Who is Gonzalo?
Nora
The reception staff was the only one outside, they were still welcoming guests. I walked in as if nothing had happened. No one announced me, nor was I bombarded with questions or handshakes, fortunately. I slipped through the sea of people until I reached the main hall. They were all in suits and the women, displaying their best dresses. There were some that had jewels hanging from those same jewels. Much extravagance for my taste.
Then, I remembered The Collins, hoping not to find them here because there are times when they attended events like this. And to be honest, they made me lose my emotional control, thinking that I would not be able to control myself around them. Putting that thought out of my head, I saw a waiter approach with a tray full of drinks. I did not miss the opportunity to have one. The champagne I chose smelled great. So, I took a sip and was delighted by the taste of it.
“I can assure you that it is one of the best in the world.”
I took the glass from my mouth and turned to see where that voice was coming from. I was surprised to see that it was from a middle-aged woman. Of course, I had never seen her in my life. She was small in stature, around 35 or 40 years old, you could see that she was not trying to hide her years, and that was good. At least someone sincere among this sea of vain.
She wasn't fat but wasn't thin either. Her look made me trust her. I smiled at her and said, “Hi, I was really enjoying this champagne. I don't usually drink much, but since this one is free, I have to take advantage of it.” I offered her a sincere smile, and she smiled back.
She held her hand out to me, then said. “Hi, I'm Hilda, and you?” Seeing her extended hand, I wiped my shovel against my dress and responded, “I'm Nora. I will be honest, I rarely attend events like these, but I have no choice this time but to take part.” She could see that because of my awkward behaviour.
“Why not? I can see that you are beautiful and young. Who at your age would not be interested in having fun and living a good life?” I was not one of the people who went around telling my life to strangers, but for some reason, she gave me a lot of confidence.
“My life is not easy, unfortunately, I was married young, at 18. He is ten years older than me, so you can imagine. My parents included me in a monetary deal with him. This is how I got married.”
Hilda's face clearly showed her sock in my situation. So, I got a little cheeky and pulled her arm in the direction of some couches. We sat down after grabbing a glass of champagne for her, and another for me. Once settled, I continued, “The first two years of my marriage weren't bad, you know? I was even able to fall in love with him and was determined to give this marriage a chance. But, for some unknown reason, he began to change his behaviour towards me.”
Then I took another sip from my glass and encouraged Hilda to have hers. She happily sipped from her glass and continued to listen carefully to my story. “Later I learned that he cheated on me with anyone, even the first woman who stood in front of him.”
I finished my glass of champagne and motioned for the waiter to bring me another one. I continued, “It hurt me a lot to find out about all that. And I was devastated, I really loved him, you know? Occasionally, I think I still am, but others not any more, it's a good thing.” Hilda took from her glass and shook her head, disapproving of my situation.
“You can imagine Hilda that my husband and the only man I have been with, have lines of lovers, ready at any time. No matter the day or place. With one call from him, they are immediately at his service. I hate him so much.” My eyes started to water, but Hilda put her hand on my leg, supporting me.
“And the worst is yet to come. I told my parents what had happened, and they just pushed me aside. My mother even gave me advice on how to overcome all that, and turn my face the other way, can you believe it?” Hilda put her hand on her mouth, surprised by this revelation. I nodded.
“They closed their doors on me, siding with him. They rejected their daughter. Three years have passed since I found out, and my life with him is terrible. So many years of hell.” I was drunk now, I could tell because my mouth couldn't stop.
Hilda had her eyes with tears. God bless her, for that. “Why didn't you go to the police with the evidence and the doctor's diagnosis?” I moved my head from one side to the other.
“My husband is a bad man.” I approached her ear, and in a very low voice, I said, “he disappears people for just looking at him the wrong way.” By that time, I was already getting my fourth drink. Hilda was not far behind.
“No one can help me. They will end up dead, and me, too. Imagine how bad it is, that he has me living in the same house with his lovers.” Hilda dropped the glass. The champagne jumped on our legs, dirtying our dresses.
