Chapter 111 - Isaac's last name - mddos
Veronica
There were two days left until the reading of the will and three until Isaac's baptism. I had spent the entire week in the office with Diana, organizing the information sent by Gladis, who was the legal representative of the foundations. It was a unanimous decision and will be for a determined time due to the constant altercations that have been occurring among the cartel leaders. That's why I assigned her an escort for these tasks and Gustavo agreed to take her everywhere. I don't want anything to happen to her because of me, I wouldn't be able to bear it.
Two days ago, they arrived at the house, and she came with Enrique. That boy brought back the Veronica I should never have stopped being. If I had had a child, I would have named him Enrique. My assistant told me part of her life, and now I admired her even more for her strength in facing life. She has shown me great nobility. Who would have believed how strong she was by looking at her? She was just a woman of about five feet two inches tall, about four inches shorter than me, slim, though she had good defense in the front, as my brother Santi likes to say. Her brown hair matched her brown eyes, and her delicate figure made her look fragile, but she wasn't.
Simon and Miguel have been going out a lot, then they would come back and lock themselves in the basement. I did exercises with them at four in the morning, we had breakfast as a family with the rest of the guys if they weren't on some assigned job, and after breakfast, I wouldn't see them again until dinner. Without them, I was not allowed to leave the house, and it was a rule for all the staff. And with the ongoing pursuit, I became somewhat paranoid.
My father and brother will arrive on Saturday for the baptism. This morning, after breakfast, they told us they wanted to talk to us in the evening about the progress regarding the investigation of Roland's murder. No matter what they say, my heart feels he's alive. However, for them, life seems to go on. And in three days, it will be three months since my husband's death... I must not think about that. Better to focus on work and Gladis's reports. Diana had signed up for several online courses, and she was very happy.
“Ma'am, Vero.” It had been impossible to get her to stop calling me ma'am.
“You're more stubborn than the people in the house. Stop calling me ma'am, I consider you a friend.”
“But at least I call you Vero now.” I smiled. At that moment, Ines came in with the baby in her arms.
“This prince is hungry.”
Seeing that sparkle in the girl's eyes made me lament that I would not have children. I admired her maturity, even though she was only a year and a half younger than me. I was aware of her baby's existence, who was the result of constant rapes. She might not have known who the father was, but that degenerate took it out on her, and for three consecutive months, he was the only one who forced her; that Jaime Jaramillo, the same one who should now be in hell. After feeding her son on the office couch, she handed him back to his grandmother.
“I will never stop thanking you, not just for rescuing me, but for giving me shelter, paying my medical expenses, now giving me a job and soon the possibility to study.” She looked at the door where the child had left. “Now I can give him an education and pay for his insurance.”
“Diana, what did we agree on?”
She shook her head at my question, her cheek blushing, still reluctant to accept more help.
“I insist, you are paying me a lot just to be your assistant.”
“Exactly, now we have seven companies, imagine the ones that will come in three days. Besides, you had nowhere to go, I needed to feel useful to get out of depression, I told you that story.”
Diana was a very beautiful woman, with brown hair, she had cut it to her shoulders, and it was a change that Miguel noticed, no matter how much he says otherwise, he is interested in her that way, his actions give him away. She has brown eyes, and she was very short. She was about five feet tall. Next to Miguel, she looked very small, but she had a great body.
“Anyway, it's a lot of salary.”
“Stop insisting.”
“Ma'am, another important topic. Starting tomorrow, I will begin looking for an apartment, I will try to find one close to your house, so I don't have to travel from so far away.”
“Why do you want to leave? Think about the child, exposing him to changes in weather, inconveniencing him from one place to another, it doesn't seem convenient to me, think about it.”
We were interrupted by Simón, and Miguel looked at Diana, waiting for a response to my comment. His gaze showed how annoyed he was by what she had said about wanting to leave.
“It’s been long enough, I don’t want to keep bothering you.”
She always lowered her gaze when talking to Miguel. He intimidated her, although something told me there was an attraction between them, something more.
“Diana,” Simón spoke because Miguel looked like he wanted to kill her. “We have several reasons to ask you to stay. I’m speaking for everyone when I say the main reason is how easily you integrated into our family. None of us share blood, only affection and a decision to be loyal to each other.” I looked at Diana, and she was crying silently.
“Never… The truth is…”
She stood up and ran to hug Simón, but it was Miguel’s face that showed discomfort before he adopted an expressionless attitude. His clenched fists in his pockets gave him away. Was he jealous?
“I never had a family.”
“Now I can tell you the smaller reasons to help you understand how important you are. We adore your son, you’re good for Mrs. Veronica, you gave Inés a new grandchild, among other things. Why leave if you’re not a burden here?”
“I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Who said you were?” Miguel intervened rudely. “We all live and work here.” They stared at each other.
“Well, now that’s cleared up, what did you two come for?” I asked, it was better to intervene.
“Sunday is the child’s baptism, and he hasn’t been registered,” Simón commented.
“That’s why we’re here, to take him to be registered,” Miguel said.
“I’ll get ready, it won’t be a problem. I’ll register him as a single mother, he’ll have my last name,” Diana said innocently.
“No way!”
It was comical to see Simón stop and turn slowly to look at his companion. He was heading towards me but didn’t reach the desk. I gestured to ask what he meant, and he responded with a lip movement, “I have no idea, let’s wait.”
“What do you mean, ‘no way’?”
My assistant confronted the man who kept his hands in his pockets. Next to him, she looked very small.
“I came to tell you that I’m going to take Isaac to register him as my son.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again. Simón remained silent, watching the scene in front of us, while the child’s mother was red, trying to speak but couldn’t.
“He’s not your son!” she said finally.
“Think about him, it’s better if he has a different last name than yours.”
“Do you know what that means?” Miguel shrugged, and she let out a frustrated growl. “Legally, you’ll have obligations towards him, and even though I won’t allow it, the day you get married and have your own kids, your wife will have problems because you have a registered child that isn’t yours.”
“Diana, I don’t care about what might happen in the future. I know what it means to give my last name, and believe me, I have the intention, the money, and the willingness to take care of that child. I’m not doing it because I like you, you’re not my type. You’re a kid, after all. Don’t think I’m buying you, forcing you, or whatever is going through your brilliant mind. I came to take the child to the registry office.”
“You just made a huge mistake, jerk,” Simón whispered.
“You’re an idiot!”
She ran out of the office. Cebolla looked at us or rather, at me, he was furious.
“If you wanted to score points with her, you just blew it,” Simón said.
“You shut up, I’m leaving with Inés.”
He left us alone in the office. I pointed in the direction where the confrontation had occurred.
“He was jealous, there’s something there.”
“I have no idea, ma’am. Cebolla came in happy and content to ask Diana for a favor. I didn’t know about giving the last name, I suspected it from the conversations these days. But I didn’t imagine he would demand it.”
“I’m going to talk to my assistant.”
“It will be hard to play matchmaker with them.”
“Simón, where God has decided there will be love, there will be, even if there’s a storm in the middle.”
“My friend isn’t a storm, ma’am, that empty head is a hurricane.” I smiled.
“At least Miguel is already in those turbulent waters. When will your hurricane arrive?”
The sparkle in Simón’s eyes caught my attention. And he, noticing it, changed his expression.
“I don’t…,” he smiled. “I’m very excited about finding a certain elusive brunette.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ll know soon, ma’am. For now, try to understand what Diana is thinking.”
“Is the meeting tonight still on?” I saw him nod.
“We must be prepared for the reading of the will.”