Episode 19

MATTEO: I'm glad to hear that, you know I care about you a lot, and changing the subject, how are you finding your new place, Mrs. Macolis?

KIARA: Oh, friend, what can I say… it’s so-so, he makes it clear he dislikes me and he shows it every chance he gets.

MATTEO: How does he treat you, aside from letting you know he dislikes you, of course… he hasn’t done anything, right? Matteo asked with a note of annoyance.

KIARA: No, not at all. He just lets me feel it with the coldness in his gaze and the irritation he shows whenever he's near me. It's like he's bothered by being in the same room as me or breathing the same air, but honestly, I couldn't care less.

MATTEO: Darling, don't mind him. If he can't see the kind of woman you are, then he's a fool who doesn't deserve you as a wife… after all, it's just two years.

KIARA: Yes, that's true. But honestly, I don’t care. It's not like we got married for love, right?... You know what… Let’s talk about something else. I was about to tell you that maybe one of these days I will visit the company, now that thanks to my parents I can't go out, but now I am free to go wherever I want.

MATTEO: That sounds great, and we can grab some drinks to celebrate your freedom and your "marriage," he said sarcastically, with the added perk that you can come home whenever you want.

KIARA: Agreed, see you soon, bye.

MATTEO: Alright, beautiful, take care and let me know if you need anything, ok?... Bye.

📲end of call…📱

NARRATOR: Kiara finished putting her things in order, then went out to the kitchen to see what Matilde was doing. Upon arrival, she saw her there and asked her.

KIARA: Matilde, are you mad at me? Kiara asked in a child's voice, like a girl scolded by her mother after doing something wrong, about earlier.

MATILDE: Oh my girl, of course not, it’s just that I wish you and my boy would fall in love and build a beautiful family together.

KIARA: No, Matilde, that's not going to happen because he loves his girlfriend. He told me so from the first moment we met, I could see in his eyes the love he feels for her. And you know what? It doesn't bother me. At least one of us can be happy with the person they love. He has that; I haven't yet experienced those butterflies in the stomach.

MATILDE: But ma’am, that woman is only after his money; that’s the only reason she’s with him. Can’t you see that? Matilde said, desperate and anxious.

KIARA: Just like me... I married him for money to save my father's company and my sisters' future, although now I’m not sure if sacrificing myself for them was the right thing to do, Kiara thought. I initially refused, but I ended up accepting. That makes me an opportunist too.

MATILDE: My girl, but what you did was different; you did it for your family's well-being. But she's doing it out of ambition, vanity. Since you've arrived, you've treated me as a person, not as a servant, unlike how she treats me. It doesn’t bother me that I am a servant; what bothers me is the contemptuous way she talks to me, as if she is superior, which should never be the case because we are all equals. And you, in the short time you have been here, even if it's just been a few hours, have shown me more kindness than she has in almost two years. She only changes how she treats me when Alejandro is around, but she's very hypocritical because when he's not, she treats me terribly, and it shouldn't be like that.

KIARA: What? Why does she treat you that way? She has no right to treat you like that. Tell me, does Alejandro know? Does he do nothing about it? Is his love for her so blind that he hasn't stood up for you or given you your rightful place? She might be his girlfriend, but you're practically his mom – the woman who cared for him when his mother passed away, who was there during his toughest times, with no other interest than his happiness.

MATILDE: No, my girl, I haven’t told him because he is infatuated with her. What they have isn’t love; it's just a sensual tension that will eventually end, which is why I haven't said anything. She will deny it, and he'll fall for her trap, for that innocent face she puts on to get him to indulge her every whim. That viper uses that to her advantage, but someday Alejandro will see the kind of woman he has by his side because lies don’t last forever.

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