In bad shape

**Ethan**

Hearing the truth about Beatriz was something that left me extremely... disappointed. Even though I was aware that our relationship was never perfect and that Beatriz herself had her flaws, I still didn't expect to have been made a fool of the entire time, especially by the guy I always considered my best friend.

"I know what you're thinking, Ethan," Joshua said objectively, standing by my side. "But I want to make it clear, regardless of what you may think of me, that I have always loved my sister, flaws and all, and out of love, I did everything she wanted me to do. Now I know I made many mistakes, but time doesn't go back for me to fix them. Still, I want to apologize, my friend."

I looked at Joshua's extended hand, a gesture of peace, wishing to say so many things, to shout that he was a lying jerk and that he betrayed my trust. But at the same time, the memories of Joshua by his sister's side, always supporting her and catering to her every whim, just like their parents did, and me doing the same as them, made me realize that I was just as guilty as they were.

I stood up, looking at the two men in the room, trying to control the avalanche of conflicting emotions that were overwhelming me. I was torn between telling them both to go to hell and leaving, or trying to be the rational person I had not been in recent years, sitting down and discussing the reason that brought me to Murilo's office.

Rationality won.

"Let's leave this behind, Joshua," I said, extending my hand and firmly shaking my friend's hand. "I just want to focus on the future from now on."

We embraced as friends, followed by a few friendly pats on the back, thus sealing the peace between us.

"And what a beautiful future it will be, my friend!" Joshua dared to say.

I glared at him angrily, all the good feelings immediately forgotten upon hearing the way he was speaking, surely referring to Mariana.

"What do you mean by that!?"

"Calm down, Ethan!" Joshua pleaded, playfully raising his hands. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood a bit."

I didn't sense much sincerity in his words and continued to scrutinize him closely, trying to make sure he wasn't interested in my girl.

"Joshua is telling the truth, Constantino," Murilo interjected, smiling at the scene. "Our friend here is in love, and it's not with Mari, believe me."

I almost let out a sigh of relief at Murilo's words and smiled, feeling more relaxed now, the previous anger being replaced by curiosity.

"In love?" I asked, sitting back down. "That's news to me. I've never seen you fall for anyone."

"Haven't met Artemis yet," Joshua joked, making us laugh. "I know she's the woman of my life."

Artemis? That name sounded familiar, and I tried to remember where I had heard it before until it clicked in my mind. It was the sister of Achilles, in other words, Murilo's cousin, who was with him on the night we met at the hospital, and I quickly made the connection.

"Ah! I get it now," I said, snapping my fingers, a reference to my memory snap. "I'm happy for you, Joshua."

Now the atmosphere was much more relaxed after all the revelations about Beatriz, but there was still something very important and urgent to address, and we couldn't waste any more time. After all, Bruna was out there, waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of Mariana and Virginia.

"Now that everything is out in the open, I believe we should try to find a way to prevent Bruna from exposing our women's story to the media," Murilo brought us back to the central point.

We then discussed the matter in the same analytical and objective manner as we do with business, and devised an action plan where Bruna wouldn't be able to extract any money from us.

I had an ace up my sleeve, and I would use it without the slightest remorse. "She shouldn't have messed with me like that," I said after revealing what I knew about Bruna, "especially when she has her own secrets."

"How did you find out about this?" Murilo asked with a smile. "I dated Bruna for so long and had no idea about this aspect of her past."

"I intended to use it against you," I chose to be honest about it, "but I decided I couldn't stoop that low."

Despite the tension I sensed had settled in the room, nothing was commented on regarding my statement, and after a few seconds where each seemed to be making their value judgments, I understood that Joshua had reached a conclusion, and soon he was expressing his opinion.

"But things have changed, and between Mariana and Bruna, I won't think twice before siding with Mariana."

With everything organized, we began our plan, starting with a call to Bruna, inviting her to come to my company the next day so that we could discuss her demands, using the lie that I had an excellent proposal to buy her silence as a pretext.

The next day, at the agreed-upon time, Bruna walked into my office, looking radiant and happy, believing she was achieving good results with her blackmail, and once again, I felt a twinge of guilt for the way I had approached Mariana when all I truly desired was her.

"Finally, you've come to your senses, dear," Bruna spoke triumphantly. "You understand that I wasn't just bluffing."

"I always knew you only play to win," I was being ironic, but Bruna seemed to have taken my words seriously.

"Of course I do."

"Please, have a seat," I gestured to the chair in front of me.

Before I could proceed with the plan, the phone on the desk rang, and I answered it quite reluctantly.

"I'm not going to take any calls, Liz," I spoke brusquely because I had already made it clear before Bruna entered. But my secretary's response was drowned out by the sound of my office door being angrily flung open, causing me to even drop the phone from my hands in shock.

"You're going to take my call!" Mariana shouted, pointing her finger at me, her face contorted with anger. "You jerk! How could you!?"

I felt completely lost with Mariana's stormy entrance, especially when it was evident that she was accusing me of something I had no clue about. But the situation worsened when Mariana noticed the presence of another person in the room, and of course, the fact that this person was Bruna caused a terrible feeling of helplessness to wash over me. I was in deep trouble.