Starting over
Bruno headed to Gío’s house, longing to be reunited with his wife and son. They received him with such coldness that he felt like he was facing blocks of ice. Rina and Gío watched him, clearly annoyed.
“If you’re going to mistreat our daughter, why did you come looking for her?” Rina said.
“I love her,” Bruno replied, bowing his head, feeling ashamed of his behavior.
“Are you sure? Because if you’re not, it’s better for you to leave. Your insecurities are causing our daughter pain.”
“I need to talk to her, to ask for her forgiveness.”
“This will be the last time you do something foolish and we allow you to get close to her. Let it be clear that we’re doing it for our grandchild. If it wasn’t for that, we would have taken her out of the country in the early hours of the morning.”
Bruno paled upon hearing those words. He didn’t want to lose her again; he couldn’t bear it.
Rina and Gío went upstairs, and a few minutes later, Nicole came down with a serious expression on her face.
“What do you want here?” she asked, her arms crossed over her chest, clearly angry.
“I want you to come back to me, along with our son. It’s not right for you to run back to your parents at the first sign of trouble. We’re adults now.”
“Exactly because we’re adults, you should have talked to me before deciding to ignore me. You should have talked to me and, above all, not blamed me for what happened. You and your father accepted that girl into the company, and I don’t blame you for it. You didn’t know her true intentions, just as I didn’t know she would put oil on the stairs. I climbed them many times when I was Bertha’s assistant and never had any mishaps.”
“I know, forgive me. The pain blinded me. I was so excited about the baby; I wanted to experience it with you since I missed out on it with Santi.”
“You know I had reasons to distance myself. I wasn’t going to risk you taking my son away from me. And you know what? It’s better to leave the past behind, not talk about it, because believe me, it still hurts despite the years.”
“You said you have forgiven me for everything.”
“And I did, but I don’t like to remember.”
“Come back.”
“No, Bruno, not now. Santi can spend weekends with you. I won’t risk being a victim of your insecurities again. I’ll work in my father’s company.”
“No way, you’ll come back to me. I need you by my side.” He felt devastated, once again he would be alone.NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.
“That’s the problem. You’re asking me to come back out of need, out of fear of feeling lonely, and that doesn’t work for me.”
Bruno bowed his head. He was a fool, about to lose her again.
“Are you sure?” he asked, holding back the tears.
“Yes.”
“Alright, but you know I’ll be waiting for you. Think it over. I’d like us to get married again.”
Nicole remained silent. She loved him, but Bruno had to understand that she had feelings too, not just him.
Bruno left, dejected. He had committed a great stupidity. There he was, starting over in the relationship and trying to win her over again.
Days later, it was the weekend, and he arrived at Gío’s house to pick up Santi. Nicole hadn’t answered his calls, but he wanted his son with him. He noticed several cars parked outside, indicating a party. As he entered, he saw that all the attendees were dressed in formal attire. The house was grand, with a large hall inside.
Santi ran to greet him upon seeing him, dressed in a suit.
“Dad, it’s great that you’ve come.”
Bruno smiled at his son and noticed Sophie and Máx among the guests. Emma and Noah were also there, and Leandro observed him from a distance. Nicole approached him upon seeing him.
“What are you doing here?”
“We agreed that I would take my son on weekends. Since you didn’t answer, I decided to come.”
“I’ve been very busy. As you can see, I needed my son to be with me today.”
“You could have at least let me know.”
At that moment, Gío’s voice was heard. He held a microphone in his hands, with Noah by his side.
“As everyone knows, Nicole is our daughter. Due to various circumstances, she was adopted by Noah Williams. Tonight is her official introduction to all of you.”
“Among the attendees were businessmen and high-ranking government officials,” Gío continued. “Tonight, I also want to announce that my daughter is my legitimate heir. From today onwards, all my companies are in her hands.”
The audience was stunned. It indicated that Nicole would receive a great fortune. Then, Noah took the microphone.
“For me, Nicole is my daughter. Let’s remove the ‘adoptive’ label. Tonight, I also want to announce that she will receive my companies. Her mother gave me the opportunity to create everything I have now, so she is the rightful heir to everything I own. From today, Rossano Enterprises and Williams Enterprises merge and become one, under the leadership of our daughter, Nicole Williams.”
Nicole was astonished. She had no idea. They only told her that she would be introduced as their daughter that day, nothing more.
“Mom, I can’t accept this. It’s too much,” she said to Rina.
