The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway — Chapter 19

NO ORDINARY MOTHER WOULD EVER THINK THAT LITTLE OF HER DAUGHTER,

NOR WOULD SHE EMBARRASS THAT DAUGHTER IN FRONT OF HER BRAND NEW HUSBAND.

TO BE FAIR, MY MOTHER IS RATHER EXCITED ABOUT OUR MARRIAGE.

IF YOU HAD LET HER FINISH, I'M SURE YOU WOULD'VE FOUND OUT THAT SHE'S JUST RELIEVED I DIDN'T TURN OUT AS SHE FEARED.

WHAT YOU WITNESSED TODAY DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN. BESIDES, I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE SHE TREATS THIS WAY...

MY FATHER RESIDES AT THE MANOR IN MENDOZA WHILE MY MOTHER STAYS IN PEREZ,

SO IT'S RARE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY TO BE IN ONE PLACE LIKE THIS. SHE HARDLY BOTHERS ME, SO...

I SAW YOUR FACE, INÉS.

AND JUDGING BY THE WAY YOU SIMPLY TURNED A DEAF EAR, I COULD TELL YOU HAD EXPERIENCED THAT SORT OF THING COUNTLESS TIMES BEFORE.

YOU SHOULDN'T LET YOUR MOTHER TALK TO YOU THAT WAY,

REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU'RE A VALEZTENA OR AN ESCALANTE.

...AND ALSO...

...S, SORRY.

FOR WHAT?

I DIDN'T MEAN TO... "PUSH" YOU LIKE THAT.

THE ONE WHO LECHEROUSLY TOOK HER LAST NIGHT.

THE ONE WHO WAS LECHEROUSLY TAKEN BY HIM LAST NIGHT.

...PUSH ME? WHAT DO YOU MEAN...?

I ACTED LIKE AN ANIMAL.

I TREATED YOU WITHOUT A SINGLE CARE.

I WAS NO BETTER THAN YOUR MOTHER.

IT'S UNDERSTANDABLE THAT YOU'D BE SICK OF ME AFTER WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT.

"YOU WANT ME TO TAKE YOU AGAINST YOUR WILL."

IS HE STILL WORRIED ABOUT WHAT WAS SAID YESTERDAY...?

CÁRCEL DIDN'T FORCE HIMSELF ON ME LAST NIGHT.

IN FACT, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT HE WAS CONTROLLING HIS URGES...

...RATHER THAN SIMPLY CONTINUING WITH FORCE.

THIS SHOWED ME THAT, CONTRARY TO CÁRCEL ESCALANTE'S DEBAUCHED NATURE, HE DID HIS BEST TO FULFILL HIS DUTY.

OF COURSE, HE DID FULFILL THAT “DUTY” RATHER VIGOROUSLY.

YOU HAVEN'T MISTREATED ME.

LAST NIGHT WAS OUR WEDDING NIGHT, AND WE MERELY CARRIED OUT OUR DUTIES AS A MARRIED COUPLE.

OF COURSE, GIVEN MY AWKWARDNESS, I'M SURE IT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR YOU.

ALTHOUGH I MADE SURE NOT TO SATISFY HIM COMPLETELY,

I DIDN'T ACT TOO TIMID OR ELSE IT MIGHT HAVE SLOWED THINGS DOWN.

AFTER ALL, IT WILL BECOME A PROBLEM IF I DON'T GET PREGNANT LATER.

I THINK I MANAGED TO MEET HIM HALFWAY AT LEAST...

YOU WEREN'T AWKWARD AT ALL.

IN FACT, YOUR PERFORMANCE FAR SURPASSED MY EXPECTATIONS.

YOU WERE AMAZING, INÉS.

...I DON'T RECALL DOING ANYTHING PARTICULARLY AMAZING.

WELL, I SUPPOSE RIDING ME IN THE BATHTUB UP UNTIL TWO HOURS AGO...

...AFTER AN ENTIRE NIGHT OF LOVEMAKING ISN'T CONSIDERED AMAZING.

YOU SQUEEZED EVERY LAST DROP OUT OF ME BEFORE DISCARDING ME LIKE A USED TISSUE...

WAIT... ...THIS ISN'T SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT OUTSIDE OF THE BEDROOM, CÁRCEL.

WE SIMPLY CARRIED OUT OUR DUTIES AS A MARRIED COUPLE, AND NOW, WE'RE TALKING AS ANY MARRIED COUPLE SHOULD.

...WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO SAY?

NORMALLY, A HUSBAND AND WIFE CAN FULFILL THEIR DUTIES WITHIN 10 MINUTES, BUT FOR US, NOT EVEN 10 HOURS TOGETHER WAS ENOUGH.

WAIT...

WE DID FAR MORE THAN JUST OUR DUTIES, INÉS ESCALANTE.

