Page 1 of Stronger Than Fate

Chapter 1

“We walked without looking for each other, but knowing that we were walking to find each other”

—Julio Cortázar

Iwas exhausted, I had worked for more than fifteen hours because I needed to finish a report for the next day since my leave was starting. My body and my eyes couldn’t take it anymore. Together with my two brothers, we owned the HAY hotel, named after my mother’s surname. It was an elegant five-star hotel in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. Besides being owners, we also occupied the main management positions. Due to my profession, as I had a degree in Marketing, I was in charge of the Marketing and Sales Department, my brother Bastián, 35 years old and the oldest of the three, was in charge of Finance, and my brother Lorenzo, whom we called Lolo, at 33 years old, was in charge of Human Resources. I was 24 years old and, being the youngest and the only woman, I had to deal with rather nosy and protective brothers, but whom I loved with all my heart. None of us were in relationships; my brothers were confirmed bachelors who enjoyed their single life, living it up and entertaining all their admirers, who were quite numerous. Both were very attractive and exuded elegance, confidence, and powerthrough every pore, drawing attention wherever they were present. As for me, I was aware that I was considered a beautiful woman and also had quite a few admirers, although I had never had a stable relationship because I had never fallen in love. We had inherited the hotel from our parents and, whenthey passed away, we had to take charge of everything related to the business. The three of us were completely dedicated to the hotel, having managed to position it as a hotel of excellence, and we were proud that it was recognized for its excellent service, luxury, comfort, and location, among other things.

I had moved to the hotel two years ago and lived in the presidential suite located on the top floor of the building, and I loved living there, surrounded by people and hustle and bustle. On the contrary, my brothers detested the noise of the hotel and each had their own apartment, so I was the only one in the family who was settled there. What was indisputable was that the three of us dedicated a lot of time to the business with responsibility and absolute commitment.

That’s why I hadn’t taken a few days off in a long time and also why I was so excited about my upcoming trip, but to leave with peace of mind I wanted to leave everything organized. The next day I was leaving for the Greek island of Mykonos with my friend Sol. There we planned to stay for ten days with the goal of enjoying ourselves, resting, having fun, and spending lots of time at the beach.

When I finished reviewing all the reports, I raised my arms to stretch my back and a big smile appeared on my face. My leave had begun. I turned off the computer, tidied up the desk a bit, and sent a message to my brothers. We had a WhatsApp group named “The Dukarts” after our paternal surname.

“Little brothers, I left everything finished.

See you when I get back from vacation.

Take care of the hotel.

Love you”

Lolo:

“Take good care of yourself and behave.

Don’t drink alcohol, don’t go out with boys, and

under no circumstances go topless”

Bastián:

“I second Lolo’s words and add no nighttime outings!

I started laughing because I was used to these kinds of suggestions, to put it mildly, from my brothers.

My response:

“”

Lolo:

“I don’t know about you, Bastián, but I don’t like those devils at all.

I feel like booking a flight to keep an eye on her”

Bastián:

“I liked them even less!

Check flight schedules”

Me:

“Let’s see if this makes you happy now:

”

Lolo: