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MARA

I remembered the day my life changed. The last day I felt like I mattered to my father, and the first day of the hell that would become my life.

I was a little girl, and I had said something to my personal maid.

Told them I wished my mother was here and that Daddy had married her instead.

Belinda overheard, and she became a tempest. She dragged me to my father’s office, nails digging into my arm, and I felt like I was being dragged to my death.

In a weird way, I was.

Belinda threw open the door as if the office belonged to her and my father was only borrowing it. Raúl looked up from his work, our brown eyes finding each other for a moment before his gaze lifted to hers.

“What is it this time?” he asked.

“I told you she would be a problem,” Belinda spat. “I told you that she would never replace what I lost ! ”

Raúl sat up straight, extending a hand as though to pacify her. “My dear, you know the people will talk if—”

She shoved me forward, causing me to stumble into the chair across from my father’s desk. “Daddy—”

“ Don’t call him that!” Belinda yelled at me, smacking the side of my head, causing me to wince “Don’t you ever call him that!”

I bit my tongue. Made myself small and looked up at my father, whose brown eyes looked sad, heartbroken.

“I don’t want her here, Raúl. Get rid of her! I don’t care what people will think. She’s not mine, and I refuse to raise her. She’ll corrupt everything. She’ll ruin everything !”

“Enough!” my father said, slamming his hand on his desk. “Mara stays, Belinda. She might not be yours, but she’s mine , and she’ll be raised in this house because I say so.”

Belinda stood up straighter, angling her body.

“You would force me to raise her child?” she seethed.

“You’re still in love with her, aren’t you?

” It was an accusation. She took a step toward his desk, hand curled into a fist. “After everything my family has done for you…everything they did to give you the position you have now—”

“Belinda…” my father tried to say soothingly.

“You are nothing without me, Raúl. Nothing ! We made you! It’s because of me that you have it all!”

He stood, his chair screeching along the ground and face pulled tight into a scowl.

“What do you want from me? I’ve done everything your father has asked and more.

” He waved a hand at her. “Look at you…a queen bathed in riches. That’s all you ever wanted, right?

A title, wealth, power—I gave you everything you asked for, everything he demanded. ”

I got the impression they’d forgotten I was listening, so I made myself smaller, staying as quiet as a mouse hunted by a snake.

My father continued. “The girl is inconsequential, Belinda. You lost yours because of Nora, right? And you screamed you wanted revenge, remember? That you wanted to repay her for what she did to you? ”

Belinda’s features darkened.

“There you have it,” he pointed at me. “I stole hers and now you get to claim her as yours. What better revenge is there, my love?”

“ Don’t call me that,” she spat out. “You never loved me and you never will, so don’t play games with me, Raúl.”

A pause as my father placed his hands on his desk, hanging his head with a heavy sigh. After a moment, he looked up at her again. “Look, what’s done is done, Belinda. I can’t change the past or pretend like…like things didn’t happen.”

She lifted her head higher, just enough to display her pride. But her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

My father stood up straight once again. “All I can do is try my best to rectify the situation. My indiscretions will make me look weak, as will your loss. Telvia is still in a precarious situation, and you know that. Anything that will make us look fractured or vulnerable will be used against us. You know this, your father said as much.”

Belinda shifted her gaze to his desk, listening.

“Mara needs to stand in for what we lost. Our household needs to look strong and united to the people. No one can know otherwise.”

“Perhaps that fact should be branded into your brat’s brain,” she hissed through gritted teeth.

Raúl’s face faltered, eyes widening a second before he grimaced in understanding. He tipped his chin to his chest. “Who?”

“Her maid.”

He shook his head lightly. “Make the order.”

“Fine. Another one loses her head. She’s only five, Raúl. If we keep this up, we’ll run through all of the citizens before she’s ten.”

My father ran his fingers through his dark brown hair, so dark it looked black, just like my cousin’s. “I’ll take care of it.”

“That’s what you said last time—”

SMACK !

My father slammed his hand on the desk, making me jump as my little heart skipped too many beats to count. “I said I’ll take care of it, Belinda.”

They stared at one another, the tension coiled so tightly between them, I was worried it would snap, leaving me as the victim caught in the middle.

“Fine. You take care of it,” Belinda said, eyes narrowing on him. “But things are going to change, Raúl. Like you said, the country is in a precarious position…it stands on the edge of a knife. You want my family to continue supporting you? We will, but only under certain conditions.”

Raúl’s eyes narrowed on her. “What do you want?”

She took another step toward his desk, standing as tall as I’d ever seen her, meeting Raúl’s gaze straight on. “I’ll raise your brat—pretend she’s mine—but I am given full authority on how she is to be disciplined moving forward.”

My father’s brows laced together. “How do you plan—”

“That’s none of your concern,” she snapped, cutting him off like a sharp blade slicing through thread.

“You couldn’t control your lust, and now I’m being forced to raise your mistakes.

Fine. But I discipline the child as I want.

And so help me Raúl, if you ever intervene, I will take this empire out from under you. ”

“Are you threatening me, Belinda? You think you can just snap your fingers and take the country from me?”

“I can and I would,” she threatened. “Remember, love ,” she sneered, “I made you. My family handed you the West and South on a silver platter. Just as easily as we gave it to you, we can take it back. And if we take it back, dear , I will have the brat cleansed in the arena.”

He stiffened, angling his body back from her as though she had struck him. They stared for a second, eyes blazing with anger and hate, before my father’s shoulders slumped in resignation. “Anything else?” he managed to say through gritted teeth .

Belinda smiled. Not a pretty smile, but a scary one. One that made me shiver at the sight of it. “Jacob inherits all of Telvia. Any rights she has are stripped from her.”

