"‘I just want to know,’” Mayte murmured. It was obviously a lie, because Lori could barely hear her voice.
“May, go find another man. Don’t listen to your father; don’t accept his arranged marriage. Look for a man you truly love out there. You won’t be able to forget Ed if you stay with the man your father chose for you!” Lori couldn’t take it anymore.
She was aware that her father had arranged Mayte's engagement. The engagement ended due to the man's aggressive behavior, which almost led to Mayte's death. He was abusive, and they weren’t even married yet. If Mayte continued to stick around the trash her father shoved at her, she would never find another man.
“May.” Lori snapped her fingers in front of Mayte’s face, who seemed lost in thought.
Mayte shook her head. “I couldn’t find him. You don’t understand. Ed… He seems tough, but he’s gentle and
"Huh?" Mia couldn’t quite process it, staring agape and speechless.Ed seized the moment to explain everything in full, including about AJ. Sooner or later, Mia had to know."I’m going to marry Ruby after this, and we’ll be living here with AJ as well," Ed concluded his explanation."You… you…" Mia stood up, pointing with a trembling hand. Too furious."You're crazy! You’re insane!" Mia screamed."Not really. I made my choice, and it’s not Liz. You hate Liz, don’t you? So it’s just right. I don’t see any reason for you to—""SHE DECEIVED YOU TOO! IT’S ALL THE SAME!" Mia shouted, stomping her foot on the floor."She's the daughter of that disgusting man! What difference does it make?! She’s not innocent! She knew what Esli was doing and helped him. She’s scum too!" Mia continued to curse and hurl insults. Ed let her go on until she ran out of breath.
“Why are you sleeping together?!”The shrill question startled Ruby—and, of course, Ed. Ruby, who was curled up on Ed’s lap, immediately sat up straight, and Ed forced himself to sit up as quickly as possible, even though he was still half-asleep.“What?” Ed inquired, rubbing his face.“You two are sleeping together here. Is that allowed?!” AJ protested again, pointing and standing with his hands on his hips.It was a question that didn't quite fit the foggy mind just after waking up,“We… we didn’t… We just fell asleep, AJ. That’s all.” Ruby tried to explain, glancing at Ed, who seemed to need more time to wake up. He must be panicking.“Yeah. We just fell asleep,” Ed echoed dully, confused.“I want to do it, too. I want to sleep outside, too. Why am I confined to my room?" AJ pouted.“Oh, that’s why you’re
"‘I want to talk to you,’ Ruby said. After all the signing was done and Liz came back out with Ed, Ruby had the chance to speak.‘What now?!’ Liz snapped, thinking Ruby was going to mock her."It's a bit long. Can we...." Ruby pointed to the café across the street.Liz frowned, starting to feel curious. Of course, Ruby wasn't going to mock her. There was no need to sit in a café just to mock her.Liz finally followed her across the street and was even more puzzled when she saw Ed choose a different table once they were inside the café. Ed sat apart from Ruby, not far away. Ed placed his order and simply sat there, waiting."I..." Ruby had prepared her words for days, but she was still hesitant. She wasn’t scared, just worried.‘What about you?’ Liz was impatient."Do you remember what happened to your mother? I mean, when you were little," Ruby asked."She died givi
"Aren’t we going there?" Ruby pointed to the turn they had just passed. She could see the house where she usually stayed, as well as the lake. But Ed didn’t turn."Did you forget? I’m not ready to go home yet." Ed took the next turn."Oh, are we going there?" Ruby pointed to the white building she often saw from her window. The road they were on only led to that building. There was nothing else around."Correct.’" Ed nodded."But what is that?" After looking gloomy the entire time, Ruby finally showed some interest in something."You’ll see later," Ed said."But it’s not visible." Ruby frowned as they passed by the building’s name plaque n
“Oh, it lights up.” Ruby blinked, adjusting as the room suddenly brightened. Ed led her into the main building.“It’s actually finished,” Ruby murmured, glancing around. The room was a lobby, fully equipped with everything—a reception desk, waiting chairs, a queue machine, and all the necessary facilities for a waiting area.“Yes, just the final touches left. The recruitment process is also complete. Once everything’s done, this building can be used and fully operational,” Ed said.Ruby turned to look at Ed, staring at him without saying a word.“What is it?” Ed frowned. He was clearly waiting for Ruby to speak.“I just feel like you’re incredible. I don’t know how you managed to do this so quickly.” Ruby was in awe.“It’s simple. Money. You should never underestimate the power of money. You have no idea how quickly permits and everything el
"Where is it?" AJ extended his hand, greeting Ed and Ruby at the door."What?" Ruby, who was about to pick up AJ, was confused."Oh no!" Ed suddenly remembered."Chocolate!" AJ shouted, stomping his foot."Ah..." Ruby had completely forgotten. She was so focused on Liz and the proposal that she couldn’t think of anything else."NO! Where's my chocolate?! I want my chocolate!" AJ threw a tantrum, rolling on the floor and spinning around."AJ..." Ruby sighed. It was clear that this was an over-the-top tantrum. AJ was upset they were late and had forgotten his chocolate."AJ." Ed kneeled by his side."You forgot! You forgot about me! Daddy, you promised!" AJ pushed Ed’s hand away as he reached out."It's true I forgot the chocolate, but I didn't forget you, AJ. We didn't forget you." Ed coaxed gently.Ruby wanted to tell Ed to let AJ vent his anger completely, but she ended up sitting down next to them.
