Chapter 157 CHAPTER 157 – A FAMILY DIVIDED

Chapter 157 CHAPTER 157 – A FAMILY DIVIDED
POV: Lucia Ferrer

The family dinner that was supposed to celebrate Grandma Luciana’s eighty-fourth birthday turned into a battlefield before we had even served the main course.
Thirty people gathered around long tables in the garden of the beach house — three generations of the Ferrer-Galli-Beltrán family under fairy lights that usually created a magical atmosphere, but tonight only illuminated tense faces and forced conversations.
The division was visible from the moment we arrived, the family naturally splitting into two groups without even realizing they were doing it.
On one side: my parents Emmanuel and Isabella, Uncle Mateo Jr. and Aunt Sofía, Grandma Luciana in her wheelchair but still commanding respect, my brother Luciano Jr. and me — basically everyone who had lived through complicated love and understood why Mateo and Sofía deserved a chance.
On the other side: Valentina with a bitterness she couldn’t fully hide, her sister Victoria who followed everything Valentina did, Aunt Claudia and her husband, cousin Alberto with his wife, several distant cousins who only showed up for big events and looked at Mateo and Sofía as if they were a zoo exhibit.
Mateo and Sofía sat physically in the middle but emotionally isolated, their hands intertwined on the table — a silent declaration that they were together no matter what.
I watched them during the first hour of pretend normalcy, the way Sofía tensed every time someone from the conservative side stared too long, how Mateo squeezed her hand in silent support — those micro-moments that revealed exactly how much pressure they were under.
I held my tongue through the appetizers and the main course, smiling politely while superficial conversations about work and the weather filled the air, carefully avoiding the obvious elephant in the garden.
But when it was time to toast Grandma Luciana and Valentina stood up with her glass in hand, I knew she was about to do something I wouldn’t be able to ignore.
“I want to toast Grandma Luciana,” Valentina began with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “For teaching us about family, tradition, and the importance of maintaining proper boundaries.”
The emphasis on “proper boundaries” was so subtle that anyone not paying attention might have missed it — but I heard it, and from Mateo’s expression, so did he.
“And to the hope that future generations learn from past mistakes instead of repeating them,” Valentina continued.
That was enough.
I stood up so fast my chair fell backward with a crash that made everyone turn to look at me.
“Something you want to say, Valentina?” I asked, my voice louder than I intended. “Or are you going to keep throwing passive-aggressive comments and hope no one notices?”
“Lucia,” my mother said in a warning tone.
“No, Mom, this needs to be said because I’m tired of watching my brother and Sofía being treated like they committed a crime when all they did was fall in love.”
Absolute silence fell over the garden.
“We’re not treating them like criminals,” Valentina said. “We’re just expressing legitimate concern about—”
“About what exactly?” I cut in. “That they’re cousins who don’t share blood? That they honestly fell in love without knowing who they were? Or that you’ve been in love with Mateo for twenty years and can’t stand seeing him happy with someone else?”
Valentina went pale.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know exactly what I’m talking about because I’ve been watching you for weeks — planting seeds of doubt, making comments designed to undermine their relationship.”
“Lucia, stop.”
“No, I won’t stop because someone needs to defend Mateo and Sofía since apparently half this family decided that judging is more important than loving.”
I turned to face the rest of the family.
“My parents got married twenty-five years ago after waiting eleven years because this family made them feel ashamed of what they felt — and now look, does anyone regret that marriage?”
No one answered.
“Does anyone think my parents made a mistake? That I shouldn’t exist? That my family isn’t valid?”
“Lucia, it’s not the same,” Aunt Claudia said.
“It’s exactly the same. The only difference is that Mateo and Sofía have the advantage of knowing from the start what they’re up against — and of having part of the family willing to support them.”
“But there have to be limits…”
“What limits exactly?” I shouted, no longer caring that I was making a scene. “They don’t share blood, they didn’t grow up together, they fell in love as adults without knowing the family complications — where is the line you claim they crossed?”
“It’s socially inappropriate,” Alberto said.
“So what? Since when does this family care what society thinks? Grandma Cynthia married a man thirty-five years older, my parents waited eleven years for forbidden love — this entire family was built by defying social norms.”
