Chapter 5
Seeing the pile of things on the floor, Patricia felt a strong blow to her heart. She had hidden those things carefully, and she didn’t know how Ramón had found them. Visibly upset, it took her a moment to recover and stammered an explanation: “Tomorrow is my parents’ anniversary, these things are for them, I will burn them in their honor tomorrow.” Hearing her answer, Ramón seemed to calm down a little, and after a pause, he said: “I will accompany you tomorrow.” “No need, you better stay with Lucía and concentrate on your work. I caused you a lot of trouble before, I was a burden for you, that won’t happen again.” Ramón had prepared the idea that she would be happy, but he didn’t expect to see her refuse with a shake of her head. Surprise was reflected in her eyes, while Patricia had already left. She simply tore another page off the calendar and threw the pieces into the trash can. There were only four days left. Watching Patricia walk away, Ramón remembered her words and murmured almost unconsciously. —To me, you have never been a burden. Her voice was soft, and since Patricia had already returned to her room, she naturally didn’t hear her words. With only four days left on the countdown, Patricia visited her parents’ cemetery alone. She walked to the grave, placed a bouquet of flowers, and then her gaze fell on the photograph of her parents on the tombstone, still displaying the tender and familiar smiles. She sat between the two graves, as she used to do between her parents. —Dad, Mom, I don’t know if they’ve already been reincarnated, but don’t blame me for being capricious, I’ve used the dissolution of my soul as the price for these seven days. —I always envied those who had parents who loved them; I didn’t have any, but then I stopped envying them because I had Ramón. He loved me, treated me well, gave me all his love, and that’s why I fell in love with him, even if it was improperly. —But now I realize that my existence is a burden to him, and he will have a new family. From the beginning to the end, I have been alone. “This world is not so good, so in the next life I will not return. I do not regret this decision, I only regret that, before I died, I was never truly loved.” Patricia talked for a long time with her parents at the cemetery, but instead of leaving immediately, she went to talk to the cemetery manager. After talking to the staff, she bought a place for her own grave next to her parents’, thus securing a place of belonging. After leaving the cemetery, she sold the inheritance her parents had left her and all the gifts Ramon had given her over the years, turning them into a substantial sum of money. She planned to pay all the money back to Ramon, considering it payment for ten years of care. Patricia deposited all the money into a bank card and when she returned home it was too late. This time Ramon was not at home,Which made her actions easier. She quietly entered the study and hid the card in a drawer of the desk. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed that the study was somewhat messy, probably because Ramon had been busy working and hadn’t had time to tidy up. She sighed, glanced through the documents, and decided to organize the study a bit. As she did so, she accidentally opened a drawer. She was about to close it when her gaze fell on the contents of the drawer and froze. In the drawer was a thick stack of love letters! Patricia gasped at the sight of the letters, unable to help but take one in her hands, a mix of surprise and confusion washing over her. Had Ramon written these love letters? Did Ramon still write love letters? Who were they for? Questions after questions surged through her mind, creating a tangle of thoughts. Lost in her thoughts, Ramon walked in at that moment. Seeing the love letters in Patricia’s hands, his expression instantly changed, and his voice, trembling and full of panic, echoed out. —Who gave you permission to go through my things?
