Before lunchtime, Katia went to the bathroom to splash some water in her eyes.She was tired and could not understand why the Health Department always refused to pay for the treatment of her little boy's illness.Dario, the photographer and father of Adrien's best friend, had advised her to reapply for the treatment but she refused. She would not put up with another rejection.And then the man had told her to stop by her father's pharmacy to pick up Adrien's medications. She splashed water on her face and stood looking at herself in the mirror with her hands resting on the marble wash counter.She closed them, while her breathing was ragged.She heard the bathroom door open but still, she uncovered her eyes until she felt hands touching her belly from behind. As she looked in the mirror, her eyes showed terror as she saw that it was Albert Johson."Let me go," she demanded, as she tried to free herself from the grip that had grabbed one of her breasts and squeezed it. She closed her e
" I thought you wouldn't come today," the man commented as Katia approached the counter."I'm sorry. Between leaving late and getting a bit distracted on the way... I wasn't sure if I'd make it in time," she apologized."Are Adri's medications from the last time working well?" He took the child's health card that Katia offered."Fortunately, yes.""Then he should start the treatment. That way, the medicine's effect will be stronger.""I can't afford it. Besides, it's too expensive, and they always reject it.""My son mentioned that to me," he said, looking at the computer. "Darío is worried that suddenly..." He trailed off, looking at the girl."Dario is very kind and cares a lot about Adri," she smiled. "I can tell you that Adri spent some time trying to set us up so that his grandson could become his brother," she laughed."Haha," the man laughed, moving away from the computer. "This kid... I think you should give it a try. My son cares about you a lot and loves your son just as muc
Katia pulled her legs up onto the couch when she returned to the living room after putting her son to bed. She knew she shouldn't dwell on what had happened at Darío's father's pharmacy, but she couldn't help it. Who was the man who had taken him? Was it true that he was an undercover police officer?She hugged her knees and rested her head on them with a narrowed gaze. She never thought she would see him again after five years.She sighed slowly, still gazing into nothingness.In those moments, she wished Oscar were by her side, but she also felt grateful that Stefan had helped her when she needed it most.She was surprised to find herself thinking about him and shook her head to clear the memory of his hands on her body. It had only been a day, but she still had that sensation running through her back and intimate area.With each memory, she felt her breath catch, and her hand trailed down her body until suddenly the phone on the small table next to the couch rang, snapping Katia ou
"You should have called us!" exclaimed the voice on the other end."Call you? Has something happened?" She moved away from her friend to speak more calmly."Eh? It's not about you, Katia. It's that your brother is telling me what happened with his girlfriend, and he's left with nowhere to sleep.""And where is he sleeping now?""At a friend's place. How are you, dear? And Adri?" The voice asked with affection."Right now, Adri is at school, and... well, for now, he's fine, as am I," she replied, sitting in a chair a little away from the camera. "And you, Mom?""Well, I'm doing fine for my age. They've asked me to accompany the students to Middlestone, and here I am, on the bus, talking to your brother, who I feel like giving a good scolding... oh my... what a kid! To think he's my oldest son..." Her mother spoke on the other end with a playful tone, making Katia smile. "Are you coming to visit us this summer, or are we not going to see you again this year?""Mom... you know that if I'
As he had mentioned, Stefan "kidnapped" his secretary to have dinner with him that night.Despite her reluctance to accompany him, they picked up Adri from Kaia's apartment, and the three of them headed downtown where they entered a restaurant called 'La Mafia se sienta a la mesa'.It was a new themed restaurant in Seattle.In the heart of the city, families, couples, or friends could enjoy Italian-Mediterranean cuisine that surprised with its flavors, quality, and presentation, in a luxurious setting reminiscent of the best Scorsese, Al Pacino, De Niro, and Coppola movies. The decor had a more modern touch, with a wide variety of settings, creating different cozy spaces for a pleasant evening.At La Mafia, they had a main dining room and two private rooms for celebrations, one for 12 people, and another for 25, which was equipped with a projector for corporate meetings, celebrations...They sat by the window.— Pizza... pizza... — Adri said, moving his head and legs.The two adults
Katia, Stefan, and Adri were strolling along the city beach.The child was a few meters ahead of them, enjoying himself while searching for shells and stones. She watched him, smiling at the sight of her happy child.Since meeting his aunts and grandparents, he couldn't stop asking about them. That day, she had lunch with her former classmates, and Stefan had stayed with Adri in the meantime.It seemed that they had become friends in the absence of the young woman with blue eyes.Despite not wanting her son to grow fond of the German, she couldn't forbid them from becoming friends. For the infant, it was his first time at the beach and traveling outside the city.Katia, upon seeing Adri stop and bend down, her smile widened. Stefan, on the other hand, was quieter than usual, and since she had joined them, he hadn't tried to provoke her as he always did.This change had occurred since he received a strange phone call minutes before Katia's arrival."Is something wrong?" she suddenly as
