Angelica's voice sounded loud.“Edan! I'm talking to you..." He turned around with a little start, and his mother looked at him contemptuously. "I was telling you that, before we go, I must give you something..."Edan turned to his mother, who was digging into her handbag. And while Alma seemed very focused on her talk with Ethan, she also kept a small part of her attention on Edan and his mother.Finally, Angelica took out a sealed envelope, which she placed in Edan's hands."Before I went into surgery, your father asked me to prepare this for you..." Edan looked at the envelope in his hands, confused. "He told me that no matter the outcome of his surgery, I should give you this from us and you should accept it..." It's a small detail because of their marriage, something small because of the circumstances. Edan opened the small envelope and before he could finish taking out what was inside, his mother finished. “ It's a trip for you, to a resort on the Island of Q, with everything pa
“What?“We can add it as an extra job.“No! You told me you'd figure it out."I know and I'm sorry, but I haven't found a way..." Edan sighed in frustration. "I can't just turn it down, it's the gift my father left us on his deathbed."And do you think money will solve it?"Edan didn't understand the question, Why did she have to make this complicated? Was it a job, or not? Just like the one Alma had been doing so far pretending to be his wife and surely, the extra money wouldn't hurt.“What's the matter? We'll leave on Saturday, simulate a bit for the photos and come back on Sunday, it's not a big deal."What isn't?" I can't just leave, what about my brothers? And my mother?"That's easy, I'll take your mother to a clinic and we'll leave her with a personal nurse, as we had already arranged, your brothers, we'll leave them with the nanny, like on dinner day, was there a problem with her?""No, but that's not...""Please, Alma... It's a resort, it will serve you to rest and you'll ear
Everything was ready, the ambulance had arrived, the only thing they were waiting for to leave the hospital and transfer Luz Rivas to a prestigious clinic, was for Alma, who was taking longer than expected, to say goodbye to her friend."Why are you taking her?" Here we have taken good care of her, I have been keeping an eye on her personally and in a short time, she will be discharged. Matthew muttered in a desperate tone."I know, I know, I'm sorry..." And I thank you very much, but..." Alma muttered with some sorrow.“But? Mateo asked, changing his countenance, looking serious.“Matthew. Alma sighed deeply. "First of all, I must think of my mother's well-being..." And my family.Matthew felt his heart sink, he knew, he was sure, that everything Alma did and all the decisions he made, he did it out of necessity alone, in order for his family to be well.Without considering their own well-being."I'm worried—" Mateo began, glancing sideways at Edan, who was scowling at them from a di
Alma had never been on a plane, not only that, in fact, she had never set foot in an airport before.And it seemed unbelievable that the first time I would take a plane trip, it would be with a handsome CEO on a private flight.But it was true, it was happening.And not only that, but it was also supposed to be their honeymoon, well, at the very least, it would be an acted-out honeymoon.The process to catch the flight was pretty quick, not like in the movies or soap operas she had seen, where they have to go through different checkpoints.But since it was a private flight, it was understandable.When she got on the plane, Alma's weight fell much harder than she was doing, her nerves and her internal alarms went off.She was going on a trip with an attractive man she had met only a couple of weeks ago. That was crazy.And the fact that he was flying, for the first time in his life, increased his nervousness.They started the engines, and Alma clenched her nails into the armrests of he
The restaurant was as beautiful as the rest of the resort, elegant, full of lights, with fine glassware, everything seemed to sparkle for Alma's eyes.While, in Edan's eyes, the one who shone the brightest in that whole room, was Alma, who wore a beautiful pink dress with embroidery.The newlywed couple dined with the Waltons and although for Edan, the talk was tedious, for Alma, it was entertaining, since, once again, the champagne had given her more confidence in her words.The conversation was mostly trivial, and Alma seemed to have a knack for getting along with people, for before long, the Waltons were laughing along with her.Suddenly, however, the conversation changed course."How is your father, Edan?" Bill Walton asked.“Recovering. Edan murmured, taking a sip from his glass.“I'm glad! Your mother told me that he would be discharged soon.Just hearing that affirmation, Edan felt a startle and slid his eyes to Alma, noticing how she immediately tensed up, watching them with c
“Edan? Why didn't you tell me about your father? Alma insisted, making him react from his reverie.“That was... I... I found out recently, it was a last-minute thing and... I wanted to find the right time to tell you..." He answered, finally, with a serious expression. Alma nodded, however, not entirely convinced by his answer.“Why?"What, why?" Edan swallowed thickly, fearing her reaction or her possible refusal. Possibly, this will change the circumstance of our covenant... And probably, they will ask you to extend our contract or they could change some clauses, of course, by mutual agreement. Edan paused, looking Alma in the eye, taking both of her hands. "And I know all this is a lot to ask, but I promise to pay you very well, give you good bonuses and help you in any way I can with your family..." But... Alma, right now, really... I need you.Alma detailed Edan's expression feeling his pulse quicken, he seemed sincere, he was really worried.And hearing those last words, "I need
