Luis said, staring at me intently. Since he hadn't been coming to the house and it was very hot that day, I had put on a shorts set that highlighted my femininity. And I think he was surprised and looked at me for the first time in his life as a woman. I'm sure of it, his eyes roamed my body with surprise, he couldn't hide it and it made me feel uncomfortable. I shouldn't have dressed like this!
I reproached myself as I saw him running his tongue over his lips. Why didn't I think about the possibility that he might return? Until now he had considered me ugly, and I prefer he continues thinking that way. The last thing I want is for this brute to demand that I fulfill my wifely duties, and by the way he's looking at me, I think he'll do it at any moment, he'll force me to sleep with him. The deal we made was just words, if he breaks it, I can't claim anything.That's why before he could continue looking at my body like a piece of meat he could devour whenever he wanteI take a step back at the terrified look he gives me. It's as if I were to blame for all the annoyance and discomfort our parents caused him. He snorts when he sees I'm not saying anything. Then he yells at the top of his lungs: "Because the food isn't the problem! We have to share common stories about our honeymoon and we don't have any! What are we going to do, huh? Damn! Our mothers are a bloody headache!" "What are we going to do, Luis?" I ask frightened, realizing that it is indeed a problem. We don't have a single story together, since we spent the so-called honeymoon separately, and in my zero travel experience, the furthest my courage took me alone was to a library. If only he had taken me out for just one day, I think. Now we wouldn't be in this mess. But I don't say anything to him, that won't fix the problem. Fighting won't help us at all, we must be practical, so I release all my air thinking what to do. "We don't have an
Never mind, I have to do it because if they discover we don't share a room, there will surely be trouble. I take a suitcase and fill it with my clothes of all types and run up the stairs as best I can, enter his room and put them in the closet along with his, arrange the shoes and my underwear in a drawer. I go back to my room and bring makeup, toothbrush, and everything else."As soon as they leave, get all this junk out of here!" Luis tells me as he watches me fill his room with my things."I think we should leave them here just in case, I'm sure mom will come by often. Don't look at me like that, the ones I put aren't ones I use, it's just for show, I won't be hanging around in your room if that's what worries you. I love mine and hate climbing stairs, in case you forgot.""Fine, just finish and leave, I'm having a video call with my girl!" He still speaks rudely, as if my presence there irritates him."This is important Luis, I'm sure they're coming to check
Everyone is watching me as if they were waiting for me to say what he is asking. Especially mom who looks at me as if she wants to kill me. My father-in-law smiles waiting for me to do it, at my mother-in-law who turns red and lowers her gaze. But above all my eyes meet those of my dad who looks at me longingly."Ha, ha, ha..." I laugh nervously, I don't like this man at all. "Thank you, father-in-law," I say, while looking at dad, and I think I saw him half-smile when he heard me call him that."Bravo, how was the trip, did you like it?" My father-in-law continues to ask without taking his eyes off me."Everything was very nice, dad," Luis saves me by coming to join us, he's certainly keeping his promise not to leave me alone with them, for which I'm very grateful, they really make me nervous with their questions and insinuations, "but now let's eat, dinner will get cold. We'll chat later.""Dad, are you coming?" I ask, stopping to wait for him.Yes,
Nonetheless, Dad continued to scrutinise him intently until Luis shifted his gaze and placed his arm around my shoulders as though he were afraid of something. Dad finally finished his farewells and left, followed by Mum who was still fussing over him. What happened with him?We waved them off from the doorway, and as soon as they were gone, I shrugged off Luis's hold. He looked at me pensively when we were alone.“Bella, you were brilliant. I thought it would be tougher to convince them that we're a genuine married couple,” he said, his gaze still fixed on me.“You too, Luis. Thank you for keeping your promise not to leave me alone with them for a moment; I really was very nervous,” I said and started walking back into the house, where the servants were finishing tidying up. “Really, have you visited all those places?”“Yes, I did— with my girl!” he replied arrogantly.And that marked the end
Luis stops for a moment to observe me. His look at that moment I think is one of condescension, and I even seemed to perceive a flash of pity before he continued."Your dad initially didn't accept this marriage when it was proposed to him, he flatly refused to let you marry me. It was something I was counting on to avoid doing it. That he would keep refusing until the end, but he didn't," he finished with anger and disappointment in his voice.I can't believe what he's confessing to me. What does that mean? Dad really doesn't want this marriage? Could I get divorced if I tell him what's really happening? Grandfather says he's not as ill as mom claims. But hearing what Luis continues to say fills me with doubts."He didn't, and look at us here, married!" He says, both disappointed and annoyed. "Your dad finally gave in and handed you over to me because of what Eva did to him!"He tells me and I believe him, I don't think dad wanted to leave me in his h
