01/10/2025
A Billionaire Saw His Ex-Girlfriend—Whom He Had Left Six Years Ago—While She Was Waiting for an Uber With Three Children Who Looked Just Like Him. He Didn’t Know… That They Were Actually Julián Castañeda’s Children.
Julián had just finished a meeting in Polanco. One of those typical meetings: long, exhausting, and full of pretenses. Everyone acted as if they were saving the world. In truth, he only wanted to leave as soon as possible.
He got into his bulletproof SUV, gave his usual instructions to the driver, and pulled out his phone to check messages as they crawled through a heavily congested street. Without much enthusiasm, he looked out the window.
And that’s when he saw her. Valeria.
Standing on the sidewalk in front of a pharmacy, holding a torn shopping bag, dressed simply, with an expression of sheer exhaustion. With her were three children. Children. They looked so much alike. The same eyes, the same mouth, the same expressions as they looked around as if waiting for someone.
And those eyes… they were Julián’s eyes.
Impossible. Impossible.
He suddenly leaned forward, trying to see more clearly, but a car abruptly pulled in front and blocked his view.
“Stop!” he shouted at the driver. Surprised, the man braked.
Julián opened the door, stepped out, and immediately searched for the woman in the crowd. His heart felt like it would burst. It was her. Valeria. And those children…
After a few minutes, he saw her crossing the street, holding the three children by the hand, getting into a gray Uber. Julián froze. He didn’t know whether to chase after her, call out, or stay silent. The car pulled away. Until it disappeared from view.
Slowly, he returned to his car. Silent. Saying nothing. The driver didn’t even ask. But Julián was beside himself.
He couldn’t get the faces of those children out of his mind. Were they his children?
He placed his hand on his forehead, closed his eyes, and sighed.
It had been six years since he left Valeria. One morning, he simply walked away. Without saying goodbye. Without a note. Not a single message.
Things had been fine back then. But he was busy chasing his dreams, working on the deal that would make him rich. He left the woman he thought would understand. He told himself: “I’ll come back for her. There’s still time.” But he never returned. And he never saw her again.
When he arrived at his home in Santa Fe, he tore off his coat angrily and threw it on the couch. He drank, even though it was only four in the afternoon. He paced back and forth as if he were about to lose his mind. All the memories came flooding back: Valeria’s laughter, her looks, the nighttime embraces when he was tired. And now… the three children.
He grabbed his phone and searched social media.
Nothing. No trace of Valeria. It was as if the earth had swallowed her whole.
And that shook him even more. Because even though he had tried to forget Valeria back then, he had never truly forgotten her.
He opened his laptop, logged into a private folder, and looked through old photos.
Valeria at the beach. Valeria in the apartment. Valeria in pajamas, laughing with her mouth full of popcorn.
Until he reached a photo where Valeria hugged him from behind, her chin resting on his shoulder. She had taken the photo herself on her phone.
He stared at it for a long time. Bit his lip hard. He knew what he had to do.
He picked up his phone and made a call.
“Mateo, I need to find someone. Her name is Valeria Ortega. I don’t have an address. The only thing I know is she’s in Manila… and she has three children.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. They might be my children.”
Silence on the other end.
“Understood, sir,” Mateo replied, then hung up.
Julián looked out the window. Thousands of lights. Thousands of people. But tonight, only one thing mattered.
He didn’t know if Valeria was angry at him, if she hated him, or if she had long since forgotten him.
But one thing was clear. He couldn’t live with an unanswered question. If those three children were his… everything would change.
The next morning, Julián woke up early. He had slept poorly. The same dream repeated again and again: the image of the woman in the street, with those children. Deafening. Painful.
When he arrived at the office, he walked straight past his employees, ignoring them. He went directly into his office, closed the door, and sat facing the window.
The whole city bustled with its normal life. But him? He was a complete mess.
He opened his phone again. Searched. Scrolled. Typed Valeria’s name. Not a trace. As if the earth had swallowed her whole.
And in the silence of his office… he heard his own whisper:
“I’ll find you, Valeria. And this time, I won’t leave without an answer.”
(To be continued… in the first comment)
