It didn't take long for Mia to leave the mansion. She knew the way perfectly, and it was the one she used when she didn't want anyone to follow her. However, hours before her grandparents' anniversary party, one of her friends told her about a party where Esteban, her first love and ex-boyfriend, would be. Mia tried everything, even pretending to have a strong stomach infection so that they wouldn't force her to go to the party, but in the end, she was dragged by her grandmother. Mia didn't protest anymore because she promised her grandfather that she would behave herself that night.
But she could not stop going to the place where her heart was. Since she broke up with Esteban, she had not gone out with anyone, hoping that he would come back to her. Their romance, although brief, was very intense. Everything collapsed quickly after everyone found out that she had gone out with one of the tennis instructors at the social club.
The reason she chose Esteban over the boys she had known since childhood was the freshness with which he treated her. He could look into her heart, leaving aside the last name that weighed so heavily on the girl. He had taken her to live a thousand new emotions and to know places that she would not be able to visit on her own. She wanted to see him after three months, and that's why she ran away. Of course, she was not alone in this madness. Just around the corner of the house, two of her friends were waiting for her to go out. They were appropriately dressed to go after her boy, but above all, to spend a night away from the labels of high society.
"I swear if you weren't here in 5 minutes, I would have left," Rebeca protested when Mia announced her arrival with a knock on the glass. "We have been waiting for you for ages."
"I've told you 10 million times not to exaggerate," Mia laughed, getting into the back of the car. "Besides, my grandmother couldn't take her eyes off me."
"You should change quickly. The party has already started, and besides, the night is not that young," Sara warned the girls about the time.
The truth was that Sara herself encouraged Mia to go to the party. Her boyfriend was also part of the club's staff, and he was Esteban's friend. He was the one who informed her about the party. Besides, she wanted to go back to the days when the four of them used to go out together. At least she had someone from the same environment. It wasn't easy to be in her boyfriend's world. Everyone saw her as a freak. She could only breathe the months when Mia was going out with Esteban, and she was willing to do everything to make those wonderful days come back.
"Are you sure he'll be there?" Mia was trying to get her jeans to go up while the car was on the road.
"Of course, Ivan said he would be there," Sara tried to calm her friend down.
"I'm just telling them that I'll drop them off at the place, and I'm leaving," Rebecca, who was dragged into this crazy plan, would only be her friends' chauffeur. "Let me know what time to pick them up."
"Won't you stay?" Mia was sure it was going to be a three-friends night.
"I can't. Remember that I'm the fourth one. The moment someone asks for you, I'll say that you slept over at my house."
Of the three, the only one who had independence was Rebeca. Her parents went abroad and left her to finish college, so she lived at home, practically alone. That meant that the escape plans of her friends always had a contingency.
"No need to pick us up," Sara spoke when she saw that they were approaching the place. "I'm sure Ivan will take me back, and since tonight there is a reconciliation, I don't think we should worry about Mia."
Mia's face blushed immediately when she understood the connotations her friend was making about how the reconciliation with Esteban should be. She was sure she loved him, and that's why she wouldn't stop him this time. She was ready to give everything of herself and not let anything separate them again, of that she was sure.
"Will they stay here?" Rebecca's terrified face was not only because they were in a bad place in the city, but also because they had just arrived at a place of illegal races. "I don't think it's a good idea for the two of them to stay here."
"Don't worry, Mia and I came here before," Sara was the most familiar with the place. After all, she and Ivan were about to celebrate a year together. "Don't worry and hurry back. I'll call Ivan to come and pick us up." The two girls got out of her friend's car, and the girl hesitated to leave them alone in a place that could be a good scenario for a horror movie. In the end, she gave up watching how her friend's boyfriend took her by the waist and guided them into that warehouse where they all met before the races.
"Long time no see, Mia," Ivan pulled Mia out of her thoughts. She was looking almost erratically for her ex-boyfriend's face. "Don't worry. Now he's in the runners' area. He's in the first race of the night. You'll see him when he's finished."
Mia's eyes lit up with Ivan's words. Since they broke up and Estaban quit the club, she hadn't been able to see him. That's why having him so close was something incredible for her.
