"Eva Sardino, my ex's mother, is the most self-interested person you can imagine. She was the one who came up with the idea of us getting married so that later, when Bella inherited everything from the Sardinos, we could take it away from her, because she's kind of silly. So if Christian met her, as it seems he did in France, and they got married there, you've lost the battle. Because, even though it's hard for me to admit it, Isabella is a good woman and deserves a good man."
"Wow, anyone who hears you might think you're in love with her!""No, I'm not! But I'm not blind, and I like to face reality. She's not a gold-digger, and she doesn't need your fiancé's money, because she has plenty of her own. So if she's with Christian, it's because she truly loves him. That's what I want you to be clear about, she's not that kind of woman, and she doesn't need it! Because her grandfather's fortune may be equal to or greater than your boyfriend's.""Are yoShe leaves me while she goes to get her computer. I scroll my hand, and the central home screen appears, showing Christian with a beautiful girl, hugging and happy. I look at them until Marta arrives and I show them to her."See? He has someone, and you were dreaming something else.""Ha, ha, ha..., seriously you haven't researched your husband on the internet? That's his younger sister, Christie.""Did you?" I ask incredulously."Of course I did, last night I spent a long time reading about him. There's not much, but I didn't find any women, well, there was one a long time ago before the accident, but after that nobody knows anything, he's been single until now that the rumors started that he's married. Thank goodness they didn't take any pictures of you, or our house would be flooded with yellow journalists.""Seriously, he didn't have anyone?""They say he was with a girl, but that he left her when he woke up from the coma because he didn't remember
I ask him and go in search of Christian. He comes with me, greets the man, then takes the suitcase and carries everything inside. I follow him and ask him."Is that what you really want for your life?"I follow Christian, who carries the enormous suitcase to the room my grandfather has assigned him, right next to mine. I enter behind him and ask:"Is that really what you want for your life?"He finishes placing the suitcase on his bed and turns slowly to face me. He approaches very slowly until he is only half a metre away."Yes, I want this," he replies firmly. "I don't want to be alone anymore in a world I don't know, where the only memory I have is the cake your grandmother used to make me. Is it wrong to want to be here, in the only place where something exists that reminds me of Bella?"I don't know what to say. I don't know why I came and asked him this stupid question, when I was the one who asked for his help. I'm about to turn and leave, but he
"Of course she won't tell you that, just as she doesn't accept that she's depressed because she doesn't see your father," he continues to explain, and he might be right, Grandma is very closed off. "What I'm trying to say, Bella, is that we're going to do this the best we can so that everyone is happy. Your grandmother sees your father, our children continue to be happy because they think I'm their father, no one will criticize you, and I... well, I...""We're here, sir!" the driver interrupts us. "It seems the flight from France has arrived, look over there." He tells us, pointing to some French people who pass us by.We get out quickly, Christian takes me by the hand and I let him, we run through the people who are coming out until we see her standing with her suitcases in the middle of the airport, looking around a little scared."Eugenia!" I call her when I see her, she sees me and waves."Well, Bella, I thought I had been forgotten," she says, giving me a bi
On the other hand, if the rumours are true, his choice isn't bad. Heiress Isabella Sardino isn't a terrible match. Surely, she doesn't need his money. So, why would she agree to marry Christian? And those children? Are they Christian's or Luis Ibáñez'? Mr. Thompson wonders when the office door swings open, revealing Mrs. Thompson, her face contorted with fury.“Did you see the outrageous thing your son has done?! I told you we shouldn't have indulged him, letting him do whatever he pleased in his condition! Now this woman has ensnared him, tricked him into marrying her!” She frantically says.“Darling, sit down and calm yourself. We shouldn't have pressured him with Adele, I told you. He couldn't stand her, I saw it in his eyes the day we argued. That's why he left. We've treated our son terribly.” He answers softly, trying to calm her down.“What do you mean?Mr. Thompson sighs, the weight of their mistakes settling on
Christie as always, defends her brother in front of them with real zeal and turning to her father, she continues:“And just so you know, Dad, I just solved the contract mess, I'm leaving this afternoon to help my brother with a problem he has at his publishing house and he says you know what it is, so don't assign me any more work, because I won't be here. Goodbye, I'm going to pack my suitcase!"And with that, she leaves, slamming the door behind her, making him jump in his chair. The mother looks again at the photos of her son, especially the ones where he is smiling happily, and looks up to find that her husband is doing the same."Well, I don't care what you say! My daughter-in-law is Adele and I will continue to fight for them to work things out! Because before he lost his memory, he was happy with his girlfriend, he had bought the ring and everything to get engaged. I don't want him to accuse us tomorrow, when he regains his memory, that we didn't fight ha