But considering the amount of jewellery she acquires incessantly, it's no wonder anyone would be left insolvent. Why doesn't Dad impose some restraint on her spending? Should I phone him and tell him, or should I confide in Grandfather? No, Bella! Keep them out of this. Dad threatened Luis that day; I don't want him to harm Luis, and if Grandfather gets wind of this, he'll surely settle scores with them.I'd better stay hidden here, out of everyone's sight. The trouble is, I only have the modest sum Mima gave me yesterday. I'll sell my earrings; they must be worth a fortune. Yes, that's what I'll do tomorrow, while staying out of sight. Once these marks fade, I'll seek out my grandfather and ask for his help to divorce Luis. I shan't return to that house again. Degenerate, abuser, contemptible man! I ought to have used the taser Grandfather gave me!At the time, it didn't cross my mind; it should have. I simply couldn't fathom he would attack me in such a
I shake my head to push those memories away, get up and head to the bathroom. I wash myself as best I can, then throw myself on the bed without clothes. I should have come to this place before and fixed it properly. I think as I curl up in bed, at least it's comfortable, I tell myself and close my eyes that still release tears even when I don't want to, and I fall into a deep sleep.The next day, my phone's ring wakes me up, I open my eyes and everything comes rushing back to my memory, bringing me back to reality. My head hurts terribly, as does the blow he gave to my face. With great difficulty, I manage to sit up because of strong dizziness. I stay like that until it passes and very slowly manage to stand up, everything remains in darkness. I move slowly until I find the switch and turn on the light. I have to close my eyes until they adjust.After turning off the persistent alarm on my phone inside my purse, I head to the bathroom. The horrible image
I try to calm him down, I know my grandfather, if he finds out about this he's capable of killing Luis, better to leave him out of everything, I don't want my grandfather to get into trouble because of that imbecile, and much less worry my sick grandmother."Bella..." his voice is full of questions and I'm almost certain he suspects something."Stop drawing your own conclusions, grandfather. I'm just studying for exams, I fell asleep and didn't tell Luis, he must be very worried. That's why he called you," I quickly invent, although I'm very bad at lying."And where did you stay?" He continues his interrogation."Where did I stay? At..., at a friend's house, yes that's it, that's why Luis doesn't know anything." I'm terrible at lying, I should have thought all this through before calling him, and I know he's already figured it out."Bella, if something happened to you..." And he falls silent, I know he's already figured it out, but I don't want to tell
Isabella embraces Santiago once again, who returns the hug feeling immense happiness. How could he have deprived himself of this for twenty-three years? He wonders as he discreetly wipes away a tear. Then he separates from his daughter, who responds with a smile and a huge expression of joy that satisfies him, and says to him."Okay, Dad, I'll come and help you, but don't get used to it. Ha, ha, ha... You know very well that I don't like numbers," she then looks at him intently as if pondering what she wants to say, he smiles at her, and it is then that she decides to speak. "Can I ask you something in private?""Of course, my daughter, come with me to the bridge, to take that turn and anchor. Then we will talk about anything you want."Isabella does as he asks, follows him to the bridge, stops by his side to observe him. She hears the commotion of her children approaching with Christian, she receives them excitedly and goes to meet them. Everyone watches the an
"You're right to get out of that. I'll give the order right away. And what are we going to do about Reginaldo?""Leave him for now. Let's see what those two are planning.""The way he left, I don't think he's going to help her this time. I clearly heard him threatening her. Eva was shouting for him, and he didn't turn back. From what I heard, he seems to know a lot of your wife's secrets. Maybe we'll finally find out where Susan is. I can't shake the feeling that it was Eva who kidnapped her, perhaps with Thompson's help.""We've been searching for her for so long without any results that I've lost all hope. I just want to know if she's happy. If she's alive, if she wasn't killed because of me. And look at what happened now unexpectedly. Christian is Thompson's son, he married Isabella and they had two children.""That's true, but that boy takes after his grandfather, not his father. He's a degenerate and hasn't changed yet. I did some digging on him, and h
Christian hurried to help Marta with the box full of files, then placed it on a table. Isabella looked at him, not understanding what he wanted. His sister-in-law, Christie, also helped to arrange everything."Didn't we say we were going to organise everything?" Isabella asked, still working."We did, darling, but now my treatment is more important," Christian replied with a smile."What treatment?""What do you think, Bella? The happiness treatment," Christie said, laughing at her sister-in-law's surprised expression. "The company is ours, and we can do things whenever we want. Especially what you're doing now, we can take it home and do it together.""Not a bad idea," Christian agreed. "Let's do it as my sister says. Now leave everything as it is and let's go. We're all going on a family trip.""What do you mean by all?" Isabella asked."Exactly that, the whole family is going for a walk.""The whole, whole family?" Isabella asked again.
