Page 87 of Please, Forgive Me

He stepped toward me, eyes burning with rage, but also with something I couldn’t name.

His words were sharp but controlled, as if he was trying not to lose it in front of everyone.

“Do you think this is easy for me, Maria Gabriela?” he murmured, voice heavy with frustration. “Do you think I don’t have my own issues about this pregnancy?”

I laughed—a humorless sound—and shook my head.

“Oh, sure. Because it’s always about you, right, Diego?” The acid in my voice surprised me, but I couldn’t hold it back. “I was the woman humiliated day after day, the one whose life was turned upside down because of a moment you… ” I paused, fighting for control, “...chose to ignore.”

He blinked, taken aback by my reaction, then stared at me with hard eyes.

“I treated you the way you deserved,” he said, voice harsh but edged with a hesitation I’d never seen before. “You lied, Maria Gabriela. You tried to deceive me.”

My whole body trembled with rage.

“I lied?!” My voice came out louder than I intended. “I never lied to you, Diego. You simply chose not to believe me. You didn’t want to face the truth because it would force you to deal with things you can’t control. I just wanted a way to prove this baby was yours, and you didn’t even consider telling me you’d do a test when the baby was born—you chose not to believe me and humiliated me at the company.”

He clenched his fists at his sides, eyes aflame, but not with the same contempt as before.

I pressed on, swallowing the tears that threatened to fall:

“I tried to be professional, I tried to keep working for you even when everything inside me screamed to run. But no—I stayed, I endured. And why? Because I thought that somehow you’d see the truth. But you never wanted to see, Diego. Never.”

“I’ll say it one last time: I used a condom!”

“A condom isn’t 100% effective, and—”

“Listen to me, Maria Gabriela!If you mention paternity tests one more time, or claim this child is mine, I swear I’ll make your life a living hell, and you won’t want that for this baby! Andfrom now on, I never want to see you in front of me again—am I clear?”

I swallowed the cry and looked at him steadily.

“It’ll be a pleasure never to look at your face again, you idiot!”

I stomped out of the hall, but deep down I knew I would have my revenge someday—and after his words, I’d go to hell and back if I had to to prove he was the father of this baby, or I wouldn’t call myself Maria Gabriela Oliveira.

CHAPTER 35

“What destroys can also rebuild, as long as there’s hope…”

DIEGO BITTENCOURT

“Congratulations. Our company just became a national joke.”

Alexandre stormed into my office without knocking, his face a mix of frustration and disbelief.

He threw a magazine onto my desk with enough force to make me look up from the papers I was reviewing.

Splashed across the cover was a sensational headline about the incident at the workshop—complete with a blurry photo of Maria Gabriela and me in the middle of an argument.

I hadn’t read a word about it until that moment, but of course the press was going to exploit the scandal.

They always did.

A powerful CEO and his secretary caught in a public fight? Perfect tabloid material.

“It’s not that bad,” I muttered, trying to ignore the irritation bubbling under my skin. “I’ve dealt with worse.”

Alexandre let out a short, humorless laugh, crossing his arms as he stared at me with that cold, unimpressed look.