Page 128 of Stronger Than Fate
“Yes, that's what I call Sean.”
“Mmmm, we'll talk about this Sean later,” he said very seriously, which made me smile because his jealous expression amused me. “She told me that he had consoled you, and since he was in love with you, he asked you to marry him and move to France.”
“And you believed her?”
“Not at first, but let me tell you she's a very good actress and knew how to argue her story well. She told me you were getting married because you wanted to forget about me and start a new life away from everyone. That's when I started to get a little nervous, but she sealed the deal when she showed me an invitation to the wedding and said you had just given it to her, and if I didn't believe her, I could go with her and confirm it, besides showing me the dress, which I suppose was your cousin's.”
“And what invitation did she show you?”
“I don't know, but I assure you that invitation had your name on it. I suppose she created one.”
“I can't believe Niky came up with all that! But there's something I don't understand, if you didn't want me to get married, why didn't you talk to me before the wedding?”
“Because I went away. I was out of the country and arrived on the day of the wedding. I left because I didn't want to be around on the day you got married and because I needed to think. When I came back, Niky told me that the only option I had was tointerrupt the wedding because I wouldn't have a chance to talk to you beforehand.”
“Didn’t that seem a little strange to you?”
“Not at all because she was very convincing. She told me that because of the person who attacked me, your brothers had taken the precaution of taking you to a place that nobody knew about, not even her. That you were going to the wedding from there and that someone was coming to pick up the dress.”
“It sounds like a soap opera,” I said, smiling. “When I saw you enter the church, I thought you were in love with my cousin, that’s why I was leaving.”
“With your cousin? I didn’t even know her, poor woman, I can’t imagine what they must have thought of me.”
“It was quite a show.”
“One that I would star in a thousand times if necessary, because thanks to that I have you by my side,” he declared, smiled and pulled me toward him.
That night we slept little because we dedicated ourselves to caressing, kissing, and making love. It was as if we couldn’t stay away from each other or stop declaring our love.
Chapter 17
“Seas are never completely calm. The same happens in the seas of life”
—Paulo Coelho
The wedding was set for two months later, in the first week of February. Time in which we had to organize it and Niky had to make the dress. We were enjoying our engagement and spent most of our time together. Most nights Henry stayed at the hotel and, if for some reason he had to go to his house, I would accompany him because neither of us wanted to sleep apart. Living together was turning out wonderfully and we understood each other perfectly. Little by little we were getting to know each other more, learning about habits and also some quirks, and our relationship was strengthening, growing, and becoming more secure.
I hadn’t heard any news about Sol, and Henry had confessed to me that he was determined to fire her, but when he requested to proceed with her dismissal, the Human Resources Department of his company informed him that the employee had submitted her resignation that day, and the day coincided with when I had found out she had gone on a trip. On the other hand, I hadn’t seen her again, or at least suspected it was her, nor had she tried to contact me.
We also had no news about the person who had drugged Henry, but as the days passed, we had been forgetting about that bad moment, although the police and the investigators Henry had hired were still following the few leads they had.
Christmas was approaching and the hotel was at full capacity. During these holidays, the movement and bustle were constant. As every year, the hotel was decorated for the occasion in an elegant and luminous way, with Christmas details everywhere. The most important decoration was in the grand hall with the enormous and beautiful Christmas tree that was lit day and night. Setting it up was a tradition in our family and all three siblings participated in the decoration. When my parents were alive, one of the regular and most fun family activities was decorating the Christmas tree. We all put our touch on the decoration and ended up with a colorful tree full of life. As my mother used to say:“Decorating the Christmas tree as a family is an exercise in love”.
This year was special because I had Henry in my life and, for me, he was already part of my family. The relationship with my brothers had improved, but I still noticed that they didn’t fully trust him.
On the day of setting up the tree, I informed my brothers that Henry would also participate and, to my surprise, they took it naturally. Since it was a giant tree, most of the ornaments were put up by hotel employees, but we helped and placed the most significant ones, which were those we had brought from our house and had been purchased by our mother. Henry seemed happy to be able to participate with us and kept thanking us.
When they told us we could go to finish the decoration, the four of us gathered in the hall and I brought the box in which the family ornaments were stored.
Bastián chose to hang a Christmas star and a gold ball, Lolo took some bells and another red ball. When I brought the box to Henry, he looked at me with emotion.
“Thank you for allowing me to share this moment with you. It’s an honor.”
“Woollardy, we’ve already resigned ourselves to the fact that you’re part of the family, so stop thanking us and fulfill the family tradition,” said Lolo, smiling, and we all laughed.
Henry took a little angel and another gold ball and placed them on the tree. When it was my turn, I noticed they had left me the Star of Bethlehem to place at the top of the tree. That star had a lot of sentimental value for us because it had been made by my father. It was a beautiful golden star. When I took it, my eyes filled with tears. My brothers looked at me and nodded, and Henry approached and held out his hand.
“This star was made by my dad,” I told him.
