Identical

René trembled with the fury he felt. He couldn't believe that his son was capable of mistreating and humiliating a woman the way he did with Nicole. He thought he had raised him properly, but sadly, he realized he had been mistaken.

"Regarding mistreating a woman, have you seen that behavior in me? I don't understand what you were thinking."

"Well, it seems Nicole has already told you. It took her long enough to do so."

"It wasn't Nicole. It was her parents. You know I have a long-standing friendship with Noah, and Gío Rossano is a man with a lot of power and connections that can be a thorn in your side if they set their minds to it."

"What happened between Nicole and me is our business alone. No one else should interfere in our relationship. If I did things that way, there was a reason."

"Enough! Nothing justifies your behavior. You forget about forcing her to come back to you and, above all, taking her son away from her."

"A son who is also mine, and she kept him hidden from me, depriving me of the right to be present at his birth."

"And what did you think she would do after everything you did to her? Did you expect her to applaud you? You should talk like adults and come to a good agreement for the sake of my grandson. If I find out that you humiliate her again, you'll be in trouble."

As you said, I am an adult now, and you can't come and give me orders about my private life. But fine, I won't keep her away from my son, but I have one condition, and I want you to let her know."

"What is that condition?" René knew that Bruno was difficult to control; he had a strong character.

"Nicole will come back to work at the company. She won't be my secretary's assistant anymore; she will work as a landscape designer. We have a vacancy for that position, and she could take it. She studied Bioclimatic Architecture, but she's also very talented at landscape design."

"I don't think she'll accept. She's deeply hurt by everything you've done."

"That's my condition. If she doesn't accept, I'll take my son away, and you know I have the means to do it. This is my final word; it's up to her to decide what happens."

"I'll talk to her. Later today, I'll meet with your mother to go to Nicole's house. I'll let you know her answer immediately."

When René left, Bruno was left thinking. His father had never laid a hand on him, even when he was a child. That punch hurt him more than he showed his father. He realized that Sondra had been right all along, and now he knew that she was capable of anything to hurt Nicole. The day he saw her enter with Leandro, he felt so much rage that he didn't think about what he was saying. He needed to know the truth about what happened that night. He needed to win back her heart, despite everything he had done. He could see love and sadness in her eyes, and that gave him hope.

He knew it would be very difficult for her to forgive him, but he was willing to do everything in his power to win her back. He eagerly awaited his father's call; he wanted to meet his son. Thousands of images of what his son might look like passed through his mind.

In the afternoon, René and Mara arrived at Gío's house. Nicole greeted them, and they could tell that her reception wasn't entirely pleasant. Maybe she thought they knew how Bruno treated her and allowed it.

“Hi Nicole, how have you been?”

“Good afternoon.” She replied with a serious attitude.

“Your parents talked to us, we're very sorry for everything that happened, we had no idea about what was going on.” René and María were genuinely apologetic.

“Don't worry, sir, I know that, just like my parents, you were unaware of my situation.”

“I've talked to Bruno, my son can be stubborn at times, he wants you to come back to the company, not as his secretary's assistant anymore, but as a landscape designer. If you accept, he'll set up a daycare area so the child can be there after school.”

“I won't go back to Bruno in any way.” It was outrageous that he dared to impose conditions.

“You can't deny him the right to be with his child, he's determined to keep him away from you if you don't accept. We wouldn't be able to help you, we would be caught between a rock and a hard place. Bruno can be ruthless when he sets his mind to it.”

“You don't have to say it, I know perfectly well what your son is capable of and how far he can go to cause harm.”

“I know my son has hurt you deeply, but as a mother, I know that our grandson needs his father. Try to reach an agreement for his sake and for your own.”

“Mrs. Mara, as a mother, I understand you, but as a woman, I don't. Your son has humiliated me in every possible way. He brought my sister to the house to live with him while I had to cook and clean, among other things. He presented her as the lady of the house and made several servants available to her, who also enjoyed humiliating me.”

