Chapter 116I Need YouThe night wore an inky blackness as Tania slipped silently into her apartment, looking around as she closed the door behind her. She had been laying low, not attending any social functions and avoiding social media; anything that might put Vega on a hint about her location. Deep inside, however, she knew it was only a matter of time before he got a hint of her location.She had let her game plan miscarry and Vega made it a point to take care of people who let him down.She had just breathed when, out of the blue, a sudden knock, sharp and clear, boomed in the apartment.Tania froze. Her heart galloped away like a racehorse on a track.She walked up to the peephole and saw the silhouetted forms of two men in dark suits, standing there, their faces cold and unrelenting. Vega's men."Open up, Tania. Mr. Vega wants a little chat, " one of them yelled out, the voice muffled though commanding.Panic choked her as she took a step back from the door, her mind racing
Chapter 117The thin light that filtered in through the curtains and a heavy weight of regret that finally woke Miguel. Sitting up in bed, he rubbed his eyes, and with the feel of cold waves, reality came crashing in. Tania lay next to him, still fast asleep, serenity etched across her face in the soft light of morning. How did this happen?He hadn't planned on any of this either, Tania just sort of showed up, her desperate plea, the way she'd leaned into him, looked at him as if he was the only one who could save her.It seeped into his defenses; some twisted replay of their old story, the one he thought he'd left behind, and last night he'd given in to the pull.He silently got out of bed so as not to wake her up and went into the kitchen, where he poured some coffee.He needed something to clear his head and give him the guts to face the mess he had made. As he was pouring the coffee, the image of Ximena flashed before his eyes: her face, her confidence; confidence he'd just no
Chapter 118His lips felt the soft pressure of hers-insistent yet soft and his heart was racing, looking into her eyes bright with longing and fear alike.Not again.And he was stuck, lost in a crossfire of old memories and the weight of what was happening before them.He knew better than this. Ximena's face flashed across his mind, and his grip on reality almost surfaced.But then Tania's fingers trailed over his shoulder, and all the years they'd shared seemed to sweep in like a haze. Her voice was a whispered promise in his ear. "I missed you, Miguel. I thought I'd lost you forever."Her tone was laced with vulnerability, one that might have washed away some of the bitterness between them.Almost.Without intention, he found his response, hands slipping to her waist, his mind clouded.She was achingly familiar, the feel of her presence, the touch; he felt his defenses weakening. Tania leaned in once more, and this time, he didn't draw away.The kiss deepened as hurt and anger of
Chapter 119A Heart DividedMiguel cruised through the city, trying to sort his head out. He had one place to go: Ximena's office. Feeling guilty with what happened last night, he knew this was going to be hard, but he needed to confess the truth to her.With the car going at full speed, he clutched onto the steering wheel tightly, the picture of Tania still fresh in his mind.He then parked outside Antonio's Group and went upstairs; each step weighed more than the previous.With every passing minute, his chest tightened, the thought of facing Ximena terrifying and inevitable.The time he reached her office, he was raw with nerves.He found her behind the desk, her eyes steady as she raised them from her work.She smiled warmly the moment she saw him. Her eyes lit up in that way that always quickened his pulse.And there it was again, the guilt more insistent than ever. She had a right to know."Miguel!" Ximena exclaimed, laying down her pen. "I wasn't expecting you so early.""Xim
Chapter 120Tangled LoyaltiesHis day had been one long guilt trip and the painful memory of Ximena's face. Miguel's phone lay silent on the table, he had called, yet at each ring she didn't answer. He had blown the trust they shared, and he couldn't blame her for steering clear of him. The longer the hours passed, the more he was reminded of his mistakes..He plunged into his work in utter desperation for his lost focus.Papers, documents, files; all lay scattered on his desk as he tried diverting his mind.But the echo of Tania's voice and the hurt of Ximena would not be silenced by reports and sheets of accounts.Just when he was beginning to think he'd go mad with the silence, his phone buzzed.His heart was racing with the thought that it might be Ximena, but a glance at the screen quickly showed otherwise.Tania.He almost let it go to voicemail but decided to answer. "Tania, what do you want?""Miguel," she said, her voice soft, almost timid. "I know I'm probably the last pe
Chapter 121 Cracks in the Foundation Nerves curled tight in his chest, Miguel walked down the office halls. This meeting with Ximena felt like his last shot at making things right with her, but with every step closer to her office, he felt more and more doubt. He had hurt her deeply, and the memory of her hurt gaze the last time they'd spoken simply wouldn't clear from his mind. He entered her office, where Ximena was already seated at her desk, her attention on some document before her. She did not turn back but gestured toward the chair opposite her, composed-but not a degree of warmth in her. Miguel went ahead and sat, feeling his stomach twist into knots from tension between them. She finally looked up, her eyes locked into his. "Miguel, I'm here to clarify things only. There's no point in dragging this out if we are on different pages." Her voice was steely professional; the warmth they had once shared replaced with a firm wall. Miguel swallowed and nodded. "I under
