Best Mistake ︱Pedri González

10

Pedri's POV

I stood in front of the apartment door for what felt like forever, the key in my hand. My stomach churned as I thought about walking inside, knowing what was waiting for me. Esther. She was going to be pissed, and for good reason. I hadn't come home. I hadn't even bothered to tell her where I was. And if she knew where I really had been...

Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the door and stepped inside, trying to keep my movements quiet. But it was no use.

"Pedri?" Esther's voice rang out from the kitchen before I even had a chance to close the door.

 "Yeah, it's me."

She appeared in the doorway, arms crossed, her face tight with anger. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"I told you. I was at Ferran's," I said, my voice as steady as I could make it. But even I knew it sounded like a lame excuse.

Her eyes narrowed. "At Ferran's? All night? Without telling me? Do you think I'm stupid, Pedri?"

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Look, I didn't think I needed to check in with you every minute of the day."

"Check in?" she snapped, her voice rising. "It's called basic respect. You're my husband! You can't just disappear all night and act like it's no big deal!"

I felt the frustration bubbling up inside me. "I didn't disappear! I was at Ferran's, okay? We hung out, had a few drinks, and I crashed there. It's not that deep."

Her eyes flickered with disbelief. "You didn't even text me back, Pedri! Do you know how that makes me feel? Like you don't care at all!"

I clenched my jaw, feeling the anger rising now. "I told you where I was! What more do you want from me? I'm not doing anything wrong!"

Esther scoffed, shaking her head. "You think lying to me isn't wrong? Do you really expect me to believe you just happened to stay out all night and didn't bother to call or text?"

I was losing it. I couldn't deal with this. Not after everything that had just happened with Luciana. "Yes, I was at Ferran's! Why don't you trust me? I'm not the one flirting with every guy who crosses my path!"

Her eyes widened, and for a second, she looked genuinely hurt. But it was gone just as quickly, replaced with rage. "Don't you dare throw that in my face! You think I'm the one disrespecting you when you can't even tell me where you've been all night? What the hell is going on with you, Pedri?"

"I don't know!" I shouted back, throwing my hands up. "Maybe if you stopped flirting with every waiter we meet, I wouldn't feel like I have to get away all the time!"

Her jaw dropped, and she took a step toward me, her voice dangerously low. "You're blaming me for this?"

"I'm not blaming you for anything," I snapped, feeling my hands shake. "But you don't make this easy, Esther. You don't."

She stood there for a moment, staring at me like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Then, without another word, she stormed past me, grabbing her purse from the counter.

"Where are you going?" I asked, my voice suddenly hoarse.

"Out," she said coldly. "I don't care where you were last night, Pedri, but I'm done with this conversation."

Before I could say anything else, the door slammed behind her, leaving me standing there alone. My head was spinning, my heart pounding in my chest.

I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes for a second. What the hell had I just done?

I knew this wasn't sustainable. Esther and I were falling apart, and last night with Luciana just complicated everything even more. But no matter how angry I was at Esther, I couldn't ignore the guilt gnawing at me. I had cheated on my wife. And now she was out there, furious, because I couldn't even tell her the truth.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. A message from Fernando, my brother.

Fer: Hey Pedri, would you like to come over?

I stared at the screen for a moment before typing back.

Me: Can't. Staying in with Esther.

It was a lie. Just like the rest of my life right now.

I didn't want to think about what would happen next. All I could do was hope that somehow, everything would stop spiraling out of control.