let's pretend

Maria woke up to an empty bed. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, taking in her surroundings. The room was quiet, and the only light that filtered through the curtains was that of the early morning sun. She looked around, trying to make sense of what was happening, but all she saw was the empty space next to her. Her husband, Mateo, wasn't there.

As she sat there, the memories of the past few days came flooding back. It had been their wedding anniversary, and they had planned to spend the day together. But Mateo had cancelled their plans, claiming he had a work emergency. Maria had spent the day alone, feeling hurt and neglected. To make matters worse, he had been distant with her for the past few weeks, hardly talking to her and engaging with her the way he used to. And last night, he had yelled at her in front of her friend, making her feel humiliated and small.

Maria felt wronged and angry. She got out of bed and walked around the room, trying to calm down. She knew that she had to ta