“With Manny around, he was exposed to an entirely side of Ana. All they talked about now. the little they saw each other, was Manny and the terrible things he did to her. Manny smacked her, Manny kicked her, Manny called her a fat twat, Manny cheated on her.” P.44
This quote in the book really illustrated the reality of this twisted love triangle. On one hand you have Oscar who is in love with Ana Obregón and would treat her well. However, Ana has a boyfriend, Manny, who is abusive and treats Ana very poorly. Ana sees Manny come back from the army and quickly goes back to him. Manny disrespects Ana by calling her names, cheating on her, and physically abusing her. Oscar advises her to break up with Manny, Ana claims that she knows she should, but she really loves Manny. Ana talks about her sex life with Oscar and other things about Manny which Oscar probably hates hearing about. This quote tells us all the bad things that Manny has done to Ana, all those actions are basically domestic abuse, and for some reason Ana continues to be with Manny. Looking at the relationship from an outside perspective, Ana really should leave Manny since he is treating her so badly, but if we think about it from Ana’s perspective, love can be a really influential force for someone. Even if Manny isn’t treating Ana well, she still loves him and she can’t get herself to leave him even if she is suffering. Because of this, Oscar has to suffer as well since he is clearly in love with Ana yet she decides to stay with a boyfriend who abuses her.
I agree with your opinion of there being an existing love triangle between Oscar, Ana and Manny. I would add that more than anything, Oscar is on the outside looking in on Ana and Manny’s relationship. He’s basically been friendzoned by Ana despite the fact that they interact really well. The two of them earlier in the chapter are described as having clicked almost instantly with no awkwardness as they would laugh and converse over anything whenever they saw each other and on the phone. I think its also important how Ana treats Oscar too. Her being comfortable discussing her sex life freely and without restraint to Oscar can be looked at as intentional disrespect and cementing of Oscar having no shot whatsoever with her despite his fantasies.