December 23, 1998

Hi, my name is Blake Shelton. I am 32 years old and, as strange as it may seem, I am a father of two children and a recent widower.

The oldest is 11 years old and his name is Nicolas Shelton, a constant source of my biggest infernal headaches.

The youngest is 6 months old, and even though she is just a baby, I don't get along with her because every time I see her, my eyes and my heart blame her for the death of my wife, who died seconds after giving birth to her. Her name? Elisa Shelton.

I live alone in a huge house. Yes, I have always liked comfort, and that's why I reached the highest position in the company I work for. I am the most valuable CEO in the entire company.

To be able to work and provide for the comfort of my children, I rely on someone who should live forever... she is an angel in my life since the day I was born.

Her name is Gloria Dawson, she is my housekeeper.

She is the one who takes care of and manages all the employees in my house, as well as my children's routines.

You know, so that you can understand a little about my life and what made me this way, according to everyone who knows me, a cold, rude, and heartless man, I will tell you...

"When I met Julliane, I thought I was in paradise and that she was an angel who came to get me. She was simply beautiful. Everything about that woman was perfect. I felt like the most foolish, silly, and ridiculous man in the world. That is indeed the consequence when we fall in love with someone for real. I don't know if it was her 5'7" height, her fiery red hair, or her blue eyes the color of the sea. Maybe it was her sweet voice, which sounded like a melody to me. But anyway, I fell in love... and I was blessed to have the luck of her choosing me too.

At the time of the events, I was still nobody, I had no prestige, bank accounts, expensive clothes, or anything like that, not even the reputation of carrying a name on my back. I was just Blake, the one who, in his free time from college, enjoyed going out with friends but also liked to stay in his room many times.

Julliane entered the last year of college. Right away, we created an incredible bond, and in less than six months, when the course ended, we were already dating, and one month after we graduated, I proposed to her, and she accepted.

There you go, we had everything to have the typical happy ending from all the romantic movies and Netflix romantic series, but in practice, nothing would end like that.

One month into our marriage, she gave me the best news in the world. It was during a symbolic dinner where we were sitting on the carpet eating instant noodles.

Between one bite and another, she took out a small package that was behind the cushion and gave it to me.

As soon as I opened it, I almost choked. It contained only a little pair of baby shoes in blue, which indeed revealed that she was pregnant with a possible boy.

When Nicolas was born, everything was going wonderfully, as they say.

Our life changed... my love for both of them only grew stronger. She stopped working to take care of our little boy intensively, but on the other hand, my work at the company only increased... In these eleven years, Nicolas' current age, five more branches of the company were opened in five different cities. So most of the time, I lived commuting between cities. The few minutes I was home, I would arrive exhausted, wanting to go to bed, and barely had time to spend with my son, let alone my wife... Between one night at home and five or six nights in hotel rooms out there, we had an intense night of love where neither of us imagined that we would be caught off guard again.

Once again, Juliane became pregnant. However, what was supposed to be a reason for celebration this time ended up being the worst tragedy of my life...

During her regular check-ups after Nicolas' birth, her doctor had told her that she could no longer get pregnant because she had developed a problem in her uterus that could lead to fetal deformities or, in extreme cases, result in her death.

Juliane left the doctor's office devastated because she knew that my biggest life dream was to have a house full of children, and fearing that I would leave her because of it, she remained silent and didn't say anything to me. Her silence resulted in a tragic outcome that I will forever carry and has brought me devastating and unforgettable consequences...

As soon as we found out about her unexpected second pregnancy, a lot changed. I was in a period where I had to travel to the branches almost every week, so I couldn't enjoy every step of this pregnancy like I did the first time.

Julliane felt radiant...she was happy...from the first day until the final moments, she followed all the medical recommendations successfully.

She attended all the prenatal appointments, followed all the medical instructions, everything was going smoothly.

It was the night of December 23, 1998.

I had just arrived in my hotel room. I was exhausted; it had been a very complicated meeting. All I wanted was a shower and a bed where I could finally disconnect, so that the next evening I could return to the comfort of my home.

As soon as I entered the room, I threw my things on the nearby couch, already taking off my tie and suit jacket, leaving them on the armchair. Then, I went to the bed and collapsed, kicking my shoes off. After unbuttoning my shirt, I grabbed my cell phone and called my sweet wife.

I called Julliane, who answered right away even with the six-hour time difference. She said everything was fine. She told me about her day as usual, also mentioning Nicolas's school meeting, and said that she hadn't felt any apparent symptoms indicating it was time for our Elisa to be born.