The days in Nicolas' mansion seemed to stretch endlessly. Mia found herself trapped in her room, her voluntary prison, contemplating the life she had left behind and the love she yearned for with all her heart. The distance from Esteban made her suffer, and the coldness with which she treated Nicolas only made things worse. Every attempt he made to get closer to her was met with icy glances and sharp words.However, deep in her heart, Mia knew that she couldn't go on like this forever. Nullifying the marriage and returning the money Nicolas had given to her family was an option, but the reality of her deceased grandfather and the responsibility she now had over the Brown empire forced her to consider other alternatives.One afternoon, while wandering through the mansion's expansive garden, Mia made a decision. She decided it was time to take a step toward peace, even if it was a small one. She approached Nicolas, who was sitting by the pool, gazing at the reflection of the sun on the
Things in the mansion were far from good. Arguments were constant, and Mia lived in profound darkness. She cried from the moment she woke up, barely ate, and when she wasn't crying, she was fighting with Nicolas. Things couldn't be worse; it was all torture. Her room was the only place where she felt a little peace, although Nicolas would barge in from time to time to argue."Don't cry anymore, please. Forgive me. I swear I'm not like this. I don't know why, but you always bring out the worst in me," Nicolas felt like his world was going to hell every time he saw her cry. But his ego wouldn't let him set her free."Don't touch me. I told you I'm disgusted by you," Mia responded with anger. It was the only thing she could control.In the end, Nicolas always gave in, leaving in silence, hoping that one day she would love him. But it seemed like her hatred for him grew every day, that the repulsion for him was getting bigger. It was the worst feeling, having the person he loved leave him
Solitude was something Mia cherished in that house, a place that always seemed crowded with people who watched her every move, waiting for her to make a mistake so they could report it to Nicolas. Meanwhile, fury consumed him. He longed for the right to barge into the bathroom and take a shower with his wife, but it wasn't possible. She would kick him out, so he retreated to the garden, as far away as he could, to contain his rage."I brought you more coffee," Ana resumed her duties as a secretary swiftly. By the end of the first week, Nicolas hardly spoke to anyone."Don't you want to join me?" Nicolas sought to regain control of his life after a week of alcohol and solitude."You already have your wife for that.""Please, Ana, have a seat.""I'm sure your wife will get angry.""Just sit down," Nicolas's tone was much calmer than the one he used with his wife. "Being married doesn't mean we can't be friends.""You could have at least told me.""It was all over the news, Ana. You coul
Upon arriving back in the country, they got into a car, leaving Mia with no chance to escape, once again."Are you going to stay like this the whole way?" Nicolas was tired of the lifeless expression on Mia's face. Since disembarking the plane, she seemed devoid of soul, as if her body had lost all its vitality. "Do you want me to stop for breakfast? It's still a long way to our house.""I'm not hungry.""I didn't know you lived on air. You're the perfect woman for a poor man, very cheap. Honestly, marrying me wasn't worth it.""I thought the same thing, but you insisted on buying me."Nicolas didn't say anything; he simply continued to drive, aiming to reach their destination as quickly as possible. With the threat of his wife's escape looming, they were well-prepared. Two SUVs led the way, and two more followed behind, ensuring that no one could take Mia away. The couple's new home was a grand mansion nestled within a forest. It was far from the city, and cellphone reception was poo
On the journey to the hotel, during the time it took Nicolas to inform his parents that they had arrived, Mia settled into the room. However, Nicolas's mood soured as a photo of Mia reached his cell phone – a photo taken on the morning of their wedding day. There she was, wearing her wedding dress, locked in an embrace and sharing a passionate kiss with a man whose face remained hidden from view. The sight of Mia, tears streaming down her face as she kissed a man who wasn't him, erased the calmness from Nicolas's voice, replacing it with a rabid ferocity."Why did you kiss him just before marrying me?" His words dripped with a seething anger as he burst into the room, demanding an explanation from his newly-wedded wife."You're such a slut," Nicolas's formerly composed tone had vanished, replaced by the snarl of a wounded beast."Because it's him I love. He's the one I want to be with," Mia retorted defiantly."You're repulsive.""I'm repulsive? What about you, who bought a wealthy wi
The Brown Empire was coveted by many, and this led Mia to mature overnight. She stopped thinking about trivial things that had worried her until that morning. She almost laughed when she saw a message from her ex-boyfriend on her cell phone. She used to yearn for that to happen, but now it didn't matter to her anymore. She no longer wanted to be his girlfriend when she had to be another man's wife. A man who had embraced her, trying to hold her up so that she wouldn't fall. It was as if he didn't want her to suffer, but in the end, nothing mattered anymore. The past was buried, and now the future of her surname was all that mattered to her.Nicolas took Mia out of the hospital and asked her to rest. She hadn't slept well since the previous night. He also offered to take care of the funeral arrangements and other things. In the end, he had known from the beginning that his family was bankrupt, and it was an open secret among the businessmen. But with the merger of the companies, not on