed that it wasn't happiness that filled him.

This time, in a softer tone, they repeated the question. "Do you accept this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?"

Now, his voice... his voice obeyed.

"Yes, I do," he pronounced through dry lips.

Applause erupted in the church. The guests stood, smiling, celebrating the union. The bride smiled with relief, and for the first time all morning, her eyes truly shone.

The contrast was evident: she radiated happiness, he conveyed emptiness.

The attendees-mostly doctors and colleagues of both-grouped in small circles, commenting on the ceremony and, as always, on clinical cases and recent surgeries. Everyone respected the bride and groom, but especially Valentina, whose social prestige grew with this marriage; Now I was Mrs. Herrera.

***

I arrived when it was already late. I remember everything; the images came to me out of time.

The car squealed as it braked in front of the church. I ran through the rain: my blue uniform clinging to my body, still smelling like the hospital, my hair damp, and my makeup crumbling. I crossed the entrance with my heart in my throat, tripping over everything in my path, only to find myself faced with the scene I never wanted to see: them, standing, holding hands, receiving congratulations from everyone.

The ring glittered on Sebastián's finger. The same man who had told me he loved me.

I felt my soul split in two. Tears flowed uncontrollably, mixing with the rainwater; I was soaked. I clutched the keys to my chest, trying to contain a pain too great to contain.

He looked up, and for a moment, our eyes met. But it didn't matter anymore. The decision was made. The future, sealed. I had lost it...

I was the ghost who arrived late. She, the perfect wife. And he... the man who had said "yes" with his lips, while perhaps remembering me in his heart.

No one noticed my arrival. No one saw me. Not the doctors, not the family, just him. As if I didn't exist.

As I left, I tripped over one of the large bouquets of flowers decorating the entrance. The white petals fell at my feet, wet, crushed against the ground. The sound of laughter and applause mingled with the pounding of the storm.

Then I ran, crying in the rain, splashing in my white shoes, to my old Volkswagen Beetle. I put the key in the ignition and turned it; it all happened so fast that I struggle to remember the details. The engine roared with a metallic whine, and I felt a sense of relief. I started the car, leaving it behind, saw it in the rearview mirror, and accelerated: I knew that would be the music of our farewell.

That day I understood that in love stories, sometimes the one who loves the most is the one who never appears in the picture.

***

Medical school was a luxury Sebastián's family could barely afford. His father, Ramón Herrera, would get up before dawn to light the bakery ovens, and Isabel, his mother, spent her mornings serving customers, faking smiles, even though business sank further each day.

Their efforts weren't enough. The bills mounted, the debts multiplied, and each semester of college loomed like an impossible wall to climb. Every time Sebastián finished a semester, the ordeal began: struggling to find the money for the tuition and expensive books for medical school.

One Sunday, as she left mass, Isabel couldn't take it anymore. She walked beside Teresa, Valentina's mother, and between sighs and rosaries, she blurted out what she had been silently chewing over for weeks:

"I don't know how we're going to make sure Sebastián finishes his degree," she confessed in a whisper. "We still have years to pay, and we have nowhere to get more." Her eyes watered, and she prayed her friend would take the bait. "It breaks my heart to think he's going to have to drop out; this problem has kept me awake at night."

Teresa looked at her silently. She knew what it meant to cut short such a big dream. That same afternoon, at the family dinner table, she spoke with her husband, Dr. Alejandro Rivas.

Valentina, who was leafing through an anatomy textbook at the head of the table, intervened firmly:

"Dad, lend them the money. I want Sebastián to finish what he started."

Dr. Alejandro raised his eyebrows.

"It's a lot of money, daughter. Let me think about it. I have to talk to your brother and explain; he's the one who handles the company's accounts."

Julio Rivas was the CEO of the family-owned pharmacy chain FarmaHoy. Stubborn and meticulous, he didn't miss a thing. His management was so successful that they went from one pharmacy to twenty branches across the country. They had three in Margarita alone.

"That's a definite no. Julio can't know, Alejandro. You know how he is..."

Alejandro crossed his arms.

"You take care of it. Don't ask me for things I don't have. Our son pays for everything; I don't even know how much I have in the bank; he's been managing the accounts for a long time."

"So what does it matter?" she replied without hesitation. "We can't let her life be ruined. We have to put ourselves in Señora Isabel's shoes. If she was able to say that, it's because they can't find any other way out. The poor people must be desperate."

Alejandro waved his hands and got up from the table. Valentina bit her nails when she saw that they couldn't agree.

"Resolve that, because that's why you're the owner of the house and Isabel's best friend. After all, they're her children," she said, glancing sideways at Valentina.

The Rivas couple gave in. They handed over, without witnesses or fanfare, the equivalent in gold to cover the remaining years of tuition. A silent act, sealed by the complicit gaze of both mothers. Sebastián never knew. Neither did Julio. The moral debt was buried like an invisible secret that, over time, would turn into chains.

***

The ties between both families grew even closer. Isabel welcomed Valentina into her home with tenderness, hugged her like a daughter, and repeated:

"You'll always have a home here. You're such a good girl; you don't know how much I pray to God that one day my son and you will form a home."

Valentina believed it. Her mother and mother-in-law repeated it to her every time they had the opportunity to bring up the subject.

Soon after, Valentina graduated and began working at the hospital. Sebastián, on the other hand, continued studying. Valentina always visited that house, and now, with increasing frequency, she felt as if it were her second home. And little by little, a little more began to grow in her heart for Sebastián.

Over time, Isabel began to press the issue. During a visit to the Rivas home, she blurted out a confession:

"Last night, I dreamed you were marrying my son. I was so happy, Valentina... You would be the perfect wife for him."

Valentina smiled shyly, although she knew that behind the dream lay something deeper: the weight of a secret. A debt never repaid with their parents. Although neither she nor Sebastián knew the details, their mothers had already woven a destiny for both of them.