After pondering for a long time what had just happened, Edan turned to go after Alma.Now, he felt guilty for the way he took it, in such an impetuous, abrupt, and unforeseen way, but he never thought about that possibility and still, it seemed incredible to him.She was a virgin! Being such a beautiful, sweet, intelligent, and kind woman, how come no man had touched her?While Alma practically ran into the room, looking for some clothes to cover herself, dead with embarrassment. How was it that she had allowed things to go this far?And it is that, for the first time in her life, she felt something like that for a man and it is not that she had never dated a boy before, if she dated a couple of times, but between her studies, her work, and her responsibilities, she did not have time to reach something more.Her boyfriends would end up leaving her before they even had a chance to touch her, because she never had time for them.Edan entered the room and found Alma dressed in simple paj
Edan got up and approached Olga, whispering something in her ear, immediately, the lady called Alma's brothers to offer them a movie and hot chocolate in another room and took them away.Alma watched as her brothers walked away, still standing in the doorway, not understanding what was happening, while Edan approached at a determined pace.The woman pushed Alma away, getting her out of her way, staring at Edan and Alma heard clearly as he muttered her name.“Vivian. Edan called her.Reality is harsh and it always hits when you least expect it.This surprise visit was a hard blow for Edan and Alma.All weekend, Edan had completely forgotten about Vivian.Now that she was there, facing both of them, Edan knew that she wouldn't bring anything good, so, for the moment and for Alma's well-being, all he could do was pretend.At the same time, Alma's chest heaved as she heard Edan pronounce the woman's name, so it wasn't a mistake, he really knew her.“Edan! Can you explain to me why the I j
A moment of happiness, in the midst of so much pain, overwhelmed the O’Connor’s, finally the head of the family was back, somewhat depressed, but awake and that changed everything.Alma called the whole family and in the midst of the joy and celebration that the O’Connor’s were doing in the clinic room, one more piece of news, which was announced by Erick himself, surprised them all."Alma is pregnant!" I shout with a small smile, leaving Edan open mouthed. "Congratulations, son! Erick opened his arms to receive his son in an effusive hug, in which everyone's eyes watered.A moment later, Edan was carrying Alma in his arms, lifting her up in front of everyone."Thank you..." Edan muttered to Alma's face.“Why? If the work was two..." She asked perplexed, everyone laughed."For making me the happiest man in the world." I whisper, spreading a smile of complete happiness.The following weeks, everything was put in order, Edan took over the headquarters of INCAPITAL and the advertising co
"You have ten minutes. The officer growled at Vivian and Cassandra, who looked around with some disgust, feeling degraded and embarrassed.The women sat down at the table pointed out by the officer and waited impatiently, it was the first time they had been in such a place and they hoped it would be the last.Minutes later, the officer came in again with Henry handcuffed and with some force, made him sit at the same table as them."What are you doing here?" Henry grumbled angrily."How do you ask that?" We are your family. Vivian replied, pretending to be indignant."You say so... The first one who came to point at me and accuse me?" Henry muttered, clenching his jaw."And what did you want me to do?" What would allow me to be accused of complicity in accompanying you in this filth? She rebutted decisively, showing her rage.“Henry... It's not the time to argue, we have very little time and we just wanted..." Cassandra cleared her throat and tried to gather courage, trying to calm thi
Henry hadn't left Vivian's apartment; he just went down to the car to get something. Hearing the pile of trash coming out of Ethan's mouth, he understood something: he had lost everything.He hadn't wanted to accept it before, he felt he still had a chance, as long as Vivian was engaged to a wealthy man, Henry kept hope and with Vivian's sudden pregnancy, he felt sure that his situation would change.But in a matter of minutes, he realized that everything had gone down the drain. In a very short time, the world would learn that the Ortegas were bankrupt and would become the gossip of society.Up to that point, the creditors had given them deadlines, considering their last name and their position, but when the truth of their economic situation came out, they would be chased like rats and those were not people with whom you could negotiate.Strangely, that night, after Ethan clarified that he had renounced his inheritance, he didn't react as he usually did, with punches and insults, he
