NELLYI walk home with my thoughts far away, feeling a knot in my stomach and vomit come up to my throat. I lean against a random wall and count how long it will take me to get into my apartment. My cell phone rings in my purse and I ignore it, going back to walking when I feel better, but suddenly the idea of going home and not finding anyone turns me off, my cell phone rings again and I stop to answer it. Surprise and acting on autoTheticO, I confirm to Octávio that I'm on my way to his lecture.Where was it again?''Yes, of course I know where it is. ''I speak convincingly, not wanting to poke holes in my own lie. Even so, he speaks the address slowly, insisting on repeating it twice more for me to memorize. I turn off the phone, pack my bags in my purse, and hail a cab.Twenty-three minutes later, I get out of the car and parachute into the courtyard of a college crowded with women.The mix of voices causes an echo even outdoors and I feel diminished in front of so many eyes.''I
NELLYIs he?"My flight is about to depart, thank you for bringing me here. I really needed a friend today."I say with anguish in my chest.Smile appears on her face, and she hugs me excitedly."You don't have to go," she whispers, her head buried in my neck."Yes, I do. It's the best.""Thank you for bringing me over and being a trusted friend." I emphasize the last word so that she keeps her promise and doesn't say anything to her boss."You haven't officially resigned from your position yet." He argues, ignoring my words. "Everyone in the company misses you." I doubt it's true, but I smile at his attempt to make me feel special."I sent a letter to HR" I explain."Awnn.. Are you sure they haven't lost their license? You know, a big company always has a huge influx of people coming in and out. Maybe they've forgotten." I frowned.Should I be worried?"You know you're not going to be able to work for a new company when you're tied up in another one, right?""I'm sure they've seen my e
NELLYI don't knock on the door, but stare at the doorknob as if my end is near. I lose track of time when the first two minutes pass, so when I hear my mother call his name, the man I love, in a seductive way, as if they were close, I reach my limit of what I can bear and open the door. My eyes scan every inch of the room until they find the woman who brought me into this world and the man I love sitting together on the couch, very close to each other. They both look at me in shock, like they're seeing a ghost and just can't believe it."Do I interrupt?" I asked, focusing on my mother's hands squeezing David's left arm. Neither of them says anything, they just stay in the same position without taking their eyes off me.''Nelly.'' David says my name as he did when we were alone, locked in his apartment or curled up on his living room floor. Only this time, no heat passes through my body. In fact, the opposite effect happens.I'm angry. Furious with him. "Daughter?'' Kaciana speaks and
DAVID "Won't you go after her?" I clenched my hands into fists and counted to ten to the sound of Kaciana's voice. I can't attack a woman, even if I despise her and she's a disgusting human being.I stare at the door through which she left, the girl who is in love with me, the girl whose heart I have broken, and I mentally repeat that I must go after her, to go after the girl who has my mind and dry every one of her tears. But I can't. Not when I'm the main cause of your pain."That's pathetic, the way you look at it." Kaciana says, and I feel her body moving closer to mine.My muscles tense up, but I keep my hands down."You know, Nelly's father was the only man I really loved and cared for. His death was like my death too, I spent a lot of time trying to live like nothing had changed, but when you love someone the way I loved them, you can't just move on like nothing happened.""So? Do you expect this sad story of yours to touch my heart?" I say in a harsh tone."You and her would n
NELLYMy eyelids are heavy, and I have to work harder than usual to open my eyes. When I do, everything is dark.If it weren't for a gap in the roof of what I believe to be an abandoned shed, I wouldn't have seen my best friend slumped over and tied up next to me.The sound of heels crunching dry leaves and slamming against the worn floor makes me look for her in the shadows. I don't need time to remember what happened when I left David's office. She did it. Charlotte. "Where's Kiara, you crazy girl!? What did my friend do? An enormous rage arises in me when I remember her frightened face just before Charlotte hit her with a wooden stick.We were behind David's building, Kiara was trying to get some information out of me when I told her that I didn't reveal about the pregnancy. She took me there so as not to attract anyone's attention and because she still hoped to change my mind."Look who's awake. Finally." Charlotte says in an amused voice, smiling and clapping her hands. I put my
NELLYI keep forcing myself to keep my mind sane, if not for me, then for the little being in my womb. I spent years believing that I was weak, unworthy of love when, in fact, the problem was with the people around me. My mother was sick, Charlotte is sick, Edward was never able to make his own choices, and even Alice doesn't escape this list. I can see it now, all those years of toxic relationships made me believe that I didn't deserve something bigger, better. I'm dancing with my memories, opening all the doors I've kept closed to face the monsters, I can't count on the prince this time. This fight is mine and I am the only one who can defeat the dragon.I call my kidnapper's name, no, I scream for her.One.Two.3 times.'"What are you doing?" Alice asks, raising her eyebrows as she waits for the rusty door to open. Her jaw is locked and the way she forces herself to keep her head tilted, I can bet she has neck pain.I don't answer, I just wait for someone to walk through the door
