CHAPTER 1 — The Wife He Thought Was Worthless
“Did you break your leg… or did you also forget that my mother needs her lunch?”
The words hit harder than the pain shooting through Lucía Mendoza’s broken leg.
For a few seconds, the emergency room around her disappeared.
The voices of doctors.
The sound of medical equipment.
The footsteps rushing across the hospital floor.
Everything faded.
All she could hear was her husband’s cold voice coming from the phone speaker.
Rodrigo Rivas.
The man she had loved for six years.
The man she had sacrificed everything for.
The man who, at that moment, cared more about a bowl of soup than the fact that his wife was lying injured in a hospital bed.
Lucía looked down.
Her right leg was wrapped in a temporary cast.
Blood had stained the bottom of her cream-colored dress.
Her hands still trembled from the accident.
Two hours earlier, she had been leaving her bakery in Roma Norte when a motorcycle ran a red light and crashed into her.
The impact threw her onto the pavement.
The pain was unbearable.
But somehow, the pain in her chest felt worse.
Because before Rodrigo asked if she was alive…
Before he asked if she needed help…
Before he asked if she was afraid…
His first question was about his mother’s lunch.
The doctor beside her frowned while checking her medical file.
“Are you sure you want to continue this conversation?” he asked quietly.
Lucía forced a weak smile.
She already knew the answer.
“Yes.”
She needed to hear everything.
She needed to remember this moment.
Because sometimes, the person who breaks your heart is the same person who reveals your true strength.
“Rodrigo,” she said slowly, holding back tears. “I’m at Xoco Hospital. I was hit by a motorcycle. My leg is broken.”
There was a pause.
Then a laugh.
A cold, emotionless laugh.
“Lucía, stop exaggerating.”
Her eyes widened.
“Exaggerating?”
“Yes. You always do this. Every small problem becomes a tragedy.”
The nurse standing nearby looked at her in disbelief.
Rodrigo continued.
“My mother has been waiting for her food for an hour. She needs low-salt meals because of her blood pressure. Order a taxi, come home, cook for her, and then go back to the hospital.”
Lucía stared at the phone.
For three years, she had taken care of Doña Graciela as if she were her own mother.
She cooked every meal.
She washed her clothes.
She drove her to medical appointments.
She spent countless nights awake when the elderly woman was sick.
And what did she receive?
Insults.
Humiliation.
Cold words.
“You’re lucky Rodrigo married you.”
“You have no ambition.”
“A bakery? Is that all you can do?”
Doña Graciela had said those words hundreds of times.
Rodrigo never defended her.
Because in his mind, Lucía was just his wife.
A woman who stayed home.
A woman who baked bread.
A woman who was replaceable.
But Rodrigo had never known the truth.
The bakery he mocked…
Was never her dream.
It was her disguise.
Three years ago, Lucía had intentionally stepped away from the business world.
She wanted a normal life.
A peaceful marriage.
A family.
She trusted Rodrigo enough to hide her identity.
She never told him that before their wedding, she had built one of Mexico’s fastest-growing companies.
She never told him that the company he proudly called “his life’s achievement” was actually built from her first investment.
She never told him that the salary deposited into his account every month came from decisions made by her board of directors.
Because she wanted to know one thing:
Would Rodrigo love Lucía Mendoza…
Or would he only respect power?
Now she had her answer.
And it destroyed something inside her.
Not her leg.
Something much deeper.
Lucía slowly raised the phone.
“Your mother is no longer my responsibility.”
Silence.
“What did you say?”
“I said she is not my responsibility anymore.”
Rodrigo’s voice became dangerous.
“Remember who you’re talking to.”
Lucía looked around the hospital room.
At the doctors helping strangers.
At the nurses working without recognition.
At the people who showed kindness without expecting anything.
Then she whispered:
“And you should remember who you married.”
Rodrigo laughed.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“A woman who sells cupcakes?”
Lucía closed her eyes.
That sentence was the final crack.
“The woman you keep insulting is the reason you have everything you own.”
Rodrigo became silent for a moment.
Then he laughed again.
“You’re insane.”
“No.”
