Page 55 of Please, Forgive Me

“Brother…” he began carefully, “are you sure? I mean, Maria Gabriela doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who’d pull something like that. And what if… I don’t know… something actually went wrong? These things happen, you know.”

I let out a bitter, humorless laugh.

“No, Alexandre,” I said, ice cold, folding my arms. “She’s trying to manipulate me. She knows how vulnerable I am about this. She wants to trap me—tie me to her and to this company. Or worse, make sure she never has to work again. I’m not falling for it.”

Alexandre drew a long breath, shoving his hands into his pockets. I could see how uncomfortable this made him. I couldn’t afford to be naive—not after everything I’d been through.

“You really think she’d do that? I know her—she’s loyal, dedicated, she’s worked for you for years. You really think she’d risk her job and her career to pull a stunt like this?”

“I made her stay at the company—maybe this is payback. What I do know is I’m not taking chances. She’s about to find out I’m not that easy to manipulate.”

He watched me for a beat, frustration flickering across his face.

“You need to think clearly,” he said firmly. “You can’t just dismiss what she said. What if it’s true? What if it really is your child?”

I shut my eyes for a second, refusing to let that thought in. I couldn’t. It wasn’t real.

“For fuck’s sake, I already told you—it’s not my kid,” I said, slow and flat.

“Think hard about your next move,” he warned. “Acting hotheaded is always the worst option—and you know that.”

MARIA GABRIELA

I felt like I was suffocating—I needed air.

Inside the office, the air felt too heavy, every corner of that building a reminder of the fight with Diego, of his harsh words and the way he’d thrown me out of his office without even giving me a chance to be heard, to be believed.

I had to get out.

I crossed the lobby quickly, not caring about the curious glances from coworkers. The moment I pushed through the glass doors and felt the cool wind outside, I inhaled deeply, trying to ease the weight pressing against my chest.

The sky was clear, and the sound of waves in the distance did a little to calm my nerves.

Without a destination, I started walking. My legs carried me toward the beach as if they knew exactly where I needed to be. When I found a weathered wooden bench, worn down by sun and salt, I sat, feeling the soft warmth of the sun on my shoulders—yet even that couldn’t bring me comfort.

The tears came before I could stop them. My hands trembled in my lap, and I raised one to my face, trying to wipe the wetness away, but it was useless.

I was unraveling there, alone on the beach.

I’d never imagined it would come to this—being treated like that by Diego, the man I respected and, against my will, had started to feel something deeper for.

But today… he’d looked at me like I was a liar, a manipulator. He’d laughed in my face, doubting me.

His words echoed in my head, sharp as blades.

“I used protection. This isn’t possible.”

I knew it was hard to believe. Even I’d struggled to accept the result of that test. But I wasn’t lying. There was no trick.

Diego was the father. He was the only one. There was no one else, there couldn’t be.

And still, he refused to believe me. He rejected me with a coldness that cut deeper than I was ready for.

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the sea breeze tug at the strands. My head was a mess.

I’d always known working for Diego would be complicated.

He was intense, unpredictable, with that teasing edge that managed to bring out the best and worst in me at once. And the line between professional and personal—the line I’d fought so hard to keep—had blurred the night we slept together.