I didn’t drive through that gate like a chauffeur.
I drove through like the only adult who could no longer look away.
When the SUV stopped in front of the mansion, Mateo was still silently behind me. The black gates opened slowly. Two guards watched us go in, unsuspecting.
I gripped the steering wheel one last time and made my decision.
I wasn’t going to leave him alone that night.
I parked in front of the main entrance and turned to him.
“Mateo, listen to me. You’re not going up there alone.”
His eyes widened.
“She’s going to be mad.”
“Let her be mad.”
He shook his head, terrified.
“If she says I was bad, my dad will believe her.”
That’s what hurt me the most. Not the bruises. Not the marks. But the certainty with which that boy believed no one would ever choose him.
I got out of the car, walked around to the SUV, and opened the door for him. Mateo got out slowly. The moment his feet touched the floor, he winced in pain, confirming what I already knew.
This hadn’t happened just once.
It had been going on for some time.
