If you have some empathy for Esteban, you’re not alone. Fair warning—there are triggers and spoilers in this posting. Skip this blog if you haven’t finished reading book 3.
The first person to tell me she felt sad for Esteban was my sister, Sam-mone.
This was her text message.
Sam-mone: Reading today. So now I feel bad for Esteban!! He and Maceo’s mom were in love and he had to give up his child.
I think any empathetic human would feel some pity for Esteban’s brokenhearted history, and as romance readers, most of us, on some level, are emotional beings, hence why we read romance. We feel too much and can understand another’s pain, absorbing emotions like a sponge, whether they are ours or another’s. We know we should hate Esteban, and we want to, but his backstory can cloud our judgment. Let me explain.
Esteban is a vile man, capable of doing horrendous transgressions against others. We see him hunt, extort, hurt, manipulate, and murder people. He is a drug lord, trafficking his poison all over the world. He has no qualm with abducting a woman, slipping her medication to abort any potential pregnancy, chaining her in a room, forcing himself on her, and demanding her submission. You really should hate him, but still, it’s romanticized in Esteban’s sadistic head.
Esteban does not dispute his obsession with Gabriella; he’s actually quite vocal about it. To him, this is love—if this woman has somehow captivated his attention to such an extreme, it must be love. There is a definite parallel here between him and Maceo; like father, like son. But how the two go about it is completely different. Esteban controls his partner with fear tactics and head manipulation while Maceo uses love languages that speak to his partner—acts of service, words of affirmation, and physical touch.
But my sister’s statement still pops in our heads. Why?
Cue the flashbacks. All the background information is given to the reader from two men’s perspectives: Esteban and Cruz. The journal written by Cruz paints the crime and Esteban’s reminiscing describes the “relationship.” Gabriella’s abduction and entrapment are facts. Her forced abortion is a fact. Her rape is a fact. Her emotions…unclear, aside from legitimate fear and what was described by the two men.
Did she love Cruz? Yes, because she was engaged to him prior to being taken. She even told him she loved him and their family when he reached the hospital after she had given birth. She died sacrificing herself to protect her husband. That’s how much she loved Cruz.
So did she love Esteban?
This is the meaty question.
As I stated above, Esteban used manipulation on his victims. He was very good at it too. After imprisoning Gabriella, he restrained her and had his way with her. He did this repeatedly. Oh, but he loosened the restraints, showering her with affection, showing her how she’d be treated if she submitted. This is a common tactic that many abductors use on their abductees. People in these situations see the difference in treatment and often choose the option that is less painful. Some victims even develop feelings for their abductor—this is Stockholm Syndrome, and it’s not uncommon.
Esteban brainwashed Gabriella into believing she loved him while imprisoned. Living in denial was her way of coping with her situation.
When the reader is only hearing one side of the story, from Esteban’s point of view, it’s easy to only focus on his emotions and not the victim’s—that’s how good of a manipulator he truly is. Hell, he even has himself convinced that Gabriella loved him too. Josephine was no different—she learned real quick not to anger Esteban. Esteban knew he could control Jo by threatening to do harm to others, since he couldn’t harm her the way he wanted because she was pregnant—manipulative control at its finest.
If you take a deeper look into Gabriella’s actions when Esteban is recalling the past, you can see her fear. She trembles in his presence, panic clear in her face and in her body language. No puedo means I can’t in Spanish, and Gabriella repeatedly says this to Esteban when he returns for her.
Without writing a chapter from Gabriella’s perspective, interpretation of this statement can only be deciphered by reading between the lines. One, she is refusing Esteban’s request to go with him verbally. But two, she is actually having an internal battle, telling herself not to fall back into his trap where he can manipulate her again. That’s how strong of a pull he has on her, how deep he got into her psyche while imprisoned, that she has to remind herself that her feelings for him weren’t real.
A master manipulator can read a person and play on those emotions, even through the pages of a book. So if you felt sad reading Esteban’s backstory, you’re not alone. It is easy to be another victim of Esteban’s deception.
Attached are visuals of what Esteban looks like in my head. Enjoy!
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