All Chapters of CROOKED: In love with my cousin's boyfriend: Chapter 21 - Chapter 23

One week after that horrendous party (though not entirely horrendous), after the whole Maël Saravia debacle, Sandra told me some details about what happened between her and Galev, the Russian, that night. Apparently, they were already officially dating. In fact, the man wasted no time in claiming her as his partner in front of her father, Mr. Gregorio, and kept visiting Mafalaia as often as possible. Knowing Sandra was happy made me happy. As for me, I didn’t tell her anything about what happened with Maël. Somehow, despite the witnesses, no one had mentioned it. Had anyone told Galev? And would he ever bring it up with my friend? I didn’t want to dwell on it. It was 17:00hrs on November 27th when I left the circus. The entire production team was eager to celebrate—the script for the play was finally finished, and soon, casting tests, costumes, and staging would follow. We were already feeling satisfied, and rehearsals hadn’t even started yet. There was still a long way to go.

As every December, the decorated streets, theaters opening their doors with new performances, shopping centers closing late, and event organizations and big concerts arriving from Lisbon and Porto, bringing international artists with them. The temperature dropped considerably, and my inbox kept filling up with work—thank God—but with no replies. No one answered my email question, as if it had never happened. Fran wrote to me several times, inviting me out. I had to be honest and reminded him that Nikko still existed in my life. Fran… Fran suspected strange things because after my flirting and encouraging him, he started asking questions. First, he confirmed he knew Nikko much more than I thought, which reminded me of my clever move not to mention his name during the call while I was in Viana. Then he asked if the reason Maël had acted so arrogantly at the Russian’s party had to do with me being the wife of one of his relatives. The guy made it easy for me: I said yes. Fran immedia