DavidForty-five minutes before...I didn't know if the plan was going to work, but it was my only hope, and the clock was ticking. I made a mistake when I didn't immediately terminate Carlota contract and let her into my life again. Once again, I failed in my mission to take care of my Nelly.I drove down with a pain in my chest, determined to correct my mistake with every step I take, I allow Edward to guide us through what appears to be an abandoned place. It took him more than two hours to get here after an anonymous message arrived at his cell phone, indicating the location. The message offered an invitation, it was not necessary to add A + B to find out the sender. It was obvious even for an eight-year-old. The point is that we have a plan. We just need to make it work. My whole body is under strain and even though I try to stay calm, the blood rushes through my veins, speeding up my heartbeat. From afar, even in dim lighting, I clearly see the profile of three figures, three, n
DAVIDI turn to the man in the costume, Edward, and look for signs that we still have a deal, that this is still an act and that he's not the villain. Anything at all.“Stay here.” Nelly says, with sympathy and concern. I frown, not understanding her words, until I hear Johna and Edward arguing.I've been exposed to the woman I love. She's alive, but still in danger. His gaze is uncertain, moving quickly from me to Carlota in a few seconds. I want to move and protect her with my body, but every muscle is straining to keep me awake and everything weighs a ton, my vision has been compromised by the swelling in my eye. The first thing I notice is that her body trembles at the sound of my voice, she's ignoring my presence for some reason, but she can't do it completely, I can tell by the way her eyes pass over me for a few seconds, almost as if she wants to make sure I'm alive and breathing.His eyes are fixed on Carlota. They both engage in a contest with their eyes and start a conversat
NELLY 5 years later... I don't think I'm an eclectic music person, I mean I can tolerate some styles of music, but hard rock is definitely not one of them. Well, well, maybe I'm just irritated that I woke up and didn't find David in bed. So where is he? The sound of the music tells me he's close, but how close? My legs and feet are hurting, but nothing compares to the constant throbbing in my back, and I need the message he promised. Not to mention the discomfort between my legs, but that part is good. Last night was crazy. I leave the room and go down the hallway in silence, taking the opportunity to stop by the five-year-old twins' room, they both hate following rules and follow their father everywhere. They are a faithful copy of my husband, despite having different personalities. Luca and Xavier are complete matches, which I'm grateful for, because they are extremely similar physically. At first, I had some difficulty identifying who was who. To be honest, my husband was the
DAVIDWe stayed at the party for an hour, chatting a little with most of the guests, unfortunately, I lost Nelly for a long twenty minutes to Cassandra. The two women were having an excited conversation about motherhood and I didn't want to interrupt, however, when Eduardo appeared with a bouquet of orchids for my wife, I had to intervene.He gave me a single look and snorted.Bastard.Apparently, Alice went into labor the night before and couldn't come to the party. Nelly hugged the idiot and cried a little in her arms, promising that she would soon visit her goddaughter and friend.I pulled my wife back and kept my arm around her waist until it was time to get into the car, which happened right after our dance.She complained about needing to throw the bouquet, and I threw it towards Kiara.Nelly laughed when my friend cursed me.I shrugged and moved on. She will overcome.It takes me thirty minutes to get to the house and the beach, and I watch it with silence and expectation.I fo
DAVID347.Three hundred and forty-seven people are on my mother's wedding list, but that's the list she created months ago, when even I didn't know where my romance with Nelly was going.This is Hordellis Bragança, the party itself.Anyway, I left the organization of the ceremony to her and Nelly, focusing on the honeymoon. My girl will be almost nine months into our marriage in two days, and I have to think about a possible fluke, like two babies arriving in the middle of the honeymoon. Therefore, I bought a beach house a few meters from the hospital and had it renovated according to its parameters of a perfect house.She wanted to wait to perform the ceremony after the lights went out, but I was so eager to call her my wife that I couldn't wait. After all, what's the point of all the money if I can't plan a wedding in two weeks?Well, I'm starting to think this was a bad idea. My mother kidnapped Nelly and said I would only see her again on her wedding day.''Please? '' I beg for w
