Whoever had recommended bed rest in the beginning really hadn’t considered how tiresome and tedious staying in bed all day could be.

Ximena had had just about enough of bed rest and the continuous nagging from her family didn’t help at all. If they weren’t forcing her not to move about too much, they were telling her to eat all the healthy muck they kept on bringing to her room. The icing on the cake was the fact that they had moved her downstairs for easier access to places like the living room, kitchen or the outdoors. Like she even went there…

Probably the most painful thing was how conflicted she felt about how things had gone down with Adriano. He would call her at least 5 times a day non-stop and each time she would want to pick up, Amanda’s horrid words would echo in her mind. And she just couldn’t bring herself to forget them even though it had been a while since she heard them. A coma had arisen because of them so forgetting them would certainly not be easy.

Her father was determined for her divorce to go through. He had already contacted his lawyers and they had been working on it since the day she was discharged. The clause about the 40% still stood as it is and the lawyers couldn’t really find a way to avoid it; unless both parties agreed to part ways and with how desperate Adriano seemed, an amicable mutual settlement would never be reached. She was sure that he did not want a divorce. If anything, he still wanted her…

Just as much as she wanted him!

And she felt utterly guilty about it. Ximena loved Adriano. Very much so, that despite concerted efforts to shut him out and be angry at him, she felt like she was somehow being unfair to him. And it was tremendously stupid that she would be feeling guilty about not hearing him out. What was there to say? What was Amanda doing with his phone that night? Why hadn’t he told her about her?

It was a total mess.

Just on schedule, her phone began to vibrate on her nightstand and she groaned out loud. “You know, maybe if you picked up, he’d stop calling you so much,” Chelsea reasoned from where she was seating on her bed.

Ximena bit her lip as she took her phone and stared at Adriano’s name flashing across the screen. After contemplating about it for a few seconds she swiped the screen and held it up to her ear. “Ximena, baby,” his velvety voice resounded through her ear and she almost swooned. It made no sense how she still reacted like that to him. “How are you doing?” he asked her gently.

She cleared her throat. “I’m fine,” she replied lowly, and looked out the window.

“It’s so good to hear your voice after all these weeks. How’s your recovery? Do you still have the casts?”

“I got them removed yesterday,” she answered him simply, trying to not sound excited or bored.

He sighed. “Your being so cold, amor.”

“How do you expect me to be, huh? The adoring, dotting wife? You honestly can’t expect me to act like nothing happened. Do you know how hard this is for me?” she sniffed, wiping the lone tear as it slid down her face.

“I…I understand that but what hurts me is that you were so quick to believe what Amanda told you that you didn’t even give me the benefit of doubt. And you won’t even here me out either! I’ve tried to visit you so many times in the past few weeks but I couldn’t even get close to your gate. You can’t let this break us apart, Ximena. It’s not fair.”

She quickly sat up as her pulse quickened. “It’s not fair to you? Hey, I’m the one who humiliated myself, confessing my love to someone who doesn’t share the same sentiment. I’m the one who was in the coma for six weeks! And I’m the one who’s still suffering whilst you’re probably with her. Don’t tell me it’s not fair when you’re the one who’s not being fair. And you know what, stop calling me. Don’t look for me. What we had is over, whatever it was. Goodbye,” she almost screamed into the phone and ended the call, before collapsing back onto the bed. Before she knew it, she was sobbing.

Chelsea moved towards her and cradled her upper half in her arms. She pet her head in soothing motions, trying her best to comfort her friend. They just sat there for a couple of minutes in silence, the only sound that could be heard was Ximena sniffing every now and then. The door opened and Andrea, her little sister, strolled in before throwing herself on the bed backwards.

“Being pregnant is so hard. Why doesn’t anyone talk about this?” she groaned out loud before probing herself up by her elbows. When she noticed that her sister had a glum expression on her face, she straightened herself. “What’s wrong Mena?” she asked in concern.

Ximena detached herself from Chelsea’s hold before wiping away the remnants of her tears. “Nothing new. Same old heartbreak,” she replied plainly before making a move to get up. Standing up on her own two feet was no easy task but she could navigate about on her own without assistance. “I’m going to the bathroom,” she said before putting her slippers on and carefully shuffling over to her ensuite.

Andrea turned to Chelsea. “Chels, I don’t like seeing Ximena like this. She’s miserable and lonely. She says she wants to go through with this divorce but I know deep down she is against it. She loves Adriano, and judging by what I saw on her discharge day he loves her too.”

Chelsea nodded in agreement. “I know, Andy. But the thing is Adriano screwed up big time. Now, I’m not 100% sure if her cheated on her or not but knowing him the way that I do now, it’s hard to think that he’d double-cross her like that. And Ximena is as stubborn as a mule so she doesn’t want to let him explain himself. I really don’t know what to do,” she sighed defeatedly.

“We need to think of a way to get the two of them alone, with no one to interrupt them. They seriously need to work things out before they’re pulled apart for good. Plus, the sexual tension between those two has been so palpable since they got back from their honeymoon,” she added cheekily and Chelsea rolled her eyes at her ludicrous comment.

“These pregnancy hormones are starting to make you sound demented. But I am in full agreement with you. We will need help to pull this off though. Santiago will help no doubt, and I think the person who wants this more than us is Adriano. He will have to plan something grand to get her all to himself,” she frowned at her own words. “Okay, that last past sounded obscene. Great, now your craziness is rubbing off on me!” she seethed, glaring daggers at the grinning girl.

