Proven Maternity

The couple felt very nervous, their attention completely focused on the doctor. Leandro was sweating profusely, trying to appear calm in front of Nicole. He was so afraid of losing her. He loved Santi as if he were his own son; he simply didn't want to lose them. The doctor's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned to look at him attentively, holding his breath.

"Taking into account the genetic structure of the mother, the alleged mother, and the distribution of the alleged analyzed markers, it has yielded a maternity index of 56,701,235 and a maternity probability of 99.998234.1%."

They looked at each other completely confused, having no idea what that meant.

"What does that mean, doctor?" Leandro asked.

"It means that maternity is practically proven. It's the same result for both cases."

Leandro let go of Nicole's hand and covered his face with his hands. Tears welled up uncontrollably, flowing down his cheeks. His little one with big blue eyes, the love of his life, for whom he would give his life without hesitation, was his sister—a damned twist of fate. He felt such a strong pain that he thought his chest would explode at any moment.

He turned around and without saying a word, walked away to lock himself in his office. For now, he didn't want to know anything; he couldn't. He took out a bottle of tequila, opened it, and took a big gulp. He wanted to drown his sorrows in alcohol, not because he was a coward and didn't want to face reality, but because the pain he felt in that moment was so great that he wanted to die right there.

He knew he would have to distance himself from her because every time he saw her, it would be very difficult to resist the temptation to kiss her lips. The thought that she might spend her life with another man was killing him. So many things were swirling in his head as if every possible thought had crowded into his mind at once.

Nicole stood there in shock, unable to process everything. The doctor, seeing what was happening, decided to leave without saying a word. When she finally managed to react, she went after Leandro. She knocked desperately on the door of his office but received no response. As she turned to walk away, she heard a thud and the sound of shattering glass. She heard his screams and sobs. She was afraid for him, unsure of what to do in this situation. She asked her nanny to keep her son away from all of it.

Two days passed, and Leandro hadn't left his office. Nicole would leave trays of food outside the door, but he hadn't touched them. She decided to call Sergio and explain the situation. When he arrived, she asked him for the key to open the door.

"What the hell are you doing here? Get out!" Leandro became furious upon seeing him.

"You're a coward. You drown yourself in vice instead of facing reality," Sergio said.

He had always been tough on his son.

"You knew perfectly well that we were siblings, and you kept it a secret. You allowed me to fall in love with my own sister. How could you do this to me?"

"I didn't think Rina would dare to tell the truth. Kidnapping Nicole served my interests. I thought it would keep Rina away, fearing that she might harm her daughter. That woman could take away our entire fortune."

"A fortune that rightfully belongs to Nicole. You were capable of silencing me and making me suffer, all for money, which is ultimately the only thing that matters to you."

"You will help me control Rina. If she tries to reclaim her fortune, we'll get rid of her."

"Don't count on me. Just know that I won't allow you to harm them. Now, leave. I don't want to see you." Leandro had never felt the impulse to hit his father before. He clenched his fists, trying to control himself.

Sergio stormed out, ignoring Nicole when she asked how Leandro was. He passed by her, almost knocking her over. He was a very arrogant man, and as she thought about everything he had done to Rina, she felt disgusted.

Later, Leandro finally emerged from his office and headed to his room. He slept the entire day. Nicole went down to the kitchen with Santi to prepare dinner. 

Amidst everything that was happening, she felt like she had been neglecting him. While she was feeding him, the boy got off his chair and ran off. 

Nicole turned and saw that Leandro had come downstairs. She picked up the child, gave him a kiss on the forehead, and placed him back in his chair. Then she sat across from Leandro. 

She could see the same love in his eyes as always, but dark circles framed his gaze. Nicole asked Sara to bring Santi upstairs.

"I'm sorry you're going through this, Nicole. My father knew about it and still chose to keep quiet."

"I'm sorry too, Leandro. I think it's best if I leave. It's not right for us to continue living together," she said with infinite sadness. She had imagined a life by his side.

"I want you to stay. If you leave, I won't be able to protect you. You know you won't lack anything here. Or if you prefer, I can move out. You can continue working at the company, and if you don't feel comfortable being my assistant, I can find another position for you."

"No, Leandro. I have already decided. I will talk to my parents and tell them the truth about my relationship with Bruno. I know they will support me. I kept quiet before for the sake of my father's health. I didn't want to worry him. It's difficult for both of us to accept that Rina is our mother, but it's the reality our parents chose to hide from us. Their lies have caused this."