She looked at him abruptly."What?!" she exclaimed, surprised and angry. "Is he insane or something? How could he even suggest such a thing?""No, I'm not insane, but I really need you to have it," he insisted."I will never, ever have a child with you!" she retorted, irritated."You're my wife," he pointed out. "Therefore, you must give me a child.""Never! I will never sleep with you again, let alone have your child!""Miss West," he grabbed her arms forcefully. "Don't make me do this the hard way.""Try it, and I'll report you," she said sternly."I'm just warning you," he let go and looked into her eyes. "If you don't, I will die."Those last words echoed in her head as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her in the middle of winter. On one hand, she didn't care what happened to him, but on the other hand, she felt her chest tightening and aching.What was happening to her?"We don't have to sleep together if you don't want to. We can do it through artificial insemination
Without further ado, he walked out of the office and met with the national police officers who were waiting for him. He walked between the officers without being handcuffed.Katia took her boss's wallet, feeling unsure, and exited the office. She stood next to her desk as he left.She looked at the wallet and then let it fall onto her desk. She sat down in her chair and opened it, starting to search through its compartments.In one of these compartments, she found a photo of a woman of medium height, who seemed to be around 1.80 meters tall. She was very beautiful, with short reddish hair and beautiful brown eyes.She appeared to be a woman who kept her figure perfectly and had smooth, fair skin. In the photo, she was holding Stefan's arm."Is she his girlfriend? Does he have a girlfriend and married me? Ugh, I hate him!" the young brunette thought. "Now that I think about it... why did I agree to marry him?"She continued searching for the card until she found a white card that read
"Madeleine, welcome to our family," she said to her son's wife and then walked away to sit next to her wife.Katia swallowed hard, butterflies in her stomach were fluttering with force.Stefan and Richard Jr. had positioned themselves on either side, forming an intimate circle with them just before the ceremony began."Katia, tell him before the ceremony starts," Madeleine urged her friend, whispering in her ear.There was anticipation, but also uncertainty pulsing in her words.Katia nodded, gripping Madeleine's arm in silent support. The Judge, an elderly man with a warm smile, was adjusting his papers at the front, getting ready to commence the ceremony.It was the right moment to share the news."What to say?" Stefan asked in a whisper, looking at Katia.Katia swallowed hard again before letting the words out."I'm pregnant, Stefan... and it's twins," she told him in a hushed voice, her eyes meeting Stefan's, filled with excitement and expectation.Stefan was left speechless, for
Hilbert helped his friend by taking his arm to help him stand, and then everyone congratulated the couple.At that moment, Madeleine and Katia decided to get married on the same day and... in Lourmarin.For each of them, that place held a different meaning, but they both agreed it was a beautiful location for a double wedding.Joanne and Stefanie Elein were overjoyed. Their parents were getting married, and they would become one united family. Richard, the father, looked at his eldest son and his youngest daughter, and seeing them happy, he was happy too.For some reason, he looked at the lawyer and smiled half-heartedly."I should start having more conversations with that man, as he's the one my daughter Elyse has chosen," he thought. He looked around the room, and taking advantage of his wife's proximity to their children, he approached Hilbert and said,"I think I'll need a lawyer to help me with my will. Can I count on you?""Of course, sir," Hilbert replied, somewhat surprised, a
A group of men gathered behind the young brunette, but the leader of the group took Katia as a hostage, pointing a gun at her. Müller, despite having something against Stefan, had nothing against the woman who looked at him with fear, feeling the gun against her temple. Katia began to silently cry, looking at the inspector for help.The police were in a dilemma. They couldn't shoot without harming Katia. Both the gang and the law enforcement group had their weapons aimed at each other, with the young brunette caught in the middle."Stefan... help me..." Katia silently wished, her eyes closed as tears streamed down her cheeks.She was so focused on seeking help from the man she loved that she didn't realize someone was speaking behind her. Suddenly, she felt the man shifting, and as she turned around, she was surprised and relieved to see Mark.The man nodded for her to run towards the group of men behind those traffickers. The other Richter family's hitmen surrounded Katia to "hide"
