The Financier's Revelation

"Nice to meet you... once again," I say with some difficulty, especially with her looking attentively at my son with a surprised expression. "Is everything okay?"
"Sorry, but this child is a copy of my Pierre when he was this age," Pandora blurts out, holding Juan's hand. "Is he your son?"
"Yes... Yes," I stutter, holding my son tighter.
"Dear, did you notice how this child looks so much like our Pierre when he was this age?" Pandora asks, looking at X, who is staring at me, serious.
"They do have a slight resemblance. Besides, children at this age often look alike," X replies, curtly.
"Love, you men think all children look the same," Pandora responds, smiling, unfazed by X's tone. "Can you believe that when Pierre was born, he confused him with another baby in the nursery? He almost took the wrong baby home. Luckily, our son looked just like him, so there was no mistake. Who knows, the next one might look like me, for a change."
"Are you... pregnant?" I ask, surprised, looking at X.
"No," Pandora replies with a big smile. She touches X's suit. "But we haven't stopped trying."
"And you only have Pierre?" I ask, becoming more curious. As far as I know, X only has one child, but he also said his marriage was complicated... and from what I'm seeing, it doesn't seem so complicated after all.
"Yes," X quickly responds. He nods to another group and says, "I have to greet some other investors, but I'll be back soon." He finishes by giving Pandora a light kiss on her forehead.
"See you soon," Pandora says, smiling, then turns to me. "For now, yes." She corrects herself, "To have another one, we need to slow down our professional lives."
"I understand..." I say, accepting a glass of champagne served by a waiter. I take a sip, almost choking, but I keep my composure. I need to gather as much information as possible from his wife. "And... what do you do, Pandora?"
"I was a prosecutor... or rather, I used to be a prosecutor," Pandora replies. "Then I moved up to the position of judge, which made my life much more fast-paced. Now, I think I'm slowing down, so we can continue our plan to give Pierre a sibling."
"In Switzerland?" I ask, wanting to know if she accompanied X there.
"No... in Madrid," Pandora answers, playing with Juan.
"Wonderful," I say with a huge smile as I think of killing X. I call another waiter, and he serves me more champagne. "It must be quite challenging to live in different countries now."
"Yes, but we've been through worse," Pandora replies with a tinge of sadness. Then she smiles again. "But now we're on vacation, so he came back to stay with us in Madrid. Of course, with the project, he's been between there and Barcelona, but I understand. This project is magnificent, and I'm sure it will bear fruit."
"Without a doubt," I reply, feeling uneasy.
"Mama, Mama," the child says, approaching Pandora, who quickly bends down to attend to him. The boy, by my calculations, must be around eight years old, and I have to admit, he looks a lot like Juan. "Look, Mama, I found a pretty stone."
"Pierre, that's beautiful," Pandora says, taking the stone from the boy's hand.
"It's for you, Mama," Pierre says, smiling. He's not all like X; his smile is very much like his mother's.
"Thank you, my sweetheart," Pandora says, hugging her son tightly. Then he moves away, and she stands up with teary eyes. "How they grow up so fast."
I might like Pandora; she seems like a very friendly woman, a loving mother, but that could only happen if I hadn't met her husband first. So, I'm destined not to be her friend, just because we have to share the same man.
"So, you were a prosecutor," I say, trying to change the subject.
"Yes," Pandora replies, cheerfully. "I liked being a prosecutor, but now I love being a judge. I feel like I was born for this. Besides, being a mother, you know."
"Well, I started studying law a few years ago, but I gave up," I say, even though she didn't ask.
"But that's quite common. A few years ago, my husband seemed to like law too. He bombarded me with questions, case studies. I even believed he would pursue it further, but then he just stopped. Then came the promotion," Pandora says, reminiscing. "But he didn't seem very happy with his choices until now. Now he seems excited, interested... like I've never seen before. And it's all thanks to you."
"Thank you," I say, embarrassed, but...
"But it wasn't just her who made it happen," a male voice says behind me. The only feeling I get when I hear that voice is relief.
"Richard!" I say, hugging my friend who just arrived. "So great to see you. Let me introduce you..."
"Pandora," Richard says, showing he knows X's wife as well. He notices my surprised expression. "Well, we met when..."
"I was in the meeting when he presented the proposal to my husband," Pandora explains, smiling.
"That's great... Everyone seems to know each other," I say with slight irritation. "Anyway, I need to attend to the guests. Make yourselves at home."
"Dalia," Richard calls, concerned.
"I'm fine," I say, walking away.
I walk through the garden looking for X; he owes me some explanations, no, not some, many explanations. My conversation with Pandora has left me truly confused about my relationship with X. They don't seem to be going through as many problems as he insists. I grab another champagne and turn around to face the crowd when I see Carlos entering the party... with Dunny... arm in arm and smiling. Great, because my day wasn't already difficult and full of surprises.
"Welcome," I say, approaching them. Dunny continues to hold my husband's arm, as if she owned it. "Dunny, it's nice to see you

here, even though I didn't send you an invitation."
"Dalia..." Carlos reprimands. He lightly taps Dunny's hand. "Dunny, could you give us a moment?"
"Sure," Dunny replies. "I'm fascinated by this place... Excuse me, I'll go take a tour."
"Why is she here?" I ask, not caring whether she's far enough to hear me or not.
"She's my guest," Carlos replies.
"This party is not yours to invite whoever you want," I retort, serious.
"True, but I explained to Filomena that I was bringing Dunny to YOUR party because she would be alone in Lisbon. And I thought it would be good for her to get to know a bit of Barcelona, my family, and your incredible work."
"Frankly..." I say, laughing. "You care about a complete stranger, but you don't care about leaving your wife to go back home alone and spend most of the time alone, taking care of your child."
"I knew I shouldn't have come," Carlos grumbles, rubbing his forehead.
"Honestly, I agree with you, especially bringing her along."
"Don't worry, Dalia. I'm leaving for Lisbon tonight, so you won't have to deal with me anymore," Carlos says, walking past me.
"Carlos," I call, turning to face him. He turns around. "Just don't take too long to come back, or you might not find me here ever again."
"What do you mean by that?" Carlos asks. "You know what, forget it. I won't fall for your games."
"Do as you wish," I say, walking in the opposite direction.
I still turn around once more, trying to find X's eyes, but he walks without turning back, finds Dunny, who smiles at him, holds his arm, and whispers something in his ear, making him look at her, confused... I basically threw him into her arms.
"There you are!" Filomena says, stopping in front of me. Seeing my sad expression, she asks, "Is everything okay?"
"No, it's not," I reply, serious. "Carlos brought the Russian bimbo with him..."
"Oh, so she was the plus one on the invitation," Filomena concludes, deep in thought. "I'm sorry, Dalia..."
"And X brought his wife," I reveal, distraught. "She's wonderful... they don't seem to have the complicated marriage he always claimed they had. Moreover, they're trying to have another child. She's a judge now... Did all his answers in those days come from her? Of course, Dalia, stop being silly."
"X is here?" Filomena asks, surprised, looking for him, ignoring my rambling. "What is he like? How did he know about the event? Have you been talking to him?"
"Filomena," I call to my friend, who turns to face me. "X is the financier."