Instead, he threw it onto the floor.
“My daughter is not for sale.”
I almost cried from relief.
But Mrs. Rivas simply smiled.
“Then get ready,” she said. “Because my son is not going to take responsibility for a girl with no future.”
No future.
That was what she called me.
As though my pregnancy had erased everything I had ever been.
As though my baby was a stain instead of a life.
The next morning, my father barely spoke during breakfast.
My mother brushed my hair harder than usual.
When we arrived at school, I immediately understood why.
There was a meeting waiting for us.
The principal.
The school counselor.
Mateo.
His mother.
My parents.
And me.
I walked into the office with shaking hands.
“Sit down, Valeria,” the principal said.
I couldn’t.
My legs felt like they might collapse.
Mrs. Rivas spoke first.
“My son is being falsely accused. This girl wants to ruin his reputation because he refused to date her.”
My mother’s hand tightened around mine.
“That isn’t true.”
Mateo slowly lifted his head.
Then he looked directly at me.
And destroyed me without ever raising his voice.
“I was never with her.”
My heart stopped.
“Mateo…”
“Don’t talk to me like that,” he said. “We’re barely classmates.”
My father stood.
“Look my daughter in the eyes and say it again.”
Mateo did.
He looked straight at me.
And said:
“It’s not mine.”
Something inside me broke.
It wasn’t my heart.
It was the last piece of me that still believed cruel people had limits.
The principal remained silent.
Then she reached for a red folder sitting on her desk.
I had no idea what was inside.
But Mrs. Rivas did.
Because the moment she saw the folder, the smile disappeared from her face.
“Principal,” she said quickly, “this shouldn’t be mixed with school matters.”
The principal looked at her.
“Mrs. Rivas, it became a school matter the moment you tried to pressure a minor inside this institution.”
The room went silent.
Mateo swallowed hard.
My mother looked confused.
So did I.
The principal opened the folder.
Inside were printed pages.
Screenshots.
Dates.
Messages.
Photographs.
My heart began pounding against my ribs.
Then the principal pulled out a small USB drive.
And finally, a folded piece of paper.
She looked at me.
“Valeria,” she said softly, “someone left this under my door last night.”
I stared at her.
“Who?”
The principal didn’t answer.
She unfolded the paper.
Then she looked around the room.
“Before we decide whether you can continue studying here, everyone needs to hear something.”
And that’s when Mrs. Rivas suddenly stood up.
“Don’t read that.”
The principal looked at her.
“Why not?”
Mrs. Rivas said nothing.
For the first time, Mateo looked frightened.
I knew then that whatever was inside that folder wasn’t about me.
It was about them.
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