Chapter 4

Mikhail

Cristina was indecisive and futile, although I liked her a lot, it wasn't love. It's nothing more than a question of interests, she likes money and I need someone by my side to keep up appearances in my business.

"What do you think of this one? This side slit will add a touch of charm, making me look more sensual and sexy." The dress she was holding was extremely depraved and she likes it, although I hated it and refused to accompany her in these outfits.

"I don't think you need to show off so much, we know you have nice legs, but it's not that much." I gave her a firm look and she returned the dress angrily, moving on to an even more depraved one.

My cell phone was ringing, it was Carmen and I couldn't reject her call. I grabbed a blazer and went to the fitting room, Cristina was also invasive and impolite at times.

"Good news?" Carmem smiled on the other side, indicating yes.

"Great! We've finally got some people to fill the administration position. She has great references, from what I can see she's very dedicated and is willing to move in as soon as possible. Do you have any idea when she'll be able to start?"

"Can you take care of everything for me? Cristina is demanding my time, you know... we're getting married in a month and she won't give me a minute's peace. I'll be eternally grateful to you for helping me once again." Carmen was always saving me, she and Ella were always my saviors.

"You know you don't even have to ask. Next week you'll have a new admirer for the works, no doubt she'll surprise you too."

"You know there's only one woman who can surprise me." It wasn't a lie, Cristina is about to become my companion until who knows when, she has her faults but I like her precisely because of who she is.

Carmem hung up when she heard Cristina's shout calling me very close. The two of them didn't know each other very well, I preferred it that way, Carmem isn't the kind of person who has a lot of patience for people like Cristina and I didn't want to lose my best employee for years, apart from her friend.

"Was she your secretary again? She won't give you a break even if she knows you're engaged? You're not going to tell me you're going to answer those damn calls even when we're on our honeymoon?" She looked at me, made her best dissatisfied face and showed me the dress she was holding. "The only reason I'm not giving up on dinner tonight is because it's important to me"

She was a hurricane when she was nervous. I chose a suit and we went to pay. She walked to the car with a sulky face, like a tantruming child, and I hated it when that happened. Luckily for her, I was on my best day and was grateful to have Matthew as my friend, so today was the day we were going to drink after the tedious dinner Cristina was forcing me to go to with her.

Donna

I got home and tried to reflect on everything that had happened before I went back to the hospital. Well... Dominic is the result of an unplanned pregnancy with a man I met on the day of Matthew's farewell, since then I haven't looked for him, we've never had any contact apart from that night and nobody else knows about it apart from Jess. When my family found out about the pregnancy, they despised me because they thought my child was a vagrant's, they always had a horrible view of me, even though I never gave them any reason to, but simply because my sister was the picture of the perfect daughter. Despite all this, I never allowed this negative energy to get to my son, so I decided I didn't want any more contact with them and since then Jess, Dominic and I have been a happy family.

Confused and extremely happy, I returned to the hospital unable to contain my happiness. I walked into the room and Jess was almost asleep on the edge of Dom's bed.

"Hi... I'm here, I didn't want to disturb your sleep, but I have something to tell you." I smiled from corner to corner, watching as she slowly got up and sat down in the armchair.

"You...?" She asked, smiling and hugging me, wanting to scream but unable to. "Oh my God, I knew it was yours. I'm so happy for you, my friend. I'm so glad you made it." She squeezed me and smiled at the same time. The news I had to tell her would also break her heart, because it broke my heart from the first moment I heard it.

"Yeah... but the job also includes having to leave the country..." I swallowed as she pulled away from me, held my hands and looked me in the eye.

"And you're not going to tell me that you flipped out because of that? They're going to pay for everything, aren't they? This is your chance to change your life, Donna. You know that." Although I know how sad she is too, Jess is the only person who really knows how much I've suffered to be who I am today. From the moment I was kicked out of my house, from the day she welcomed me into her home to the present day. Only she knows how hard I've worked to keep myself from lacking the essentials and how much I've paid since Dominic was born.

"I know... I accepted, said I had no objections and that I was totally willing to move in as soon as they wanted me to. I just have no idea what it's going to be like living without you, I miss you already." Just as we were getting emotional to the point of tears, the doctor came in after knocking on the door, with some papers in his hands.

"Good evening, I have some good news about the tests carried out this morning." I looked relieved, as I feared it was something more serious than a viral infection. "Dominic was dehydrated, but we've solved that with saline and water. I need you to keep him hydrated so he doesn't get worse." He handed me the papers with some prescriptions and the discharge paper.

I thanked him, woke him up and we went home with Jess. She was tired, but she still had to work.

"I'm home to have dinner with you tonight. We're going out to dinner to celebrate this wonderful achievement. I love you." She left us at home, said goodbye and went straight to work.