When Arik and I returned from the woods, we found the three of them, Aurora and Kim included, waiting in the suite.I couldn't even look at them directly because I didn't want to see something that would surprise me."Just around here..." I almost whispered. "Why? Isn't this place secure? That's what Dad said," I said, shifting my gaze back to them.At that moment, Arik, who just entered with two cups of coffee, met my eyes. He approached me immediately and handed me a cup."Aomori has its dangerous parts, Celeste. I hope you don't do that again. We're here. If you have questions, we can answer them, especially the ones about what you heard earlier." He spoke gently to me, as if still apologizing to me even after I forgave him earlier when we swam at the lake.I looked away from him. "I know. That's why I ran away because I didn't want to find out just yet. Is that so wrong now?"I turned away from them again and sat on the terrace. My heart was pounding for some u

It was in Spain where Ariah came into my life. I raised her with the help of the Fuentebella family. At first, I had to hide her from them out of fear that they might not accept me and would kick me out again. They were the only family I had. I worked as a helper in one of their wine shops. Little did I know that Oliver was their son, and I confided in him about what happened to me, about what my own father did to me.One day, Oliver surprised me by bringing me to their mansion and there they welcomed me, not knowing about my pregnancy. They took me in without knowing about the child I was carrying.I received so many hateful comments, and I thought of them in a negative way. I was afraid they would react the same way my own parents did when they found out about my pregnancy.But I was wrong about them. I was wrong to have judged them that way. Eventually, they found out about my pregnancy, and they were angry not because I was pregnant, but because I kept it a secret from

"I'm sorry for being such a jerk, baby. I'm so sorry. I wanted to find you before, but your Dad, Armando, told me that you left on your own after you disowned him as your father. I lost all hope when Mom suddenly disappeared and..." Arik's voice completely broke, and he held me even tighter. "...and they found her dead in Aomori. The parts of her body were nowhere to be found. They only recovered a few things and one of her hands."I gasped when I heard that. I quickly pulled away from him just to verify if he was telling the truth or not."W-what?" I managed to control my tears. "What do you mean, Arik? Her hand?"Arik clenched his jaw while looking at me, his eyes still watery. He fixed my hair. "Yes, baby... She was dismembered. That's why I disappeared. I did everything I could to find out what happened, but until now, no one could tell us what happened and who did it." In an instant, his sad eyes turned into burning rage."We have a theory that your mom and my mom h

"Celeste, I apologize for Dad's absence this time. There's an emergency at Caza, and he's needed there."I looked at Engr. Serrano, who pretended to sit on the couch in my office and smiled at him."It's alright. I still can't believe that you're the engineer they've been talking about all along."After our meeting, he followed me to my office and sent away his assistant. It's the first time I've seen him in almost four years since I became Mr. Ledesma's partner. He's the man behind the successful building projects of the Ledesma Group and SCC. He's a well-known and highly sought-after engineer, so he's not easy to find.He's also Mr. and Mrs. Ledesma's eldest child and heir."You're surprisingly free right now, huh? Aren't you usually busy with these kinds of meetings for your Dad?" I sat in front of him, and then Paula arrived with our coffee."Thanks, Pau.""I took a one-month leave, so when Dad asked, I agreed. There's something in it for me, actually." He c

"What is this place? Why are you here?" I asked Kim when we both sat down in what seemed to be the lobby."Arik hired me to work on a case here. He said he trusted me the most. Besides, your sugar daddy pays well, so I'm in," she replied with a mischievous smile."You're ridiculous. You act as if your salary from the clinic isn't enough, even though you're the owner," I teased her, glancing around the place again."You know my situation. Anyways, as I was saying, I'm working on a case here, and it's your case, Celeste. I bet Arik hasn't told you everything yet," Kim said, raising her eyebrow.I furrowed my brow and leaned closer to her. "Not yet," I admitted.Her grin turned into a serious expression. After a moment, she checked her phone briefly and then looked back at me."Come to my office."Kim led me to her office as promised. It was a glass-walled office, so we could see people outside, but she assured me that they couldn't see us."What's this, Kim?" I