NELLYI open my eyes with a sweet smile on my face, David caresses my belly in a delicate, affectionate and a little possessive way as if he was afraid of hurting me or something, but I realized seconds ago that no, he was contemplating, so mesmerized with the kicking show that our children were putting on that he didn't notice that I was watching him. I never thought I would witness this scene after everything we've experienced, but hearing my babies' father singing a lullaby was the best feeling I've ever felt.The throbbing between my legs also increased at the sexy sight, part of me wanted to reveal that I was awake and request that massage he suggested a few times last night, but I also didn't want to ruin the moment, so I rested my head. I went back on the pillow and continued pretending I was sleeping until I couldn't take it anymore. David began to sing a song about a street, a forest, shining stones, and an angel.My eyes filled with tears.Those damn hormones.'' Do you beli
DAVIDWhen I left home this morning, I made it my mission to make our first night together after all this time special. Nelly always wanted to know a little more about my dark side and my perverse fantasies, but I was always afraid and controlled myself with her, but with all the events we've experienced I realized that my girl won't judge me or run away.We both need this.The club is operating normally upstairs, but downstairs I reserved it for just the two of us. Nelly never fully experienced my dominating side, she never knew how she is at my command and mercy, but today that will change. I crave her touch and taste more than air, I need to thrust into her without mercy to satisfy the beast inside me and, if I were any other man, I would treat her with affection and softness at this point in her pregnancy, but I don't. I am. We've been apart so long that I can't, I just can't make soft love. I think that's why I allowed him to sleep last night and didn't try anything even though I
NELLY'' How can you be sure?''He gives me a cocky look and raises his left eyebrow.'' Because I locked it.''I keep my mouth open, looking between him and the door, thinking about when this happened until I remember to close my eyes for a few minutes and black out.'' All good? '' he asks, probably noticing my insecure expression. I lay back on the bed and feel him move. Within a second, David is standing next to me, forcing my face up, so I can look at him.'' Yes, I.. '' I close my eyes and count to five. '' I don't know if we should have sex.He frowns.'' You do not want?''I bite my lip and sigh, remembering that I need to talk to him about Kaciana and ask him to stop looking for her.'' It's not that, I just want you to take it easy.''The corners of his mouth turn up, and he starts twirling a strand of my hair around his ring finger.'' Baby, we're not going to have sex.''I grimace.'' No?''His smile widens.'' You seem disappointed.''I cough, trying to sit up, but carryi
NELLYI run my hand over his face carefully, touching the recent bruises and marks. When Hordellis called to inform me that David had returned, my mind went blank and I didn't know how to act, I mean, first my mother and then him. It was too much. I only knew I was coming here when I got into the taxi and gave the name of the hospital to the driver.'' What happened? '' I whisper, unable to stop touching him. David Bragança is a handsome man even though he's all dressed up, cut that out, he's breathtaking.'' It doesn't matter. '' he says, his eyes dropping to my cleavage and looking away when he realizes I caught him.He clears his throat and runs his fingers through his hair, taking distance. I try not to show it, but it bothers me and brings back the feeling of loneliness.'' All good? You seem nervous. Oh, I need to call the doctor. '' I say, worried about the lack of color on her lips.''No.''he shouts, grabbing my hand at the last minute. '' I'm just nervous about our date. '' h
DAVIDI stared at my apathetic form and the scratches on my face angrily, the man's reflection in the mirror wasn't me, at least, it didn't look like me. My face was thinner, my jaw was more visible, and I would need to see a dermatologist about the spots and burns.When I decided to leave Nelly in the middle of her pregnancy, I was sure that I would return in a few weeks and earn her forgiveness. My mistake. Finding Kaciana proved to be a difficult task from the beginning, but after I hired Arthur and the first clue emerged, my spirits were reinvigorated, and we left for South Africa. The woman was following my order to the letter and covering her tracks, until we bumped into someone who knew someone who saw her.Turns out the lead was false, and we fell into a trap, the man who contacted us was part of a local and unfortunate gang, they called themselves the Pirates of Urr. No idea what it meant, but the captain loved to torture, especially those with clothes on. Guys and gold watch
NELLYMy body was frozen in place and everything felt delayed, from the sinking of his chest with each breath to the narrowing of his eyes.Kaciana walked past me after a long moment of silence and touched my shoulder gently, offering a warm smile that looked wrong on her face. She looked different, but I couldn't identify what it was as I closed the door behind me and followed her to the couch. I watched as she surveyed my living room and turned her nose up at the pictures on the wall. They weren't works of art worth millions, no, I bought them from a lady at the market near the mall the other day. She must have noticed and disapproved.So many questions were being thrown around in my head at this very moment.I stared at her figure for another full minute, hoping and hoping that she would be the first to speak, as I looked and looked for any difference, I was drawn to the golden ring with a small stone on top on her left-hand ring finger. No, she can't... Is she? I looked more close