The three-story house, always shiny, of Don Ricardo and Doña Mariana had been for years an ideal model for the neighbors. Everyone admired the simple and kind woman, who sold food on the street to support her husband in studies and save every peso so that he could start a business. Thanks to their hands that cared for and built, Ricardo built the heritage they had today.

But the more successful Ricardo became, the further he moved away from his wife. Endless business trips, midnight calls, shirts impregnated with other people’s perfumes… Every detail was like a knife sticking into Mariana’s heart. She knew well that her husband had a mistress: a young employee named Daniela.

For ten years, Mariana endured in silence. Not because she lacked the courage to leave, but because she loved her two young children too much. He feared that a broken home would take away his peaceful childhood. She buried the humiliation and prayed every day for Ricardo to reconsider.

But that hope never came.

Family meals began to be left without his presence. Mariana was left alone in the big house, listening only to the ticking of the clock. The accumulated sadness, added to a congenital heart disease, undermined his health day after day.

One winter night, she was hospitalized urgently. Taking his son’s hand, he murmured with difficulty:
“Forgive me… I will not be able to stay with you any longer. Love each other always, and never betray the one who gave everything for you.”

And he closed his eyes forever, taking with him a sea of pain.

The smoke from the incense at the wake had not yet gone out, when Daniela shamelessly entered the house. The woman who had previously hidden behind Ricardo’s back now stood arrogantly in Mariana’s place. The neighbors shook their heads, full of sadness. The two sons, indignant, left the home; they did not want to continue living with a traitorous father.

Blind with passion, Ricardo treated Daniela as “the new wife.” She believed that, after so many years of hiding, she could finally live her “true love”. But life is not that simple.

Just 5 months later, the shadows began to come to light.

Daniela was not like Mariana: she did not know how to sacrifice herself, or work hard. She was used to enjoying, to spending without measure. He demanded luxury cars, designer clothes, trips, and forced Ricardo to sell part of his shares to pay for his whims. Little by little, business relationships began to break down because Daniela got too involved, even insulting important partners.

The straw that broke the camel’s back came one morning: the bank notified that several personal and company accounts had been emptied. Ricardo, stunned, discovered that it had been Daniela herself who had secretly transferred the money abroad.

He ran back home. When she opened the door of the room, she heard Daniela’s voice on the phone:
“Do you think I’m with him for love? I just want your money. Now that he’s old and soon without a penny, why stay?”

Ricardo was paralyzed. Years of betrayal and false illusions ended at that moment with a brutal slap of reality. Enraged, he pounced on her, but Daniela didn’t even regret it. He took his bags and left with a look of contempt.

She thought she would escape, but another surprise awaited her at the airport: she was arrested by the police. The money he had transferred was linked to shared funds of the company, and the evidence was irrefutable. From being “the surrogate wife”, Daniela became a defendant in front of justice.

Meanwhile, Ricardo lost everything: money, reputation and even the respect of his own children. He was left alone, in a huge and empty house. Every night he sat in front of Mariana’s altar, lit a candle and cried:
“Mariana, forgive me… If I could turn back time, I would never have made you suffer.”

But it was too late. The faithful wife was gone forever, leaving behind two motherless children and a heartbreaking lesson:

Infidelity never brings happiness. Betrayal can give minutes of sweetness, but the price paid is a lifetime of bitterness.