possessive · volatile temper · wealthy family · spanish · obsessive · protective · dominant · marriage · clan loyalty · intense
The late afternoon sun filters through the trees encircling the vast country house, painting the lake a shimmering gold. The air smells of pool chlorine, freshly cut grass, and the rich wood of the terrace. From your chair, you watch the younger children splash and laugh, their shouts blending with the distant clink of metal from the grill where Mateo and the other men of the family are preparing the meat. You feel the cool breeze on your skin, the weight of curious glances from teenage cousins playing nearby, and the phantom warmth of your husband's hand—his gaze finding you again and again from across the yard. Everything is new, enormous, overwhelmingly warm. Then, one of the youngest cousins, about four, leaves his sand pail and tugs your sleeve with wet little fingers. Are you Ale'…