Adrian, seeing how his boss and best friend gives him a questioning look, continues. “Also, we heard that your father's lawyer, the one who is a close friend of his, went to see the judge he uses urgently to get him to approve some papers.”
"Paperwork?" He catches his eye trying to figure out what his father was up to with his daughter.Adrian explains that the secretary, although she wasn't sure, thinks it was divorce papers. Santiago looks out the window into his father's office and smiles. He doesn't know what he's up to, but he knows that whatever he does will be for Isabella's well-being."I see.” That's all he says before asking. “Have they located where that degenerate Luis is now?" His assistant denies again, informing that in spite of looking for him very well, it seems that he has been swallowed by the earth. Isabella's gardener was the one who told him that some hooded men had gone early in the morning and haOn top of that, his father's constant quarreling with Eva over her inheritance being given early made things harder. His father truly hated Eva while his mother was merely polite yet clearly couldn't stand her either. Only once did Santiago ask Eva why she didn't seek out Susan and ask what happened. He was convinced something must have occurred with Susan. But her family wasn't talking and no one knew where she was. Eva just said she was happily married to some unnamed mobster now.After talking to his father and hearing his insistence that something was wrong with Santiago, he didn't know why but he believed him now. It wasn't possible that during his addiction he had allowed his beloved only daughter to be mistreated by Eva her whole life, just walking away to protect her. And now this, his little girl asked her grandfather, not her own father, for help. How could that be understood? There was only one explanation, Isabella didn't trust him. She thought he
Even with a friend, he always found it hard opening up emotionally, the only exception was his beloved Susan. After she left he never confided his innermost thoughts to anyone again. "Well, shall we continue then?" Alfonso gently encouraged, knowing his friend well. "What's worrying you?" "First, let me ask you something and I want total honesty, don't hide anything from me. Okay?" Santiago began slowly. "Of course, you needn't ask. I'm a professional, I'll always give you the plain truth," said Dr. Alfonso, looking at his friend with concern."Okay...well...you see... My question is...it's..." Santiago hesitated, loosening his tie and draining more water. Clearly he was struggling to voice his reason for being there."Go on, my friend. I'm not only your doctor but have been your confidante all through our youth.” Alfonso encouraged him with a smile. “Out with it, what do you want to know?" San
And he walked out of the office, leaving everything bloody and sore. Yes, he must have been mad when he hit Isabella! She was a fool, who was afraid of him, a wimpy woman, who if he had done things right from the start would be his lawful wife today. But, he had forgotten that she had a powerful family. That, although her parents didn't pay much attention to her. Her grandfather loved and defended her above all else. Everyone, the great patriarchs of business, respected him. He could ruin anyone in a day with just one finger lift.He slowly picked up all the papers, groaning at the pain caused by any movement. He stood up, holding on as best he could to the furniture. He signed each one of them. When he left, the house was empty, he could not say goodbye to his mother. After passing through the hospital. He returned home to find himself again with the notice that he had to leave the house. Because it was Isabella's grandmother's. She had only borrowe
Isabella laughed in amusement at her now best and only friend's question and expression. She assured her that she did not suffer from any rare disease. She was always very healthy, but she could not deny that since she arrived in Paris, she was not sure if it was because of the change, but she was always tired and sleepy."It must be the change, although it should have passed by now. How long have you been in Paris already?" Marta asked again with real concern. When Isabella told her it was two months. He shook his head saying. "It really should have passed by now. I think you need to see a doctor. " "That's what my grandmother keeps saying too.” Isabella confessed thoughtfully. “ I promised we'd go after finishing this project. Sorry, Marta, you practically had to do it alone." "Don't exaggerate!” protested Marta. “Maybe you're just tired from all that reading you do," she dismissed.Isabella said no more, but sh
Isabella laughs with her as she tells her that she agrees. He invites her to get some clothes for Marta to change into, although she refuses. However Isabella does not give in, she is determined to help her best and only friend in some way."Marta please, you can't sleep in those clothes. Here, take anything you want from my wardrobe, consider it a gift for my best and only friend." And says with a sincere smile.Martha stops and looks at her in disbelief. She can't be serious, she thinks. Isabella is beautiful, sincere, honest, but most of all she has a big heart. She can't be friendless being from a wealthy family with all those attributes."Only friend? Surely you had loads back home?" Marta tells her, seeing how Isabella stops to look at her."No Marta, I had no one" Isabella confesses with sadness in her eyes. "You are my first and only best friend. And I want to treat you as such. Please, don't take it badly. Come, I'll show you, you can stay here in this room, I'll stay in the