I peeked at my father and watched as he worked his jaw, eyes glittering. I thought maybe he would cry.

“Understood,” he finally said. “Give me a moment with her, and then you can proceed as you see fit.”

Belinda’s smile deepened. With a tip of her head, she said, “I’ll be waiting outside.” She left the room then, and my father looked at me. And he looked broken, like my stepmother had broken something inside of him.

“Daddy?”

He lifted a hand to silence me. I pressed my lips together.

“Sit down, Mara.”

I did as I was told, scooting the chair closer and climbing into it. Then I faced him again. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

He shook his head, looking at his desk for a moment before lifting his gaze up at me. “From now on, Mara, you must never call me anything but my name.”

My brows pinched together. “Why?”

His lips curled into a painful frown, but he didn’t answer my question. “Why did you tell the maid about your mother?”

“I—”

“We’ve been through this, hija. I’ve told you that you mustn’t speak to anyone of who you are. You mustn’t say anything about your real mother or mention that Belinda is your stepmother.”

I didn’t understand, and I shook my head in confusion. “But, Daddy—”

“No,” he cut me off. “ Raúl ,” he corrected.

I froze, feeling something squeeze in my chest.

“It’s Raúl , Mara. Raúl from now on. Understood?”

I nodded my head .

“There are many things you are too little to understand, but you must remember that who you really are will only bring suffering to the people around you. It will only bring you suffering.”

“Suffering?”

He nodded. “Sí, hija. Only pain. And I don’t want that for you. You must keep who you are a secret, all right? Never tell anyone that you aren’t Belinda’s daughter, or you will be punished.”

“Punished? With pain?”

He nodded again. “Yes, with pain. Who you are will only bring you pain, Mara. Keep it a secret forever.”

I sniffed, feeling tears in my eyes. “Okay, Da—I mean, Raúl .” His name felt funny in my mouth. Like my tongue and lips were repulsed by the shape of it. It felt wrong to me.

He offered me a weak smile. “That’s a good girl,” he cooed, and I couldn’t help but beam at him.

I always liked making my daddy proud of me.

His brows drew together once more. “Mara,” he said softly.

“I need you to always remember that, whatever happens with Belinda, however it seems like I’ve failed to protect you…

it is in doing nothing that I keep you alive. ”

I didn’t understand. What did he mean by failing to protect me? What did he mean by keeping me alive? It just didn’t make any sense. I thought of another question.

“Raúl?”

“Yes?”

“Why does Belinda hate me?”

His face crumbled. “She doesn’t hate you , Mara. She hates me . And because you are mine, she dislikes you by default.”

“So she hates both of us?”

He hesitated, his lips parted in silence. Finally, he said, “Yes. She hates both of us. ”

“Then why can’t we leave? Why don’t we find Mommy?” It seemed simple enough to me, but I guessed I didn’t understand the complicated details of love and politics.

“No, my dear girl. Mommy lies. Mommy is no better, and Mommy doesn’t want us either.”

My heart felt like it would implode. “She doesn’t?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. Mommy left you with me, and it’s better this way, Mara. She was trying to use you against me, and you being with me prevents that.”

My brows stitched together. That didn’t make any sense. If Momma left me with him, then how was I being used against him? “But, Daddy—”

“Raúl,” he corrected again.

I cringed. “Raúl,” I said softly. “I don’t understand,” I began before he cut me off with a heavy sigh.

“And you never will, I’m afraid.” The way he said it…I knew it meant I needed to drop the conversation, but it didn’t alleviate my questions.

“Raúl?”

“Yes?” It was a tired sound, a sad sound.

“Do you love Belinda?”

All the color drained from my father’s face. “What? Why would you ask that?”

I ignored his question and pressed on. “Is she your key , Daddy?”

For once, he didn’t correct me, only asked another question. “Key?”

“Yes,” I replied softly. “Like in the stories. Is she your key? Does she unlock your heart?”

He watched me, emotions shifting in a tumultuous dance across his face, until he finally blinked.

Silent as the dead, he twisted in his chair and opened his desk drawer.

From it, he pulled out a delicate golden chain with a heart pendant.

My eyes widened at the sight of it. It was beautiful, catching the light of the sun coming in from his office.

He held it up by its chain, and I watched as it slowly swayed like a pendulum.

I gasped at it. “It’s so pretty,” I whispered, then shifted my focus back to my father.

“It is, isn’t it?”

I nodded vehemently.

He cocked his head to the side, studying it. Then his gaze flicked to me. Slowly, he straightened, leaning over his desk and extending the necklace out to me. My eyes widened further as I reached for it and took it in my hands.

“For me?” I was almost afraid to ask. My father never gave me gifts—Belinda never allowed it.

“It’s yours, Mara. But always keep it secret.” He lifted a single finger to his lips as though he were shushing me. “Remember to keep it hidden.”

I curled it into the palm of my hand and pressed my fist against my chest. “I will.”

Raúl dropped his hand and gave me a faint smile. “That’s a good girl.”

“But, Daddy?”

“Raúl,” he corrected me once again.

I ignored him. “Why? You never give me presents.”

He looked fractured then, like I had shot him in the heart and caused it to shatter. And when he looked into my eyes that day, it was the last time I remember feeling as though he loved me.

“I only have one heart, Mara. One key . And once upon a time, that key belonged to someone very special to me…and then she betrayed me.”

Momma … There was no way for me to know for sure, but I just couldn’t help but think he was talking about my momma.

His eyes grew hard as we sat silent for a moment, the unspoken name sitting between us.

And I saw how hard my father worked to wipe away the emotion on his face.

“No matter what happens in the future, hija… No matter what happens after you walk out that door…remember I gave you my heart. You are my key , Mara. From the day you were born until the day I die, remember you have always been my key.”