"Hope you change your mind someday.""What would my change of idea affect in your life, Rafaela?" he asked. "Bringing a child into this world to suffer is worse than wishing they didn’t exist.""It depends on how you take care of them.""Enough!" he raised his voice. "You can ask me anything, but not about this."It was clear that Ethan didn't like to talk about this; something seemed to deeply trouble him."Sorry," she apologized."I'm the one who should apologize," he said. "I just don't like discussing it.""I promise I’ll never bring it up again," she swallowed hard."Don't think I’m a bad person, Rafaela. You just need to know that I’d never be fit to be anyone's father."That revelation gave her chills, filling her with questions. Why did Ethan think that way?"I believe you have your reasons, and I’ll respect that," was all she could manage to say.He looked at her and realized how awkward he had made her feel. Then he stood up and came closer to her."There are things that can’
It was Saturday morning, already past nine. Kate got out of the taxi after saying goodbye to Robert, with a taste of wanting more. They had planned to spend the day together, but unfortunately, a last-minute call made him change his plans.Robert was a cardiologist personally overseeing a patient who needed a heart transplant. This morning, he received a call saying that there was a compatible donor for his patient, so he needed to be there immediately.As much as she wanted to be with the man she liked, she was feeling happy, on the other hand, because she could keep Rafaela company, who had spent the night alone at home. Even though she didn’t say much, she was very worried about her friend, but she knew she couldn’t interfere in the decisions she made; she just had to support her in whatever she needed.She even agreed with the idea of not telling Ethan about the child; after all, he wouldn’t accept that child in any way. But what bothered her was knowing that Rafa would leave the b
"I was foolish, wasn’t I?" she asked. "Hey, don’t think that way, I’m not judging you; I just want to understand." "We were talking in the kitchen, and suddenly he got close. It was so fast I couldn’t react." "I can imagine the tension you felt. That man is terribly irresistible. I bet you remembered you were already wet and weren’t afraid of getting caught in the rain again." "I don’t even know what I thought… I think I was in a trance and only woke up when you showed up in the room." "Sorry for interrupting." "It’s no problem; it was the right thing to do." "I’m not trying to meddle in your life or anything, Rafa; you know I’ve always been open with you about everything. But if you want to work with him and keep this pregnancy hidden, you need to stay away." "I know. It won’t happen again." "Your belly isn’t showing yet; it’s hard for him to suspect, but in a while, things won’t be that easy." "You’re right." She fell silent. Kate noticed her friend was quieter
Leaving home to start another work week, Rafaela Souza was surprised when her manager called her into the office to talk."Transfer?" she asked, still not understanding."That's right. The new director will need a secretary, and since you have many years of experience on your resume, we thought you would be the most suitable person for the job."Rafaela couldn't believe the news she had just received from her superior. Working for the CEO's son, who had just been appointed director of the company, was not in her plans. Even though she didn't know the famous Ethan Smith, she had already heard many strange things about him, in addition to people saying that he was not an easy person to deal with."I'm sure you'll do well, especially knowing that your salary will increase.""Really?" she asked excitedly, as she was interested as soon as she heard about money."That's right. Now go, your new boss is waiting for you. Tomorrow, there will be a reception to introduce him to all the employees,
It was past eight when Rafa left work. She was exhausted and furious with her new boss. In just one day, she had managed to stress herself out for the entire week.When she got to her apartment, she found her friend Kate all dressed up."Is this the time to come home?" Kate asked."You have no idea what happened. They transferred me to another department and made me the new secretary for the new director.""The hunk?" Kate asked excitedly."The devil, that’s what. On my first day, he already made me work until this time.""It’s normal, friend. Tomorrow there will be a small reception for him at the company. I’m dying to see him in person. Some people have said he’s quite a looker. Tell me, is that true?"Kate also worked at the same company as Rafa but in a different department."I don’t know, I didn’t see his face," Rafa revealed."What do you mean?""Can you believe that during the whole day I was there, he gave me orders while sitting with his back turned, in that huge chair?""No w
Rafaela couldn't believe what she was seeing. The man with whom she'd had a wonderful night was none other than her new boss, Ethan Smith."What are you saying, Rafa?" Kate asked, not understanding anything. But Rafaela couldn't respond, as her eyes were fixed on Ethan, who was on stage at that moment, picking up the microphone to begin speaking."Thank you all for taking the time to welcome me. I count on your help and cooperation to continue making this real estate agency the best in the country."After delivering his thank-you speech, the department manager approached with a bouquet of flowers to present to the new director as a welcome gesture. Ethan was momentarily taken aback, and suddenly, his eyes searched for Rafaela in the auditorium. When he spotted her, he gave her an enigmatic look."He's allergic to flowers," she whispered."What?" Kate asked.Without answering, Rafaela immediately stood up and ran to the stage to take the flowers from the manager's hands. Her action caug
After the conversation she had with Ethan, the two did not touch on that subject again, and everything seemed to be just flowing. It had been two weeks since she had been working as his secretary, and in that time, she only had to see him three times, getting irritated each time.The phone on her desk started ringing, and she answered politely."Hi, Rafa, it's me, Kate. I just wanted to remind you that tomorrow morning you'll have some tests for the contract change.""All right, but why did you decide to tell me now when we could see each other after work?""I won't be going home tonight; that handsome doctor I went out with the other day said he's coming to pick me up for dinner, so don't wait up for me.""I'm so jealous, my friend…" she said with a melancholic voice. "All I want is for someone to call me and take me out to dinner.""Don't be so pessimistic, you'll find the love of your life soon enough.""I've concluded that I'm not lucky in that department.""Don't give up," Kate sa
Sitting at the desk where she worked, Rafaela took a deep breath, trying to process what she had just heard."I was the one tasked with receiving the results of your tests, so I came here to tell you this," Kate said."Do you have any idea what you're telling me, Kate? This is terrible.""I know, friend, because we both know who the father of the child is.""Speak softly," she asked, as she didn’t know if Ethan was still in his office."What are you going to do?""I'm going to take another test, of course," she replied. "This kind of mistake happens all the time. We were careful. What bad luck it would be if I got pregnant by someone like him.""Then we’ll buy some pharmacy tests."When they got home, Rafaela ran to the bathroom to take the first test, which came back positive."These pharmacy things are not reliable," she said, opening the second one, which also came back positive."Friend, shall we accept that you are pregnant and move on to the next step?" Kate asked when she saw th