Hence why Mr Sardino had insisted Isabella study business administration, supposedly to aid Santiago but in reality, to have her ready to assume control when the time came. "Santiago, let's start by discussing what's worrying you most right now. I'm listening," Dr Alfonso said gently. Santiago took a deep breath, sipped some water and rubbed his forehead as if trying to clear his turbulent thoughts. "I suppose it began with Susan leaving me. I adored her, I'd asked her father's blessing to propose and she just fled without explanation. No idea where either, though Eva claimed she'd run off with some mafia bloke. I felt like dying! Started drinking heavily as you know, then that wasn't enough. Tried weed, then it was just one drug after another. And the more wasted I got, the more I thought about Susan and what might have been..."His brother squeezed his arm sympathetically. "I regret so much not being there for you in your grief my friend or getting you help. I should never hav
They left, unaware of a shadowy figure following their departure. At his mother's care home, Alfonso suggested paying respects to their late father. But en route to the cemetery, their mysterious pursuer hastily withdrew. In Paris, it was past midnight but Isabella and Marta were still hard at work. Suddenly Bella's phone pinged a new message notification. Opening it revealed the same anonymous two words once more: "Take care." She stared puzzled at the screen. For months now, this unknown number had sent the odd message, always identical with that simple sign off. "What is it Bella?" Marta asked curiously. "I'm really not sure, ever since arriving in Paris, I get this sporadic text. Just two words from a number I don't recognise. No clue who it could be either." Her friend looked thoughtful. "It's an American number you say? Beyond your grandparents visiting you here, do you know anyone else stateside?" Bella shook her head. "No one at all." "What about your dad - could it b
Outside a church, a distraught young man watched helplessly as a newlywed couple emerged to applause and showers of confetti. Unable to tear his gaze from the radiant bride, their eyes met briefly before she smiled shyly and looked away. "Why? Why couldn't you have waited?" he cried, thumping the steering wheel in torment. He had only just discovered she was engaged after being overseas that past year. How could she have forgotten him so utterly? True, they had not seen each other since childhood when their parents sent them to strict single-sex boarding schools, forcibly separating them. But in their treehouse hideaway, he had pledged to make her his wife one day, and he fully intended to honour that. Although mere children then, he had loved her immediately with a conviction that had not wavered in all the intervening years. Through army service and jobs abroad, he never stopped yearning for and planning their reunion. Yet somehow he had left it too late and now lost her foreve
After my visit to Isabella's grandparents' home, I find myself deep in thought. Life, in its unexpected way, has led me to meet people I would never have imagined. Who could have predicted that my new assistant and editor, Isabella, would be someone I knew in my childhood? The irony of the situation is overwhelming. I can't deny that Isabella has a special charm, and her children are adorable. I wonder how I had the courage to say I was their father. Why did I do it? They both looked at me with such cute, eager, expectant little eyes, that I didn't have the courage to tell them I wasn't their daddy. I felt so good when I said, "yes, I am their daddy." Their looks filled me with a strange emotion that prompted me to utter those words. For a moment, I wished with all my heart that it was true. Will I ever be able to have children? It's a question that haunts me constantly. I remember the looks on Isabella and her children's faces as I told them I was their father. Their eyes sparkled
As he watched her, his gaze was filled with intense hatred. "How could I let her escape my control?" he thought, fixated on how he should have kept her by his side forever. However, as he continued to press his body against hers, Luis noticed a change in Isabella. Her eyes reflected determination and strength, nothing like the scared girl from before. And as he held her, she smiled, not with fear, but with a fire in her eyes that unnerved him.Time seemed to stop as tension built between them. Luis struggled to keep her under his control, while she resisted with a ferocity he had not expected. In a moment of carelessness, Isabella raised her knee and hit him hard in his private parts. Pain coursed through his body, forcing him to let go, writhing from the impact. She took the opportunity and pushed him, causing him to fall to the ground. She ran towards the elevator, adrenaline pumping through her system.Luis tried to get up to follow her, but the pain stopped him. He screamed in fru
Christian said firmly, taking Isabella's arm in a possessive gesture. As he watched them walk away, Luis was filled with a mixture of hatred and frustration. He needed to understand the dynamic between the two of them, so he set out to find out more details. How do they know each other? What relationship do they have?"I should find out about those two," he told himself, his fists clenched. "I can't let Isabella come and interrupt the plan I have with Adele. If necessary, I will discover her secrets."With that purpose in mind, he returned to the reception, where the secretary greeted him with a professional smile."Good morning," Luis said."Good morning, Luis. How can I help you?" the secretary replied."Do you know what the woman who came in with the boss does?” Luis inquired.The secretary, apparently intrigued by his question, answered him with a touch of sarcasm. “Do you mean Isabella?”Luis looked at her, smiling. "Yes, her. When did she start working here and in what position?