“But there has to be a line…”
“The line is genuine love versus appropriation, consent versus coercion, adults freely choosing versus manipulation — and Mateo and Sofía are on the right side of every single one of those lines.”
Mateo stood up then.
“Lucia, it’s okay, you don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do. Because you’re my brother and I love you, and I won’t stay silent while people who supposedly love you judge you for doing exactly what our parents did.”
I turned specifically toward Valentina.
“And you have two choices: you can accept that Mateo will never love you the way you want and move on with your life — or you can keep poisoning this family with your jealousy until no one wants to be near you.”
“Lucia, that’s enough,” Dad said, standing up as well.
“No, Emmanuel, let her speak,” Grandma Luciana said, her voice still commanding authority despite her fragility. “Lucia is saying what we were all thinking but were too afraid to say.”
Grandma wheeled herself to the center of the garden where everyone could see her.
“This family is dividing tonight, and I need everyone to understand exactly what is at stake.”
Thirty pairs of eyes fixed on the matriarch.
“On one side we have love, support — people who learned from past mistakes and are willing to do better this time.
“On the other side we have fear, tradition without reason, and people who prefer to judge rather than understand.
“And I need every person here tonight to decide which side they want to be on, because there will be no room for ambiguity after today.
“If you support Mateo and Sofía, if you believe their love is valid, then you are welcome to stand on this side of the family that celebrates love in all its forms.
“If you cannot accept them, if your principles matter more than the happiness of two young people who did nothing wrong, then you are free to leave — and this family will move forward without you.”
The silence that followed was so heavy it could be felt physically.
Then, slowly, my mom Isabella stood up and walked toward where Mateo and Sofía were sitting, placing her hands on their shoulders in an unmistakable gesture of support.
Dad followed her. Then Uncle Mateo Jr. and Aunt Sofía. Then my brother Luciano Jr. and me.
One by one, half the family moved to stand with Mateo and Sofía.
The other half remained seated — uncomfortable but firm in their disapproval.
“Very well,” Grandma Luciana said. “Then it’s decided. Those who stayed seated may finish their dinner and then leave. You will not be welcome at future family events until you can accept that love does not recognize arbitrary limits.”
“Mom, that’s extreme,” one of the distant cousins protested.
“It’s not extreme — it’s consequence. I spent too many years watching my son suffer because of family judgment. I will not allow my grandson to go through the same.”
Valentina stood up with tears streaming down her face.
“This isn’t fair.”
“You’re right — it isn’t fair,” Grandma said. “It isn’t fair that Mateo has to defend his love. It isn’t fair that Sofía has to endure judgment for something she didn’t choose. And it certainly isn’t fair that you’re trying to destroy their happiness because you’re jealous.”
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you did. I have testimony from five different people about your comments, so don’t insult me by denying it.”
Valentina picked up her purse and left without another word, her sister Victoria following after a moment of hesitation.
The others on the opposing side left gradually — some with murmured apologies, others in resentful silence.
When only those who had supported Mateo and Sofía remained, the atmosphere changed completely — from tension to something that felt like relief.
“Does anyone want cake?” Grandma Luciana asked. “Because I’m not going to let drama ruin my eighty-fourth birthday.”
We laughed, releasing the built-up tension, and continued the celebration without the weight of judgment hanging over us.
Later that night, while I was helping clean up, Mateo found me in the kitchen.
“Thank you,” he said. “For defending me. For saying what needed to be said.”
“That’s what sisters are for.”
“I know you made enemies today.”
“I made a choice — defend my brother or keep fake peace with people whose opinions don’t matter to me. It was an easy choice.”
Mateo hugged me tightly.
“I love you, little sister.”
“I love you too. Now go to Sofía — she looks like she needs a hug too.”
I watched him rejoin her as she spoke with our parents, saw him wrap his arms around her while she finally let out the tears she had been holding back all night.
The family had divided tonight.
But the ones who remained were the ones who truly mattered.
The ones who understood that love is worth more than tradition.
The ones who had learned from past mistakes.
The ones who would choose love over judgment every single time.
And that was enough.