Page 97 of Please, Forgive Me

Our eyes met, and something inside me shifted. Diego—the man I knew so well in the office—looked different. He wasn’t the powerful, unflappable CEO who owned the meeting room.

He looked… human. There was a raw emotion in his eyes, a vulnerability I hadn’t expected to see.

I approached slowly, not rushing. He lowered his phone and kept his gaze on little Clara, still asleep in her stroller.

When I stopped in front of him, Diego seemed to freeze, as if he were working up the courage to do something. He looked at Clara with a mix of awe and feeling I never thought I’d see on his face.

“Hi, Maria Gabriela.”

“Hi,” I answered, flat, as we stood there.

We stayed like that for a few seconds. He inhaled slowly and then said, hesitantly, as if it were an apology before the words even came out, “Can I… hold my daughter?”

I nodded without a word, leaning forward to lift her from the stroller. Carefully, I placed Clara into his arms.

Diego held her with a gentleness that left me speechless, his eyes shining with an emotion I wouldn’t have expected from someone so closed-off.

He cradled her to his chest, staring at her little face as if the rest of the world had slipped away and all that remained was the child he was seeing—truly seeing—for the first time.

“She is…” He stopped, his voice breaking as he tried to hold back tears. “She’s beautiful.”

A stab hit my heart watching that.

He looked genuinely moved, as if the sight of his daughter in his arms had cracked the wall of coldness he’d built around himself.

When he finally handed her back, his eyes were wet, and for a moment I thought he might cry.

“I’m sorry…” Diego began, voice choked. He looked at the ground, unable to meet my eyes. “I’m sorry for everything… for how I acted. I was an idiot.” He drew a deep breath, as if to gather strength. “I don’t know if I can fix what I did, but… I want to try. Will you forgive me?”

I watched him for a moment, feeling a tangle of emotions. I let out a short, weary laugh—no joy in it.

“Accept your apology?” I raised an eyebrow. “Do I really…?” Diego lifted his face, hopeful, but I kept going, asarcastic smile tugging at my lips. “Believe me, you weren’t the worst man I ever met—except that…” I inhaled, the weight of my words settling as I looked him dead in the eye. “You became the worst when I finally knew you for who you really are.”

“I—”

“No.” I cut him off. “The answer is no. I won’t accept it, and don’t waste your time.”

The words hit him like blows. I watched his expression twist for a second, as if each syllable landed. He said nothing. He only nodded, appearing to accept what I’d said.

He took a step back, as if ready to leave, but before he walked away he gave me one last look.

“I won’t stop trying to fix this,” he said, voice low but determined. “I won’t stop trying—at you, at Clara.”

I stepped closer, a bitter smile forming.

“Here’s one thing you should know: my daughter doesn’t deserve a father like you—”

DIEGO BITTENCOURT

“Let me tell you something—my daughter doesn’t deserve a father like you.”

Hearing those words from Maria Gabriela hit me like an invisible punch to the gut, knocking the air right out of my lungs.

I stood there frozen, trying to absorb the impact, but I couldn’t even process it. I was always the one in control—the one pulling the strings, dictating how everything went.

But now, everything felt just beyond my reach.

She stared straight at me, her eyes burning with a mix of fury and… relief?