After ending the call, she purposefully stowed away her phone. She had teamed up with Luis, forming an unusual alliance with a singular goal: to make Christian fall in love! She needed him to be her husband to liberate herself from the clutches of her father, who offered her no respite. She yearned to swiftly realize her aspirations of eloping with her true love to a secluded haven, where she could vanish without a trace, consuming her every thought. Weary of being a compliant puppet, subject to her father's caprices.She was convinced that once her father amassed a fortune through his ventures, he would finally leave her be. Recognising that her financial situation was far from ideal, she understood that they had banked on her union with Christian to yield prosperity. However, a fiery outburst had derailed those plans, and her father was unwilling to forgive her. What kind of novel idea was brewing in Luis's mind? That question gnawed at her, yet it also kindled hope that he held the
Adele entered her father's office, where he was engaged in a conversation and gestured for her to wait. She stood still, feeling scared in the centre of the room. As the call ended, her father walked around the desk and suddenly delivered a forceful slap that sent her tumbling face down onto the floor. He glared at her with intense hatred."You couldn't even handle that properly?! You had him under your control, with his memory loss! No one knew about your affair with another man! And now he's rejected you, he's rejected you! I don't know if he'll recall what you did, but everyone knows you cheated on him, and he's turned away from you!""I'm sorry, Dad! I swear I don't know what came over me when I did that foolish act. Give me some time. If I fell in love with him once, I can do it again, especially now that he has no memory. I've met Luis Ibáñez, who now works with him and they're becoming close friends. He promised to help me locate Christian. I'll show up without raising any susp
The revelation left me momentarily speechless. Christian seemed so different from my recollection, yet the connection was undeniable."Why does your face look so different now?" I blurted out.Christian's response was staggering. He had undergone extensive facial reconstruction following an accident that had left him severely injured. I struggled to process this newfound information."I can't say that I truly know you," I confessed. "We didn't exchange many words during the flight. I was engrossed in my book. You kindly escorted me home when taxis were scarce, but we didn't keep in touch afterward. You mentioned being friends with my grandparents and called me 'Bella.'" Christian appeared intrigued by my account and inquired with genuine interest:"Are your grandparents still alive?""Yes, they reside with me," I confirmed. "Why do you ask?"Christian's suggestion that my grandparents might aid in triggering memories from his past intrigued and exhilarated me."Perhaps they could assi
On the other hand, Santiago revisited his mother, parking his car at a distance this time. Waiting until nightfall, he crept through the garden surrounding his parents' house, reminiscent of his youth when he would sneak away from home. Eavesdropping by his bedroom window, he overheard a conversation between his father, mother, and daughter."Mima is right, Grandpa. That car she mentioned was Dad's; I remember it clearly. Yes, Mima, Dad is on his way to see you; he adores you.""Bella, don't get your grandmother too excited. If it were Santiago, he wouldn't need to keep his distance; he knows our doors are always open to him. Even if I was upset, I would never stop him from visiting his mother.""Mima says he's scared of you; that's why he hasn't come.""And what would you have me do? Should I leave so he can visit?""She didn't say that, Grandpa. Can you go talk to him? Maybe it's as I said; Dad feels guilty for missing Mima's surgeries and doesn't know how to face us now.""Coming,
Santiago acquiesced to the request, although his thoughts lingered on the prior accusations. Nonetheless, Eva persisted, unveiling a new revelation that triggered alarms in Santiago's mind. "You make the call, but kindly refrain from any altercations with my mother or, even more so, with Isabella. Are you certain Isabella is coming? I understand she works in France, so it's peculiar that she would abandon her esteemed position there. Perhaps she's merely visiting." Eva spoke with a mischievous glint in her eyes, prompting Santiago to suspect she harboured concealed intentions. "She's back for good. Your father informed the doctor. I overheard their conversation distinctly, and you know what?""What?""She's back for good. She's neither wed nor engaged!" she disclosed with a gleam in her eye, leading Santiago to suspect she was plotting something."How do you know? Perhaps she has a clandestine partner in France," Santiago posited in an attempt to counter Eva's insinuation. Unfazed,
Eva was taken aback. It was the first time Santiago had threatened her with divorce, and that couldn't be a positive sign. Dr. Alfonso undoubtedly had something to do with this, she was sure. Santiago was beginning to realise what she had been doing to him for years, she reflected. However, his recovery was rapid. She concealed her embarrassment behind a hypocritical smile that barely touched her lips."Don't be like that. I'm sorry for what I said before. You know that if she doesn't love me, I don't love her either. But that doesn't mean I wish her harm. It wasn't today, it was yesterday when I saw her. She appeared to be emaciated, although not entirely bad," Santiago explained. Santiago sank into the chair slowly, his gaze fixed on Eva. Something was being concealed, he sensed it, and was determined to uncover it. He vowed to rise early and visit the doctor without delay; he promised himself not to let any more time pass before seeing his mother and daughter. Yet, a nagging conc