Episode 18

I can help you.

Vivian.

The door to my room opens and I look up at it. Tomas is there, his eyes sharp and, as always, full of irritation. It had been two hours since Mrs... No, rather, the witch Caroll had left. Half an hour ago, Tomas called me to say he was coming with the lawyer. Obviously, I had to swallow my pride and tell him not to, that I wasn't going to sign the divorce papers. He just hung up. Now I suppose he's coming to insult me.

"And what was that show you put on at the hospital yesterday?" he asks.

I swallow hard and look up. "I thought things through," I reply. He smirks ironically.

"Yeah, sure."

"I just want our child to be born within the marriage. Once that happens, we can get divorced," I say, trying to salvage some of my pride.

"Of course," he maintains an ironic smile on his face and without saying anything else, he turns around. I sigh and throw myself on the bed.

A while later, someone knocks on the door of my room.

"Come in," I say, thinking it's Carmen. But when the door opens, I see that it's Jeimy, not her.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, annoyed.

"I wanted to see how you're doing," she says, approaching me and sitting down beside me on the bed.

"Well, I haven't felt any dizziness today," I respond.

"That's good. I hope you have a healthy pregnancy," she comments, smiling. "We're all very excited for the new addition to the family."

"Hmm, Tomas is not excited at all, believe me," I comment. She sighs.

"My brother is silly, but he'll come around," she comments. I glare at her, and she sighs again. "Don't look at me like that. I know you're mad at me for talking to your mom."

"And your grandmother," I add.

"Yes, but you have to understand, my friend, you were about to say something stupid!" she exclaims, standing up.

"I made the stupid mistake of marrying your brother," I say, and she looks at me in disbelief. "What's your problem, Jeimy? Why are you so insistent on keeping me by your brother's side? Do you know what your grandmother told me?"

"I don't have any problem, Vivian. I'm just sure that you're the woman my brother deserves, and I honestly don't know what my grandmother said to make you change your mind," she replies calmly, and I nod.

"Your grandmother threatened to take my baby away if I divorce your brother," I say, and she looks surprised.

"Grandma would never do that."

"She did, so congratulations, you got what you wanted. I'm not going to divorce Tomas. But remember one thing," I say, turning my back to her. "You are responsible for whatever happens to me or my baby from now on." I finish and ignore her. "Now please, leave. I don't want to talk to you anymore."

She remains silent for several seconds, then I feel her leaving. I release the air from my lungs and throw myself onto the bed.

I'm starting to believe that Jeimy is not as good a friend as I thought.

Lorenzo.

I furrowed my brow as I read the report that Miss Smith had given me recently. It was about banana exports from Colombia and Ecuador to South Korea and Japan, but some of the data was incorrect and the numbers didn't add up. This was very unusual, as Miss Smith was usually very efficient and never made any mistakes. But lately, this had been happening quite frequently, specifically for the past two weeks. I've noticed that she has been distracted, even downcast and pensive. Could she be facing a serious problem? Has her so-called husband done something wrong to her?

I sighed and decided to call her.

"Miss Smith, please come to my office," I said, pressing the button on my office phone.

"Right away, sir," she responded.

Seconds later, the door to my office opened and Miss Smith appeared in all her glory. Today, she was wearing a semi-fitted red dress, and I must say, she looks wonderful in red.

"Miss Smith, this report has an error," I informed her. She opened her beautiful blue eyes and approached me.

"I'm sorry, sir. Tell me what needs to be corrected," she said, extending her hand.

I sighed and closed the report.

"I won't tell you. Read it yourself and see," I said, offering her the documents. She nodded and accepted them.

"I will get on it immediately. I'm so sorry," she said. As she spoke, her expression seemed downcast. In fact, she has been like this for the past two weeks. Sometimes she smiles, but it's a fake smile that never reaches her eyes. I can also see the worry in those eyes. She turned around, ready to leave.

"Don't go," I told her. She stopped and turned back around. "Take a seat, please," I said, and she obeyed.

"Sir, I know I've been making some mistakes lately and I truly apologize. My head has been a mess lately," she explained.

"I've noticed, Miss Smith, and I must say I'm very worried about it. You are a good employee, efficient and capable, so whatever problem you're facing must be very serious for you to be in this state," I commented. She nodded.

"Miss Smith, if I may be so bold, may I know what problem is troubling you?" I asked. She fell silent and lowered her gaze.

"I'm at a crossroads," she muttered after a few seconds. "That's how I feel."

"Explain that to me," I said, and she looked at me with teary eyes.

"A few weeks ago, I decided to divorce my husband," she began to explain. "The appointment was set for a day, but it was postponed. And on the day we were actually going to sign the divorce papers, I fainted. They took me to the hospital, and that's where I found out that," she paused for a moment and took a breath. "I found out that I'm pregnant," she said, and my eyes widened.

Oh, my goodness!

"As you can imagine, Tomas was furious," she continued, tears streaming down her face. "However, I assured him that I would still divorce him despite the pregnancy. That was my plan. But his grandmother threatened to take my baby away from me as soon as it was born if I divorced Tomas and had the child be born illegitimate," she explained through her tears. "So now I'm condemned to remain in this marriage, and I don't know how to free myself from it," she finished, looking at me with sadness.

"Certainly, it's a fucking mess that Miss Smith is going through." I comment and sigh.

What kind of asshole did this woman get involved with, for God's sake?

"But don't worry, woman, everything in this life has a solution." I tell her and she looks hopeful. "Do you really want to separate from this guy?" I ask and she nods decisively.

"Well, as I see it, you have two options. The first one is to wait until the baby is born and then proceed with all the divorce paperwork, preferably in secret from your... from your husband's grandmother and anyone who is against this divorce." I say and she nods. "The other idea that comes to mind is more complicated, but it would take less time, and that's where I would come in to help you." I comment and she looks expectant. "Run away, I mean, disappear from this city, even from this country, with your baby and a new identity." she looks surprised and blinks several times.

"But couldn't I get a divorce?" she asks.

"No, you would just disappear, your husband could file for divorce on the grounds of abandonment, and most importantly, the hands of his grandmother would not reach you because you would be far away from this country with a different name."

"Where could I go? I don't have anyone else, just my mother."

"Didn't I tell you that I would provide you with my help in this plan?" I ask. "I would take care of getting you new documents and everything you need to start a new life with your future child." I comment.

"Why would you do that for me?" she questions.

"I don't even know myself, but I can't stand seeing you suffer like this... Vivian, you deserve to smile all the time, that's when you look even more beautiful than you are."

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