Page 60 of Please, Forgive Me

“A dog?!”

“Yeah. It’s something I’ve always wanted, but I kept putting it off—too much work, too many responsibilities, never enough time. But now… I’m doing it. I’m getting a dog to keep me company.”

She was still laughing, but her expression softened.

“That’s actually a great idea, Gabi,” she said, wiping away a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye. “You deserve a four-legged friend. And the baby’s going to love having one around, too.”

Warmth spread through my chest. For the first time in days, I felt a spark of excitement.

“It’ll be good company,” I said softly. “And maybe… a fresh start. A new chapter that doesn’t include Diego, his cruel laughter, or his doubts about me. Just me, the baby, and my new furry friend.”

For the first time that day, I felt something that had been missing—hope.

Earlier, I couldn’t think of anything but Diego’s rejection and the pain it caused, but now, something inside me had shifted.

Carol watched me quietly for a few moments, and I knew she was reading my thoughts. She always knew what to say—but sometimes, she didn’t need to say anything at all. The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable; it was comforting.

Finally, she spoke.

“Gabi, you know it’s going to be hard. But if anyone can handle this, it’s you. That dog’s going to have the best mom in the world. And so will the baby.”

“Thanks, Carol,” I said, truly grateful to have her in my life.

The next day, I wasn’t as sad as I thought I’d be.

In fact, I woke up with a small spark of determination burning in my chest. I had a plan—or at least an idea of what to do with my life from here on out—and that gave me a sense of control I hadn’t felt in days.

At work, everything seemed to flow as usual. Until my boss showed up.

He walked into my office without knocking, the way he always did, but this time there was something different about him.

Diego seemed harder, colder. He dropped a stack of documents on my desk without even looking at me. His tone was clipped, direct, as if I were just another cog in the company.

“I need this for tomorrow,” he said, his voice low but firm. “And organize these reports for Friday’s meeting. I want everything ready before the week’s over.”

I glanced at the papers on my desk and realized immediately the deadline was impossible. But when I lifted my eyes to protest, I saw he was already halfway out the door.

“Diego, that’s a lot to have ready by tomorrow,” I tried, appealing to reason. “I can’t get all this done alone in that time.”

He stopped, turned slowly, and finally his eyes met mine. There was a coldness there that sent a chill down my spine.

This wasn’t the teasing Diego I knew, the one who liked to poke at me now and then. This was the relentless CEO who crushed anything in his way.

“You’ll manage,” he said, with a forced, almost ironic smile. “Because you’re Maria Gabriela—the efficient one. The secretary who never makes mistakes. Or am I wrong?”

I swallowed hard but refused to back down.

“That’s not what I’m saying, Diego, I’m just—”

He raised a hand, cutting me off with an impatient gesture. His brows drew together in a tight line, his jaw flexing as if he were fighting to keep his composure.

“I don’t want excuses,” he said quietly, but his tone was sharp. “You’re going to do what I asked. And you’re going to do it well. Period.”

And with that, he walked out of my office without looking back.

The silence he left behind was deafening. I stood there for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened. It wasn’t just the workload weighing me down—it was the way he’d treated me.

Diego had been cold, insensitive, distant. I’d expected that, but I wasn’t prepared for how deeply it would hit me.