...I HATE THINGS LIKE THIS. PUT ME DOWN.

I DON'T WANT TO.

PUT ME DOWN, CÁRCEL.

I SEE THAT YOU'VE LEARNED THE UTILITY OF CALLING ME BY MY FIRST NAME.

SIGH

BLUNT

RUMOR HAS IT THOSE TWO HAD A PASSIONATE NIGHT!

I'D HEARD THAT THEIR LOVE WAS INTENSE, BUT IT MUST REALLY BE TRUE!

AND YET, IT DOESN'T SEEM IT'S HELPED ME MUCH THUS FAR...

WE HAVEN'T EVEN DONE ANYTHING, AND YET...

...SEVEN HOURS HAS ALREADY PASSED, CÁRCEL.

...IT ISN'T TRUE THAT WE DID NOTHING.

AFTER ALL, YOU SLEPT ON MY LAP THE ENTIRE CARRIAGE RIDE OVER, REMEMBER?

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAD THE CARRIAGE GO SLOWER JUST BECAUSE OF THAT...

IT SHOULD HAVE ONLY BEEN A FIVE-HOUR RIDE.

BUT YOU DIDN'T EVEN GET AN HOUR OF SLEEP LAST NIGHT.

EVEN JUST NOW, YOU SAID YOU WERE DIZZY AS SOON AS YOU STEPPED OUT OF THE CARRIAGE.

THAT WAS BECAUSE I STOOD UP TOO QUICKLY... WHAT I MEAN IS, IT'S A COMMON THING FOR WOMEN TO EXPERIENCE.

ANYWAY,

I DIDN'T EXPECT TO BE ACCOMPANYING YOU TO YOUR POST.

I THOUGHT THAT WHEN YOU RETURNED TO WORK, I'D BE GOING TO THE MANOR IN ESPOSA.

BUT I WON'T BE THERE.

WE DON'T HAVE TO BE TOGETHER AT ALL TIMES.

WELL, THERE ARE INDEED AN UNUSUALLY LARGE NUMBER OF OFFICERS' WIVES LIVING IN CALZTELA COMPARED TO OTHER POSTS.

AFTER ALL, THIS PLACE IS AS BEAUTIFUL AS ANY VACATION SPOT.

MOST OFFICERS DIDN'T LIVE WITH THEIR WIVES.

RATHER, THEY WOULD MAINTAIN THEIR POSTS WHILE THEIR WIVES TOOK CARE OF THE OFFICIAL RESIDENCE LOCATED IN THE CAPITAL CITY.

IT WAS COMMON FOR MARRIED COUPLES TO SPEND ONLY BRIEF VACATIONS TOGETHER.

BUT CALZTELA WAS AN EXCEPTION.

EVEN LOVELESS COUPLES CHOSE TO LIVE TOGETHER HERE, AS THE CITY WAS SO ATTRACTIVE.

THE COAST OF CALZTELA FEATURED HILLS GRACED BY THE GENTLE SEA BREEZE.

UNLIKE IN MENDOZA, WHERE THE AIR WAS HOT AND HUMID, THE SOUND OF COOL OCEAN WAVES COULD BE HEARD HERE.

IF IT WASN'T FOR THE BOOMING SOCIAL SCENE IN MENDOZA,

EVERYONE WOULD CHOOSE TO LIVE IN THIS BEAUTIFUL MILITARY PORT INSTEAD.

THE UNIQUE RIGIDNESS OF THE ENORMOUS NAVAL PORT, ITS LOFTY SKIES,

AND THE WAY THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE OCEAN MELDS WITH THE CITY IN SUCH A STRANGELY HARMONIOUS WAY...

AND THE SOUND OF THE WAVES...

THESE THINGS ALWAYS REMIND ME OF A CERTAIN SOMEONE FROM MY DREAMS.

I CAN HEAR THE HARSH SOUND OF THE PORT'S WAVES...

...AND SEE THE UNSTEADINESS OF MY VISION...

AND WITH EACH LABORIOUS BREATH,

MY HANDS TREMBLED...

...ANXIOUS THAT I WOULD SOON LOSE HIM.

INÉS?

...I'M FINE. LET'S GO INSIDE.

THE PORT WE WERE AT "THAT DAY" WASN'T CALZTELA'S MAIN PORT,

BUT RATHER A TINY FISHERMEN'S PORT LOCATED ALONG THE LOWER END OF THE COASTLINE.

THE NAVAL PORT WAS SITUATED JUST ABOVE THE MAIN PORT, AND IT WASN'T A PLACE CIVILIANS WERE ALLOWED TO PASS THROUGH FREELY.

WHAT WERE YOU...

...DOING THERE THAT DAY?

WHY...

...DID YOU HELP EMILIANO?