“Oh! Nora, I'm so sorry, I ruined your beautiful dress,” she had grabbed a napkin to dry it, but I stopped her. I looked into her eyes and said, “It's nothing, Hilda, really, it's just a dress, don't worry, besides, it doesn't even show, see?” I pointed out the stains and indeed they were hardly noticeable.
“But now, tell me about yourself, I already said a lot.” She waved her hand as if to say it was nothing. But she began to tell me that her husband is the most wonderful man in the world, to her.
“He is not the tallest, nor the strongest, but he is the smartest. And he shared with me that the first time he saw me, he knew I would be his wife.”
“How long have you been married?”
“Ah, not much, but they have been the best years of my life. As you can see, I am no longer as young as you, and I thought my opportunity to find someone never showed. Until I met him, and now we've been married for four years. But let me tell you, he knows what would happen if he failed me.”
Her eyes were on fire, and I could only laugh out loud. When she noticed her silly expression, she started laughing too. We kept talking for a long time, discussing everything, and I had a lot of fun with her. She has so many anecdotes, that even if you see them, you would not believe them.
“Mrs Hilda, your husband is looking for you like crazy.” But we were interrupted by house staff. She looked at him with a “you are exaggerating” look.
“Philip, tell my husband that I am with a friend, and I am somewhat busy.”
Philip opened his eyes as wide as possible, expressing his surprise. But Hilda dismissed him by waving her hand. The poor man had no choice but to retreat nervously.
“You know Hilda, I'm thrilled to have come, never did I expect to find a person like you in this place. I have always been surrounded by heartless people in this circle. I sincerely want to see you again, and if you like, I could teach you how to bake the croissants I mentioned, those stuffed with almond paste.”
Hilda's eyes sparkled like diamonds, “Oh! Really, Nora? Please do, they have been my favourites since I first went to France, with my husband. I already told you about the honeymoon and everything. But it is somewhat complicated to order them from there. And if I tell my husband, He is capable of kidnapping the chef and keeping him here exclusively to make me croissants.”
“Ha, ha, ha! I can't believe your husband dared… ” But before I finished the sentence. A man approximately 50 years old, or maybe younger, approached us. His gaze never leaves Hilda.
On the other hand, she returned the same intense look. The man stopped a few steps from her and said, “Hilda, love, I've been looking for you. It is time to cut the cake, we are about to announce it to gather all the guests.” After he finished speaking, he realized I was there, and he turned to me.
“And who are you? I've never seen you around here,” His gaze turned menacing. “Who are you coming with, and what are you doing talking to my wife?”
The man had become dangerously close to me, and I tried to get away from him as far as possible, even though I was cornered on the couch. But his menacing posture kept threatening me, and to my terror, I heard Erik's voice,
“Is there something wrong, Gonzalo?” Erik pushed his way through the people, who by then had already gathered around us. When Erik saw me, he got close enough to see what it was all about. Gonzalo asked Erik, “Do you know who this woman is?” Erik looked at me furiously, with narrowed eyes.
“Gonzalo, she's with me,”
Erik stepped forward, taking my arm roughly and making me stand up. And between his teeth, he asked me, “What did you do, Nora?” His hand was squeezing me so hard, that I couldn't contain a whimper of pain that escaped my lips. I was so petrified with fear that I couldn't even speak.
Then he grabbed a bunch of my hair, pulling me from side to side, saying, “Apologies, NOW.” Fear made me obey him immediately, “I-I-I-I-I'm sorry.” Tears start coming out with the memories of the previous beating returned with vengeance to my brain.
“GONZALO, stop that man.” I heard Hilda's voice in the distance, while the panic was taking over me.
“How dare you mistreat her like that?”
Hilda was confronting Erik. Oh! No, she'll get in trouble because of me. But then I heard something that totally surprised me.
“And you Gonzalo, what do you think you are doing, how dare you spoil my party, acting like a savage?” I caught a glimpse of Gonzalo, his eyes widened, surprised by what Hilda said.