“I'm so sorry, my dear, but please don't deny us the right to be with our grandchild. —Mara pleaded as tears streamed down her cheeks.”

“Wait a moment, please.” She walked away, leaving them bewildered.

Nicole went up to Santi's room. The little boy greeted her as always, with a big smile that she considered the most beautiful in the world. She felt incredibly fortunate. God had remembered her and sent an angel into her life. Santi reached out his little arms towards her, and she lifted him up, hugging him tightly. It would be difficult to have to share him with his father. Ever since he was born, she considered him hers alone. He was her baby.

She came downstairs with him in her arms, and René and Mara became emotional upon seeing him. With tears in their eyes, they approached the little one.

“This is Santi.”

“Hello, who are you?” He asked curiously.

“We're your grandparents, little one.”

“Noah replied, visibly excited.”

“Mom, are they my grandparents too?” He asked, looking at his mother.

“Yes, son, you have many grandparents.

“Nicole replied sweetly.

“That's great, mommy. I like having many grandparents.

Santi immediately won the hearts of his grandparents. He happily received all the gifts they had brought for him. As she watched, Nicole thought she would talk to them later. She didn't want them to turn him into a spoiled little boy. They played with him all afternoon. Before saying goodbye, Mara approached Nicole, holding a small photo in her hand.

"I always carry this photo with me. It's Bruno when he was little."

Nicole took the photo and was impressed.

"But they look exactly the same!"

"That's right, Santi is identical to his father."

It was already nighttime when Bruno's parents bid farewell to Santi. They were so delighted with their grandson that they didn't want to leave. Nicole promised them that they could visit him on some weekends in the future.

"Thank you for letting us spend time with our grandson. He's a charming child."

"I'm sorry for keeping everything hidden for so long. Both you and my parents missed out on beautiful moments of his growth."

"We hope to make up for lost time. Please, Nicole, try to reach an agreement with Bruno. We wouldn't like to see you fighting in court over your child. It wouldn't be healthy for him."

"I have to think it over carefully. On Sunday, my parents are organizing a gathering for our closest friends to meet Santi. I hope you can join us."

On Sunday at noon, they held the gathering. All four of Nicole's parents were present, which felt strange to her, but she would have to get used to it. Later, Bruno's parents arrived, accompanied by Dante, who greeted her as cheerfully as ever.

"Sister-in-law, long time no see."

"Hello, Dante. I'm glad you came."

"I truly admire you, Nicole. You had the courage to walk away from my brother. He was acting like a complete idiot."

"Let's not talk about the past. It's no longer worth it."

"You're right. Where is my nephew? My parents told me he looks exactly like Bruno."

"Wait, I'll go get him."

Nicole returned with the little one, who looked excitedly at all those people. He wasn't used to being around so many people. In Italy, it was just him, Nicole, Sara, and Leandro.

"Santi, this is your Uncle Dante."

"Hello, Uncle. I've met a lot of family, and I like it." He said with a big smile.

"Here, I brought you a gift."

"Look, Mommy, it's a huge car!" He exclaimed, visibly excited.

Shortly after, Sophie and Máx arrived. Nicole thought they wouldn't want anything to do with her. She had considered reaching out to them, but she was afraid Bruno would find out.

"Nicole Williams, come here, my beautiful friend. You have a lot to tell me, woman."

"Sophie, you have no idea how much it means to me to see you again."

"Little dragonfly, we missed you so much," Máx greeted her warmly. He had been eagerly awaiting the moment to see her again.

"Guys, I'm so sorry for not contacting you. I was afraid Bruno would find out through you."

Nicole apologized, genuinely remorseful for not being able to reach out to them during all that time.

"How is it that I missed the birth of my nephew? Where is he? I want to meet him."

"There he comes. This is Santi, my little love."

"Hello, Santi. I'm your Aunt Sophie, and this is your Uncle Máx."

"I have more uncles, Mommy! That's great!"