"I respect your decision. It will be very difficult for me to not have them here with me, although I understand the situation. It would be torture to have you by my side and have to come to terms with the fact that we are siblings. It's something I will find hard to accept," he said. He felt the urge to embrace her, but he knew it wasn't right.

Afterward, they both went up to their rooms. They were immersed in their thoughts, all the plans they had made had crumbled in an instant.

In the morning, Nicole spoke with Gío and Rina. She would move back in with them, and they would live in New York until reaching an agreement with Bruno regarding their son. She declined to return to live with Noah and Emma because Sondra was living with them again, and she didn't want to expose her child to being close to that woman. Her sister was capable of anything to harm her.

Leandro said goodbye to her before leaving for the office. He looked very handsome, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Dark sunglasses concealed his gaze as he approached and gently kissed her on the forehead.

"I hope you won't hesitate to call me whenever you need me. You know I'll always be there for you. I ask that you let me see Santi from time to time. I wouldn't want him to forget about me."

"You don't even have to ask for that. It's a right you've earned. Thank you for all your support and for always being there for us."

Leandro bid her farewell with a smile, managing to hold back his tears. He didn't want her to have a bad memory of him. After he left, Nicole finished packing her things, took a final look at the room and the rest of the house. She would miss seeing his warm smile in the mornings and the beautiful bouquets of red roses that never failed to appear every single day throughout all those years.

She felt like her heart had shrunk from so much pain. She wiped her tears and stepped outside, where Gío, Rina, Sara, and Santi were waiting in the car. She let out a deep sigh; here she was again, heading towards an uncertain destination.

In New York, she spoke with her parents about her life with Bruno and everything that had happened because of Sondra. She would have preferred not to tell them anything about it; it wasn't her nature. But she had no other choice. They wanted her to return to Bruno's side, but she made it clear that she wouldn't do that. They insisted on going to talk to Bruno's parents, stating that the only way they wouldn't support him in taking Santi away was if they found out the whole truth.

The next morning, all their parents showed up at Bruno's parents' house.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Leone. I'm Rina Jones, and this is Gío Rossano. I know this might seem strange, but we are Nicole's parents, and we need to have a very serious conversation with you," Rina said.

"Nicole's parents? Noah, what does this mean?" René asked, completely bewildered.

"It's a very long story, René. Many things have happened during this time. We apologize for the four of us being here, but it's necessary."

"That's right, too many things have happened, one of them being your daughter abandoning my son," Noah said, extremely upset.

"Let's sit down. What we have to say is very serious, and you need to hear the reason why my daughter left Bruno," Gío said.

"Go ahead, we're listening. I don't mean to be impolite, but I have very little time. I have a very important commitment," René said, believing that Nicole had caused his son a lot of suffering without reason.

They briefed them on everything that had happened. For Mara and René, it was very shameful to hear about their son's actions.

"It's embarrassing to hear all this. We didn't raise him that way. What the hell was this boy thinking when he did all that? And here we were, thinking everything was fine between them," René expressed.

"We apologize for everything our son has done and for judging Nicole so harshly without knowing the truth," Mara said, deeply remorseful.

"Nicole and Bruno have a child. She was pregnant when she fled," Gío revealed.

Mara and René were pleasantly surprised to learn about Santi's existence, but their sorrow grew upon finding out that Bruno was threatening to separate him from his mother.

"I can't believe I'm a grandmother. It's a joyful piece of news amidst all this," Maria said, happy that they finally had the grandchild they had longed for.

"I have to talk to my son today. I'll try to reason with him. He has a very difficult character, but I hope to make him understand," René said.

Nicole's parents bid their farewells, and after they left, René angrily headed towards his son's office.

"Good morning, Bertha. Is my son in?" René asked.

"He's in his office, sir. I'll announce you," Bertha replied.

"It's not necessary."

Noah entered the office without knocking. Courtesy didn't accompany him at that moment. Bruno was sitting in front of his computer, and when he heard the door open, he turned to look at his father.

"Is something wrong, father?" Bruno asked, confused.

"Yes, there is, and it's a lot," René said.

He approached, unable to contain himself, and delivered a strong blow to Bruno's face. Surprised, Bruno rubbed his cheek and stared back at his father with an unfriendly expression.

"Is this what I taught you?" René asked, his voice trembling with anger.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bruno had no idea what it was all about.