Her voice became calm.
“I’m finally awake.”
She hung up.
Thirty minutes later…
The emergency room doors opened.
Two police officers walked toward Lucía’s bed.
Everyone looked confused.
One officer checked his notebook.
“Are you Lucía Mendoza?”
“Yes.”
“We received a report that you abandoned an elderly dependent woman and refused to provide care.”
The nurse immediately stepped forward.
“That’s impossible. She arrived here after an accident.”
The doctor handed over the medical documents.
“Admission time: 12:18 p.m. Broken tibia. Nine stitches. Patient cannot walk.”
The officers exchanged looks.
One of them immediately called Rodrigo.
The moment he answered, his voice changed.
“Oh, officer… there must be some misunderstanding.”
The officer stared at Lucía.
“You reported that your wife voluntarily left your mother without care.”
Rodrigo hesitated.
“Well… I didn’t know it was that serious.”
Lucía looked away.
That sentence hurt more than anything.
Not because he lied.
Because it proved he never cared enough to know.
That night, Rodrigo came to the hospital.
But he didn’t come alone.
Doña Graciela entered behind him, wearing expensive clothes and carrying a designer handbag.
Neither looked worried.
Neither apologized.
Rodrigo crossed his arms.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Lucía looked at him.
“Satisfied with what?”
“With your little performance.”
She almost smiled.
“My broken leg is a performance?”
“You always want attention.”
Doña Graciela interrupted.
“I have never seen such selfish behavior. After everything this family has done for you.”
Lucía stared at the woman.
Everything this family had done?
She remembered every holiday she spent cooking.
Every bill she paid.
Every sacrifice.
But she said nothing.
Because she finally understood something.
Explaining your worth to people who benefit from underestimating you is a waste of time.
Rodrigo stepped closer.
“Listen carefully. If you continue with this attitude, divorce me.”
Lucía looked at him.
“Is that a threat?”
“No. It’s reality.”
He smiled arrogantly.
“You’ll leave this marriage with nothing.”
He pointed around the room.
“The house in Las Lomas belongs to my family.”
“The truck is under my name.”
“The savings account is mine.”
“You’ll leave with your cast and the clothes you’re wearing.”
Doña Graciela smiled.
“Maybe then you’ll learn your place.”
Lucía remained silent.
Then she slowly reached for her phone.
Rodrigo frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Ending a misunderstanding.”
She made three calls.
First.
The bank.
Second.
Her lawyer.
Third.
The CEO of Grupo Altavista.
A man named Ernesto Duarte.
The same company Rodrigo bragged about managing.
The same company where he believed he was untouchable.
When Ernesto answered, his voice immediately changed.
“Mrs. Mendoza?”
Rodrigo froze.
Because he knew that voice.
Everyone in Grupo Altavista knew that voice.
Lucía looked directly at her husband.
“I need an emergency audit.”
A pause.
“On Rodrigo Rivas.”
The room became silent.
Rodrigo laughed nervously.
“What are you doing?”
Lucía smiled.
A smile he had never seen before.
The smile of someone who had finally stopped begging for respect.
“I’m checking how much damage you caused with the power you never owned.”
Rodrigo’s face changed.
“What did you say?”
Lucía looked at Doña Graciela.
Then back at him.
“The company you’ve been using to impress people…”
She paused.
“Was mine before you even met me.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Rodrigo stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
Lucía leaned back against the hospital pillow.
“My name is not on the bakery sign.”
Her eyes became cold.
“But my name is on every document that built your career.”
Doña Graciela laughed.
“This woman has lost her mind.”
Lucía simply pressed the call button.
“Security, please.”
As guards entered the room, Rodrigo’s confidence began to disappear.
But he still didn’t understand.
He thought this was about money.
Property.
A company.
He had no idea the audit would reveal something much darker.
Something hidden inside Grupo Altavista for years.
Something that would destroy not only his career…
But expose the reason he married Lucía in the first place.
And when the truth came out…
Rodrigo would realize the woman he treated like a servant…
May you like
Was the only person who had ever protected him.
TO BE CONTINUED… ❤️📖
