The sound of the door slamming open and shut caused him to lift his head and see his wife storm in furiously. It was the last thing he needed, he thought to himself. Pretending to be engrossed in work, he allowed her to approach.
"We must leave today to help Adele with this problem," his wife stated, visibly agitated.
"You mean to help our son," he corrected her, for it seemed she was forgetting that he was their priority. "I remind you that it is Christian whom we need to listen to and support.""Darling! That is exactly what I am doing. Adele is the love of our son's life!" she declared, dropping a folder onto the bureau of her husband who watched her with concern. "The poor dear just called me in tears because they say that Christian truly married Isabella Sardino. Do you remember her? That odd little girl, whose acquaintance your father insisted Christian make from childhood, taking him almost every weekend to stay at their house.""I remember her, dear. ShAdele anxiously watches the clock in a room on the outskirts of the city. She has arranged to meet Luis Ibáñez, who has promised to bring someone who can help them. However, they are running late, and she needs to greet Christian's parents, who informed her they would arrive that day.Finally, there's a knock at the door. She rushes to open it and is surprised to see him accompanied by a lady who, without waiting for an invitation, strides into the room. Luis follows behind, and Adele shuts the door. She then moves to face the two seated figures, takes a seat herself, and looks questioningly at Luis."This is Eva Giménez Sardino, Isabella's mother," he introduces her, then turns to Eva. "And this is Adele, Christian's former fiancée.""What is she doing here?" Adele asks, her voice tinged with animosity. She despises mothers who are not good to their children because her own mother abandoned her to an abusive father."She wants revenge
Mr. Sardino looks at him very seriously and at the same time handing over the investigation to his son."Son, I don't know why, but I keep suspecting Luis. On the children's birthday, I caught Luis Ibáñez smiling contentedly twice, looking at the worried faces of Bella and Christian. It was as if he was relishing everything that was happening. I don't understand why Christian still keeps him in the company!""Do you really think that good-for-nothing Luis would be capable of such a thing?" Santiago asserts."You also didn't believe he could mistreat Bella, and you saw the beating he gave her! That lad has something rotten in him! I can see it!""Dad, you've always had keen eyesight, not like me," he says thoughtfully. "Perhaps you're right; I too saw him smiling contentedly. Is he being watched?""Yes, he's under close surveillance," confirms Sr. Sardino.Just then, the phone rings. The grandfather answers and begins to talk. He looks at h
Eva happily returns to the house she rents, gets out of the taxi, and is surprised to see Santiago standing at the entrance. He cursed inwardly.“What are you doing here? I told you I won't come back to you until you apologise,” she says as she passes him by. Santiago doesn't say anything; he simply gets in his car and leaves. Eva is amazed and intrigued. How did he find out where she was and why had he come? She thought that once again he would beg her forgiveness on his knees and plead for her to come back. But it wasn't like that. Instead, not a word was spoken to her, and he was gone. What the hell was going on with him?Upon entering the house, she sees an envelope on the table. She takes it quickly and has to sit down to avoid falling. Inside are all the accounts and debts she has in her name, along with another letter informing her that if she does not pay them, she will go to jail. She gets angry.“Who does he think he is to treat me like tha
Eva looks at him as he lowers his head. She has a great desire to kill him, but if she does, she knows it will be worse because she is aware that he put everything in his daughter's name and that her father-in-law's old man is not going to delay throwing her out onto the street, otherwise kill her or send her to jail. She turns her back, determined to hold on until she sees how she can get out of this situation. When she is about to leave, she hears Santiago's voice.“Eva, if you stay here, it is on the condition that you do everything I tell you without saying a word. If you think you can't stand it, the door is open, and I can sign the divorce as soon as you want.”“Santiago!”She screams, turning to argue with him, but meets the dark gaze of her husband, who is playing with a gun in his hands. She closes her mouth in fear and turns again to leave the office when she hears him say.“Ah, Eva, if I find out that you are d
As a child, hidden under my bed, with a torch lighting up my books. I always imagined myself as a princess locked in a castle, waiting for my enchanted prince to come and rescue me. Over the years, life taught me that there are no enchanted princes who come to save you! You have to do it yourself! Yes, you! Because it is something that has to come from your deepest self.It is now that I realise this. I thought I was ready for life, that I was strong enough to face whatever came my way. I have been through very bad things that have made me grow and strengthen with the help of my grandparents. But no one ever prepared me for love. The little I know is what I have read in idyllic romance novels. Where the knight always woos the lady in a way that she feels enchanted and secure by his side.Here I am, trembling before this great love that has awakened in me. I feel like I am loving Christian with every fibre of my being. As if all these years I have been waiting f