Chapter 122 The Final Test Miguel fell backward into his chair, Tania's last words ringing ominously in his mind. The memory was disturbing to him. He'd thought that breaking contact with her would bring relief, a sense of control restored, but her warning left a residual doubt. Tania wasn't that kind of girl who went quietly; she was one of the chaos variety, and he was scared to think of the ways she still could wrangle things. With a calming breath, Miguel checked his time and found that he would soon be sitting down with Ximena. He needed to take Tania out of his mind. This was his chance to show Ximena that he was serious-that he actually was prepared to fix the damage he'd caused, not just to their relationship but to the business they were creating. Rising from his chair, Miguel straightened his tie and headed down the hall, the weight of the day pressing down on him. As he entered the conference room, Ximena was already there, speaking in a low tone with Marco and
Chapter 123 A Delicate BalanceThere was the fact, of course, that since Tania's recent reappearance, complete with her erratic behavior, he had hardly slept a wink. She'd messed up her deal with Vega and was now on the run from his anger, but desperation, he knew, could drive her to any lengths and right now, she just so happened to want him.Ximena had made it clear she needed him to focus on Antonio's Group, and he wasn't about to blow her trust a second time.Then his phone beeped with a reminder from Ximena of a meeting that afternoon with one of their biggest clients, an opportunity to reinforce stability and reassure them into the company's direction.And then, after the mayhem caused by Vega's network, they needed to prove their firm was strong and united.---The atmosphere in Antonio's Group, as Miguel walked in, was tense, though hopefully so.Employees were busy, trying to cope with huge fallouts of Vega's recent attacks;He could see Ximena no less than a force herself,
Chapter 165: The Final ReckoningThe night was unusually still, the quiet broken only by the occasional distant car passing by. Ximena had fallen into a light sleep, her body exhausted from the strain of the past few days. But the sudden sound of a floorboard creaking in her apartment jolted her awake.Her heartbeat made a sudden jump to her throat and she glanced toward the living room. The darkness caused by the streetlights outside only appeared to make things even more quiet.The man standing in the doorway leading into the living room was plain to see.Tania.She was standing there, gripping the gun firmly, her eyes were wide open and looked like they had gone mad. Ximena looked paralyzed with a cold feeling running around her body.“Well, well, here we are meeting in person,” Tania spat out her words and was clearly angry. “I knew this would be the moment every time. You never thought that I could do them, did you?”Ximena’s heart beat faster, but she did not allow her tone to
Chapter 164: A Dangerous EncounterMiguel’s fists connected with the first thug’s jaw with a sickening thud, sending the man stumbling back, his head snapping to the side. Ximena watched from her car, her breath caught in her throat. The sound of the scuffle was echoing down the alley, but she couldn't hear anything except for the pure power and perfection in Miguel's movements.He moved like a force of nature: his muscular frame twisting and turning, his every strike landing with purpose. The men surrounding him tried to overpower him, but Miguel was relentless, fury behind each punch.The night air crackled with energy, and Ximena felt a weird mix of terror and awe. She'd never seen this side of him before, yet it didn't faze her.It was the man she'd married once; the man who would go to any length to protect what he loved.In one leap, one of the thugs pounced on him with a crowbar. However, Miguel was quicker, dodging and managing to sweep a leg to drop him to the ground. In o
Chapter 163: The Return of TaniaShe stared at the photo in her hand, her heart racing wildly. How had they gotten this photo? Who watched her? She felt her stomach clench as the creeping feeling of vulnerability clawed at her.Miguel had been supportive, but even his presence could not erase the gnawing anxiety that had settled deep inside her. She could still feel the weight of his comforting words from earlier, but they did little to quell the storm brewing in her mind.Tania had kept silent for too long, and now it was as if the calm had been no more than the quiet before the storm.Miguel had insisted on staying the night, refusing to let Ximena face this alone. Now, as they sat together in her living room, Miguel was talking about taking extra precautions for her safety, adding security to her apartment, increasing surveillance around the office, but Ximena wasn't fully listening.She had heard the same promises before, and while she appreciated them, she couldn’t help but fe