He shakes his head smiling and answers: "No, I've never been married before, and I don't remember when I had a girlfriend. It's like we're both first-timers, so we'll have to learn together, ha, ha, ha..." he laughs nervously. "Although you were married, you must know.""That doesn't count," I replied. "I never lived a married life with Luis. I'm at zero, just like you. Okay, I've seen my grandparents since I was a child, we'll imitate them. You have to hug me all the time, and help me with everything, both be kind. That's what we'll do, it won't be so difficult. We'll spend almost all our time at the office, and weekends at your house, what do you think?"He watches as I take my panties out of some drawers and start putting his underpants away. I blush and quickly put them in the other drawer. Christian turns and clears his throat. Then he takes a pair of shorts and a pullover and goes into the bathroom. When he comes out, I'm already lying down and complete
He grabs his jacket, takes my hand and we run out, while he calls the driver to have the car ready. We get in and speed off to the house. As we enter, my children run towards us, frightened."Dad..., Dad..., that witch wants to take us away!" Lucas says, terrified.Christian picks them both up and turns to greet us. My mother approaches me and gives me a hard slap."You're a slut...!" she screams, and tries to hit me again, but I grab her hand and throw it away."What do you think you're doing?!" I ask her, trying to control myself, seeing the fear in my children's eyes."What's going on here?"My grandfather asks, very annoyed, entering with Grandma, Eugenia and my father, who also arrives at that moment and opens his eyes wide in fear when he sees my grandmother's gaunt face, holding her stomach and very pale, as if she were going to faint, while my grandfather and Eugenia hold her up."How could you hide from us that you had two bastards?" My mother continues to shout, not caring t
My mother's eyes widen alarmingly as she opens and closes her mouth several times, unable to produce a sound. She looks at me repeatedly, unable to believe it. Christian smiles, seating me beside him and taking my hand. He waits for my mother to form a good impression of us before he continues speaking. He even waits for her to sit down in front of us, looking in the direction where dad went with grandma.She certainly didn't expect that reaction from dad. Well, none of us did, especially not him taking his mother's side so clearly. And even less so that he would be married to the person I am. Christian's voice makes me look at him again."Do you know why I'm still here sitting, talking to the person who has insulted my beloved wife and children in the worst possible way?" he asks.My mother turns pale, resembling a sheet of paper, as she nervously wrings her purse in her hands. Christian continues to stare at her intently, with a chilling smile, and speaks extremely slowly, measuring
As they arrive, they see everyone still waiting for news about the children. They turn upon hearing them, while Christie goes and embraces her brother, covering him with kisses, crying."What is it, Chris?" Christian asks, pulling away."It's Bella.""What's wrong with Bella?" Santiago and the grandfather ask simultaneously."We've just run into the doctor treating her. He was looking for you to tell you that they need to fetch Bella's mother. None of the others are compatible with her, and the only hope left is that her mother might be, as she has the same blood type.""As soon as we know about the children, we'll go for her," Grandfather Sardino says."No, it has to be now," Mr Thompson replies very seriously."Why?" Santiago asks."Because if they don't perform the transplant immediately, the doctor doesn't think she'll survive.""Oh God, don't tell me that, don't tell me that! My Bella can't die before I ask for her forgiveness
At that moment, they see Doctor David, who was inside the operating theatre where the adults were, running towards them."Christian, you need to come urgently," he requests with urgency."Has something happened to Bella?" Christian asks, standing up frightened."No, it's not about Bella," Doctor David assures him."Then who? I don't want to move from here, from beside my children," he says, sitting back down."Néstor is out there, demanding they give him Adele, and I thought you could say you're her fiancé and prevent it. She's really in a critical condition, she has two gunshot wounds to the torso and has lost a lot of blood, just like Luis. The worst of all is the other woman.""Vivian?" Christie asks intrigued."Yes, she'd already been shot once and they gave her two more," David replies. "She's in a very bad way, I don't know if she'll make it. But come on.""Vivian must have prevented Eva from killing the children," says the
Néstor Guzmán was furious. Since she escape, he hadn't been able to find where Adele had gone. Initially, he'd stopped looking for her when he found Christie Thompson, thinking she'd make a better wife for him and that it would be easy to acquire her, as he was accustomed to doing. But due to his actions in their company, he found himself in serious trouble with the government, caused by Mr Thompson.He realised that Thompson was indeed very powerful and could cause him significant harm. So when he learned on television that Christie had married her boyfriend, Dr David, he cursed angrily and resumed his search for Adele, intending to leave, as his father was pressuring him to return due to the mess he'd caused with the Thompson family."Sir, we're not sure if it's true," said one of his men, entering his office. "But one of our lads says he saw Adele with a chap called Luis Ibáñez. They were in a car heading out of the city. He followed th