The meeting went great, Vivian smiled with pleasure as she watched as Henry seemed more and more interested in his fiancé and Ethan behaved up to the task. But it was no longer the time to talk about trivialities, and Ethan needed to take advantage of the situation as soon as possible.Yes, Mr. Ortega, you are right, the country's economic situation has been a bit adverse lately, but thanks to our strategies, we have managed to quickly position INCAPITAL among the best..."I'm glad to hear that, I've always admired Erick for how he came to excel after having nothing..." Henry said and that's where Ethan wanted to go."That's right, my father created that company from scratch and without having resources in his hands, so imagine what could be achieved with the necessary investment available..." Ethan cast the first bait."What do you mean, son?" Henry tried to sound nice to the man who, according to him, would get him out of his financial misfortune."Well, Mr. Ortega," Ethan puffed up
Erick looked at him very seriously, Ethan was stunned, had he heard correctly?“What?"Well, not at least as a headquarters manager, but if you want a lower-level position, I could—" Erick tried to approach Ethan, who was watching him in horror."What are you saying, Dad?" Ethan repeated, trying to absorb his father's words.Edan and Edgar were put on alert, after everything that had happened at the last family gatherings, they no longer knew how their brother might react to Erick's words."How did you hear, Ethan... How did you think the headquarters would leave you after you almost bankrupted it?" And not only that, instead of taking responsibility, you tried to deceive me..." Erick explained, scowling."Yes, I made a mistake, but because of that, are you going to leave me on the street?" With nothing? What about my family? What am I going to do?! How am I supposed to provide for my kids? — Ethan shouts, getting upset."I'd never abandon you, that's why I'm offering you an administr
There was no way Ethan would agree to leave his wife, much less when he was in a race against his brother where he had to prove how qualified he was to run the headquarters of his father's company.And Ethan wouldn't give his father another reason to leave INCAPITAL's headquarters to Edan, again.But there was a problem, and that is that, although Vivian was very much in love with Ethan and at first, she had agreed to wait for him, everything had changed from the moment Henry threatened her.Desperate, Vivian returned to make several more visits to Ethan, she gave him a thousand stupid reasons for him to ask his wife for a divorce once and for all, however, Ethan did not change his mind, he did not give in at all to her requests, so, with a heart full of anger and disappointment, Vivian had no choice but to act.Vivian, no longer caring about her reputation or what people would say, all she needed, in that moment of desperation, was to quickly get a good economic position and she woul
They were two very hard and intense months, both for Edan and for Alma, they hardly slept, they lived stressed, running around all the time and no matter how hard they tried, although they managed to position themselves as a prestigious company, they did not manage to take the position as one of the most important companies in the country.That had Edan very disappointed.It was late and Alma had fallen asleep on the couch at home, they had taken some work to the apartment so they wouldn't have to stay in the office late at night, as they had done before.Edan was still working, even though he was starting to nod off, he was still reviewing the last performance reports of the month, and although they were very good for a company that was just starting, it was not enough, not to call the company a jewel, as he had promised his father.He was disappointed, it seemed that they would not make it and they only had two weeks left until the deadline, Edan threw the papers aside and sighed in
There were a lot of missed calls on Vivian's phone, at first, she didn't answer because she was in the shower, but when she noticed her father's insistence, it seemed strange to her, what could have happened?The phone rattled in her hand again, causing her a little start, her father had always been a loving and accommodating man with her, but since money began to run low, his attitude had also changed, causing Vivian to fear him.“Hello? She asked cautiously, accepting the call."Vivian, send me your location right now. Henry ordered, bluntly.“What? Dad, what are you talking about? She commented, filled with a bad feeling."Don't pretend, Vivian, do as I tell you right now..." Henry growled authoritatively. "Send me your location now." He repeated."No..." she murmured, feeling her body tremble, how could she get out of this situation?“How? Did I hear wrong?"No, Dad, the thing is...""I'm not interested in your excuses, Vivian, either you send me your location right now, or you ab
The door to the office opens slightly and the young assistant peeks out.“Lord?Ethan lifts his face, but the girl didn't have a chance to speak, the door slamming open when another person pushes her. Vivian makes her appearance, erect, proud, trying to show dignity, although inside, she felt broken."I've come to talk to you, Ethan. She growled, entering uninvited and leaving the attendant speechless.Ethan gets up with a furrow between his eyebrows, how dare Vivian go look for him at the company? What was he trying to do? What would they discover? Besides, he didn't have time for this, he had only a month left to deliver the countless reports to his father and although he had managed to make up quite a few numbers, there were some facts that were impossible to hide."Leave us alone." Ethan ordered his assistant, who was still leaning out of the door, curiously. The girl left. "What are you doing here, Vivian?" He asked, frowning."What am I doing here?" Do you still have the nerve t