70

70
"Why?!" Katia murmured, stunned by that confession.

Oscar looked at her with guilt and sighed, thinking it would be better to be honest once and for all.

"Katia... you deserve to be happy, and Stefan... he seemed like a good option," he said with a grimace, making her huff. "I'm truly sorry; I can see now it wasn't the best choice."

The brunette bit her lip, feeling a sharp pain in her chest as she had to break the news to him, knowing that he would have to realize her condition soon.

"Oscar..." He looked at her attentively. "I... I'm pregnant."

Unable to continue, she fell silent abruptly, and the Cuban man gasped, knowing what that meant. However, she looked desolate, and despite the pain inside her, she added:

"I suppose it would be cynical of me to claim something like that," she sighed, under the amazed gaze of Katia. "Don't look at me like that; he's a handsome man..."

"But..."

"I knew it would happen sooner or later," she caressed her cheek so gently that Katia felt even more guilty, as he was a sweet and understanding man. "Maybe after I... leave, you and he..."

"Oh no, that's not going to happen," she shook her head obstinately. "That was a mistake; I want nothing to do with that man, Oscar."

He looked at her intently, sensing that what had happened was really serious for Katia to be in this state. Despite everything, he was curious to know what had occurred, but he knew that Katia would flatly refuse.

"Perhaps later," he thought with a grimace.

"Everything will be alright, darling," he whispered suddenly, enveloping the brunette in his arms. "You'll see... it will be okay."

"Why do you have to die?" her voice came out choked, angry with life and herself. "It's so unfair..."

"Shh... calm down," the dark-haired man held her in his arms, comforting her as best he could, resigned to accept that Katia's heart probably belonged to that man she had married: the German.

…

In mid-May, specifically on the 18th, Stefan returned to the Seattle branch to bid farewell.

On that day, he would have a meeting with the directors and the secretaries, where he would announce that he was stepping down as the CEO of Schmidt Multinational Corporation and hence would not be seeing them again.

Of course, he wouldn't disclose the reasons for his departure.

The fact that he would encounter Katia after so many months made him keep the true reason for his departure to himself.

He exited the elevator as it reached the 30th floor and observed his employees bustling about, although his gaze focused on the desk of the General Manager's secretary.

He couldn't deny he was looking forward to seeing that blue-eyed, brown-haired girl.

He left the elevator, buttoning his jacket with a firm step, and began walking towards the General Manager's office. A strange sense of unease washed over him as he stood in front of the door.

Upon entering, he saw a brunette woman with short hair, well-dressed, briefing Joshua while he stared at the computer screen. Upon seeing the door open, they both turned to him and quickly got up.

The woman made a slight bow.

"Welcome, Mr. Schmidt," Joshua stated with a smile. "Marilyn, we'll continue later."

"As you wish, Mr. Davis," the woman said before leaving the office.

"Katia is on leave," Joshua clarified before Stefan could say anything.

"On leave?" Stefan asked, surprised and concerned.

"Yes. Her boyfriend passed away in January, and since then, she hasn't been herself," he lied. He couldn't reveal that she was pregnant, or Katia would be upset with him. "I advised her to take a few months of leave."

"So he passed away..." the German muttered, and at that moment, he recalled the sadness in her eyes at the wedding months ago. "She... at your wedding...?"

"She found out about it at the wedding, yes," Joshua concluded with a serious expression. "What brings you here? We weren't expecting you."

"I want everyone in the boardroom at noon. The secretaries should come too," Stefan informed. "I would like to speak with all of you."

"I'll have Marilyn notify everyone right away," Joshua nodded.

Meanwhile, at the cemetery in the city of Seattle, Katia arrived accompanied by her brother.

Junior had been at her side ever since she had announced her pregnancy to her family, and to ensure nothing went wrong due to her hypertension during the pregnancy, he had volunteered to take care of her.

This was Katia's second high-risk pregnancy, even though she had only been pregnant twice, and everyone was concerned for her. 

Since Oscar's death, Katia had become more lethargic, but to ensure her baby's safety, she followed her doctor's advice, though she had issues with her diet. She and her sister often argued about it, and she had been hospitalized more than once due to hypertension.

Katia and Junior walked to the graves of Adri and Oscar, which were side by side.

Junior placed the flower bouquets his sister held in her hands on each grave, while she let tears flow from her eyes like a rushing river.

"Adri... soon, maybe in a few days, your little sister will be born... You always wanted a sibling, remember? And now you're not with Mom..." she said, looking at Adri's photo on the grave. "I miss you both... I need you. Oscar... I don't care why you did it... I only want you..." Her brother supported her when he noticed her legs giving way. "Everyone says I shouldn't be here, but I needed to see you and Adri... I'll never find anyone who loves me and treats me the way you did, and I won't have such a loving child as Adrien... You're irreplaceable to me..."

"Marie... let's go. Being here only hurts you, and remember that your baby could be born at any moment. It's better that we go back to the apartment and rest," her brother advised. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked when Katia brought her hand to her forehead and collapsed onto her brother.

She had just felt dizzy, but what terrified Junior was when he felt his sister's water break and it wet his foot.

The critical moment had begun.