Once they had landed at Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport, Stefan's chauffeur Frederick picked them up to drive them to the brown man's house, but Katia refused.She wanted to go straight to the hospital to see Stefan.After arriving at the private hospital, they went to the room where Stefan was resting. When they opened the door they found Federica sitting next to him and Jürgen, who was leaning against the wall. The dark-haired man looked at him in surprise, as he didn't know how the woman had found out. Katia walked over to the bed and stood next to her ex-husband. She caressed his face, holding back her tears, and kissed him.Federica approached her husband and smiled at him after hugging him. Hilbert began to ask what had really happened and Jürgen told him. Katia listened to them sitting on the edge of the bed.Suddenly the door opened, ushering in the police, but the one who caught everyone's attention was a tall, slender man, although at first glance it could be seen that
The sound of the cell phone she had in her left hand since she sat down to eat made her snap out of her world, fixed on a single point.She didn't have the number saved, but upon seeing the number it began with, she knew it wasn't from there."Hello?" Katia answered and took a sip of champagne."Katia, it 's Federica. Happy New Year," she heard on the other end of the line, but it was clear that Federica was sad about something."Happy New Year to you too, Federica. Is... your brother around?""Katia... I don't know how to tell you this, but...""Federica... don't scare me. What's going on?" This made everyone look at her. "What's happening?""Do you remember that my brother and Jürgen were trying to stop the mafia war?""Of course, I remember. That's why he went back to Germany. Has something happened to him?" she asked with fear. Madeleine approached her sister-in-law and put her hands on her arms. "Please, Federica. Tell me what's going on.""My brother was shot in the chest. He's
She had finished showering and the only thing around her body was a towel that reached a few inches below her butt. Took off the towel that surrounded her hair and dried it with that cloth while she looked at herself in the mirror.She stood still as she thought of Stefan. Since he had left she had been using the masturbator she had before she met him, and while she was showering, she had been touching herself thinking about him.Katia needed him to touch her the way he only knew how to touch her and feel his kisses around her body, her neck and kiss her lips.She shook her head not to think about him and not to tempt desire again.She took off her towel and then put on a black strapless set and a colutte also in black and combed her hair a little to get rid of the knots that had come out after wetting her hair.Then she came out of the bathroom and stared at the dress on the bed."Why did you have to choose pink, knowing that I don't like that color?," she said with her hands on her
That night, after putting her daughters to bed, Katia returned to the living room and poured herself a glass of red wine. Ever since she had broken up with Stefan, she did this every night when she felt down.She left the bottle on the coffee table in front of the couch.Katia took the glass of wine and took a small sip while she thought about what Zelig or Stefan had told her. Although to her, he would always be Stefan, as that's the name she had known him by.Did either of them really have the blame?She, barefoot with the glass in her hand, walked across the floor to the entrance and approached a small bookshelf in that area. She sat on the floor, leaving the glass by her side, and opened the door of the piece of furniture, starting to search inside.After a few minutes, she pulled out a frame. She sat on the floor, staring at the photo, and took a sip of wine."You have no idea how much I wish I could talk to you, Oscar... Why did you have to die?" Katia thought, without moving fr
Federica and Katia went up to the top floor where the cafeteria was located. They sat at a table near the large window, and the brunette waitress brought two soft drinks, one for each of them.Unable to help it, Katia felt uncomfortable, but she didn't want to tell the woman sitting across from her. The babbling of the triplets caught her attention.They were three beautiful children, just like their parents, and they were utterly adorable with their chubby cheeks. Judging by their age, the babies couldn't be more than a year and a half old.Not knowing what to say, Katia took a sip of her drink and sighed."My brother told me that Joanne looks a lot like you," Federica commented, making her companion look at her. "Listen, Katia. It's true that my brother is... a mafioso," she said in a hushed voice so no one could hear. "But there's something I'm sure of: he loves you and misses both of you. Over these five years, he's delayed his visit to the Seattle Delegation because of your rejec
Suddenly he saw his daughter suddenly stand up and run into the President's office. Zelig jumped in surprise and crouched down to keep up with his daughter.He noticed that Katia had not moved from where Joanne separated from her and that she was not looking at him."I promise to come another day," Joanne said to her father."I'd love to," he said with a smile. "Now go on. Your mother is waiting for you.""Daddy, why didn't you say hello to mommy?," she asked innocently.Zelig noticed Katia watching them and saw her snort."Mommy is mad at me for something I did a long time ago, but as long as I get to see you again, I'll be happy. Do you know why?" The girl shook her head. "Because you look so much like your mother.""Grandma says Stefanie Elein looks more like Mommy..." she pouted tenderly."I don't think so. You... you have the same look as your mother and her same smile," she stroked his cheek, smiling. "Go on, go. Your mother will be more upset with me as long as you're still her