"Because even though you don't remember me, I, on the other hand, could not forget your beautiful hair. I promised myself to come for you when I became an adult. I have just turned eighteen, and I have come for you.""I'm sorry to tell you that you made a trip in vain. My only love has always been Santiago, and it will continue to be for the rest of my life. Santi, I came to find you so you can accompany me to ask my parents for permission, for what you asked me. Shall we go?"I hadn't missed Thompson's look of hatred directed towards me. Nor his desire-filled gaze on Susan. I was sure I would have serious problems with him because of my girlfriend. As we were leaving, I heard him say,"I'm not giving up, I came for you and I won't leave empty-handed.""Stop the jokes Thompson, I think you should know that Susan is my fiancée, the woman I'm going to marry, so show some respect," I reprimanded him sternly."Let's go Santi," Susan pleaded. "You know I o
I am very happy to have reunited the shipping companies. They complement each other. Dad was right about that when he told me. Thank goodness I am feeling much better. Doctor Alfonso was right in everything he explained to me. I don't understand how Eva was able to do that to me, it's true that I didn't love her, but I always treated her very well. I gave her all the money she wanted, bought her everything she wanted to buy. And still, it wasn't enough for her, she had to sell our daughter.I knew Bella couldn't be in love with that guy. If Luis thinks she's going to slip through my fingers because of what he did to my daughter, he's very wrong. He will pay dearly for what he dared to do. It seems like everyone has forgotten who I am. I have to remind them all. It's enough for me to lament losing Susan. Many years have passed since then. And even though I don't believe what Eva told me, I know something happened to my Susan, my heart tells me so, she wouldn't abandon me like sh
I've been in the warehouse for over three hours organising the files with Marta for the new projects. We also want to input all the information into the computers. Suddenly, my phone rings."Hello?""Bella, it's me, Mum.""Mum?" I ask, unable to believe it. "What do you want?""Nothing, aren't you happy to hear from me? Don't you even care about your mother?""Mum, I know you're doing well on your cruise. I ask Dad about you every day. So, tell me why you called, I'm busy.""No, I just wanted to know how you were, my daughter, that's all.""I'm fine, thanks.""Do you know anything about your father?"I realise that's the real reason she called. She wants to know what's going on with Dad. Thankfully, he warned me about this. I know he cut off all the money from the cards. I'm sure she's calling to find out what's happening. Dad told me what to say, so I focused on telling her our plan."Dad moved in with us because he's ba
He is sitting in his office, smiling as he looks at the photos of Lucas and Luci that Marta just brought him in a frame that he proudly places on his desk. He can't help but smile, they look happy. He still remembers when he took that picture of them, it was on their birthday, which by the way, he still doesn't know the result of the investigation. He picks up his phone and dials Grandpa Sardino, who answers right away, and asks for a meeting to meet up."Can I come to your office, Grandpa? I don't want to talk about it at home.""If it's about what happened at the birthday, leave that to me and your father-in-law. Focus on getting better, let's see if you keep recovering your memory.""But Grandpa...""Christian, listen to me son. Santiago and I will handle it and when we have the results we will let you know. You need to be very happy so you can remember how much you loved your wife. I trust you, okay? Don't come, we'll talk at home. Oh, the yacht is free if yo
When he realised she would be useful for something, he took her out of school. But once again, things had not gone as expected. Luis, in his stupidity, had ruined the job that had cost him so much to accomplish. And Isabella, instead of calling her father, making it possible for her to find out in time and prevent her from escaping.Isabella had asked for help from her grandfather, who annulled her marriage and disappeared her from the country, thwarting his plans to acquire the old man's fortune. Not even her husband had helped in his effort to find his daughter. It seemed more like he was glad she had gone with her parents. And now that she had returned, she thought she could sell her to a higher bidder. She was married, no less, to the most sought-after heir in high society. Christian Thompson. And not only that, she had two children with him!How did the foolish Isabella manage to catch him? That, for sure, had been the work of the old Sardino. She remembered he
Eva picked up her phone and called her husband Santiago, but he didn't answer. She was worried, it was the first time this had happened. She would have to go back home again, she thought. She only had a few thousand in a bank account in her name. She didn't want to spend that money. Damn it! I have to delay everything now. She continued towards her room when she received a call."Hello.""Hello, Mrs. Eva, it's Luis.""Luis? What do you want?""I was wondering if you have time to meet with me and Adele, I came up with another plan that you might be interested in.""Luis, I can't right now, I have something else in mind. I'll call you later, let me know when you're going to do what you told me.""Don't do something like what Adele did, we have to be very well coordinated. We are facing a very powerful enemy.""Alright, I'll let you go now, I have something to figure out."She continued moving towards the room, still thinking about and anal