Page 39 of Distrustful

Chapter 18

Maria stays in her car for a few seconds trying to calm down before getting out to enter Trinidad's house. Near the door, she sees Benjamin talking with the other guy, as if giving him instructions for tomorrow. The lawyer gets out of her vehicle and greets them with a tense smile. No matter how hard she tries, she can't get used to seeing that man always so close to Trinidad.

She knocks on the door with her knuckles while glancing at the two men, who remain distracted with their conversation when the door opens and Maria finds Trinidad freshly showered, with damp hair, barefoot and wearing comfortable pants and a basic t-shirt that gives her an informal air that, in the lawyer's eyes, makes her even more attractive than she already finds her usually. For a moment, Maria forgets even what brought her there, but when Trinidad, who holds a glass of water in her hand, steps aside and gestures with her head for her to enter, she recovers that rage that led her there.

"You look beautiful," Trinidad comments in a burst of honesty when she closes the door.

Maria turns toward her and feels a jolt when she realizes the businesswoman is devouring her with her gaze, however, she's overtaken more by that monumental anger she feels every time she thinks about Trinidad not trusting her. The engineer, still unaware of the storm unleashed in Maria's mind, approaches her intending to give her a soft kiss on the cheek, but Maria pulls away with a roughness that throws Trinidad off balance.

"What's wrong?"

"I came to talk, not to fuck," she responds sharply and Trinidad's friendly expression transforms into an ice mask.

"Alright," Trinidad takes a sip of her water and walks barefoot toward a pair of armchairs facing a huge window that overlooks the back garden, "then talk," she says without sitting, leaning her rear on the back of one of them.

Maria has to try hard not to jump on her and make love to her until she runs out of energy, because every gesture from Trinidad seems like a temptation to her.

"I want you to tell me who you are, Trinidad. Or should I call you Adriana?"

If Maria had known how Trinidad would respond to this sudden attack, she would have approached the situation in a less aggressive way, but now she's said it and Trinidad has lost the color in her face, her expression has changed from coldness to terror and the glass she held in her hand has slipped until crashing against the floor toshatter wrapped in a loud noise that accelerates Maria's pulse.

Maria, fearing Trinidad might faint from how pale she's become, approaches her stepping on the glass just as the entrance door opens abruptly and Benjamin enters alerted by the noise of broken glass.

"What happened?" the man asks approaching them in two strides.

"I don't know," Maria responds given Trinidad's silence, who remains paralyzed and hasn't even reacted when she grabbed her by the waist.

Benjamin approaches and observes his protégé with a clinical eye before taking her hand and indicating where she needs to step to avoid cutting herself with the glass.

"Come on, you need to sit down, Trinidad," the man says and Maria steps aside, watching with amazement a scene that touches her heart seeing the affection with which Benjamin treats Trinidad and the way she moves like a puppet guided by him.

"I'll bring water," Maria says and runs to the kitchen.

There she grabs a pitcher and allows herself to drink to try to calm down before returning to the living room, where Trinidad, who seems to have come back to herself, confronts her as soon as she sees her.

"Where did you get that name, Maria?" she asks with an anguished tone that makes the lawyer feel even worse.

"A man approached me when I was leaving work and asked me if I knew someone named Adriana Martín," Maria explains and Trinidad takes a deep breath whileBenjamin, upon hearing the lawyer, immediately places a protective hand on the businesswoman's arm. "I told him no and then he showed me a photo of you and asked if I was sure."

Trinidad brings a hand to her mouth and tries to contain her crying.

"And what did you tell him, Mrs. Maria?" Benjamin asks.

"I told him no, that I didn't know her. The guy gave me a bad feeling and..." Maria interrupts her response when she realizes that Trinidad, the woman who until now she believed cold as an ice block, is crying.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Trinidad," Benjamin tries to calm her, "I'll double the security. I assure you nothing will happen to you."

Benjamin gives her arm a squeeze and stands up while taking his phone from his pocket and heading toward the door.

"Stay with her," he tells Maria, "and when you want to leave, let me know so someone can accompany you."

Benjamin leaves the house and Maria, stunned and intrigued, approaches Trinidad and sits beside her, waiting patiently for her to calm down.

"Who was that man, Trinidad? Please, tell me because I don't understand anything," Maria pleads when the businesswoman stops crying.

"My husband," Trinidad responds.

Maria remains frozen in place, although the answer makes sense, it's the last thing she would have imagined.