“Look, Angelo, I already remembered why I was fighting; I don't want you to fill me with bodyguards that don't even let me breathe. I need my space; this situation disgusts me; it makes me tired; it's not the tranquility that the doctor said I needed; or it's better if we go far away; I'm planning to leave my sister in charge of the company.”“Please, my love, I only want to protect you. I will not forgive myself if something happens to you or to our baby, I swear I felt a lot of rage against me and those escorts for what happened the other day. By the way, they have not found the whereabouts of that thief; some cameras recorded him, but it is as if he had been eaten by the earth.”“Maybe he is with his family; he must be living in one of the hills, in a house made of wood and cans. What he stole from me must be enough to feed them for a few months; hopefully it will help him get out of poverty and stop stealing.”“That's where you are wrong, that comment of high social discrimination
“Angelo, why were you so mean to make your thugs almost kill my classmate, Erik, because of your jealousy? I can't believe you are behaving like a gangster; the poor boy almost died, really.”“Don't talk nonsense; stop your pregnant madness; let's go home now, or I'll drag you away.”“Well, what are you going to do? Are you going to send me your army of thugs?”“Stop yelling nonsense; behave like the lady you are.”“I'm the delinquent wife who has to be watched and who has to kill anyone who gets close to her.”“Ximena, you are slandering me. I can't understand why we are at this point. I don't know what you are doing in this place. If you are nothing like this guy, his family must already be coming.”“His family is heartless; they won't come; they don't even call to find out his condition; apparently, his parents are separated; and he has only half siblings, although they do send him money for expenses.”“In that case, let's go; I'll tell Vivian to take care of it.”“How can she stil
“Where am I?” Ximena woke up; her head hurt. She was lying on an old mattress in a large room with old walls whose paint was peeling because of the humidity. She got up and looked around her. The windows had been covered with steel sheets, and the light came in through the plastic tile that was in place. The height of the walls of that cellar made him not even consider climbing them. He tried to open the door, and it didn't even have a knob to try to pull it.“Let me out!” She yelled at the cameras, “You don't know who you've messed with; my husband will kill you; he's a very dangerous man. I swear they will regret having kidnapped me. I give them a chance to free me. Not only that, but I will even give them a good sum in cash.”Only her echo and the movement of the cameras that were watching her answered her. A smoke came from the floor, and suddenly she felt very sleepy. When she woke up again, she found plates of food and more blankets. She tried to eat for her baby, but the crying
Ximena already knew every stain on the walls and every crack in the floor. She felt suffocated within those four walls; the despair threatened to tear her apart. If it were not for her baby, she would not resist that situation. She remembered the Yoga classes for pregnant women; she sat in the lotus position to meditate to try to calm down; she even imagined that she was talking to her baby, who was telling her,“Mommy, please be strong, the same way you have been all these years.”“Yes, my baby, we are going to get out of this; Daddy is coming to rescue us.”She imagined that with her breath, she was absorbing light that purified them. She felt that she was already out walking in Sicily with Angelo and her beautiful baby in a golden stroller. Where they were walking, roses of various colors were growing, and the wind carried their scents. At this moment, she heard some murmurs. She concentrated on them; surely they were coming from a room next door, where a man was talking to another
“Angelo, the doctors say it's time to wait; they already took out the two bullets, but it's a matter of time before she recovers; they had to put her in intensive care; we must be patient and pray; I'll go and make my round of donations so that everything goes well.”“José, it's up to you to postpone it; we'll leave now for the beautiful patio; we'll hunt down the whole family of the capo; the guys headed by Cancan are ready; we're going to erase them even from the memory of their neighbors.”“Sir, I expected nothing less from you; it will be an honor.”When they arrived in that neighborhood, Cancan received them with his characteristic grimace and an undeveloped smile and led them to a carpentry shop, where several men were making closets and beds.“Don Angelo, don't be guided by appearances; that's just a facade. The real merchandise is kept in the basement, and the family lives on the upper floors that look like factories.”“Do you have anything planned?” asked José Luis“Yes, sir,
“I want you to sign the divorce.”“For what reason, my beloved Ximena?”“Angelo, I don't want to be married to a gangster, to a mobster like the ones who killed my real parents. I don't want to always be in danger. Not knowing at what moment we will be killed or that you will leave me alone with how many children when you are captured by the authorities or killed by your enemies. I don't want that life; I prefer to live quietly with my son, no matter if we don't have money to spend on luxuries.”“Love, please forgive me.”“What, love? You said you weren't going to lie to me.”“It was a white lie; I didn't want you to leave me; I knew this could happen; I was cleaning up the business.”“That hurt me; it was a beating you gave to our love. I trusted that you loved me, but it was all a lie. I don't know why you hurt me by deceiving me like that; did you have something to do with my parents' deaths?”“It's okay; I'll tell you the truth. Yes, we had something to do with it. Your parents we
Ximena left the hospital, sent for her belongings, and her sister bought a house on the outskirts of the city, where the fresh air would be good for the baby. She must be transported by ambulance due to her precarious health.“Sir, it's not this way.” Emily was worried because she already knew the way to her new home very well.“Ma'am, we're taking a shortcut; there's a traffic jam,” answered the paramedic.“You're lying; we are heading south, and the house is in the north; sir, stop, or I'll call the police.” Emily pulled out her phone, so he could see that she was serious.“You know what, Miss? Stay still, or we'll have to strap you to the stretcher too.” The paramedic pointed a gun at her, and his mask came off.“You are Max, or Leonel; whatever your name is, you want to kill me to take revenge on Angelo. What you don't know is that we are nothing.” Ximena shouted, trying to get loose from the stretcher.“According to what Vivian told us, you are the only woman he has sincerely fal
“Love, please open your eyes. I promise, we will get married. The baby is safe. Please wake up. I don't want my son to grow up without a father.” Ximena was crying for her beloved, who had been in a coma for four days.“I hope that your word is true and that these are not promises to a dying man.” Angelo opened his eyes.“Of course we'll get married; I'll finish my studies soon; it won't be long before I graduate, you know that.”“Ready, my love; that's how we'll do it. Ximena, please come with me to my house; let's live together again.”“Yes, my baby of one, I agree.”They spent the following months at home under the care of his doctors until Angelo recovered completely. He had to go back to business to make up for the empty demand for Max's poster. It was an exhausting few days until he talked to his grandfather.“I no longer want to continue with the illegal business, grandfather; please understand me.”“It's that the illegal businesses are the ones that leave the most money; consi