Page 128 of My Heart's Doctor

“Don’t ever come near me again and stay away from my family,” I said, pointing at him.

“Family?” he questioned, in a mocking tone. “He’s marrying you because you were the only one who could deal with his daughter, otherwise you’d be just another mistress.”

“You’re despicable.”

“I am, but not as much as your boyfriend, that son of a bitch.”

I didn’t respond. It wasn’t worth wasting any more of my time listening to these absurdities. I started walking back to the parking lot. My legs were shaking and barely obeying me. I could hardly control my steps, but I made an effort because I had to keep walking and I had to do it as upright as possible. I trusted William; he had never given me reason to distrust him.

When I reached my car, I took a few minutes to calm down. My hands were sweating; the whole situation had upset me tremendously, and my entire body was shaking. When I managed to calm myself, I decided I couldn’t go shopping. I didn’t feel up to walking around the mall. Although I was clear that I couldn’t let Lino ruin my relationship with William, the truth is that at that moment I was distressed. I started the car and decided to go to his company.

When I arrived, the secretary, who already knew me, informed me that he wasn’t at the company. The first thing that came to mind was that he had told me he was going to have a meeting, and I suspect my face must have betrayed my surprise because the secretary looked at me with concern.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yes, thank you. I just walked quite a bit and I’m a little tired. I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t mention that I came by because I only wanted to surprise him, and I’d like to do that another time.”

“Of course,” she said with a conspiratorial smile.

“What brings the beautiful Devon Dulcet here?”

I turned and found Xavier coming toward me. I cursed inwardly because his presence would force me to stay and chat for a few minutes, and I had intended to leave as soon as possible.

“Hello, Xavier, how are you?”

“Now that I see you, much better,” he said with his usual playfulness, and William’s secretary looked at him sternly.

Xavier gave me a kiss on the cheek and looked at me with a smile.

“I came to surprise William, but I found out he’s not here.”

“My friend is a lucky guy. But you can stay and wait for him, and I can keep you company.”

“Thank you, but since he’s not here, I’ll take advantage of the time to do some shopping. I thought you were in a meeting,” I said, and that already gave me the sense that unfortunately Lino’s words were undermining the trust I had placed in William.

“No, the meeting is later. I think William said he was going to the jewelry store,” he stated, and then froze, as if he had said too much. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned that because it’s probably related to a gift for you. Don’t tell him I mentioned it.”

The necklace that Lino had shown me came to mind again, and I cursed myself for being so stupid as to let him ruin my happiness.

“And don’t mention that I was here so I can surprise him another day.”

“Perfect, our first shared secret,” he said, smiling seductively, but I could only laugh at his audacity.

“Good to see you, Xavier,” I said goodbye.

“And I’m even happier to see you,” he said, still smiling.

That man was the embodiment of boldness, but I had always liked him.

I arrived home and after greeting Aurora, I took a long shower and put on comfortable clothes. As much as I tried not to think about Lino’s words because William didn’t deserve my doubts, my head was a whirlwind that kept turning the matter over without being able to help it. I needed to distract myself because I didn’t want Lino’s malice to distress me. I went looking for Aurora and found her playing in the backyard of the house. Alba was sitting in the chairs arranged under the pergola, attentive to all the little girl’s movements, and Aurora was so concentrated on dressing a doll that she didn’t hear me arrive.

"Hello, Alba. How have you been?"

"Very well, doctor, how was your day?"

"It was good. Today I only had consultations and I don't have to be on call."

"Then you can rest a bit and enjoy the pool with Aurora who has been insisting on taking a dip for a while now. The afternoon is beautiful."