The two thugs covered the phone, having confirmed their suspicions, and spoke to each other in fear."What should we do? Old man Sardino says he'll give us all the money we want. What if we kill Eva and the others, save only the children, and get all that money?""Are you mad?" Roan replied, visibly frightened. "I'm sure they'll find us out. The bodyguards saw us taking the children and trying to kill everyone."As they heard Patriarch Sardino's voice change from almost begging them desperately on the phone a moment ago to now becoming furious and threatening, they paid attention to what he was saying."If you don't tell me right now where they are, I'll hunt you down and make you pay as if you were the kidnappers," Patriarch Sardino's cold voice sent a shiver down their spines. "I swear I'll find you even if you hide underground! If my great-grandchildren die because you didn't tell me where they are, I'll make you pay dearly. I swear it! Where are
Two cars were hidden opposite the Sardino mansion. In another, further away, Eva, in disguise, supervised the operation. They had initially planned to go directly to Christian's house, but after learning that Isabella took the children there every day, they decided to follow her and kidnap all three on the way."I say, Ruan, doesn't this house look familiar from the telly?" asked one of them who had never been to the place before."From the telly? What do you mean by that?""I reckon this house was on the telly. It belongs to the Sardinos.""Which Sardinos? The millionaires?""Yes, those very ones. Are you certain that woman isn't deceiving us? Whose children did she say they were?""Now that you mention it, she's never told us whose children we're nabbing. She just keeps saying the family has enough money to pay a hundred million for them without batting an eyelid. That she'll give us fifty, and the rest will be hers. Are you sure it's the Sardinos'? Haven't they sold it?""I don't k
Everyone was deeply shaken by what was happening. It was something they hadn't expected."Spare no expense," Mr Thompson interjected, embracing Christian. "I'll give my entire fortune if necessary, but they must return them alive, do you understand? All I care about is saving my grandchildren!""Unfortunately," Grandfather Sardino said, "we haven't yet received any news from the kidnappers. We've alerted all our contacts and police agencies. However, no one knows anything, no one saw anything. It happened in a very strategic location near the house, where there are no traffic cameras. It was fortunate that Bella managed to call before she lost consciousness.""Dad, it looks like the doctors are coming out. Let's go," Santiago said, walking to meet the doctor emerging from the operating theatre. "Well, doctor, how are my daughters?""The operations went well," the doctor began to explain. "Marta had some severe fractures in her legs, but we managed to reconstruct them. Fortunately, the
It was Saturday, and Christian sat with his family in the living room, sharing happy stories about the children who often stayed with them. Christian's eyesight had improved slightly; he could now see light and some blurry shapes."Hey Chris," his sister called, "why don't we ask Bella to let Lucas and Lucy stay tonight and pick them up tomorrow? It's quite late now. She said she'd bring them after the supermarket, but they haven't arrived yet. It's dark already; perhaps she changed her mind about bringing them.""No, Marta warned me they might be late, but said they'd come even if it took an hour. The children say they have a surprise for me. It's a good idea, though. I'll ask Lucas—he's the negotiator. I don't know where he gets his intelligence from.""Ha ha ha," Mr Thompson laughed. "Listen, dear, did you hear what your son said about not knowing where Lucas gets it from? Don't our grandchildren remind you of those two when they were little?""That's right, love. Chris, when you w
Marta stared at her now-sister for a moment. Bella seemed to go through life without understanding anything, which is why she said, somewhat irritated:"Do you still call her mum? That woman isn't your mum, Bella. Goodness knows who she stole you from!""Look, Marta, even though Dad showed me that paternity test, I don't believe it. And do you know why?""Why?""Because if Eva isn't my mum, then who is? How could Dad not know who my mum is?" Bella asked very seriously and added, "That's why I suspect he wants me on his side against Mum in the divorce mess. That's why he wants me to think I'm not her daughter, so I won't object to him leaving her with nothing.""Bella! How can you believe such a macabre thing about Dad? Listen, and I'm telling you this for Lucas and Lucy's sake! Wake up, because that woman is wicked and capable of doing anything to your children and to us! Dad isn't capable of deceiving you like that. Just look at the way he looks at you and loves you; he wouldn't do s
Christian lay on his bed after emerging from the bathroom, where he had indulged in fantasies about Isabella. He was seriously considering visiting his psychologist, as he believed his current state wasn't normal. Could he truly not live without her? It had all seemed so real-her body in his hands, how he had plunged into her repeatedly. Was Isabella actually visiting him, remaining silent so he wouldn't realise it was her? Did she know he was blind and accept him as he was?At that moment, the bedroom lights switched on as his mother entered. He sat up abruptly."Mum, I think... I think I saw the light when you turned it on. You did turn it on, didn't you?""Yes, son, I just did. Are you regaining your sight as the doctor said? David... David... come and see Chris, David!""What is it, Mother-in-law? I'm here," David said, rushing into Christian's room, followed by his wife Christie and Mr Thomson, who had come in response to Mrs Thomps