“Pair of abusive, violent men. I'll talk to you later Gonzalo” I heard Hilda's footsteps heading towards me. Then it was her arms that I felt around my body. I let myself go at that moment, and laid my head on her shoulder. I was starving for comfort.
After the hug, she lifted my face and wiped my tears away. She gave me a sad smile and smoothed my hair, which was in all directions.
“Look how the bad man left your beautiful hair, Nora.” I shook my head telling her it didn't matter and said in a low voice so that only she could hear. “Don't get in trouble, and I don't want you to be harmed, please let this go, okay?” Hilda smiled mischievously, then said, “There is no man here more powerful or meaner than my husband. And he will do exactly what I say, or else he will sleep in the other room.”
She turned to see her husband with eyes that sparkled with evil. Gonzalo only raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Thereafter, she turned to Erik with contempt and looked at him from head to toe, but Erik was the first to speak.
“Mrs Estrada, I am sorry for this inconvenience, it was all a misunderstanding on my part, I apologize.”
“You should apologize to her, not me.” Hilda's eyes glowed like two flaming torches, ready to burn anyone in her path.
Erik hesitated for a few seconds, then his cold, hard gaze fell on me. “I apologized, Nora, I misunderstood the situation.” I nodded, letting him know that this wasn't my doing, but I couldn't meet his eyes after that.
Hilda, took me by the hand and led me to the bathroom. All eyes were on me and I didn't know where to hide my face. Entering, I marvelled at how luxurious it was. Everything here screamed money.
“Wow, this bathroom is great, I think it's more comfortable than my room.”
“Ha, ha, ha, Nora, don't make jokes. It's just a bathroom, come, let's fix your face. Just look at how that savage left you, poor you.”
I looked in the mirror, and I saw the same old thing. Nothing new, my tears were always present, they were part of my look. Hilda came over with a towel, and she ran it all over my face. I fixed my attention on her, I could still see her expression of concern.
“Don't worry about me, this is nothing. I've had it worse, and look, I'm still here, don't you think?”
I offered her a sincere smile and hugged her. “Thanks for your help.”
Hilda hesitated for a moment, but hugged me back, patting my back lightly. But I remembered something, and I separated from her to ask her the following,
“And what was all that about with your husband, Gonzalo? It was like seeing a bull about to charge in my direction.”
Hilda turned red with embarrassment. “For that, I beg your forgiveness, Nora. If it weren't for my husband, this would not have happened to you. He is overprotective when it comes to me because of an incident a year ago. I had become friends with one of the daughters of one of his business partners. But to cut a long story short, I discovered that she was just trying to look good in Gonzalo's eyes by befriending me. And that was painful.”
“Gonzalo, it appears that he is a man who has a lot of power, why? What does your husband do?”
She was surprised by my question, giving me a look of, are you crazy?
“Nora, my husband is the BIG boss.” She emphasized the word “big” for more effect. But that information did not ring in my head. She looked at me puzzled, she couldn't understand why I didn't know who her husband was.
She shook her head, not believing me. “My husband is the biggest crime boss in all of America. I could say that he is the boss of everyone, even your husband, Erik.” The blood left my face when I heard this, and a cold shot ran down my spine. That information started to make me nauseous. I ran to the toilet to vomit, thinking that my life was over. Erik would never forgive me for humiliating him in front of all these people.
After I finished vomiting, I felt Hilda's hands on my back, giving me her support. I sat up and faced her, “I'm dead, Erik will never forgive me for this humiliation.”
I couldn't help but cry. Furthermore, I knew that if I didn't end up dead, I would end up crippled or locked in the basement for life.
I couldn't breathe, I was hyperventilating. My life was over. Why did I come here, why? I pulled my hair with my hands and cried my heart out. I dropped to the floor on my knees, covering my face with my hands. In the distance, I heard Hilda speak, but I couldn't pay attention to anything else. After a while, I noticed the surrounding people. Someone was trying to get me up. I was freezing, and my body was shaking, then I closed my eyes for a moment, and then, I didn't know anything else about myself.
