Page 44 of Please, Forgive Me
CHAPTER 18
“The past is a closed book; the present, a blank page…”
MARIA GABRIELA
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
That sentence Diego had said wouldn’t leave my head. No matter how hard I tried to push it away, it kept echoing inside me, pulsing in a way I didn’t want to acknowledge.
I knew I shouldn’t let it get to me. I shouldn’t allow words—especially his—to affect me like that.
Diego was known for his charm, for how easily he could manipulate the people around him, and I was no exception. And yet… there was something about the way he’d said it—so effortless, so genuine—that had completely thrown me off balance.
I turned toward the window of the jet, trying to focus on the view outside. The clouds stretched beneath us like a white carpet, and the late afternoon sun was starting to dip toward the horizon.
Normally, that sight would calm me. But now, all I could think about was the chaos Diego stirred inside me.
He was sitting beside me again, eyes on the documents in front of him, as composed as ever. I could feel his presence, though—it hummed in the air like static. He looked completely unbothered, as if his comment from minutes ago meant nothing, as if everything was under control—just like always.
For me, though, it was the opposite. The ease with which he’d said those words had affected me more than I cared to admit.
“So,” he said casually, glancing at me, “what do you think about the expansion project I put together?”
His tone was professional, but that familiar glint in his eyes told me otherwise. My boss wasn’t just talking business—he was testing me, trying to pull me back into that teasing rhythm we always seemed to fall into.
Diego was being unusually careful, almost protective—and that unsettled me. It was like he was wearing a mask, and I couldn’t tell which version of him was real.
The cold, calculating man who never got emotionally involved? Or the one who, in rare moments, let a flicker of warmth show through—the one I didn’t know how to handle?
“I think the project has potential, but…” I paused, forcing myself to refocus on work instead of the storm he was stirring inside me. “We still need to make sure the investors are completely convinced the expansion will deliver the return we’re projecting.”
Diego nodded, seemingly pleased with my answer, though that gleam in his eyes didn’t fade. His smile said he wasn’t done toying with me.
“Are you worried about the meeting… or about me?” he asked, his voice teasing but softer this time, as if he was genuinely curious about the answer.
I rolled my eyes, keeping my tone light.
“Worried about you? Please,” I shot back. “You don’t exactly strike me as the kind of man who needs worrying about. You’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, boss.”
“Ah, Maria Gabriela…” he said with a grin. “Sounds like you know me a little too well.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I did know Diego better than I wanted to—but there were still moments, like that one, when I realized I didn’t know him at all.
He was a puzzle I couldn’t solve. That Diego who teased me, who laughed with me, seemed miles apart from the cold, commanding man who ran Amacel with an iron grip. He had too many sides, and I never knew which one was real.
That’s when the nausea hit again.
Suddenly, my stomach twisted, and the world tilted around me. I straightened in my seat, fighting the wave that climbed up my throat, but it was useless.
Without warning, I pushed up from the chair, mumbling a quick “Excuse me,” before hurrying to the small bathroom in the back of the jet.
I barely made it in time before throwing up. The sensation was awful—my whole body felt off, like the stress and tension had finally caught up with me. I stayed there for a few minutes, breathing deeply, trying to steady myself.
Something’s not right, I thought, staring at my reflection in the mirror.
That thought I’d pushed away a week ago came back full force. Could it be…?