I said goodbye, telling her how much I loved her and couldn't wait to be in her arms again. The last words I heard from her were, "Blake, I don't know what I would do without you...I love you...come back soon."

Mission accomplished...now I could rest.

I got up from the bed, took off the rest of my clothes, and took a quick shower. I was so tired that I didn't bother opening my travel bag to get pajamas. I wrapped a towel around my waist and stumbled onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

The darkness lulled me to sleep as the sound of heavy rain fell outside the hotel. Suddenly, from a certain distance, I heard a sound similar to a cellphone ringtone. With my eyes closed, I stretched my arm until I reached the armchair and grabbed it among my clothes. I put it to my ear and spoke...

"Hello?" My voice came out groggy and still very sleepy...

When I heard the voice on the other side call my name, my body inexplicably gained immense strength, and my heart, beating rapidly, felt like it was about to jump out of my mouth...

"Blake, my son...are you awake? Blake?"

I sat up in bed, rubbing my heavy eyes. Only then did I look at my watch and saw that it was nearly 4 a.m.

"Mom?"

"Hi, my son...sorry if I woke you up, but I need you to come right away."

"Mom, did something happen?"

"Blake, come as quickly as possible...your daughter is beautiful...my love has your features and Julliane's eyes."

I remember that I didn't even say goodbye to my mother or even hang up the phone...

"Oh my god, my daughter was born...shit," I said to myself through tears.

In a mix of joy and also a certain apprehension, I quickly put on anything I saw in front of me—pants, shirt, shoes—and, about to leave the hotel room, the responsible CEO side of Blake activated in my brain. I called Stuart, my partner, to inform him of my immediate return to Chicago and to ask him to take over the meeting and close the contracts, giving me all the details later.

I ran down the hotel stairs, settled my bill, and caught a taxi that took me straight to the airport.

Nearly six hours later, there I was, finally disembarking at Chicago's airport.

As soon as I left the terminal, John, my driver, was already waiting for me. He gave me a look he had never given me before, but as I was in a mix of emotions, I didn't pay attention to his strange look.

In Chicago, it was already ten in the morning...

"Good morning, Mr. Blake."

"Good morning, John...take me to the Chicago Hospital Center, please."

"Yes, sir."

During the journey that was supposed to last only 10 minutes, my stress extended for almost half an hour due to the city traffic.

Finally, I was able to relax a bit when I saw the car approaching the hospital parking lot.

As I got out of the car and looked ahead, the beginning of my nightmare was just beginning...

The first person who saw me and came towards me was my father.

He didn't say anything and just hugged me..

"Hi, my son," he said.

Embracing him, I replied,

"Hi, dad."

Then I looked ahead and saw...my brother Jeremy and his wife Stella, whom I hadn't seen in years. Aunt Mary, Uncle Charlie, and even Mia, whom I last heard was in Paris. She, by the way, was the other person who ran towards me and hugged me amidst tears.

"Oh Blake, I missed you," she said.

I let go of her embrace and looked at everyone standing in front of me, but the beginning of a bad feeling started when I saw Nicolas hugging my mother and crying...

I confess that image crushed my heart, and as a father, I should have fulfilled my real role which was to go there and hug him, but something in me simply prevented me from acting and I remained in the same place where I was.

That's when my mother asked Mia to stay with Nicolas and came over to where I was standing, not understanding anything.

She was supposed to give me the worst news of my life, but she was not the one who spoke...

"Hi, my son," she said.

"Mom, what's happening?" I looked at her suspiciously, with teary eyes.

A strange sensation began to settle inside me...

"I want to see Julliane, and my Elisa."

I took a few steps towards the entrance of the hospital when Jeremy grabbed my arm.

"Blake, wait..."

In those words spoken by him, I felt that something had happened...

"Jeremy, let go. I want to see my wife."

I let go of him and went to the entrance of the hospital again. Just as I was about to open the door, I received my fatal blow, the most painful dagger a human being could feel, and the worst part was that it was said by someone I could never have imagined...

"It's over..."

Upon hearing Nicolas's voice, I stopped and turned towards him. He let go of Mia and ran towards me...

Looking coldly into my eyes, he simply said,

"Mommy died, daddy... I'm so sorry."

With my hand on the doorknob, I let it fall onto my body.

I lacked air, words, and in a split second, I saw everything spinning in front of me, and soon a huge hole opened beneath my feet. I succumbed to the darkness that engulfed me in a very cruel way...

