“Of course he doesn't mind. Right, cousin? Marco glared at her, so she just moved her lips. - Please... “Okay, but just one dance. Marco said, staring at the prince. - Yes sir. Marco was heading for the couch where Roman and Luciana were practically starting a foreplay when he saw Charlotte looking at him. He looked at her and the two of them stayed that way for several tense seconds, until she got up and left the club. He followed her. Charlotte was walking towards the porch of the nightclub and felt that Marco was following her at a distance. Then she stopped and waited for him by the garden. She couldn't see him, but she felt her presence, right there a few feet away. She ran her hand over her neck, leaving it exposed to the night air, and Marco felt his mouth water. He wanted to put his lips there and kiss her for hours until he lost consciousness. he bitch. She still knew how to drive him crazy. Marco took a deep breath and moved closer to her, letting her realiz
Marco returned to the club and started looking for Nicole. He soon found her, still dancing with the prince. Heck, he'd been gone for a long time and at least three songs had already played, so why was she still dancing with him? And worse, laughing in her arms. Marco didn't trust him and got annoyed, walking towards them. “I think that's enough. Marco told the prince firmly. “I said just one dance. The prince was surprised when he saw Marco beside him. “Sí, sí, é bien. He backed away, but winked at Nicole. - I call you. Marco pierced the back of the prince's head with his gaze as he walked away and Nicole slapped him hard on the arm, clearly annoyed. “Marc, what are you doing? she complained in a sour voice. “You're flirting with him. He gritted his teeth. "And what do you have to do with it?" You are acting very strange today. She slapped him again, this time on the back of the head. “It hurts, you know? - Marco said rubbing the right spot. “Why did you give hi
Marco woke up at nine the next morning. He felt good and full of energy. It was the first time in so many years that he had slept for eight hours straight. He used to sleep only five or six hours a day. Marco left the room, rubbing his eyes and headed straight for the attached kitchen, expecting to find Nicole cooking up some of the delicacies she'd mentioned learning about. However, he didn't find her right away, as her view was totally taken by a huge bouquet of lilies, some heart-shaped balloons and a giant stuffed animal. — But how gallant! He said sarcastically to himself as he read the note attached to the bear. Nicole, Have dinner with me tonight? You are so beautiful. I want to know you better. I will be very sad if you say no. Carlos. After a while Marco went to the hotel kitchen, already showered, dressed in a black shirt and pants. He found Nicole making some cookies. She was back in her business clothes and wide-rimmed glasses. - Hey! I called the maid an
She left as quickly as possible, her face burning with embarrassment. Later, Charlotte saw Marco enter the ballroom while giving a speech. He wasn't with his family like he used to be. This time, he was alone. She got nervous and even stuttered at times thanks to the sinful, burning look Marco was giving her. After the speech ended, Craig told her that Mr. Marco Villa-Lobos had donated a check for half a million dollars and everyone at the foundation had been amazed and extremely grateful for such a display of generosity. Charlotte was overjoyed too and would like to personally thank Marco for the check, so she soon found him at the bar with a few other men, no doubt from the business world, drinking and laughing as if he had no worries in his life. With her money and family, she shouldn't have. "Marco…" she called hesitantly. Marco saw Charlotte and raises his eyebrows. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand and motioned for her to wait. Charlotte waited a
Charlotte stroked Marco's hair calmly as he tried to control his breathing. She hadn't imagined her first time with him would be so intense. She had imagined many times that it would be a romantic night, after all Marco was romantic as far as she remembered. This Marco now seemed to be anything but a lover of romance. But it hadn't been bad, on the contrary, it was delicious and as much as she had dreamed of something different, she wouldn't trade it for what really happened. Marco, his head resting between Charlotte's breasts, thought about how he should act now that he'd had sex with her. The whole thing had been very good, but one sentence of hers wouldn't leave his mind. I take the pill. He knew he had no right to demand anything from her, after all they weren't boyfriends, but that didn't make him any less furious. He wanted to ask if she was taking it regularly for some medical reason or if it was because she had a very active sex life, but he didn't know how to do that
Marco was ready to reply that he wasn't trying to make her jealous, that what he felt for Nicole was real and that he wanted to kiss her every time he did, but he didn't have the courage, because he knew deep down that it wasn't for her. all true. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to sleep. I have a flight tomorrow and an event that if I'm lucky”—she smiled teasing him—“will have a late night and infinitely better company than this. She turned on her heel and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door. Marco, his nostrils flared like a bull's, pulled on the rest of his clothes and stormed out of her room, slamming the door even harder. Hearing the bedroom door slam, Charlotte was sure Marco was gone, maybe for good now. And she didn't tell him the truth about the past. But how could she? He had acted like an idiot. “God, why don't you just get out of my head? she asked, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She felt like Marco was, often behind her like a shadow. After
