Losing interest

Dante was engrossed in a lively conversation with Nicole in the hallway outside her office. They were laughing about the prank Dante had pulled on his brother, knowing that by now he must be fuming.

"DANTE, in my office," Bruno's voice boomed, startling Nicole and Dante. They turned to face the approaching ogre.

"Good morning to you too, Bruno," Dante replied, trying to maintain his composure despite the pounding headache he felt coming on.

"Save it," Bruno snapped, giving him a menacing glare as he walked past Nicole. He felt like his head was about to explode into a thousand pieces.

"Good morning, little brother," Dante greeted him cheerfully, as always.

"Don't try to be funny, Dante. My office, now," Bruno demanded.

"As you wish, boss," Dante replied, giving a mock military salute that made Nicole laugh, while Bruno retreated into his office.

"See you later, sis-in-law. I'm going to take the wind out of the ogre's sails," Dante winked at her before entering his brother's office.

Nicole really liked Dante, although she still worried that he might hurt Sophie. That day, Sondra arrived at the company hoping to see Bruno, but the security personnel stopped her outside his office. She had managed to get that far, but an employee recognized her and alerted the authorities. During the time she had posed as Bruno's partner, she had earned several enemies in the company due to her arrogant treatment of the employees.

He managed to see Nicole and started insulting her. The hatred he had towards his sister was overwhelming.

"Well, well, the little hypocrite has returned. Who would have thought? Dignity has escaped her," he shouted while resisting as the security personnel tried to remove her.

"We will remove her shortly, ma'am."

"Ma'am? Hahaha, I heard you had a bastard child. Is it Bruno's or your brother's? You know, I'm so glad we're not sisters," she was dragged away while laughing hysterically, and the employees simply watched.

Inside his office, Bruno was reprimanding his brother, demanding his car back immediately. Suddenly, he heard the screams and laughter of the deranged Sondra; her shrill voice was unmistakable.

"What the hell is going on?" Dante shrugged, indicating that he had no idea.

They walked out of the office and found Nicole with her head lowered on her desk. The guards had already taken Sondra away.

"Are you okay?" Bruno asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. Nothing happened," Nicole tried not to take Sondra's words seriously.

Dante approached her, placing his arm around her back in an attempt to console her. Bruno quickly left the office, took the elevator, and descended. Sondra was still arguing with the security personnel at the entrance.

"What's going on here?" Bruno asked, although it was more than obvious what was happening. He couldn't believe Sondra's audacity.

"Darling, I'm glad you're coming down. These people have humiliated me in the worst way, dragging me out," she pouted, trying to evoke sympathy.

"Darling? I think you're mentally unstable, Sondra. I don't want to see you here ever again. This woman is banned from entering. If she comes back, consider yourselves fired," he said to the security guards, who quickly escorted the woman away.

"What a crazy woman," Dante said, having come downstairs.

"She's a damn lunatic. That woman is a danger to Nicole. She should be in a psychiatric hospital. Now, back to the matter of my car, where is it?" Bruno asked.

"It's downstairs in the parking lot, safe and sound," Dante replied as he handed over the keys. For a moment, Dante felt like Bruno was glaring at him with a murderous look.

"Here are the keys to yours. Niles also left it in the parking lot. Thanks for letting me sleep in your car, little brother," he said, staring at Dante intently.

"You're welcome. You know, anytime you want, hahaha. You were too drunk and as heavy as a rock. I imagine that's why Niles didn't try to get you out when he realized."

"So, Niles noticed," Bruno said, picking up the phone and calling his butler.

"Hello."

"Niles, when I arrive, I want you to clean all the windows of the mansion, every single one. I want you to do it alone, and I'll be watching you through the cameras."

"Yes, sir," Niles replied with a sigh, knowing that Dante had probably already told Bruno that he didn't do anything to help him get out of the car.

Bruno returned to his office where Nicole was focused on her computer, working diligently. He observed her for a moment, realizing that he was utterly screwed. He loved this woman more than anything, but he had no idea how he would win back her love.

Meanwhile, Leandro arrived at the restaurant where he had arranged to meet Shelsy. He didn't know what else to do to get Nicole out of his mind. He had the same problem as Bruno when it came to being with other women. No matter how beautiful they were, he couldn't have intimate relationships with them. Word started spreading among the girls that Leandro De Santis had a major issue—some said he was gay, others claimed he was impotent.

In the morning, Leandro had called Nicole, but she didn't answer his calls. He thought maybe she was swamped with work and didn't have her phone nearby. He planned to call her later in the evening when she would likely be at home.

