Inside the drawer was also a small, neatly folded white cotton camisole.
It was the small sling that Dulcina Calvo had taken from him to bandage his wounds at the time.
I had kept it for ten years.
He could never forget the soft warmth of the girl’s arms on that cold night …
…
The next morning, Dulcina Calvo came to the hospital with eyes as red and swollen as walnuts.
Actually, he wanted to take the day off because he didn’t want to face Esteban Zaragosa, but if he avoided today, what was he going to do next, he couldn’t miss going to the hospital to do his internship, could he?
After thinking about it, she arrived at the hospital torn.
As soon as she arrived at the hospital and changed her clothes, a coworker came over to tease her.
“Dulcina, what did you do last night, why are your eyes so puffy?”.
“I went ghost hunting.” Dulcina Calvo growled.
A colleague laughed and said, “Then go to the infirmary and get an ice pack, you’re scary and it’s not a good idea to scare the patient”.
“Yes, I’ll come later.”
“By the way, Dr. Esteban is not working today, so today you will study with Dr. Pirro.”
Dulcina Calvo froze. Wasn’t Esteban Zaragosa here?
Her heart’s mouth inexplicably tingled.
Was it to avoid it?
But it was fine, it was best if he didn’t even come to work these days, and avoid the awkwardness of a face-to-face.
The thought of him having a wife made his chest ache vaguely.
When it was time for the lunch break, Dulcina Calvo could not sleep while some of her colleagues watched TV next to her and whispered about her.
“This lady is very shameful, she knows he has a wife and she is still stuck with him, what a shame.”
“Today, the third parties, they’re all cousins who are cousins and they’re still setting up a pagoda.”
“The original spouse is really a loser, she saw her husband having sex with the mistress, but she still refuses to divorce. If it were me, I would have divorced her long ago – what’s the point of such a marriage?”.
Dulcina Calvo rested her chin on one hand as she listened to the women venting.
She still felt embarrassed at the thought of what had happened yesterday.
The phone suddenly rang, an unknown number.
As soon as I picked it up, a familiar female voice came on the phone.
“Miss Dulcina, I’m Mrs. Esteban, come out and let’s meet somewhere to talk.”
…
The other party was named Mrs. Esteban and did not even bother to mention her name to Dulcina Calvo.
It was clear that the other party was not to be trifled with.
When she arrived at the agreed coffee shop, Dulcina Calvo saw Claudio Belles sitting, sipping his coffee, waiting for her.
“Mrs. Esteban.
Claudius Belles raised an eyebrow and said, “Sit down.”
Dulcina Calvo sat across from her, a little uneasy, after all, she felt guilty, she really didn’t know that Esteban Zaragosa was married, and if she had known, she would never have had any dealings with Esteban Zaragosa, let alone… she would have slept with him. Claudio Belles
Claudio Belles slowly and methodically stirred the coffee in front of him with a small golden spoon and opened his mouth with a certain arrogance: “Today I came to see you and I don’t want to beat around the bush, I, as Esteban Zaragosa’s wife, have seen my husband wallow with another woman, as a woman you should be able to understand how I feel right now. ”
Dulcina Calvo swallowed saliva and placed her small hands under the table, tightly knotted, inwardly apprehensive and feeling even more uncomfortable and guilty.
He dropped his little face and said apologetically, “I’m sorry Mrs. Esteban, I really didn’t know Esteban Zaragosa was married, I …”
“Since you now know he has a family, don’t mess with him again, by the way, did I hear you work at the same hospital as him?”
Dulcina Calvo was stunned when Claudio Belles had already taken a card out of her purse and pushed it in front of her, saying, “The code is four zeros, there’s plenty of money on it, leave this job of yours and get out of The Holy City, may I never see you again.”
“Mrs. Esteban …”
“What’s up, any more questions?”
Dulcina Calvo took a deep breath, with slightly reddened eyes, handed the bank card back to Claudio Belles and said, “This card, I can’t take it, but … but don’t worry, I won’t talk to Jiang in the future…. … Mr. Esteban never again”.
“How can I believe your promise?”
“Then what do you want?” Dulcina Calvo looked at her.
Claudius Belles said, word for word, “If you bother him again, I will come to your hospital and tell you all about your affair, so that not only will your future be ruined, but he won’t be able to stay in that hospital either.”
A shiver ran down Dulcina Calvo’s back, this Mrs. Esteban in front of her had a really great tactic.
“… well.”
…
Dulcina Calvo was distracted on her way back to the hospital.
Her phone rang a little, it was a message from her peer group, her tutor had @ all, urging her to hand in the work.
He slapped his forehead, shit, he had still left his laptop at Esteban Zaragosa’s house.
It wouldn’t be … an immediate punch in the face if I went looking for it now.
A moment before, I had just promised Mrs. Esteban at the café that I would never see Esteban Zaragosa again.
It was bad luck to drink cold water.
With a stiff scalp, Dulcina Calvo called Esteban Zaragosa.
The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up.
Once off the hook, the male voice on the other end of the line was low and husky: “Honey?”.
“… I, I’m just calling you because I left my laptop at your house and our tutor is pushing for us to turn in a paper, so if you’re home, I’ll come get it right away.”
“Where are you, I send it to you”.
Dulcina Calvo gave him the address, opposite a busy downtown shopping mall, where he could pick up his computer, to avoid suspicion and not break his promise to Ms.
Twenty minutes later, Esteban Zaragosa arrived at the mall entrance, his school bag in hand.
“Thank you.”
Dulcina Calvo grabbed the bag, but Esteban Zaragosa wouldn’t let go, and gave it a few tugs, but it wouldn’t budge.
“What are you doing? Let her go.”
Esteban Zaragosa looked at her with dark eyes, a soft look in them, and finally let go of her hand and handed her the bag.
Dulcina Calvo was furious and grabbed the bag, not wanting to linger any longer, but Esteban Zaragosa grabbed her by the wrist.
“Dear, tomorrow I am going back to Italy, take care of yourself in the meantime”.
“…”
Dulcina Calvo took her wrist out of his palm and said with a cold look: “Stop calling me by my nickname, you’ll give people the wrong idea. We are not a couple, you have a wife. It was an accident that we met today, I won’t come looking for you again.”
Dulcina Calvo hurried away with her school bag in her arms, took two steps, then turned and said, “By the way, Mrs. Esteban loves you and takes care of you, I wish you a hundred years of happiness and hope you don’t go out looking for another girl.”
Esteban Zaragosa took a deep breath, repressing his anger and pain.
One hundred years of happiness?
I had never known that Dulcina, who was so gentle, could say something so venomous.
…
Back at the apartment, Esteban Zaragosa found Claudio Belles entering his house again.
“Who gave you permission to come?”
“I’m your wife, isn’t it normal for me to come to where you live?”.
Esteban Zaragosa gritted his teeth and said coldly, “Claudio Belles, when we return to Italy, I will file for divorce.”
“I’m not going to agree to that.”
“Then we’ll see if you’re better you or me.”
Claudio Belles was perplexed and turned to look at him seriously: “Esteban, isn’t it good for us to be together? We live and die together, is it good for Dulcina Calvo? She is an ordinary person, and you, what are you, even if you were with her, would you last? We are the ones in the same category”.
“Claudio Belles, don’t kidnap me with your sophistry, I agreed to take a leave of absence with you in the first place simply because of the covert mission.”