Charlotte woke up feeling extremely tired. Memories of the past didn't let her sleep properly. Everything came back like a nightmare. Her brother's death, her breakup with Ken and her betrayal of Marco. She couldn't forget Marco's face of anger and disappointment when she'd walked out of her room the morning she hadn't been strong enough to face her parents and impose her will. He had become a bitter man and she couldn't even blame him. She had been an idiot, thinking that maybe he'd forgotten everything, or that if they talked or had a one-night stand, all would be forgiven. But it was clear from his behavior from the night before that all he wanted was to hurt her. Looking listlessly at the clock on the bedside table, she picked up her cell phone and called Craig, yawning loudly as she waited for him to answer. “Good morning, Charlotte, my love. - I need your help. - She said almost moaning, noticing that her voice was still weak and that she was on the verge of tears aga
- Wait a moment. Marco frowned at something that only occurred to him at that moment. 'Where are my parents?' They should be here. Nicole let out a laugh that drew a little more attention than she would have liked, but she couldn't contain herself. "Marco, you've been here for almost three days and you've only just realized that your parents aren't in California?" Marco half-smiled. He was so absorbed in everything that happened to Charlotte, Roman and Luciana, Nicole and that prince, that he didn't even find it strange his father's audacious absence and his mother's exaggerated affection. Let her never hear or know about it, for she would be sad. Camila Cavalcanti had gotten a little soft over the years. — Your mother managed to convince Uncle Edu to return to New York. He would have knocked out all of my brother's teeth if he'd spent one more minute at the hotel. "He just agreed to leave Luciana behind with Roman?" Marco looked incredulous. “I don't think he had much o
Five years later Marco walked into the house with a huge smile on his face. Tonight, he and Charlotte celebrated five years of marriage blessed with children and lots of love. It seemed that with each passing day, he loved his wife more and the opposite was also true. Charlotte had become even more beautiful with advancing age and even after two pregnancies, one with twins, she was still considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, losing the match to her sister-in-law Luciana, who had leveraged her career as an international model. . Marco parked the car in the garage and the moment he opened the door, two blonde girls with identical faces ran towards him. — Papa! Daddy! Daddy! Beatriz and Juliana shouted happily. They were only three years old, but their lungs looked bigger than they were. “Hello angels of my life. I missed my little princesses. Marco kissed each of them deeply, making them laugh. "Daddy, you're tickling me." Beatriz said, pushing Marco's
“We don't even have the result yet. Charlotte smiled, unable to contain her anxiety. He sneered at her with one hand. “Oh I don't need to. I feel. There's a Villa-Lobos in here. he said, placing his big hand on top of her belly. “And he does. Camilla agreed. “I didn't believe it either when I got pregnant with Marco, but that fool knew right away. Charlotte was touched by the love she saw in their eyes. Twenty-five years had passed and they still loved each other as if they were married yesterday. She wanted that too. After an awkward and loveless life, being part of Marco's family was the greatest blessing she could have. The doctor returned to the office with a huge smile on her face. Eduardo blinked at the two women beside her, full of himself, as if he had reason. "I'll have the trousseau prepared." he said, with a giant smile. — Now all that remains is to know the color. Nicole and Luciana couldn't stop chattering when the three of them returned to the room wit
The weeks that followed were far from easy for Charlotte. In the first, immediately after her father's death appeared in the newspapers and the cause, namely her own daughter, she had to face her mother - who publicly disowned her, saying that she would never forgive her for taking her husband away from her shortly before. of being arrested by the FBI for passive corruption -, the police - to whom he had to give several explanations and describe step by step what had happened in Porto, having to prove that he had acted in self-defense - and the press, which was the worst of all. all. After the news got out, she couldn't take a step anywhere without being surrounded by reporters from all the media. Her father's criminal record was mostly revealed and was extremely extensive. Also, he had a few projects that ended up coming to light. One of them being a major action in Harlem and part of Brooklyn that would take away the housing of hundreds of people, as it included demolishing som