He entered the restaurant and saw Shelsy sitting at a table, sipping a drink while waiting for him. She was a very beautiful woman, but excessively shallow and interested. Her father had lost his entire fortune in the city's casinos, where he used to spend all his time.

"Hello."

"Hi, Leandro. I'm glad you called," she said, and he noticed a difference in her tone of voice.

"I thought you'd try to win over Bruno."

"He will always be the love of my life, but I know I've lost him because I didn't act the way I should have," she said sadly.

"You can't always be with the one you love. Look at me."

"That's true. Honestly, I feel really sorry about what happened with Nicole. Sondra filled me in."

"You're still friends with that woman?" Leandro couldn't believe it.

"Ironically, she's the only friend I have left. The others turned their backs on me as soon as they found out we're bankrupt."

"What kind of friends are those?"

"That's right, what kind of friends indeed," she said, taking a sip from her glass.

They spent quite a while talking, reminiscing about old times. Leandro felt that it did him good to talk with her. In truth, they knew each other perfectly well. With her, he could discuss anything, no matter how tough or delicate the topic. Similarly, she felt that he was the person she could trust completely.

Nicole entered Bruno's office to get his authorization on some designs that needed to start immediately because they were already behind schedule. 

She wasn't directly involved in that aspect since they were already behind when she returned to the company. She was doing her best to work quickly and fulfill the contract.

"I really like this design," Bruno said, referring to one of Nicole's designs. It was a garden for a retirement home, and it was evident that she had taken all the necessary considerations to ensure that elderly people could walk among nature without any risk.

"The client loved it too. They told me that they rejected the previous design because it didn't consider the appropriate facilities for these types of places."

"That's right. That position was vacant because the previous designer wasn't meeting our clients' expectations. They rushed through their work just to finish quickly and have more free time."

"It must have been difficult for him to be fired after so many years with the company."

"I imagine it was, but he had lost interest in his work. We had conversations with him and gave him several opportunities, but he didn't make any effort to improve."

"I hope that doesn't happen to me."

Bruno felt a sense of sadness as he imagined himself in the previous designer's position.

"What?" Nicole didn't understand what he meant.

"Losing interest and love for my work."

"I hope the same for myself, that I never lose interest in the things that truly matter," he said as he looked at her and smiled. Nicole momentarily got lost in that beautiful smile.

Meanwhile, Sergio was still trying to convince his son to help him preserve his fortune. A lawyer had informed him that Rina and Gío were searching for evidence to bring him down.

He knew that Leandro had stayed in New York to protect Nicole and Rina. He didn't want anything to do with his mother, but that didn't mean he would let his father harm them.

At first, he thought he felt hatred towards his mother. But then he realized that his mother wasn't at fault either; she was also a victim of his father. He didn't seek her out because he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes after her reaction when he told them the truth. He only cared about losing Nicole, without considering his mother's feelings, even though he now remembered seeing love in her eyes.

In the evening, Nicole was at home, feeling exhausted. Santi was playing video games next to her when Leandro arrived. He asked Sara to take Santi upstairs.

"I've been calling you. I was worried when you didn't answer," he said.

"I'm sorry, I've been really busy."

"What's wrong? You seem different."

"We need to talk about what happened that night at Brando's house. It's better to address it once and for all. What happened?"

"Why are you bringing this up again? I've already explained it to you."

“Since when have you known Sondra?”

“For a few years now.”

“Please, I need you to be honest and tell me the truth. I can't bear any more deception. Did you ask Sondra to bring me against my will that night? Did you pay the reporters?”

“Absolutely not. Sondra told me that you were in love with me and that you willingly agreed to spend that night with me. As for the reporters, I imagine it was Sondra's doing.” Leandro wasn't lying, and he hoped Nicole wouldn't think he was.

Nicole watched him intently. He seemed sincere, and maybe Sondra had said those things to justify herself.

“Is what you're saying true?”

“I have no reason to lie to you. Even if the truth doesn't please you, I would tell you. Who told you such a thing?” He needed to know who had dared to try to turn her against him.

“Bruno overheard Sondra telling Shelsy about it.” Nicole regretted telling him as soon as the words left her mouth.

“So, it was Bruno.” He managed to hide the fury he felt. Nicole prayed that he wouldn't do something foolish.

Leandro bid her farewell and hurriedly left. This time, Bruno Leone had crossed the line, and Leandro would put him in his place. He wouldn't tolerate any more of his actions.