MasukThree months, he thought. That's more than enough time. When the deadline is up, you won't want to leave. And if you do... I'll find another reason for you to stay.
The comfortable silence returned, but Helena seemed restless. She sighed, resting her chin on the balcony railing.
“Do you have a shoot tomorrow?” asked Henrique, noticing the tension in her shoulders.
“Yes.” Her sigh was deep and heavy.
“Why the long face? Are tomorrow's scenes difficult? Drama? Crying?”
Helena shook her head, looking out at the dark garden.
"They're not exactly ‘difficult’ technically. It's just... awkward. It's a kissing scene.
The temperature on the balcony dropped five degrees instantly.
“And the person I have to kiss is Josh,” she continued, oblivious to the change in Henrique's aura. "I'm afraid I'll get distracted, have a fit of laughter, or worse, end up punching
“Henri...” She stopped herself. Calling the boss of bosses by his first name there would be social suicide. “Mr. Ballmer... I've walked into the wrong room...”The lighting was dim. She hadn't seen that, in the darkest and most noble corner of the sofa, Henrique Ballmer was sitting with his eyes closed, resting while the others made noise.Amidst that sea of sweaty, vulgar men, Henrique's scent of sandalwood and clean presence were like pure oxygen.“Which room are you in?” he asked, ignoring President Costa, who was still bowing in reverence. “I'll take you there.”Until that moment, Henrique had vaguely heard the commotion, but he hadn't cared. It was only when Helena's familiar voice—full of restrained panic—cut through the air that he opened his eyes.And what he saw—that disgusting old man pulling Helena—made his blood boil.At that moment, Henrique's desire was not
“You're telling the truth after drinking too much, aren't you?!” he accused, pointing his finger. “I knew it! I thought you had intentions with Henrique from the beginning! Are you thinking of sleeping with him, Helena? Admit it!”“Is there any woman in the whole country who doesn't want to sleep with Henrique Ballmer?” Helena retorted shamelessly.“Well, every woman in the country wants to sleep with me too, but you never thought about sleeping with me!” Josh fired back, playing his trump card.Helena's tone of voice rose slightly, laden with malice, as she leaned toward him:“And how do you know I never wanted to sleep with you before?”Josh froze. His brain short-circuited.“Wh... what?”Immediately afterwards, his ears turned red as peppers. He stammered, unable to form a sentence.In the next second, a muffled laugh escaped Helena. She was hav
“Ah... what a coincidence.” Her voice came out a little higher pitched. “Is your ‘friend's’ birthday on the same day as mine?”She tried to laugh, but it sounded forced."She must be really important to you to turn down my invitation in front of everyone! What a shame! But look, if your friend's party ends early, come to mine. We'll party all night!“I doubt it will end early,” Josh muttered.Camila swallowed hard and walked away, feeling the humiliation burning her cheeks. She hadn't been able to convince the main star. That would make her look bad among her socialite friends.But as she returned to Edward's side, a doubt began to gnaw at her mind.Who is this mysterious “friend”?Not only was this person born on the same day as her, but they were also important enough for Josh Angelito to snub an elite party for them.Wait a minute...Born on
That was the man. The only man Helena had supposedly been in love with. The man who destroyed her.Like a perfect boyfriend straight out of a margarine commercial, Edward entered the room, greeting everyone with polite nods. Camila ran over and grabbed his arm, marking her territory.“Everyone!” Camila announced. “I was having dinner nearby with Edward and some friends, and he heard that the team was here. He insisted on coming to say hello.”Edward smiled, the picture of benevolence.“It's a pleasure to see everyone working hard.” He looked at the waiter. “Please bring another round of the best desserts.” And the bill is on me. Order whatever you want, dinner tonight is on me!“The team was thrilled by the generosity of their ”rich brother-in-law.“However, before the waiter could move, a cold, hostile grumble cut through the air from the corner of the table.”He
“What?!” he shouted. “Henrique forced you to change? You changed just because he told you to? That ridiculous nickname you used for ten years? The one I begged you to drop because it was embarrassing and you said you were ‘too lazy’? You changed the second he asked you to?!”Helena rolled her eyes, impatient with the drama.“Can you stop yelling? He didn't ‘make’ me do anything, you drama queen.”“Then why did you change it?” insisted Josh, feeling betrayed.Helena sighed, remembering the conversation from the night before.“It was exactly the opposite. I tried to convince him not to change his, but he insisted that my ‘emo’ nickname was cool. He wanted me to help him come up with a ‘Martian language’ nickname to match mine!”Josh's mouth dropped.His uncle? The ice-cold CEO? Using 2005 internet slang to impress a girl?
At the same time, inside the black Maybach parked in the shadows, the air had become unbreathable.Axel Ballmer curled up against the passenger door, trying to melt into the leather seat to get as far away from his brother as possible. He covered his eyes with his hands, peeking through a gap between his fingers.He couldn't believe it. Henrique was really watching.The temperature inside the vehicle seemed to have dropped to minus twenty degrees. When Helena held Josh's hand on the screen, the air froze. When she leaned in, the pressure increased so much that Axel feared the bulletproof glass would shatter.He's going to explode, Axel thought, terrified. There will be no screams. There will only be a silent bloodbath.No matter how hard he racked his brains, Axel couldn't imagine a scenario in which Henrique would stop that kiss without causing an international scandal or kidnapping the lead actress.On the high-d