We seem like two teenagers who every day, every hour, minute, or second discover something new and are happy, very happy. And today the test we feared has arrived, yet now that we are a real couple, we are not afraid. I laugh as I feel how desperate he is to make love. I can't deny it; I desire it too. That's why I responded to his question."Who knows? Perhaps tonight I'll grant you that wish; it all depends on how you behave."I say playfully, amazed at myself. As I caress him and rub against his huge erection, Christian squeezes me even tighter, making me feel all his masculinity, which makes me feel very womanly, knowing that I cause that in my husband. I gently push him away, adjust his tie, wipe his lips as he looks at me pleadingly. I never imagined I would be able to play with a man. Much less with my first love!I walk past him as I see him adjusting himself in his pants. I smile victoriously, knowing that I provoke that in him. It's as if the provocative and
At the cry of Christian's mother, he turns red with embarrassment. His father pulls his mother back and gives her a reproachful look. I pass my hand over his back, and I can almost hear his heart as all eyes are on him. I smile at him, watching as he takes a deep breath and speaks with a firm voice."Mum, I know! But I had them before the accident! To be more exact, the day before that car hit me."He says this still with his face red from the embarrassment his mother has caused him. She tries to speak, but the words don't come out of her mouth; she just moves her lips visibly confused, as if she doesn't know how to react to this revelation. Beside her, Adele also looks incredulous at my children. Only Mr. Thompson half-smiles at them."Mum, Dad, let me introduce you to Isabella's grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Sardino," Christie intervenes, trying to change the atmosphere and assist her brother, who is visibly upset and embarrassed. I continue to stroke his b
"Yes, sweetheart, but I can have several princesses," Mr. Thompson kindly replies, and I even think he enjoys her talking to him. "You have your dad all to yourself!""I don't care, I want to be your princess too!" Lucy shouts and we all laugh. After dinner, we all go out to the terrace.Adele manages to sit next to Christian. He notices and quickly stands up, using the excuse of going to see the children playing in the garden. I remain seated next to my mother-in-law, who continues to stare at me. My grandmother is next to her, alongside my mother who, to my surprise, hasn't spoken all evening. Christie comes and sits next to me with Marta."So you're the little girl my son used to play with when he was a child?" my mother-in-law asks rudely. "How did you rope him in?""Mom!" Christie jumps in excitedly, not letting me respond. "Christian found her; he remembers her!""What? He remembers her?"My mother-in-law asks, genuinely surpri
I watch him leave and I'm left feeling scared. I keep looking at the news in the newspapers and what they're saying about me is horrible, surely Dad will come when he sees this. What was I thinking? And my father-in-law? Will he be upset because I involved him in this plan? I just asked him to accompany me, I knew he would find them, he had them checked. He must know where Christian is, he has something to locate both of them."I won't stay here waiting for the police to come, I'll go to their room, I have to put on a good show, because if they implicate me in Christian's kidnapping, I'm finished. That must be Dad. I take my phone, and yes, it's him. He must have found out everything by now. What the hell was I thinking when I did that?! I take a deep breath and answer."Hello.""Can you tell me what on earth was going through your head to commit such a stupid act?!""Dad, let me explain, I didn't do anything, I just accompanied my father-in-law. The rest happened on its own.""Do you
As she speaks, she takes out everything she has. They reach the room where Christian is still asleep, having a very restless sleep. Doctor David immediately begins examining him; he has dealt with many cases like this in the association he works for. Santiago informs him of the type of drug Christian was given. At that Munent, Doctor Alfonso also arrives with the results of all the tests he conducted."We need to start him on a drip right away; we also have to give him all his medications. I managed to find out some but not all," Doctor Alfonso says."I have them here, doctor," Christie shows them again. "These are all the medications my brother takes, along with the dosages and how he takes them.""That's very helpful; pass me the information. I think you should all leave now and let the doctors take care of him."Everyone rushes out of the room, leaving the doctors engrossed in attending to Christian. Isabella is very scared, along with her sister. Marta starts making tea in the kit
At this moment, they are interrupted by Grandma Tania, who asks them to come for tea. Grandpa follows them immediately, inviting them to the living room. The children's laughter makes them turn their heads to see them running towards them. They arrive and throw themselves into their arms, kissing them happily."Grandpa, you came to see me!" exclaims Lucia excitedly."Yes, my girl, I came to see both of you. We came because your grandma also came to see you.""Does Grandma love us too?" asks Lucas."I have always loved you," replies Grandma as she leans in to kiss him. "You look just like your dad when he was your age.""Really, Grandma? Do I look like my dad?" asks Lucas excitedly."And me, Grandma, who do I look like?" Lucy asks in turn."You look a lot like your aunt, you even have dimples on your cheeks," Mrs. Thompson replies excitedly."Really, Grandma? Why are you crying?" Lucy asks."I'm not crying, I'm just excited and happy to see you.""Mun and Dad aren't here," says Lucas.
