💮͓̽His Mistress💮

I Thought She Was a Saint.

💎Angel💎

"—then add the vegetables once it's fried," Jasira said, guiding me through the third recipe of the day.

"Excuse me, Jazira," I said with a smile, reaching for my buzzing.

"Tesoro, I need you," Raul's gruff voice crackled through the line. I glanced at Jazira, who was whisking eggs with focus. I couldn't just abandon her.

"Give me thirty minutes, Raul. I'm still helping your mom."

"Okay, hurry," he murmured before I hung up and tucked the phone into my back pocket.

"Was that Raul?" she asked, her tone warm. I nodded, still smiling.

"How didn't I meet you first?" she teased.

I laughed, softly. "The first isn't always the best. What matters is we found each other."

Then I lowered my voice a little, curious. "But... what made you choose Catalina?"

She sighed and resumed mixing ingredients while I focused on the pasta sauce.

"I thought she was perfect—smart, beautiful, successful. Most importantly, not Nikolai's type, which I assumed made her right for Raul."

She paused, glancing at me. "Raul must've told you about his past."

I nodded quietly.

"I hoped she'd help him heal, bring back the old Raul. I was so eager to fix him that I missed her fake smiles and hollow laughter."

I listened quietly, my mind racing. *Why does Catalina act like that? What's her motive? What's she gaining from the façade?*

Once we finished cooking, I rushed upstairs to our room. Raul lounged on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

"Raul?" I called. He looked up, his eyes glinting.

"Good, you're here. Hurry and get ready—we're going out."

I frowned, confused. Today was supposed to be our rest day.

"Why?"

"Mamá's birthday is tomorrow. We need to shop for her surprise party." My eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I shrieked.

"It slipped my mind, tesoro," he said, scratching his neck.

I didn't waste time arguing. I grabbed a yellow summer dress from the closet and headed into the bathroom to freshen up. After gloss and a quick spritz of perfume, I was ready.

"Is that why the house is so quiet?" I asked as we slid into the car.

"Yeah. Once we realized tomorrow's her birthday, Joanna and Mia went to handle other arrangements," he explained. I nodded, the pieces falling into place.

At the mall, Raul came around to open my door. I linked my arm through his, and we strolled in.

"Where do we start?" I asked, pursing my lips in thought.

"Let's get her gifts first. Sound good?" I nodded, and we headed to a jewelry store.

The display cases sparkled with stunning pieces, but I hesitated. *She's so wealthy—she probably owns half this store already.*

"What's wrong?" Raul asked, stepping behind me, his arm wrapping around my waist.

"These are gorgeous, but they don't feel right for her," I admitted. "I want something special."

"Mamá will love anything you pick, you know. She may have jewelry, but gifts from loved ones mean more to her." His words warmed me.

"Really?" I looked up, and his smile reassured me.