Alice watched him leave, her eyes misty. She didn't agree with the part where he said that their child would suffer because they didn't love each other. She was sure she could give all the love in the world to that baby. Even knowing that it would tie her to a bad marriage with Robert Graham, nothing could prevent her from loving Ethan without limits. She would love him so much that the last thing he would lack was love. Unlike Robert who, for whatever reasons, possibly personal ones, never approached her during her pregnancy. He left them there, abandoned, forgot about them, and showed no interest in either of them.She knew that the things Robert mentioned weren't just excuses; he was simply answering her questions. But more questions formed inside Alice, almost like complaints, as if it was necessary to have this conversation with the man who once was her husband, the father of her child.She dried her eyes and ran a hand through her hair, picked up the brochure, and left the room.
When Simon Leclerc arrived home that evening, little Maite greeted him with that charming smile, running to his feet for her father to pick her up, followed by his wife coming out to greet him. "Welcome home," she said, giving him two kisses on his lips. They settled in the living room, as every evening after he came home, and they had their afternoon tea together. "How was Alice's first day?" Sofia asked with keen interest. It was Alice's first job, and everyone was curious to know how it went. Her sisters had already talked amongst themselves, laughing at each other's comments because Alice had to work. "She was clearly surprised to learn she would work with her ex-husband. I still don't understand how Henry let them divorce." Simon couldn't fathom why Henry would allow that. "But rumors spread fast, Sofia. You hadn't told me that Graham Group now belongs to the Taylors. How did that happen?" he took a sip of his tea, looking at his wife. "Although asking is pointless. But... wa
Another day dawned and Robert wasn't feeling the same as the previous day because of his job. He thought of Ethan, not Alice.But her words were in his head."You left us."He never got to know him, except for that photo he found in that house among Alice's belongings before she went to retrieve her things. It was the only glimpse he had of his son, plus that room that neither of them could enter after Ethan Graham Taylor's death.He took the keys and drove there, he wouldn't be early for work.The lady greeted him with much surprise seeing him there now that Alice was gone and the divorce had been finalized."Sir, I wasn't expecting you, would you like some breakfast?""Just a coffee, please.""Right away."Robert headed to that room, and when he opened the door he saw so many things ready for his son that he started to cry. He wasn't fooling himself, he still thought that baby was a mistake, he wouldn't be a good father, which was clear even to Alice. But being there in that empty
After lunch, Simon summoned Alice, wanting to know if she had any information about Robert, who on his second day of work had already been absent without making a call or anything of the sort.Samantha opened the door for her to enter, but Alice stood by her side, looking at the black, thick hair that fell over her shoulders."Nice hair," Alice remarked, noticing that she wore it down."Thank you." Samantha looked inside, urging her to come in."Hello, Simon." This time he stood up, leaving everything he was doing to greet and pay attention to his little sister-in-law. "How are you?""How are you? Yesterday you looked very surprised, it was obvious that neither of you knew you would be working together. How are you? Tense? Distressed? Angry? I hope you don't have the same fits of rage as your older sister, because I don't want you to burn down the company every time you get stressed with your ex-husband." They both laughed, recalling the time Sofia decided burning everything was the b
"Have you never been to his grave?" Simon loved driving his comfortable car. He felt happy every time he went out in it; he could almost fall asleep every time he sat in its comfy seats. It was a gift from his uncle, as he had to travel frequently. He loved comfort, or he'd get stressed; he would stress horribly. "No, I've never been there.""Sofia told me you never met him, Robert.""I didn't make it to Ethan's birth. I didn't plan to.""And what were you doing?""I was with... my mistress.""A classic villain move, right? I'm starting to understand why Sofia detests you. Alice should too, and you should hate yourself.""Everyone already does, Simon. You should too.""And why didn't you plan to attend your son's birth?""I don't have an answer to that which you'd understand without having to explain many other things. So I'd rather just say I didn't want to. That's it; that's the answer you'll get." For someone who loved to talk, he didn't want to discuss this. The Taylor family m
That afternoon, Alice went straight to Jared's house to surprise him when he got home from work. She chatted with the nurse in the living room for a bit and then locked herself in his room.On the bed, she looked at her things as she undressed to take a bath. Her legs hurt from the exercises, but she liked how she felt. She looked in Jared's wardrobe, seeing each and every one of his shirts with very similar colors, as if only the shade changed. This made her smile a little.Naked, she looked in the bathroom. There were many of his personal items and only one toothbrush from Alice. She tied her hair up high, and that reminded her of Samantha.Why her?That simple thing had her a bit frustrated, more than anything to avoid thinking about the recent conversations with Robert Graham.She didn't like him mentioning Ethan, and she didn't want to talk about him. Not because she didn't remember him, not because she didn't want to remember him, but having Robert mention him hurt her deeply. S
Simon's action made one thing very clear to Robert.His son might be alive!There were many signs he felt that day, from the hospital's refusal to disclose any information to the absence of his son's grave. Even Simon, who carefully concealed his surprise upon reading those documents, the way he disposed of them and refused to get involved in the matter.Every single one of these things alerted Robert Graham. How could it not? What was the mystery?But he knew one thing, it was time to talk to his ex-wife. Although he felt he might be jumping to conclusions in assuming Ethan was alive, he also believed it could be something else, perhaps just nerves, but definitely something less serious than...their son being stolen! And he...wasn't there.He decided to talk to Alice. In just one day, he had hit many walls, and Simon was the only one who might know something, yet he said nothing!Seated in his living room, he waited for Alice. His mother tried to make conversation while they waited, b
He was outside his house, in the car, waiting for the call with the last details.Simon had quickly analyzed the negative impact all this could have on the Leclercs. What part of the importance of those dates did the Taylors not understand?If he looked at it emotionally, his heart shrank thinking that those parents didn't know where their baby was or didn't have the certainty that he was alive.His worry was that Robert Graham already knew, he had no proof, but he knew.The first thing Simon did since Robert left his office that afternoon was to call Henry, but he didn’t answer. He tried a bit more, but the matter was very urgent because Robert Graham was a ticking time bomb.Why had Henry Taylor brought him into the company?! Why had he brought that huge problem to him?!Without getting any answers and seeing the danger Robert posed, Simon Leclerc began to act on his own, he couldn’t wait for it to be too late when Henry Taylor decided to fix things.It was his duty to prevent disas