Chapter 162: Shadows ReturnThe next morning, Ximena was back to work, sitting at her desk, her hands fastened on the lid of the portable computer, her fingers drumming the wooden top of the laptop. He had seen her typing away again, probably trying to complete the quarterly reports so that the board meeting in the morning would not consume all the time. Her head was not in the numbers; she was constantly thinking about the peculiarities that had been bothering her all week.The first time she’d noticed it, she thought that perhaps she was imagining it. He had seen a black sedan parked across the street from her building for two consecutive days and the face of the driver was hidden behind the tinted glass. It could have been nothing, but then there were the phone calls; two in the last two days; both of which rang only twice before the line went dead as soon as she picked up.She tried to dismiss it as a mere fluke and went on to telling herself that there was really no need for
Chapter 161: A New NormalXimena sat down comfortably in her chair and looked at the numbers that target the company’s financial performance in the following quarter. The numbers, as he could see, were fine, were good, in fact, were more than good. The Group was on its way up again in Antonio’s life. Things were finally getting a little less insane, and Ximena was able to concentrate.This lack of drama seemed to them in some way wrong, even unnatural. Living on a daily edge, ready to face the next storm, she found the lack of tumult... dangerous. But was this not what she had wanted?Her phone was ringing on the desk and she had to remove herself from her line of thinking. A message from Clara lit up the screen: “Meeting at 11:30. Coffee on the way.”Ximena, still smiling, thanked her. “Thanks, lifesaver.”Clara was not wrong, after a year, the world seemed to have returned to its normal state.Miguel came to see her later in the morning that same day with a box of pastries and a
Chapter 160: Shadows Closing InMiguel paced back and forth, his frustration evident in the sharp clicks of his shoes against the polished floor. “She’s up to something. She always is. But I can’t risk dismissing this if it’s tied to Vega.”Ximena crossed her arms over her chest, easing back into her chair. "You're giving her too much credit. This is Tania we're talking about; a master manipulator. She wants you to believe she's our ally just so she can stay close."Miguel stopped pacing and faced her. "What if this time she's telling the truth?"What if she isn't?" Ximena shot back. "Every time we let her in, she leaves chaos in her wake."______________________________________Late that afternoon, Gregorio joined them in Ximena's office. His arrival brought much-needed clarity, though his face was as tense as theirs."I did some digging after Tania's sudden appearance," Gregorio began, placing a file on the desk. "And it seems she's not bluffing entirely."Ximena's eyes slitted a
Chapter 159: A Desperate MoveTania hesitated for a moment before turning on her heel and walking away, her laughter echoing in the empty street.Miguel turned to Ximena, his jaw tight. “Are you okay?”Ximena nodded, though her hands were still trembling. “Let’s just go.”…………………………………..Ximena was staring out the window of Miguel's car. Her reflection fluttered with the streetlights as they speed-crossed the city.Miguel has his hands clutched tight over the wheel. His knuckles were white. He glanced over to her and his jaw clenched. "You haven't said a word since we left. What is going on inside that head of yours?""What's the word of the day?" Ximena replied in a quiet tone. "That I don't want to play this any longer? That I'm tired of being a target?"Miguel let out a soft breath, his eyes remaining on the road. "You are not alone in this, you know that, right?"Ximena looked at him. "Do I? Because lately, it's feeling like I'm fighting for myself."Miguel was thinking of a come
Chapter 158: Countdown to ChaosSleep was out of the question. Ximena’s instincts told her this was more than another scare tactic.By the time the sun rose, she was already seated at her dining table with her laptop open and a steaming cup of coffee beside her. The clock ticked ominously as if counting down to an unseen disaster.Her phone buzzed, pulling her out of her thoughts. Miguel’s name lit up the screen.“Morning,” she said, trying to mask her exhaustion.“Did you sleep at all?” Miguel’s voice was tinged with concern.“Not really,” she admitted, rubbing her temples. “The message... I can’t stop thinking about it.”“Neither can I,” Miguel said. “But we have a plan, Ximena. We’re ahead of them.”“Are we?” Ximena asked, doubt creeping into her voice. “Or are we just reacting to whatever they throw at us?”Miguel caught himself and responded in a lower tone. "Meet me at Antonio's Group. Gregorio probably has more news for us."______________________________________The middle o
Chapter 157: Tightening the GripXimena sat at her desk, staring blankly at her calendar. She'd spent all morning moving meetings around, trying to make sense of a schedule that had begun to feel utterly meaningless under the mounting threats.A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. Clara peeked in, the shine gone now from her face since the events of the past couple of days."Miss Antonio, Gregorio is here," Clara said quietly.Ximena nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Send him in.”Gregorio entered, his ever-practical briefcase in hand. “Morning, Miss Antonio. Miguel should be joining us shortly. We’ve got some developments you’ll want to hear about.”Ximena gestured for him to sit. “Developments?”Before he could answer, Miguel strode into the room, his expression grim but focused.“Let’s hear it,” Miguel said, taking a seat beside Ximena.Gregorio opened his briefcase, pulled out a few files, and laid them across the desk. "We have located Vega's