Upon hearing those words, my body betrayed me...an abyss opened and I simply turned and fell.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I found myself face to face with a middle-aged man wearing a white coat, and a woman holding something in her hands that seemed to be a drip bag. I tried to move but my body didn't help me...I had no strength. I saw myself lying in a bed...looking at the ceiling...and slowly, the cruel and worst reality of my life resurfaced, emphasizing that all of it was indeed real.

How could she be gone? Was it that simple? No...it couldn't be...I struggled a few times, maybe that's why my hands and feet were tied to the bed now.

I screamed with all the strength in my chest and the air from my lungs...

"No!"

My mother entered the room and tried to calm me...nothing made my body stop trembling, crying, screaming...I just wanted to see her one last time, wanted to feel her one last time, to say that I loved her, but suddenly everything was taken away from me, along with my joy and will to live.

Mia approached where I was and said...

"Blake, your daughter is beautiful."

"I'm sorry, Blake. You're strong...you'll overcome," Jeremy said, his voice filled with sorrow.

After the immediate despair caused by the sedatives they infused in me passed, I realized that it had been almost three hours and I hadn't even seen the face of the true culprit behind all of this, the one who took her away from my life, the one who took her place.

I had not yet seen Elisa's face ... our daughter ...

The door of the room opened and Nicolas emerged from it. In his purest silence and empty gaze, he approached me. It was a scene that even the doctors and some nurses who were there, along with all my family members, were moved by. He simply came to me, hugged me, and said ...

"It will be alright, daddy ... we'll get through this together ..."

For the first time in years, I couldn't resist ... I held him close to my chest as tightly as I could, and like a real father and son, we cried together, consoling each other for our irreparable loss.

The first years without my wife were the worst in my life. It seems that since she left, I lost the support that kept me standing and made me feel like the best of men.

At work, at least everything seemed to be going smoothly... signed contracts, satisfied clients, a great reputation. But to have all of this requires effort and dedication. And it was in this way that I slowly and slowly started to see my new reality with different eyes.

I began to take my first steps, like a baby for the first time... but at the same time, I recognize that with each passing day, my relationship with my son became more distant, and his with me was reciprocal.

Nicolas was growing up, silent, closed off, alone, and with few friends... a rebellious and aggressive temperament...

Tired of everything that surrounded me, that's when one day, while in the gym room in the back of my house, I had an idea...

Maybe he needed a distraction. Since my sweet Julliane passed away, the only female influence in the house was Gloria, but she was much older than him and seemed tired as well.

So, that's when I had the fateful idea of hiring a nanny. This way, she could give Nicolas the attention he needed, and help Gloria take care of Elisa, who was already trying to take her first steps.

Since that tragic day when I made the decision to hire a nanny to care for Nicolas, and mind you, it's only been three months since I lost my wife, five candidates have come and gone, unable to endure Nicolas' rage and fury.

The first one lasted only three days, the second two, the third persisted but gave up on the third day when Nicolas filled her pillow with cockroaches, and the poor woman had a phobia of those insects...

The fourth, being older than the others, put on a tough front in the beginning, and so far, she has been the longest-lasting, lasting exactly seven days before giving up on the eighth when Nicolas spread butter on her bedroom floor, causing her to slip and injure herself...

The fifth and final one seemed like a mix of my mother and all the others, but she also lost the battle against Nicolas because she was religious and one day caught Nicolas entering the bathroom with an erotic magazine, in which he told her that I gave it to him. She thought I was a pervert and left without even coming back to receive payment for her days worked.

There went the chance for me to at least be able to work for a day without having to take a painkiller for a throbbing headache or turn off my phone out of fear of new complaints.

CURRENT TIME...

Finally, Sunday had arrived. The day that, in the homes of normal people, is a typical day of rest where I could sleep in, maybe have a leisurely breakfast, and even take a relaxing swim in the pool, since it's been a long time since I've done that. But like I said, if this were a normal house... but mine isn't...

I was still in my room with my eyes closed, lying in bed, when I heard Elisa scream.

Her cries seemed to be conducted by a maestro because they had an incredible synchrony. Gloria rushed out and went to her room, and when she opened the door, she immediately saw why she was crying.

The poor little one had soiled herself, and her diaper was open, which made Gloria wonder how she managed to open the diaper or, in the worst-case scenario, someone else who knew for sure what the poor girl would do next...

As I reluctantly opened my eyes, I felt a cold breeze hit my body. As I put my feet on the floor, I realized that someone, whose name is Nicolas, had been here because the floor was wet. I ended up losing my balance and fell near the armchair.