"Dad, I have to tell you something now that you said that.""What thing?" he asks as we walk towards the room where Chris sleeps."Yesterday afternoon, when we went to the market to buy clothes to go to the club, we ran into his parents, and my father-in-law..., my father-in-law...""What about your father-in-law, Bella? What did that heartless man do to you?"Upon hearing him shout furiously and seeing the terrible expression of hatred on his face, I become frightened and no longer think it's a good idea to tell him. However, I've already started and can't stop now. I will continue to trust my father as I did my secret friend. I won't hide anything from him; he seems to know Mr. Thompson very well."He was looking at me in a strange way, I thought he was comparing me to Adele, but... but... you know I don't have much experience with men, dad. But I think he was looking at me as a woman; I even saw him licking his lips while looking at my breasts.""Heartless womaniser! He hasn't chan
I don't know what to think or say right now. I told him so many things, shared my fears, talked about him, about Mum. Now I understand why my secret friend knew how I thought and understood perfectly without much explanation of what I told him, and gave me such good advice. I run towards him and hug him again, happy that he shows me in that way how much he loves me."Are you not upset?""No, I'm not.""Can I now be your best friend instead of your secret friend?""Yes, yes, Dad, I would really like that!" "Then answer me honestly all those questions I asked you." I pause, right now I want to tell him the whole truth, but I'm ashamed of what I did, going to the club, not knowing who the father of my children is, and above all, that Christian is not. I promised not to tell anyone, but Dad is no one; he's my dad! I slump into a chair not knowing what to do or say. It's not just my secret; I need to discuss it with Christian and even with Grandpa. For now, I'll tell him only what I can
Standing before my father, who observes me in silence, I patiently wait for him to speak. What does it mean that Christian is here in his house, and what did the doctor mean by that? He gestures for me to follow him into the study, and I do so quietly. He sits at his desk and switches on the computer."I want you to see this, Bella. Before I tell you anything, and for you to understand why your husband did what he did."I approach slowly, feeling like I'm about to witness something unpleasant, but I need to know. As I arrive, I see a video of a young man stumbling around a house, his gaze vacant as if he doesn't recognise anyone. I focus and realise it's not our house; it's another one. When the man turns, I see that it's my father when he was young. There's another person being taken away whom I can't recognise because their face is blurred."What does this mean, Dad?""That drug they gave your husband yesterday. That day, my girlfriend was supposed to meet me and disappeared; I neve
I catch Christian's face and kiss him, making him forget about them. I keep doing it for the rest of the night, even when we get into the limousine, I don't let go of him. We are all a bit drunk. But Christian instructs the driver to stop."Christie, take this key and go with David and Marta to the hotel where my company's party will be held.""Why my brother?" she protests. "I'm very tired! Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow.""I want to check something. Please, Chris, do as I ask," he turns when he sees she is really drunk. "Take care of them, David. Let's go, Bella."We get out of the limousine, which drives away, leaving us in the complete darkness of the street. Another car approaches, and we get in; it's one of the security guards' cars."Where to, boss?" the driver asks. I am also a bit drunk, so I just follow my husband without knowing what he wants to do."Take us to the estate," he orders very seriously, and I still don't understand. "I di
I jump to my feet and we head to the dance floor. He wraps me in his arms and we dance non-stop for over an hour, laughing and completely happy with my husband, who also seems to be enjoying himself. We return to our table to rest for a bit. The girls are lost, but we're not worried, they're well taken care of. I see Christian furrow his brow and follow his gaze, and I can't believe it. Adele is a little further away, with a woman I can't quite identify, but she seems familiar!"Bella, by any chance are you wearing something my parents gave you?" Christian asks suspiciously as he inspects me."No, my love, why do you ask? You know I don't like jewellery, I only have these earrings that are gifts from my mum and the ring you gave me, nothing else.""I'm starting to suspect that one of us has a follower who tells them where we are," he says as he takes another sip of his drink, still looking towards where she is. "You're ruled out, I don't have anyth
I go to Marta's room, who is clad in very tight black trousers that accentuate her beautiful body. Her hair is tousled and adorned with garments, reminding me of the wild girl I met in France."Marta! I almost didn't recognise you!" I exclaim, truly astonished to see her."Why haven't you dressed yet?" she asks, ignoring my exclamation as if it were nothing."I came to see what you were going to wear to match. I've never been to a nightclub, you know," I explain, unable to stop looking at her; she is truly beautiful. "Marta, you've really surprised me. You're very beautiful and you were hiding it.""Stop exaggerating, I just fixed up a bit. What do you mean you don't know what to wear? Bella, we bought you the clothes you should wear, put them on.""Don't you think it's too tight?""No!"At that moment, both she and Christie, who appears dressed almost the same as Marta but in gold trousers, say simultaneously. Mine are dark blu