Episode 11

"Insufferable man," Lucy noted to herself as she stared intently at Daniel, at that moment she gave a slight smile, nodding her head a bit as if she had grasped something.

"You know what, Daniel? I'm not going to talk about my feelings with you anymore. It's clear now that you're just feeding your ego. All I know is that I'm tired and hungry—22 hours without food or sleep have shown me it makes no sense for me to stay here. We are nothing anymore, not even friends," Lucy said, making Daniel feel a sharp sting in his chest. What was that feeling? Anger, or pain?

"I'm not that man you say I am. I'm just trying to understand why I’ve been married to you for two years and yet I know nothing about you—your family, what you do, your friends, nothing..."

"This talk is leading us nowhere. I've always been an open book, but you never cared to know anything about me. I begged for your love, swallowed my pride, lost my dignity when I gave myself to you even after all those lies because I truly believed in a happy ending. There will be one, but with different main characters. I think it's better I leave. Take care," Lucy said, already planning her exit from the room.

Despite his efforts, Daniel couldn't figure out why his heart suddenly sped up, his hands were sweating profusely, and a lump formed in his throat.

Without intending to, Daniel grabbed Lucy's wrist and pulled her closer, his forehead rested against hers, he closed his eyes and breathed slowly. Lucy was too confused to say anything. Was this his way of saying goodbye? Couldn't he see that treating Lucy this way could give that poor woman false hope?

Realizing he was behaving unusually, Daniel backed away, apologizing.

"Do you have something to say? Speak now or forever hold your peace," Lucy said, her mind racing with possibilities, perhaps ending this relationship with an apology for all the humiliations would be appropriate. But Daniel walked into the bathroom without uttering a word.

"I know that losing a loved one so suddenly can really change the people left behind, but Daniel has changed too much, to a frightening degree. I don’t have the patience to deal with it," Lucy confessed to herself, and then walked towards the door, all she wanted was to leave. Just then, she noticed a notepad and pen and decided to leave Daniel just a note.

With that in mind, she sat down on the bed, began writing all that was choked up in her throat, took something from her purse, left it there, and simply left.

Minutes after, Daniel finally came out of the bathroom with just a white towel covering him, looking around, obviously searching for Lucy. He smiled bitterly when he realized she was gone.

"How inconsiderate of her, she..." he stopped mid-sentence when his eyes landed on a note on the bed. He was momentarily breathless—not because of what the note might say, as he had yet to read it, but because Lucy had left their wedding ring on top of it. It was over.

Trying to contain the agitation tugging from somewhere deep within, he picked up the note intending to read it. He noticed a part of the paper was stiff—clearly, Lucy had shed many tears while writing it.

“I wish I could say I'm fine, confident about a bright future, with a heart full of hope, but the pain in my chest prevents me from saying so. In truth, asking for a divorce was far and away the hardest thing I've done because I love you. But I can’t let you treat me like an old doormat, for everyone to wipe their feet on. Even though we’re no longer together, I wish you all the good in the world—I sincerely hope you’ll be okay. I am sorry for your loss. God will provide the comfort that you need.

We never talked about it, so I didn't have the chance to tell you—I accepted this marriage just to fulfill a promise to Grandpa, to 'take care of you.' It seems like a joke, doesn't it? Because while I gave everything to make sure you were alright, you did everything possible not to see me. I came to help, and I return home with my heart in shreds, but life goes on. The important thing is to be healthy. I wish you luck. Goodbye.”

Daniel was stunned reading those words; then he felt something warm slide down his face and was shocked to realize he was crying.

"What in the world is happening to me?" he whispered to himself as he analyzed the situation.

He had always thought Lucy was a greedy, promiscuous woman without any real qualities. That's probably why he never gave her a chance to show her true self, but today he saw that Lucy could be a pleasant companion. It seemed that Daniel was feeling a bit of regret. But now it might be too late.

At that moment, he heard a car horn. He peered out the window and saw a black car, its luxury clearly signaling that the person inside was no ordinary individual. His shock deepened as he saw Lucy stepping into the vehicle which soon left the bounds of the Gonçalves mansion.