Chapter 73Secrets and LiesMiguel woke up, the sun filtered through the window in his bedroom. As consciousness emerged, so did the recollections of the previous night. The feel of Tania’s skin, her smell, the kiss they had shared – all these feelings washed over him in a whirl of mixed feelings.He rolled to the side, hoping to find her there, but there was only a cold sheet waiting for him. Tania had disappeared, all that remained of her was the smell of her perfume and the conscience of what happened.Miguel rubbed his face and had the kind of feeling that could only come after a victory. What he’d done was wrong, he knew that. The guilt grew inside him, the feeling of Ximena and the developing intimacy between them sickening to his stomach. And yet… a part of him couldn’t help but feel a thrill at the memory of Tania in his arms again.Sweeping the thoughts aside, Miguel dragged himself out of bed. He had a company to run, after all. A company operating under a significant pr
Chapter 74Damage ControlThe Antonio Group head office was in disarray; phones ringing nonstop, employees talking to each other in huddles in muted tones, and palpable tension filled the air. In the eye of this storm stood Ximena in her office, where she couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the screen of the TV."Corporate espionage?" she said quietly, nodding. "This can't be happening."A knock on the door pulled her out from her reverie. Miguel opened the door and rushed in looking like crazy, completely disoriented.'‘Ximena, I can explain,'’ he started saying, but she interrupted him."What can you explain, Miguel? We are being accused of stealing trade secrets from our company? How are we now the star attraction in the media circus? Her voice was sharp, and she had both anger and fear in her.Miguel rubbed the back of his head; the usual assured timbre was absent. "It's Tania. She set us up."Ximena's eyes narrowed. "Tania? What has she got to do with this?Carlos entered be
Chapter 75Turbulent HeartsThe next day, fay....Ximena was at her office desk staring at the early morning mist that was slowly filling the sky over Mexico City. She had been there all night analyzing reports and future scenarios in a bid to try and look for some way out of the mess they had landed themselves in. The current global economic crisis could not have arrived at a worse time for the Antonio Group.A light knock on the door brought her back from her thoughts. Looking round she saw Miguel coming towards her, with two cups of coffee in the saucers.“You seem to need this,” he whispered and handed her a cup.She took it; their fingers touched- the most shattering shock passed through her. Their eyes met for a second, and at that moment, Ximena's heart missed a beat. She snapped her head around, ticking off the swirl of attraction. “Thank you,” she said quietly, hiding behind the glass from which she had barely drunk. "Any news?"Miguel's face turned serious. "Robert has ju
Chapter 76The Shareholders' GambitThe next day, in her office, Ximena stood in front of her mirror, fixing her blazer and inhaling and exhaling at the same time in order to calm her racing heart.Before Miguel entered, there was a soft knock on the door, Miguel had walked into the room. Gorgeous in his black suit and tie, she could notice from his look that they had both had little rest."Ready for this?" He asked; his voice was a mix of concern and encouragement.Ximena looked at him in the mirror and could afford a small smile. "As ready as I'll ever be. You?"He pulled her closer and grabbed her shoulders gently. The heat from his touch started to flow all the way down to her tailbone. "With you beside me? Bring it on."She looked at him, drawing closer, enough that their lips were almost touching. At that moment the weight of the day’s load disappeared and there was only them. Ximena moved closer, closing the gap between them and both of their mouths touched gently in a comforti
Chapter 77Tania’s POVYou know that feeling when it seemed like it was just this close to reaping everything you ever wanted? It feels like all of your plans fall into place, and finally - but there's still this little thing there that tells you, well, something's gonna go wrong. That was me, having worked hard to be where I was, but there in the back of my mind was this nagging fear.But I had a plan. I always did.Sitting in my car, I watched the office building of Antonio's Group through the tinted windows. I had done my homework. I knew every move Ximena was making, and I wasn't about to let her steal my man again.She really thought that just because she was all dolled up in some sort of suit, just because her name was on the bottom of some company logo, she could just waltz back in and take what was mine. No. Not happening.I gave up so much for Miguel. And for what? So I could be pushed aside like I was nothing because of that three-year contract marriage? It should have been
Chapter 78Making It RightHe sat at his desk, staring at the reports in front of him, but not really focusing on them. As had become too customary, far too much lately, his mind whisked back to Ximena, haunted by how it all went wrong in their marriage and just how badly he had failed her. The absence of Ximena hit him terribly; he missed everything about her, and that gnawed at him.He'd wanted to set it right, needed to, but every time he did it was like the gap between them opened wider.Then, just then, the door was raped by a knock, and that jerked him back to the present. His heart went into overdrive as Ximena walked in. Her blond hair slicked back, her blue eyes keen and wary.It was the mantle of authority she wore now, an assured businesswoman that he had once thought couldn't survive without him. He knew better."Miguel," she said coolly and lowly. "We need to talk."He rose, unable to shake off the feeling that this wasn't a conversation which was going to go exactly as
Chapter 79The MoleThe next morning, Ximena sat at her desk looking out the window at the city’s silhouette in the Mexico City fog. It was quite clear that she almost did not look at it a second time.She found herself back in Miguel’s office and was drowned in the memories of that kiss.Their gentle pressure against her own lips, the grasping of her shoulders, some part of her waking up.And she kissed him back.She touched her lips one more time with her fingers as if to remove the bad memory that was just formed. She shouldn't have done that. That was wrong. It didn’t matter, it was just a flaw. She scolded the inner soul but she knew that it wasn’t completely true.She felt like kissing him. She hated to admit it, but she still had feelings for Miguel - feelings she could not stop no matter how hard she tried to bury them. But she was going to try not to fall into that trap again. She had let him hurt her once. And she was not going to let him do it again.You don't get to make
Chapter 80Tania’s POVI sat at the bar, tracing my fingers around the rim of my glass of wine, trying to steady myself. It's usually the low hum of conversation, clinking glasses, soothing me, but tonight nothing felt right. The red wine in front of me tasted bitter, not as rich and indulgent as it should taste. I wasn't sure whether it was the wine or just the taste of failure creeping up my throat.It was all supposed to go so smoothly: take down Antonio's Group, prop up Vega Investments, and at the end of the rainbow, I would have it all: Miguel, the company, and the satisfaction of watching Ximena disappear. Of late, though, things had felt out of my grasp.Most especially Miguel.I sighed deeply, having taken another sip of my wine, and tried to push those thoughts away. He'd been pulling away from me ever since Ximena reentered his life, and I hated it. Because of her, Miguel broke up with me.Every time I saw that look in his eyes when he said her name, I felt like I was los
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