Chapter 6: A Letter Never Meant to Be Read
A few months later, Mariana received an unexpected package from the prison where Ricardo was serving his sentence.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
She almost threw it away.
Instead, she opened it.
Mariana,
I spent years blaming everyone except myself.
My mother.
You.
Life.
Prison gives a man too much time to remember.
I remember Mateo's first steps.
I remember promising to protect him.
Then I remember becoming the man he needed protection from.
I don't ask for forgiveness.
I don't deserve it.
But if he ever asks whether I loved him...
Tell him I did.
I simply loved my pride more.
That was my greatest crime.
—Ricardo
Mariana folded the letter carefully.
She did not cry.
Some wounds no longer bled.
They simply became scars.
That evening, Mateo noticed the envelope.
"Was it from him?"
She nodded.
"Can I read it someday?"
"When you're ready."
He thought quietly before answering.
"I don't hate him anymore."
Mariana looked surprised.
"I just don't want to become like him."
May you like
She smiled with quiet pride.
"You already haven't."