Ximena walked out of the bathroom and resumed her position on the bed, her face still downcast and eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Sis, please try to cheer up. You’ll be healed in no time. I need you to be a happy aunt for my kid because heaven knows what kind of an uncle they’ll have in the name of Salvador,” she cajoled and managed to make Ximena crack a small smile.

“Have you considered listening to his side of the story?” Chelsea piped in and Ximena just averted her gaze. She shook her head ‘no’. “Well, eventually you’re going to have to do that, with or without papa Emilio’s permission. You can’t always run from your problems, darling,” she reasoned but Ximena’s lips thinned.

“I-I want to be alone for some time. Do you guys, mind?” she mumbled. Chelsea sighed and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before standing up. Andrea placed a kiss on her forehead and both of them left the room. Once the door was shut, Chelsea turned to Andrea.

“Grab your coat. You and I are going to pay a certain someone a visit.”

***

The workspace had become Adriano’s solace. The more he immersed himself in running his company, the easier it was to forget all that was going wrong in his life. Time was ticking for him; Mr. Dos Ramos’s lawyers had already contacted him and his father about finalizing the date for the divorce papers to be signed. He felt anxious and fear all at once. It didn’t help either that he hadn’t found Amanda. She had been hiding well, if even the FBI was finding it difficult to locate her.

On the other hand, business was booming. So many new investors and clients had influxed over the last couple of months and the company’s revenue was steadily on the rise. New expansions were in the pipes as well. It all would have been rather more exciting if it wasn’t for the fact that Adriano’s mind was filled with so many unexpressed emotions.

He had just begun to read an email on his desktop when his door burst open. His eyes flew to the culprit, well culprits as it seemed they were three individuals. “Sir, I am so sorry. I told them that you didn’t want to be disturbed but they-,” Imogen began frantically but Adriano raised his hand to stop her.

“It’s okay, Imogen. You can get back to work now,” he replied coolly, before reclining in his seat. From the way Chelsea was practically murdering him with her eyes, he knew the conversation they were about to have was going to be anything but civil. I really need more security personnel, he thought grimly.

She came and stood in front of his desk, crossing her hands in a serious stance. Andrea decided to take one of the seats, and sat quietly looking like she would have preferred to have been anywhere else but in that room. At least he wasn’t the only one. “Do what do I owe the pleasurable visit?” Adriano asked with a hint of sarcasm. Maybe that wasn’t the way to go about it, but he knew full well that she was about to release her full wrath on him.

“Trust me when I say that I sincerely do not want to be here, in front of the person who had caused my sister so much pain as it is. So, cut the crap Dos Santos and start talking,” she snarled at him, and he sighed before delving into his side of the story. By the end of it, he had noticed that Chelsea’s demeanor went from angry to downright furious.

“How could you be so stupid as to go and get drunk instead of talking things out with her? And you even left your phone on the bar counter, like a complete imbecile? You know, I knew you weren’t exactly the brightest guy around but you have managed to take the crown of stupidity,” she commented nonchalantly and finally took a seat as well.

Adriano placed his elbows on the desk and leaned forward. “How was I supposed to know that she would have been there to do that? It’s like she knew I’d be there at that exact moment. God only knows what she told her.”

“You could have also told Ximena that you had history with Amanda instead of covering up the truth like a coward. That was low, even for you,” Andrea tsked, and shook her head in disappointment. “As absurd as your theory sounds, I am not really sure if you’re off about this. It could be true, but convincing my dad otherwise is going to be difficult,” she added and Adriano frowned.

“What about Ximena? Will she believe me if I explained all of this to her?”

Chelsea rolled her eyes. “Of course she’ll believe you, with or without the proof. She loves you, and I mean loves you. Like, even though you technically kind of betrayed her trust, I know that her feelings for you are stronger than ever. But she’s stubborn, much like her dad and she listens too much to her father. There’s still time for you to make this right. And we came here to help you,” Chelsea said and Adriano’s eyebrows rose.

“Really?”

“Really. She won’t listen to you unless you I don’t know, force her to. I have a plan but it is kind of bizarre,” Chelsea bit her lip in contemplation and shared a look with Andrea. “And when I say bizarre, I mean batcrap crazy. She will get mad but she will thank me for it. I hate seeing her so low, defeated and pining over some lies. If there is anyone who deserves love, it’s her.”

“What is your plan exactly?” Adriano asked impatiently. He was willing to do just about anything to get Ximena all alone. Wait, that didn’t sound right at all.

Andrea began to drum her fingers on the desk for dramatic effect. “We are going to kidnap her,” she stated with a poker face and Adriano blinked, before bursting into laughter. When he noticed that they weren’t laughing along with him, he paused and did a double take. “Wait, you’re serious about that? Kidnap her? Isn’t that, I don’t know, illegal?”

Chelsea smirked. “Sort of. It’s not the kind of kidnapping you’re thinking. It’s quite simple actually. All we need to do is lure her out of the house. Papa Emilio wouldn’t allow you anywhere near her, but he wouldn’t deny me and her going out for a girl’s night out. Her recovery has been going great so far, and she needs some air. A perfect opportunity to lure her to your house. You talk, and I mean strictly talking and resolve things. Hopefully you two fools can clear up whatever misunderstandings you’ve been having. How does that sound?” she said confidently, and Andrea nodded in agreement.

Adriano took a moment to digest everything. It sounded bogus, but it just could work. Without giving it further thought he said, “Okay then. Count me in.”

________________________

Love you all,

~Deetronite ❤❤❤