Episode 3

Jed Salvatore finished the video conference he had been having with someone on the other side of the Pacific, it had been a success. It was eight o'clock in the evening and he was done working. He ran his hand through his hair and thought about Isabella. He had managed to not think about her for a couple of hours, but now he had no more excuses.

At that moment, Marixa, his secretary, entered the office.

"Do you need anything else from me?" she asked.

"No, you can go," he replied.

"You seem tired, Jed. Let me bring you some whiskey and I'll give you a massage if you want. It will help you relax."

"Whiskey, yes. Massage, no," he said, looking surprised that she was offering him a massage. He must have looked awful.

Marixa was a very attractive and efficient brunette. He considered himself lucky to have her as his secretary. She never made mistakes. She would have never gotten pregnant like Isabella did.

Isabella was much younger, only 21 years old, and she had been his first love. Perhaps her pregnancy had been a real accident?

"Here's the whiskey," Marixa said, placing the glass on the desk and the bottle next to it. Then she stood next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want a massage?"

"Yes, Marixa, leave. I'll be fine," he replied.

"Alright," she leaned down and whispered in his ear, "don't forget that we're going to Paris tomorrow. Try to get some rest!"

"She's just concerned about me," he thought as she left the office. Then he remembered how little he had cared about Isabella that morning.

He picked up the glass and took a sip. When had he turned into a cynical and stubborn demon?

He never wanted to get married, but he knew that someday he would have a child, an heir to his fortune. He had been a happy child with a beautiful family, parents who loved him, and two sisters who adored him.

At least that was the case until his mother passed away fifteen years ago when he was 20. He had a few clashes with his father after he married a much younger woman following his mother's death—a climbing trollop who flirted with Jed whenever he visited his father.

He poured himself another glass. He didn't trust women, except for his mother and sisters. He had never thought about getting married, but he also knew that his child wouldn't be a bastard.

Isa, his beautiful and sexy Isabella. Would it be so hard to marry her? They had been together for a year. He pursued her for a month after meeting her at that restaurant, and it took another month to finally sleep with her. To his surprise, she was still a virgin. They got along well until that morning when she informed him about her pregnancy. Sexually, she had been his most receptive lover, and as far as he knew, she had never been unfaithful. The idea of her being with someone else disgusted him.