Deep down, Santiago felt a longing to go back inside, to take his wife, to make love to her, to rip up the damn document that separated them, and tell her it was all a damn joke. To make her dinner, to confess how beautiful, sexy, and provocative she looked in that old dress. But he had already broken her and confessed his infidelity.
Genoveva was loyal, compliant, and loved him madly, but she was a proud and resentful woman. Santiago knew she would never forgive him, especially with a child involved. Besides, he loved Camila, or at least at that moment, he was trying to convince himself of that. So he finally let out the cry he had been holding back and allowed himself to sob like a child for another hour until he untied the knot that was squeezing his chest.
Because he had to accept that Genoveva would never forgive him and that there was no point in making both women unhappy. So when his crying subsided, Santiago finally started his car and drove away.
From the window, Genoveva watched his car leave and felt as if her heart and happiness as a woman were being carried away in the trunk. Because she was happy with her eight little ones, and that would never change, although she was devastated.
She had noticed that Santiago stayed inside his car, and deep down, she harbored the hope that he would come back.
Although she understood that she had not lost her husband by signing the divorce, she lost Santiago the day he was intimate with the other woman and planted his seed in her.
Genoveva continued crying for hours, and her weeping only ceased when she began to hear several little knocks on the door. It was evident that her little ones had woken up. At that moment, she thanked God for sending her eight wonderful reasons to live and move forward.
Genoveva wiped her tears and finger-combed her hair as she walked toward the door.
"Mommy, Mommy," a little voice could be heard on the other side. She could easily recognize the voice of her little Camila, who was the most spoiled of them all. It was more than evident that her daughter's name was beautiful, and it didn't affect her at all, the reason why her ex had chosen it. Her little girl was her ray of sunshine, and that would never change.
"Coming, my little rascals," Genoveva said with a melodious shout.
Genoveva couldn't help but smile when she saw the seven children standing side by side while Sebastian came behind them with some of his siblings' sandals. Genoveva smiled to see him behaving like an older brother, taking care of his siblings, even those his age.
"Oh, my God! I have a leprechaun demonstration at my door," Genoveva said playfully, and the little ones ran towards her. Genoveva bent down in front of them and began to kiss their foreheads as a "good morning" greeting.
"We're hungry, Mommy," said Maximo, pushing his siblings aside to receive his mother's affection.
Genoveva saw the time and felt ashamed; it was already past nine in the morning, and she hadn't prepared anything.
"Okay, okay, my children. Today we will have a special breakfast. Today we will eat 'cereal with milk,'” Genoveva told them, and her little ones began to dance with excitement.
Genoveva usually didn't give them such a basic breakfast, but she had to improvise. She would make it up to them with a delicious lunch.
"Mommy, why didn't we go to school?" Santiago Jr. asked her.
Genoveva smiled at him; that little boy was a mini-clone of his father, which is why she decided to name him after him.
"I'm sorry, my love, but I wasn't feeling well. My head hurt a lot, and I overslept. After breakfast, I'll let your teacher know so she doesn't mark you absent and send me the day's activities."
Genoveva walked towards the kitchen while Maximo and Santiago helped their siblings settle into their seats. Genoveva served them breakfast, and after an hour, the doorbell rang.
Genoveva knew it was the nanny who always arrived at this hour so as not to interrupt the family's breakfast.
Because for Santiago, having breakfast with his family was an intimate act, and he was very selfish in that regard. He didn't like having anyone strange around them. How ironic, right?
Genoveva spoke to the nanny to arrive first thing every day. She explained to the girl that she was in the process of getting a divorce and that she needed her total discretion and support with the children.
Genoveva spent the day in her daily routine. Nothing had changed, except that she had more space in her wardrobe. She no longer had any fine, elegant clothes to take to the dry cleaners or any of the other tasks involved in having a demanding husband to attend to.
But every night, after putting her little ones to sleep, Genoveva would lock herself in her room and cry herself to sleep. She missed her husband. She missed his erotic messages asking her to wait for him without clothes or when he invited her to dinner out to visit some hotel and make love without limits. She couldn't help but feel his absence. Her heart was beating very slowly; it was agonizing, but her eight precious children motivated her to get up every day and move forward.
The children knew the basics about their father. Their father was on a long trip and called them every afternoon via video calls, although Genoveva felt like killing him. A month had passed since the day she signed the divorce, and Santiago had not shown up to see his children personally. He only sent her a message telling her to use his credit card extension to cover all their children's expenses. At least Genoveva felt at ease about it. Her children would retain their standard of living.
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