Sixty-Three

The van was ready and people climbed in. The Señor and the Chairman were in front, with the latter driving.

There was a separate car for some of the usual men who casually accompanied Eric’s father—her father-in-law now. These were, of course, his bodyguards. Father and son had bodyguards whenever they were outside the hacienda. In the past ten days, she went out with Eric several times to shop or simply dine out on a date. And though there wasn’t an obvious escort, she could spot the very same men with Eric when he had to go to work loitering not too far away from them as they shopped, but surrounding them.

Aside from the bodyguards, Eric bought her jewelry, new clothes, and her own laptop and gadgets.

It was like the moment she accepted the marriage proposal, although she had imposed conditions, there was no doubt she had become the woman of a Quiroz.

A part of her knew that insisting on being her old self would not help her transition into her new role as a Quiroz wife, so she let