Antony quickly walked towards Giovanna and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her away from everyone without any ceremony.“What do you think you’re doing?” she forced him to let go of her, now outside the office.“Preventing you from making a foolish mistake,” he said, staring at her too closely. “You don’t even know if they’re telling the truth or if there’s another will, which I doubt my father made.”“That guy inside claims to be your brother,” her comment infuriated Antony. “And he looks a lot like Nicolau.”Antony almost opened his mouth to insult her, but he gave up. He had many other things on his mind to discuss with Giovanna and couldn’t afford to waste more time.“It seems you’ve recovered very quickly from last night’s illness,” he was ironic because he knew it annoyed Giovanna, “funny that Matteo, whom you claim to be the father of this child, has no knowledge of your pregnancy.”Antony’s comment made Giovanna’s blood freeze in her veins. She turned red, like a child caught
Antony’s secretary watched the situation apprehensively. She saw Giovanna slowly waking up and opening her eyes, completely confused. A sigh of relief escaped from Antony’s lungs, but Giovanna seemed more agitated than before.“It wasn’t a nightmare.” She dragged her body across the small couch to sit up again.“You need to calm down, Giovanna,” Antony said, attempting to touch her, but Giovanna seemed afraid of his touch.He felt surprised. Was it truly terrifying for her to know she had to marry Antony again, to the point of feeling so much fear?“How can I calm down, knowing I have to marry you again?” Antony felt his mouth go dry as he heard her speak that way. “There has to be another way, Antony.”Antony ran a hand over his face, somewhat desperate and disappointed to know that Giovanna hated him.“I could kill my younger brother, whom I just met,” he suggested, and his words sent shivers down Giovanna’s spine. “And you help me hide the body.”The secretary was startled, and the
Giovanna saw it as a threat. Antony was using her pregnancy as an advantage to get what he wanted, but she wouldn’t give in so easily. She would have seventy-two hours to make him humble himself before her.“Of course, you would use this pregnancy for your own benefit,” there was deep sadness in her voice. “That’s why I didn’t tell you that the child I was expecting was yours.”Antony’s expression changed with the weight of Giovanna’s words.“You’re mistaken, Giovanna,” he whispered. “If I’m saying these things, it’s precisely because I care about your pregnancy.”“You only care about the money, Antony,” her eyes filled with tears. “You married me just to secure your father’s inheritance, and now you want to repeat the same mistake out of fear of losing everything.”Instantly, he lowered his head, as if he couldn’t say anything. Giovanna was correct, but there was something unknown about him that not even Antony could understand.“I don’t know if I can do this again,” her words made h
Giovanna hurried through the company’s corridors, not realizing that she didn’t know where she was going. She only stopped when she felt Matteo’s hands touch her, forcing her to halt. She was pale, her breathing heavy, and her body weak. He embraced her, slowly sitting her down on the bench in front of them.“What’s happening to you?” He examined her almost colorless face, lifting it, but Giovanna didn’t look at him.“I haven’t eaten since I got back from the hospital,” she replied weakly, her voice almost failing.“You were at the hospital?” The revelation startled him and, felt guilty for not being so involved in her life that he didn’t know the details.Giovanna slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. Giovanna believed that Matteo was the only one who truly cared about her. She could see it in his eyes. So she felt guilty for lying and involving him in a story that had only one foreseeable ending.“I’m so sorry,” guilt slipped through her lips, “I should have explained what happe
Xavier was concerned. He wasn't concerned about Nicolau's will or the supposed half-brother, but about the effect of Giovanna's new marriage on her life.“You never told me that this young man was showing interest in you,” he decided to break the tension that surely haunted her. “What are his true intentions?”But there was weight in Xavier’s words, and Giovanna felt it.“Why does it matter now?” she asked, a bit annoyed. “I’m pregnant with Antony’s child and about to marry him again. Even if Matteo were the love of my life, I could never be with him.”“Do you love him?” the question came with a hurried and concerned tone.Giovanna stared into Xavier’s eyes as if lost in the answer. When she finally spoke, the words came out slowly and with a sad tone.“I don’t love him,” she lowered her gaze to her hands, observing her whitened fingers. “Matteo is a good man; he even agreed to raise a child that isn’t his just to be with me. But I can’t accept that.”Xavier carefully analyzed her wor
Antony glared at Giovanna with fury. There was a satisfied smile on her beautiful face, which Antony found insulting. He also smiled when he realized Andreas was watching for his reaction. He walked up to Giovanna, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her away.“Are you going to drag me like I’m some object every time you’re upset?”He let go of her when they reached an empty hallway of the building. Antony had a stony gaze and pondered what to do about it.“What do you intend with this, Giovanna?” The question seemed obvious. “Do you want to humiliate me in front of everyone with this ridiculous talk of engagement and formal proposal?”“Do you think you can marry me like you did the first time, Antony?” she asked when the smile disappeared from her beautiful face, and a shadow appeared on it. “If you want me to accept your proposal, you’ll have to do it my way. And remember, you have less than seventy-two hours.”“Do you want me to pretend to everyone that I’m in love with you?” An ir
Antony entered Ricardo’s room, who was already eagerly awaiting his brief visit. He jumped out of his chair, almost losing his balance. He looked like an old man with wide-open eyes, eagerly waiting for Antony to confess all the recent events of the day.“I came to congratulate you,” he used irony, hoping to lighten the tension on Ricardo’s shoulders, “I’m going to marry Giovanna again.”He sighed heavily, as if it was difficult for him to say those words. He averted his gaze and got lost in his thoughts.However, Ricardo couldn’t understand how this had all happened.“How are you going to marry Giovanna?” he stammered, his voice struggling to come out. “What does Giovanna and this marriage have to do with the appearance of your new half-brother?”“Stepbrother,” he corrected, raising a finger to make it clear, “Nicolau left a second will, as if he knew that after his death, I would divorce Giovanna. If I don’t marry her within seventy-two hours, I’ll lose everything to that bastard ki
Giovanna was scorned. She watched Matteo without responding, her head down, constantly touching her face, trying to control herself. When she finally tried to justify herself, approaching and opening her mouth to contest, an explosion occurred.“What are you going to tell me?” His widened eyes startled Giovanna, who instinctively moved away to protect herself. “That this marriage will be a lie or that in two years you will separate, finally, to be together?”She swallowed hard. She wished to tell him that yes, this marriage with Antony was a huge farce just to keep Nicolau’s inheritance in his hands, but she knew she couldn’t.“I’m so sorry, Matteo,” she said sincerely. “I had no intention of hurting you.”“So, you’re really going to marry him?” There was a lot of indignation in Matteo’s tone of voice.“Yes,” she replied, her voice almost faltering completely, “the wedding is in a day.”At that moment, Matteo knew that something very wrong was happening. There was no happiness on Giov