“Everything belongs to you by right, daughter. Gío and Noah have enough to live in luxury for the rest of our days. Besides, we have talked about it, and once the issue with Sergio is resolved, the four of us will travel the world.”
Nicole felt saddened. She was happy for them, but it meant being left alone with Sara and her son.
“Don’t be sad, daughter. We will visit you often,” Rina assured her.
Leandro and Máx approached to congratulate Nicole. Bruno stepped aside to let them do so. He felt completely out of place. He also felt joy for Nicole. She would now be one of the most influential women in the country. Her power would be immense with all that fortune. When Leandro and Máx left, he approached her to congratulate her.
“I’m genuinely happy for you,” he said.
“Thank you,” she replied coldly.
“Mom, can I go with dad? He promised to play video games,” Santi asked.
“Alright, go ahead,” Nicole couldn’t refuse when she saw how excited he was.
“I’ll bring him back on Sunday afternoon.”
“Okay.” Bruno watched her. She looked beautiful that day, wearing a burgundy dress. It was fitted until the waist and flared at the skirt, with a discreet front neckline. The color made her skin appear even fairer. She wore her hair loose in waves, resembling a porcelain doll.
Santi and Bruno left hand in hand. Anyone who saw them could tell they were father and son, even if they didn’t know them. They were like twins, despite their different heights.
“Don’t be sad, daughter. I agree that Bruno needs a lesson. He loves you, but he’s a stubborn one,” Noah said.
Nicole smiled at her father’s remark. Noah knew that Bruno was a good guy, but when it came to romance and women, he had a lot to learn.
Sergio learned about the situation at that moment. One of the guests was his friend, and as soon as he heard the news, he went out to the garden to call him. He immediately started thinking about the power he would have if he managed to make Nicole transfer all that fortune to him. The only way to do it was through his son, as the child was the means to achieve his goal.
“What are you thinking, darling?” Deborah asked him as soon as he ended the call.
“The mother of your grandson has inherited a huge fortune. It’s bigger than ours and your son’s combined,” Sergio replied.
“Well, some bitches get lucky,” Deborah said, annoyed.
“If we eliminate your son and that girl, your grandson would inherit an immeasurable fortune,” Sergio proposed.
“And?” Deborah responded.
“You could claim your rights over that brat. Another option would be to kidnap him and demand his parents to transfer us that fortune. Of course, we wouldn’t return the bastard to them. It would be our ticket to live in peace. We would keep him alive in exchange for them not bothering us.”
“I like both plans, but I lean more towards the second one. What if the judge grants custody of the brat to the other grandparents? You know they can say many things about me that could affect me,” Deborah suggested.
“You’re right. That way, we would be on the safe side. Haha,” Sergio laughed.
Leandro was not present to hear their plans this time. The pair of villains laughed and opened a bottle to celebrate everything they were about to do. Their hearts were undoubtedly rotten.
After the party, Nicole bid farewell to her brother and friends. Dante couldn’t attend as he was out of the country. Sophie approached her friend, her pregnancy was now visible, and her belly had grown significantly.
“Sweetie, I’m sorry for what happened. I couldn’t tell you earlier. Dante and I want you to be the godmother of our baby girl. I hope you accept. Just know that Bruno will be the godfather,” Sophie said.
“Thank you, my friend. You know I would never refuse. It will be a great honor to be the godmother of your daughter. I will love her as my own, you can be sure of that,” Nicole replied.
The two friends embraced, and Nicole couldn’t hold back her tears. This time, they were tears of joy. It meant a lot to her that they considered her to be the godmother.
At Bruno’s house, after playing video games, he took his son to bed. It was raining heavily outside, with thunderstorms filling the air.
“Dad, could I sleep with you? I’m scared of thunderstorms, and Mom must be scared too. We used to sleep together on nights like this,” Santi said.
“Yes, son, of course you can sleep with me.”
At her parents’ house, Nicole felt terrified by the storm. Sara, who knew her well, headed towards her bedroom. Just as she reached the doorway, the power went out. Nicole screamed in utter fear.
When the window illuminated momentarily from a lightning bolt, she could see a man standing outside her window. Sara hurried inside, and Nicole trembled uncontrollably. The lights came back on, and they checked the balcony, but there was no one there. Besides, the house was heavily guarded.
Upon hearing the scream, Gío and Rina rushed over. Their bedroom was on the other side of the house, which is why they took a while. They also searched but found nothing. Gío asked the guards to remain alert.