Patrick and Elena“Elena, there hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about you. "So while you were working out your revenge plan against my father, was it me you were thinking about?" As you tried to destroy my family's business, was it me you were thinking about? There was fire in Elena's eyes and as much as Patrick couldn't physically feel the heat emanating from them, he was afraid of being burned just like ten years ago. He panicked. “Please, please, please, Elena. He knelt at her feet. “Try to see my side. Look, I know I messed up, I see it now, but I was wrecked. - Then he started crying. “I was scared, ashamed, filled with pain… I didn't know how to guide myself. Closing her eyes tightly and turning away, Elena tried to run away from the pain in Felipe's eyes. She laughed sadly and shook her head. She didn't know if she should refer to the man with her in that room that way. Felipe was sweet, kind and never, not in a thousand years, would he hurt her. But Pat
Patrick and Elena Elena couldn't believe it. Her breath hitched as she tried to absorb what she had just discovered. How had Felipe escaped the fire on the hill? And why did he use the name Patrick Matarazzo now? "How come I didn't connect the dots earlier?" Elena wondered, remembering everything that man had told her. An arson, isn't that what he told you? How could she not have guessed? Dammit, she didn't even think about it. But she couldn't blame herself. She never thought that Patrick could be Felipe because deep down she imagined that if he had survived that hellish night, she would have looked for her immediately. That was the image she had of the guy she knew and loved. It didn't cross her mind for a miserable moment that he would one day become such a calculating man. But where did his father fit into this story? Why did Patrick do what he did with his family's company? Why did he bring his father almost to ruin? Or rather, why did she hate him so much? Even
- Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Eduardo roared with rage. James Hardy had called him a few minutes ago, telling him about the ill-fated FBI raid on Senator Bernard McKeena's home. Apparently, he had spies inside the agency and already knew about part of the operation, so his men managed to get him out of prison, killing four federal agents and a detective in the process. It was obvious that at that moment he was preparing to leave the country. And maybe never come back. Something that raised every hair on Eduardo's body. “Darling, calm down. Camila asked, fearing that her husband would end up having a health problem. “How am I going to calm down? That worm put my son in a coma just because he got a few bumps. What do you think he's going to do with the rest of us when he finds out I'm the one who gave him to the police for good? That's if he doesn't already know. “Marco will be fine. - Yes go. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life fearing that at any moment he or you or Luc
Marco was taken to a specially monitored room. His condition was not really serious, the doctors had said that when his body was ready he would wake up, but it was good to always keep an eye on him for any changes in the condition. Not many people were allowed to stay there for long, so after each of the family members saw him, only Camila, his mother, was able to spend the night with him. Charlotte would have liked to have had that honor, but she understood that the poor woman was desperate to be close to her son and besides, she had to help Edward get his father. Around two in the morning, Patrick's investigators and Eduardo himself contacted him. They already had the evidence they needed to turn Bernard over to the police. Not only the ones that linked him to the attack on Marco, but also a video recovered from years ago in which the senator plotted Thomas' death with two mobsters. Yes, mobsters. James Hardy identified them on the recording. They were men of the mobster wa
- It is clear. Charlotte felt a lump in her throat. She wanted to see Marco, she wanted to be with him when she got out of surgery, but she also wanted to help with the evidence against her father. Eduardo got up and started to walk down the hall back to the waiting room. But he stopped before walking through the cafeteria door, looking at Charlotte. “Thanks for that, Charlotte. - He smiled. — I'll talk to Camila, I'm sure when she's calmer, she'll reconsider her words. “Thank you, sir. Please just... let me know if he comes out of surgery before we get back. — Yes, notice. Keep me informed of developments. Matarazzo Corporation's IT technician was analyzing the images captured by the camera, which, thank God, was still recording in good performance. Patrick and Charlotte had been with him for over an hour, and as cooperative as she was, her mind hadn't left the hospital. She just wanted to know about the man she loved. - Charlotte? Charlotte? “Uh, what? - She blinke
"I must apologize for my wife, Ms. McKeena. Eduardo sat in the chair next to Charlotte's, giving her an apologetic smile. "She's nervous and... — Don't worry, Mr. Villa-Lobos. Charlotte smiled back at him. “I understand perfectly. “Hello, Charlotte. - Patrick greeted her, sitting down too. — Patrick. And Elena? “She stayed there with my wife. – Edward informed. "But tell me, why did you want to talk to us?" Charlotte shifted in her chair so she could look the two men in the eye – even if she had to lift her head very high to do so. “I can help you find the biker who shot Marco and put the person responsible in jail. “And how can you help? Sorry, I don't mean to be skeptical, but I don't see how you can help. — I know who is responsible for sending Marco to the hospital, Mr. Villa-Lobos. - As? Who is it? — Eduardo scowled, already preparing himself for what he thought he was going to hear. “It was my father. After Marco told me the truth about my brother's death