Liz touched the transparent divider in front of her. It wasn't made of glass, but of unbreakable plastic. It was designed to prevent incidents from happening. A desperate prisoner might shatter glass. The plastic material was for safety.There were a few small holes in the divider to ensure that conversations could be heard in both directions. Liz sighed as the door behind the divider opened, revealing her father.His handcuffed hands looked thinner, and his once-bulging stomach was almost flat. The hair on his face was unshaven.“Liz? You actually came?!” Esli was very surprised. When he was called, he heard the name of his visitor, but he couldn't believe it. This was the first time Liz had visited.Esli had been sentenced almost a month ago—he would be spending around eighty years in prison due to multiple corruption charges—so he was now allowed visitors. Liz was the first to come to see him since the verdict.“I w
"Ugh! Wait."Ruby stopped walking and sat back down, trying to catch her breath. Everything she was wearing right now was her own choice, tailored to her size, but somehow it all felt wrong—tight and uncomfortable.Ruby had hoped she would feel calm and be fine because there was nothing weighing on her heart right now, and this situation was very different from her marriage as Liz. But she still felt nauseous and terribly nervous as the day arrived."This isn’t even the first time," Ruby sighed, taking a deep breath.The small amount of food she had managed to eat while getting her makeup done now felt stuck in her throat.This wasn’t Ruby’s first time getting married—though it was the first time using her real name, so she shouldn’t be this nervous. Ruby rubbed her chest to calm her racing heart. She was really worried about messing up the wedding."Tea! How about some tea?" Lori suggested patting Tita on
“Such chaos,” Liz lamented as she watched the crowd of rowdy children, who had become the main guests at her wedding.“Yeah, I didn’t expect it to get this wild either.” Ruby sat beside her, watching AJ hand out chocolate-covered strawberries to the other kids.He wasn’t alone—Claud, Val's second child, was helping him. They eventually grew close, even though their conversations were sometimes limited because Claud was more fluent in Italian than English. Still, they got along well enough.“How did it all start?” Ed frowned.“I don’t know.” Ruby was also unsure.“Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed when AJ asked.” Liz deeply regretted it.Somehow, AJ had convinced Liz to provide a chocolate fountain for her wedding, and it had become the source of chaos. The younger children were enjoying it, but soon chocolate stains appeared on the white tablecloths, as wel
"Do I have to? I already checked that document yesterday. Can’t you do it instead?" When Ed saw another email from Otiz, he complained.It was a financial report. Since Matteo had spread his investments in every direction—across more or less thirty companies—the financial reports Otiz received came from all directions, across different types of businesses. Ed hadn't anticipated this.Being an investor wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed. He still had to work.“You’re the one who has to check it. I’m just the middleman,” Otiz firmly refused.He could refuse because the request was made over the phone. Perhaps if they were face-to-face, Otiz would be more compliant. He was no longer blindly following Ed's orders, carefully sorting out what should and should not be done. He was only responsible for delivering financial reports, not reviewing them.Ed grumbled. He was quite used to reviewing company pa
"‘What do you want to show me?’ As she approached Ed, Ruby inquired.She left AJ's side; he was busy reading a story to his two younger siblings. Elena and Elisa sat quietly, either really listening or getting sleepy. It was already time for their afternoon nap."Read this," Ed shifted, making room for Ruby to sit beside him, and handed her a phone displaying an article in Spanish. Less than two hours had passed since the publication of this hot news story.Ruby didn’t pay attention to that, though, because she was immediately stunned by the headline.‘DEA ARRESTS MAJOR MEXICAN CARTEL AND EXPOSES BILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS NETWORK’"What... you...?" Ruby turned pale and panicked, of course."Read it to the end," Ed said, pointing to the rest of the text that she had not yet seen.Ruby read quickly and frowned. There was no mention of Ed or Rosas anywhere. Only Reyes. Marco Reyes. He was the story's
