เข้าสู่ระบบThe coffee in front of me had already gone cold. I didn’t remember when I had forgotten to drink it. My attention was fixed on the window behind the German shareholder, where the sunlight reflecting over Seville created patterns that reminded me of Giulia’s hair as she ran toward school.
“...and with these third-quarter numbers, we project—”
Th
The coffee in front of me had already gone cold. I didn’t remember when I had forgotten to drink it. My attention was fixed on the window behind the German shareholder, where the sunlight reflecting over Seville created patterns that reminded me of Giulia’s hair as she ran toward school.“...and with these third-quarter numbers, we project—”The man’s voice faded into the storm inside my head.Did Isabella remember the strawberry-flavored toothpaste Giulia likes? She always throws a fit over the mint one.“Miguel?”I blinked. The four men in the room were staring at me. The Frenchman, Lefèvre, wore the expression of someone who had already repeated himself three times.
I woke up with a strange feeling, like something important was about to happen.For a moment, I stayed still, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to understand where I was. The room was too big, too quiet… too beautiful. Everything looked organized, elegant—almost perfect.Nothing like me.Madrid.The realization hit me all at once.I sat up abruptly, my heart racing, when my phone buzzed beside me. Still a little disoriented, I grabbed it and opened the notification.Miguel Benites.My stomach tightened slightly.“Good morning. I need to
The sound of the plane touching the ground made me clutch my bag even tighter against my chest. My fingers trembled slightly, and I took a deep breath, trying to convince myself that this was real. Me, Isabella—a girl who had never left her city—was landing in Spain. The Atlantic Ocean was now behind me, along with everything familiar.My heart pounded as I walked through the airport corridor, following the flow of passengers. The bright lights and the murmur of voices in foreign languages only made me more nervous. I held onto my bag as if it were my only connection to the world I had left behind. Inside it were my most precious belongings: a photo of my family, a rosary my grandmother had given me, and a notebook where I wrote down my dreams.“Breathe, Isa,” I whispered to myself. “You made it this far. Just keep going.”
The alarm went off at 6 a.m., but this time it wasn’t the shrill sound that woke me. It was Giulia, jumping on my bed with cold feet and a smile bright enough to rival the morning sun.“Daddy, wake up! It’s Saturday!” she shouted, shaking my arm with the kind of energy only a six-year-old can have.“I’m up, princess,” I muttered, rubbing my eyes and trying to push her weight off me. “What’s so special about Saturday?”“You promised we’d go to the park today!” she said, as if I had committed a crime by forgetting.Ah, right. The park. I had promised last week, during one of our movie nights, that I’d dedicate the entire Saturday to her. I work so much that sometimes I forget that promises are sacre
The day started like any other: with a cup of bitter coffee and a stack of reports that never seemed to shrink. Benites Security showed no mercy—and neither did I. Meeting after meeting, demanding clients, employees in need of guidance… sometimes I wondered if any of it was worth it. But it was my responsibility, my legacy. And at the end of the day, it was all I had.“Mr. Benites, the GlobalTech representatives are in the conference room,” my secretary announced, pulling me out of my thoughts. She was the only person in the company who still looked at me with something close to kindness, as if she knew that behind the grumpy CEO façade, there was just a tired man.“Thank you,” I replied, standing from my desk. “Tell them I’ll be there in five minutes.”She nodded, but before leaving, she gave me a concerned look.“Have you had lunch yet, Mr. Benites?”“There’s no time,” I answered shortly, adjusting my tie.The meetings dragged on for hours. Negotiations, numbers, projections… everyt
The taxi was waiting across the street, but I couldn’t move. My eyes were fixed on the small house with peeling walls and narrow windows—the place that had been both my refuge and my prison for so long. The watch on my wrist ticked away, each second reminding me that my life was about to change forever.I had chosen that time on purpose. I knew he wouldn’t be there. I knew that, for a few hours, that house would belong only to me and her—my mother.I took a deep breath, trying to gather my courage, and crossed the street with unsteady steps. Every inch closer made my heart beat faster. When I reached the door, I hesitated. I raised my hand to knock, but it was already slightly open.“Mom?” I called softly, almost a whisper.I heard light footsteps, and then my mother’s fragile figure appeared in the hallway. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and a sad smile formed on her lips.“Isa… you came.”“I came to say goodbye,” I replied, my voice faltering. “I couldn’t leave without talking to







