Betrayal and Trust in This Could Be Us: A Theme Analysis

Introduction: The Thematic Claim

In This Could Be Us, betrayal is the force that shatters Soledad Barnes’s world, but the novel’s deeper claim is that trust, once broken, can be rebuilt from the inside out. The story argues that genuine trust begins with self-knowledge and that rebuilding requires both time and the courage to choose vulnerability again. Edward’s embezzlement, infidelity, and hidden child destroy Soledad’s faith in her marriage and in her own judgment, yet the narrative follows her painstaking journey toward trusting Judah Cross — and, more importantly, trusting herself.

The Fracture: Edward’s Betrayal

The initial betrayal arrives in two devastating blows. First, Soledad learns from her doctor that she has contracted chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection she could only have received from Edward, her husband of nearly twenty years. The news hits her like a physical blow: “The hurt settles like sediment, sinking all the way to the bottom of me, and solidifies into rage” (chapter 8). She realizes that Edward’s late nights and emotional distance were not business but infidelity. The infection is not merely a medical fact; it symbolizes how betrayal contaminates even the most intimate bond.

Second, when Soledad visits Edward in prison, she discovers that his mistress, Amber, has given birth to his child — a baby girl with “Lupe’s eyes. Edward’s eyes” (chapter 33). The secret child compounds the financial theft Edward masterminded, stealing millions from the Callahan Corporation and leaving Soledad and their daughters vulnerable. The betrayal is total: financial, emotional, and physical.

This triple shattering (embezzlement, affair, hidden child) forces Soledad to question whether the man she married ever existed. She confesses to Judah, “I’m just glad I saw him for what he was” (chapter 33). The fracture is complete, and from this wreckage, the theme of trust must be rebuilt.

The Cautious Rebuilding: Three Plot Milestones

1. Choosing to Trust Judah with the Evidence

After the arrest, Soledad possesses a USB drive containing Edward’s hidden financial records — proof that strengthens the case against him. Despite her justified suspicion of everyone, she gives the drive to Judah, saying, “I have to trust someone. I choose you” (chapter 11). This moment marks the first conscious act of trust toward another person after the betrayal. Judah recognizes the weight of her choice: “I want to be worthy of it.” Soledad’s decision is not naive; she has assessed Judah’s competence and integrity, and she retains the drive until she extracts a promise that her family will be protected.

2. The Conditional Physical Encounter

Weeks later, Soledad initiates a physical relationship with Judah, but she sets strict boundaries. She tells him, “This is a one-time offer. If I want to do it again, I’ll ask you again” (chapter 33). This condition reveals her need to maintain control after having lost it entirely. Judah, though longing for more, honors her limits. During their intimate moment in chapter 37, Soledad admits, “I’m learning to trust myself again,” and when Judah asks if she is learning to trust him, she answers, “Maybe I’m learning to trust us both.” This middle stage of rebuilding is tentative and fragile. Soledad experiments with trust, testing both Judah’s respect and her own capacity to open up.

3. Full Trust in the Epilogue

By the epilogue, Soledad has fully integrated the lesson of trust. She reflects, “I suffered a betrayal so devastating it could have hardened me, could have taught me to withhold my heart. Instead, I have learned to save my heart for one worthy of it” (chapter 49). The epilogue shows her at peace, confident in her love for Judah and in herself. The journey from shattered trust to wholehearted love is complete, and the key was self-love: “I now realize you can risk loving completely when you completely love yourself.”

Character and Symbol Connections

Soledad Barnes undergoes the most significant arc. Her trust moves from blind faith in Edward to suspicion, to cautious risk with Judah, and finally to earned trust grounded in self-worth. Judah Cross proves trustworthy by his patience: he refuses to become “revenge sex” and waits for Soledad to choose him for the right reasons. Edward Barnes represents the antithesis of trust — a man who used charm as a weapon and betrayed everyone who believed in him.

The Rubik’s Cube is a central symbol for the theme. In chapter 7, Judah watches Soledad cube with his autistic son Aaron, recognizing her patience and ability to engage with complexity. The cube’s layers and patterns mirror the puzzle of trust: it must be solved systematically, and each face depends on the others. Soledad’s ability to connect with Aaron through the cube signals her capacity to approach trust with the same careful strategy.

The purple motorcycle (mentioned in the symbols page) can be read as Soledad’s emblem of independence and movement — a vehicle for self-discovery that allows her to rebuild trust on her own terms. Similarly, the pilón and Puerto Rican flag ground her identity, reminding her (and the reader) that she has roots and a heritage that Edward could not steal.

Complexity and Contradiction

The novel does not present trust as a simple binary of broken or restored. It examines the contradiction between Soledad’s desire for autonomy and her equally strong desire for connection. She announces a “self-partnering” journey, yet she finds herself drawn to Judah. Judah himself observes that her insistence on control is an “illusion” (chapter 33). The story honors both impulses: Soledad must learn to be alone before she can truly be with someone else.

Another layer of complexity is that Edward, despite his villainy, is not a cartoon. He loved his children in his way, and his final act — admitting the affair — allows Soledad to move forward. The novel refuses to demonize him completely, which makes the theme more nuanced: betrayal can coexist with flawed humanity.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Edward’s betrayal specifically affect Soledad’s ability to trust others?
   The betrayal shatters her confidence in her judgment. She realizes she ignored intuition for two years. She becomes hypervigilant, needing to control every step of her new relationship with Judah. Yet she also learns that not everyone is Edward; Judah’s consistent respect helps her differentiate.

2. What role does self-trust play in Soledad’s arc?
   Self-trust is the foundation. She says, “I’m learning to trust myself again” during the intimate scene. By the epilogue, she states she had to “find myself first” and “honor myself.” Only after trusting her own instincts can she offer trust to Judah without losing herself.

3. How does the Rubik’s Cube symbolize the theme of trust?
   The cube represents a solvable but intricate puzzle. Soledad’s patience with Aaron and the cube impresses Judah and shows her ability to work through layers. Trust, like the cube, requires moving pieces in the right order; one wrong turn can reset progress, but persistence leads to resolution.

4. Why does Soledad initially insist on a one-time physical encounter with Judah?
   She needs to feel in control after Edward’s betrayal stripped her of agency. By setting conditions, she avoids repeating the pattern of blindly giving herself away. Judah respects her boundary, which actually proves his trustworthiness and allows her to later relax her guard.

5. In what ways does Judah demonstrate that he is worthy of Soledad’s trust?
   He prioritizes her autonomy over his desires. He rejects the idea of being “revenge sex” and tells her, “I’m not sure how I feel about being your revenge sex, Sol.” He defends her reputation to the Callahan board, trusts her with sensitive investigation details, and gives her space to discover herself without pressure.