P E N A L T Y | c. ѕaιnz jr.

3| The Ring

December 25, 2025: Madrid, Spain

C. Sainz Jr.

"Papa, this is a little excessive," I commented seeing that he somehow roped Mr. Rivera into renting out an entire Tiffany & Co. showroom on Christmas Day. The showroom was big enough to swallow a quarter of a race track.

There were so many staff, just manning their stations with hundreds of displays of jewellery. To say it was excessive was an understatement. It's beyond excessive. Way beyond.

My father and Mr. Rivera were so overjoyed that Salomé and I agreed to the marriage but somehow, while we were outside the house, all of them theorised we'd done some sort of unsightly business. They think we actually like each other that way.

My father started elbowing me and snickering as he said, "Ay my son, you are such a playboy. What were you and Salomé doing last night? You two were out there for hours...and don't worry, I approve, at least you won't be miserable in the marriage."

As if on cue, the cavalry arrived. This time it was just Salomé. I was curious as to why she arrived so quickly but her family probably had her staying at a hotel in Madrid.

Her look was different today. Instead of the sleek bun, she let her curls down and let them cascade down to cover the low neckline of her knit chocolate brown dress. She was wearing golden jewellery like yesterday so I'm assuming that's what she likes.  Still, she wore a tired look on her face and it was very clear she didn't want to be here.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when my father said, "Go on, pick her a ring."

"Papa, can you please stop acting like this marriage is real. She can pick her own ring so she'll actually like it," I explained, this wasn't the type of thing I actually wanted to do. My father sighed then said, "Carlos, at least let the girl know she can be friendly with you and trust you. Just do this gesture for her and she'll appreciate it. You're not the only getting married here."

I sighed. He was right. He gave me a pat on the back then said, "I'll be off, your Mama will have my head if I spend too long of a time away from her on Christmas Day."

"Alright papa, go, I know you're itching to spend time with mama," I teased and he gave me a grateful smile then said, "Be nice hijo, I promise, it will greatly benefit the both of you."

He slowly walked out of the showroom and at the same time Salomé walked over to me with a bored look on her face as she said, "Should we get this poor show done with so we can send these poor people home? They should be at home with their families, not here waiting for us to pick a ring."

"Hey I know but it can still be enjoyable for both of us," I suggested, heeding my father's words. I gestured for her to come nearer but she just raised her brow in distrust. One thing I noticed about Salomé is that she's very wary of others and it is actually quite sad, she's just constantly living her life like someone's out to get her.

She hadn't always been like this. When I first met her, she was bubbly and talkative and it's like she's a completely different person now.

"Alright then, what ring would you pick for me then?," she asked and I said, "Hmm, you always wear gold."

She nodded then I looked at the way she was eyeing all the rings one by one. I couldn't get a read on her so I took a gamble, "But you always wear gold so you want your engagement ring to be unique. Maybe a platinum band."

I let her follow me and walked her over to the engagement rings with a platinum band. She had a pensive look in her eyes but she said nothing and just looked on.