Don Ernesto had already turned 70. After a small stroke that weakened his legs and arms, his daughter Carmen decided to hire a nanny to care for him. The one chosen was María, a 25-year-old woman from a distant village, quiet, humble, and very respectful.
For six months, María cared for Don Ernesto with devotion. Every morning she helped him get up, prepared his oatmeal, and gave him his medicine. In the afternoon, she accompanied him to the garden, guiding his slow steps.
At night, she massaged his legs while telling him stories from his village in a voice as soft as the breeze. Little by little, Don Ernesto recovered, smiled more often, and the neighbors praised Carmen for hiring the right person. But one June morning, returning from the market, Carmen left the bag of vegetables in the kitchen and found María standing in the doorway, pale and trembling, holding a pregnancy test.
Upon seeing her, the young woman burst into tears. Carmen snatched the proof from her: two light red lines. Her legs weakened, and rage filled her:
“Maria!
You’re barely 25 years old, you’ve been here for half a year, and you’re already pregnant? Who? Who’s the father?”
Maria just cried without responding.
A terrible thought crossed Carmen’s mind: what if it was her own father? She remembered that Don Ernesto had been talking a lot about Maria lately. In horror, she murmured, brokenly:
“Don’t tell me… my father?
No, impossible! He’s already 70 years old…”
Maria shook her head, sobbing:
“No, madam, it’s not him! I beg you not to think that…”
“Then who?
If you don’t talk, I’ll send you back to your village right now!”
Maria fell to her knees, covering her face:
“I… I didn’t want to say it… I was afraid… But if you insist… I’ll tell the truth.”
Carmen held her breath. María wiped her tears and confessed in a trembling voice:
“The father… is your husband.”
The words fell like a lightning bolt. Carmen collapsed in a chair.
María continued between sobs:
“When you left for a three-day trip, he came back home. He had been drinking… he called me to clean the room. I… couldn’t stand it.”
Carmen felt her world crumble.
Her husband, Ricardo, had been struggling with his business for two years; he had become brusque and a hard drinker. But she never imagined he would do something so despicable. Rage and shame mingled.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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