Two black vans speed down a deserted road. It was already nighttime, and they were the only ones there. The end of the road was in sight—a black iron gate.“Ram it!”A shout rang out, and the vans didn’t slow down. The passengers inside, all dressed in black, held on tight as a deafening crash echoed.The gate fell, bent, but opened. The two vans barged through and stopped right in front of the brightly lit house.“Get in and kill everyone!”Another shout, and the people inside the vans scrambled out, storming into the beachside house. Some were carrying firearms; others were wielding clubs.However, as they entered, everyone froze. No one came to greet them. The house was supposed to be full of guards, which was why they had come in numbers—ready for a confrontation.In reality, what greeted them was silence. Not a single person appeared, even though the house was brightly lit.“
"AJ, don't make Abuela tired!" Ruby reprimanded AJ for running away with something, while Mia pursued him.But it was impossible to make AJ stop, especially since his younger siblings were laughing joyfully at his antics. Elisa and Elena had just learned to walk, and they happily followed him around.AJ couldn't stop when he had such an audience. Mia seemed to be scolding him, but everyone knew Mia could never really be upset at AJ.Ruby had to step in, followed by Ed to watch over Elisa and Elena. Although falling on the sand wouldn't hurt, the beach had sharp rocks that could scrape them."Mommy! They should chase me! Don't pick them up!" AJ didn’t want his little sisters to be carried away and stop the fun."Alright," Ruby said, intending to supervise them closely."How about we take a vacation?" Ed abruptly proposed the idea, having just finished reading a message on his phone."Hm?" Ruby was surprised. There had been no suc
"Here."Ed gave Otiz a handkerchief to wipe away his tears. If it had been just a few, he would have let Otiz cry—and wiped the tears with the sleeve of his jacket.The problem was that Otiz couldn’t stop crying. He had already been emotional when Ed stood beside him at the altar, and it got worse when he saw Lori walking down the aisle, escorted by flowers. It was all too beautiful and dazzling for his eyes.“Sorry,” Otiz stammered, wiping the remaining tears from his face.“What are you apologizing for? At a wedding, shedding tears is not considered inappropriate. You're just too happy. No one will blame you.” Ed gently patted Otiz’s shoulder and then turned his gaze forward.Of course, Lori was the focus of the event. Her choice of dress was perfect, blending seamlessly with the entire garden decor. Flowers, ribbons, music, and all the other elements were carefully and precisely chosen—now showcasi
Ed tapped his finger on the glass in his hand. His eyes were fixed on a single point—Marco Reyes.The man was speaking with Otiz. Nothing important. Marco was just making small talk, and Otiz was doing the same—being polite, answering Marco's questions about his law firm's progress. Ed actually needed to speak to both of them, but he chose to start with Marco first.Ed just needed to gesture with his chin, and Otiz understood immediately. He excused himself, making up a reason, and left Marco alone."I need to talk to you," Ed said as he approached."Oh? What is it?" Marco immediately followed Ed, moving to the quiet side yard. The other guests filled the living room."I want you to handle the shipment to Ecuador and Brazil next week."Marco looked as if he had choked. This was incredibly surprising. Ed had never let him touch the South American market before. Ed had always handled it himself. Marco had only been managing North A
"Mommy, I want to try! You be Elena, and I'll be Elisa."AJ reached out his hand, asking for the milk bottle from Ruby. He wanted to try feeding the babies—and he chose Elisa.Usually, Tita was around to help Ruby, but today Tita was busy, so Ruby had been on her own since earlier."You can, but please be careful, okay? Don’t let her choke, and don’t squeeze." Ruby guided AJ's hand to hold the bottle filled with pre-warmed breast milk, helping him apply just the right pressure so it wouldn't press too hard against Elisa's lips."Wow! Look, Mommy! She's drinking!" AJ exclaimed happily, eyes sparkling with joy. This was the first time he was directly involved—doing something for his little sister. AJ usually watched, but at first he was afraid to hold the babies. He would look in awe but wouldn’t dare touch them.“See? It’s not a big deal, right? You don’t have to be scared anymore.”&l
From their disheveled appearance, it was clear that Liz and Asher had either just rushed out of a room or possibly run over here. One thing was certain: as soon as they heard the news about Ruby, they had hurried over."Where? Ruby... You're pale. Why... It shouldn't be happening now."Just like Lori, Liz was out of breath as she approached Ruby, panicking. The news had shocked everyone. Liz had already planned to stay in Puerto Vallarta next week to be there for Ruby when she gave birth.Of course, Liz no longer lived at Ed’s house. She had managed to buy her own apartment.“I’m fine, and they’re fine too. But the nurse hasn’t brought them here yet. Calm down… breathe.”Ruby was already able to speak clearly and now had to calm Liz down. She was the one lying down, barely conscious, yet had to reassure everyone else."Are you really okay? No problems? Any complications?" Liz touched Ruby’s bo