"Ah, you little devil... you will pay for this..."

I went to the window, locked it, and after drying my feet and slipping on my sandals.

Then he opened the door in such a fit of rage that Gloria, who was right behind him, was even startled.

"Good...good morning, Mr. Blake," she said.

I looked at her and my urge was to scream. I took a deep breath, clenched my jaw, and gave her my most furious look.

"Good morning, Gloria...where is he?"

"Mr. Blake, what did he do this time?"

"It's no use trying to spare him, this time he won't get away from me."

I walked rudely through the long corridor that separated my room from the others, and when I reached his door, which by the way had a "do not enter" sign, I simply opened it and walked in.

Afraid of what I would find, I prepared myself defensively and approached the bed where he was lying.

I slowly pulled back his blanket and saw him there, curled up in a typical Oscar-worthy performance.

He slowly opened his eyes and with a sleepy voice said, "Oh...it's you? What are you doing here?"

I stared at him... I confess I didn't know how to have a conversation with an 11-year-old boy who didn't like me at all.

"How many times have I told you that I don't want you entering my room without my permission?"

"What are you talking about, Blake?"

The arrogance and disdain with which he called my name made me feel nauseous... He had acquired a power over me with his mere 11 years that I couldn't even dare to show him.

For an 11-year-old boy, I must admit that Nicolas had quite a lot of courage in facing me and he didn't fear the consequences it could bring him.

"First of all, whether you like it or not, my name is Blake to everyone else, and to you, it's father. Second of all, I want you to know that tonight Miss Megan will be joining us for dinner, and I don't even want to dream about the possibility of you mistreating her in any way, because if that happens, your fate will be sealed."

"Blah blah blah. Are you done? Can I go have my breakfast now that you had the audacity to wake me up?"

I took a deep breath and turned to leave his headquarters... One day, maybe I would find out where he had inherited such a strong personality from, especially since Juliane was so sweet. Could it be from me?

Oh no... I may be a little rude, yes, but no one can beat Nicolas.

I returned to my room and just put on shorts and a t-shirt, after all, it was Sunday, the day I finally didn't have to wear my suit and tie.

Feeling more at ease, I went downstairs to have breakfast.

"Good morning, Mr. Blake," Gloria greeted me.

I sat at the table and noticed that Gloria was happy.

"I can tell that you seem happy today, Gloria... Has something special happened?"

"Oh yes, Mr. Blake... My distant niece is coming to stay with me for a few days."

"That's nice, Gloria. Actually, I didn't even know you had a niece..."

"Well, it's not something I tell many people about my personal life, Mr. Blake."

"I see. By the way, I want you to make a special dinner tonight. Miss Megan will be joining us..."

"Don't worry, I will take care of it."

I finished my breakfast and as I walked past the kitchen door, I took a quick look at the cart where Elisa was.

As soon as our eyes met, that little pouting face smiled at me.

I felt something strange welling up inside of me and once again, that old sensation in my stomach returned.

Looking at me, she extended her little arms, asking for a hug that had never existed since she was born and that possibly would never exist...or maybe it would...

The day went on normally until around noon when Gloria received a phone call saying that her niece had just arrived.

She hung up the phone and went to the backyard where Blake was lying in the sun and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Blake, but would it be possible for me to leave for about an hour?"

I looked up and saw that it was almost noon.

"Be back before four, Gloria. Do you want John to take you somewhere?"

"No... imagine, Mr. Blake. There's no need to bother. I won't be long...thank you."

Gloria turned to leave when Blake called her again.

"Hey Gloria?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Where is that pest?"

"Mr. Blake...don't speak like that...deep down Nicolas is a good boy...he's in his room."

"Phew...at least I gained a few minutes of peace...you know what? Let's try again."

"Oh my god, Mr. Blake, another nanny?"

"This time, Gloria, I hope you find one with armor against rebellious boys and messy babies..."

For the first time since the tragic day everything happened, that would have been the first moment Gloria saw Blake smile.

"Sir?"

"Yes..."

"You should do this more often..."

"Do what, Gloria?"

"Smile, Mr. Blake...everything becomes easier and less painful when we smile, even in the most difficult moments...see you later."

Gloria left the outdoor area, and I took advantage of the scorching heat and took a dive into the pool.

Only after resurfacing in the pool and looking up did I see that up high, behind a window in a small slit, there were a pair of eyes watching me...and those eyes belonged to none other than Nicolas.