Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Rafael stepped out of the pool and sat on the lounge chair, letting the sun warm his body and bronze his skin even more. Water ran slowly down his defined chest, tracing small paths before disappearing into the fabric of his swim trunks.

He was alone in that enormous house. The silence was beautiful to anyone looking from the outside. To him, it was just emptiness.

Until last year, his mother had still been there. Her presence filled the corridors, the dining room, even the garden she insisted on tending herself.

But a difficult-to-control pneumonia took her. It was the worst day of his life.

Rafael had always been extremely attached to his mother. She was his foundation, his only real family. He never knew his father—not even his name appeared in the documents, nor his surname. It was as if he had never existed.

She raised him alone. Worked double shifts. Fought for every opportunity he ever had. The Valença empire was built from his effort… but the strength came from her.

He closed his eyes, feeling the sun’s heat on his face. Power didn’t fill absences. Money didn’t bring anyone back.

He looked at the phone beside the lounge chair. He picked it up and stared at the screen for several seconds. This was ridiculous—he didn’t even know her name. Even so…

“Rafael? I thought you’d still be sleeping after yesterday’s meeting,” the amused voice on the other end teased.

“I need some information.”

His tone was far too serious for jokes.

“Go ahead.”

Rafael took a deep breath.

“The woman who was at the bar last night. Brunette, hair tied back, dark dress. She was alone. Sat near the counter around ten.”

There were a few seconds of silence.

“Rafael… yesterday wasn’t an open party. It was a private meeting.”

“I know.”

“I knew every single guest.”

Rafael’s jaw tightened.

“Then you knew them poorly.”

His friend let out a nervous laugh.

“I didn’t see any woman matching that description.”

Rafael stayed silent for a brief moment.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. And the place wasn’t even that crowded. I would have noticed.”

Silence.

“She wasn’t with anyone?” the host insisted.

Rafael squinted against the sun.

“No. I didn’t see anyone near her.”

“Then maybe she wasn’t there for the meeting.”

Rafael thanked him with a dry murmur and ended the call. He stared up at the sky.

If she wasn’t part of the meeting… then she was there by chance.

He ran a hand over his face, feeling again the memory of her touch—completely without any interest in who he was.

And maybe that was exactly why she had disarmed him. Rafael Valença had never had to chase after any woman.

But now… he wanted to find her.

He stood up slowly, picked up the towel, and threw it over his shoulder. He didn’t want to stay there brooding. He needed to move.

Half an hour later, he was in the car—a black SUV he used when he wanted to go unnoticed. He drove to Valença Hospital, the largest and most modern in the network he had built from nothing. It was Saturday, the weekend, a time he would normally never dream of showing up. But something pulled him there.

He parked in the reserved president’s spot, ignored the security guard who nearly tripped when he saw him, and entered through the side entrance to avoid causing a stir among the staff.

The main lobby was calm: a few patients, nurses circulating with trays, and some hurried doctors. The air conditioning was freezing, as always.

He went straight up to the pediatric oncology floor, the department he was most proud of. He hadn’t told anyone. He wanted to see things as they really were.

When he reached the main corridor, he stopped at the glass door leading to the wing. Inside, Daniel—wearing his white coat—was helping a nurse adjust the IV of a little girl about six years old. He spoke softly, smiled, and pointed at the cartoon playing on the TV mounted on the wall. The child laughed weakly, but she laughed.

Rafael felt proud of his son. Daniel wasn’t just intelligent; he was kind. He had inherited the best from his grandmother, and perhaps a bit of his father’s stubbornness.

The staff noticed him almost at the same time. A nursing technician froze in the middle of the corridor, eyes wide. Then another. Then the head of the ward, who nearly dropped his clipboard.

“Mr. Valença…” the man stammered, hurrying over. “We weren’t notified… would you like a room? Coffee? Anything…”

Rafael raised his hand, calm.

“No need. I just came to see how things are going.”

The man blinked, confused. Rafael Valença never showed up on weekends. Never without an agenda, without assistants, without cameras. And now he was there, in dark jeans and a black polo shirt, hands in his pockets, looking like… a normal person.

“Everything is… in order, sir. Shall I call the clinical director?”

“No.” Rafael gave a slight smile, which calmed the man. “Keep working. I’m just taking a walk.”

He began walking slowly down the corridor. He observed every detail: the overly clean floor, the freshly painted walls, the organized medication carts, the numbered room doors.

He passed the nurses’ station, where two of them froze mid-conversation. Rafael didn’t look directly at them; he just gave a small nod.

Maitê stepped out of the on-call room at that exact moment. She caught a woody scent—unmistakable—and her neck prickled. She slowly turned her face, searching.

Daniel ran past carrying a clipboard. Maitê watched him for a second, frowning.

“He looks so much like… that gorgeous man…” she murmured to herself, shaking her head. “Must be my imagination.”

Then she heard the door to the private room open behind her. It was him. Tall, imposing, his body outlined by the fitted shirt, with a confident stride that made people instinctively step aside.

The same man who had possessed her just hours earlier in a motel room, who had left her trembling and moaning until she lost her voice. He was here, in the hospital where she worked, looking around as if he owned the place.

Her intimacy flickered—it was impossible to resist. She felt a flutter in her stomach. How could she not get involved? Beautiful, tall, and dangerously delicious.

Maitê gripped the strap of her bag tightly, her knuckles turning white. Without thinking, she followed him. She entered the private room right after.

Rafael stopped in the middle of the room, back to her, analyzing the space with the same clinical gaze he used to evaluate everything in life: white walls, oval table, six chairs, a window overlooking the inner garden.

Maitê closed the door slowly.

“Hi…” she said softly.

His body visibly stiffened. He turned slowly. When his green eyes met hers, for a second it felt like time had stopped.

He almost couldn’t believe she was there. She was dressed simply, and yet still capable of making his blood race faster through his veins.

“You…” his voice came out hoarse, almost disbelieving.