Devoted Love, Mr. Hayes’ Darling Wife

Estrella Berrocal’s slender fingertips, gently caressing her wound, trembled slightly. “Does it hurt?”

“Well, a little bit.”

Tears fell from Estrella Berrocal’s eyes, who sniffled and glared at him. “If you knew you were in pain, why did you wield that knife and stab yourself in the chest?”.

If I hadn’t been determined, I would have left him in a few days, I’m afraid.

Adán Rouco took her small hand and placed it over his heart.

Estrella Berrocal could almost feel, through her chest, the strong beating of her heart.

“The wound hurts a little, but not as much as it does here.”

Estrella Berrocal’s eyes were red, “I’m sorry, I…”

“Back then, your father’s death did have to do with the Rouco Group, I couldn’t get away with it. I should be the one to say I’m sorry.”

Estrella Berrocal bit her lip and plucked up the courage to ask: “Adán Rouco, why didn’t you give my father a little more grace, perhaps…?”

“But there are other businesses besides your father, and as head of the Rouco Group, in the business world, I cannot consent to the non-compliance of all businesses.”

Estrella Berrocal understood what he meant, but the man who died was her father, and there was no way she would not have any separation with Adán Rouco in her heart.

“In fact, you found out some time ago that he was in cahoots with Jonathan Tasis, didn’t you?”

“I don’t like you saying you’re in cahoots with him.”

Looking at him so positively jealous, Estrella Berrocal blushed, “… And when did you find out?”

“Before it was just a suspicion, but from the moment you brought home that bracelet of Analena Lozada’s and deliberately let me see it, I was sure.”

Estrella Berrocal asked herself, “Why?”.

“Jonathan Tasis doesn’t talk to just anyone from Analena Lozada, and even if Jonathan Tasis wanted to provoke, you should have come to ask me what had happened, instead of taking the bracelet home so rudely for me to see. You were trying to provoke me.”

At the mention of Analena Lozada, Estrella Berrocal hesitated, remembering what Julieta Sarinana had told her, and her watery eyes looked at Adán Rouco in disbelief.

Had Adán Rouco really taken her for a double of Analena Lozada?

But he didn’t dare ask.

Besides, in a few days she would be leaving La Ciudad Santa, so he let her think and fantasize that, for the time being, Adán Rouco wanted her and not because she looked like Analena Lozada.

“Why are you looking at me?”

Estrella Berrocal took a deep breath and asked again, “And what was that about Lucrecia Javier?”.

“I just wanted to test you with Lucrecia Javier to see if you would get jealous if I slept with another woman.”

Estrella Berrocal was a bit taken aback: “Did you know all along that Lucrecia Javier had been arranged by me and Jonathan Tasis?”.

“Star, you can hate me all you want, but don’t ever associate with that Jonathan Tasis guy again, huh?”.

Estrella Berrocal nodded obediently and wrapped her little arms around his neck, leaning into his embrace and murmuring, “Adam, I’ve figured it out, and I don’t think Dad would want me to get revenge if he were alive.”

Adán Rouco’s heart pounded.

His thinking had caused her to spend the last three years in a foreign country. “Star, tell me how your studies abroad went.”

“Actually there is not much to tell, I went to Paris at first because I could no longer stay in The Holy City, besides my studies were not complete at that time, I went to Paris just to finish my studies, Paris is very expensive, tuition fees are also very expensive, and I study art, which is particularly expensive, the money my father left me before he died was spent in less than a year, then I had to work in several part-time jobs, once I worked in a bar and they almost bothered me, luckily Ricardo Prats saved me…”

At the mention of Ricardo Prats, Estrella Berrocal looked warily at Adán Rouco, who asked, “Why did you go to work in a bar?”

Estrella Berrocal nodded and said with sincerity, “Because I have a lot of homework from school and I don’t have much time, so I go to the bar at night to work and earn money.”

Adán Rouco let out a soft sigh: “Estrella, I’m sorry for the rush”.

If Stefano Berrocal had not gone bankrupt, he would not have jumped off a building, and his once warm home would not have crumbled overnight because of him.

Estrella Berrocal was deeply moved by the fact that this man, so arrogant, was now apologizing to her with such solemnity and seriousness.

“Then I will punish you for loving me, wanting me and caring for me for the rest of your life.”

“Good.”

Estrella Berrocal smiled softly, lifted her small face and kissed Adán Rouco’s thin lips, closing her eyes for a moment, tears from the corners of her eyes slid down to the temples of her ears, cool and refreshing.

-Adam, I’m sorry I lied to you again.

If La Empresa Berrocal had not gone bankrupt three years ago, she would not have become a surrogate, her father would not have jumped off a building and she would not have met Adán Rouco.

But she also had no way or reason to stay by his side.

She had come to him, first for La Villa Berrocal and then to help her father … but now she had no reason to stay by his side.

Just letting it all go back, back to three years ago, when they were two parallel horizontal lines that had never crossed.

Adán Rouco should have continued in his circle of colors, following the track of his original life, the one he had, without Estrella Berrocal.

…

The next morning, Estrella Berrocal rushed Adán Rouco to work and Adán Rouco sent Felipa and Paulita to accompany Estrella Berrocal.

When Paulita arrived with her school bag, Estrella Berrocal was surprised: “Paulita, isn’t it Wednesday? Why don’t you go to school?”.

The little girl came over and said happily, “Daddy said Estrella was in a bad mood and gave Paulita the day off to stay with Estrella! I was so worried about you.”

Estrella Berrocal smiled slightly and stroked the little girl’s head, “I’m fine, don’t worry, come, sit down and have an orange, I’ll peel one for you.”

Paulita reached out and took the orange from Estrella Berrocal’s hand, frowning, “Estrella, leave it, let Paulita do it, Paulita will peel it for you”.

“Why are you being so nice.”

“Papa says Paulita has to be obedient to Estrella.”

Estrella Berrocal’s heart was sweetened when Paulita quickly peeled the oranges, breaking two cloves in her small hands and handing them to Estrella Berrocal, who smiled and opened her mouth to eat them.

“You eat too, don’t just feed me.”

“Mmm!”

Paulita broke a tooth and stuck it in her mouth, her sour face scrunched up: “What a sour orange!

“Paulita can’t eat sour?”

The little girl said bitterly, “Daddy can’t eat sour just like Paulita, every time he eats a sour one he gets tears in his eyes!”

Estrella Berrocal silently noted that Adán Rouco did not like acid.

But then he thought he would soon be gone, so why remember him?

Estrella Berrocal was a little saddened to see her little girl and took her in her arms, where she leaned on hers and looked at her picture book.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

A short time later, Juliet Sarinana was at the door of the living room with a bouquet of flowers in her arms.

Julieta Sarinana raised her hand and knocked on the door, and Estrella Berrocal’s brow furrowed as she watched.

“Miss Juliet?”

“Miss Estrella, I heard that you were not feeling well and that you were hospitalized, so I came to see you.”

Julieta Sarinana came in carrying flowers, Paulita knew Julieta Sarinana and greeted Julieta Sarinana in a milky voice: “Aunt Julieta, how did you know that my Estrella was sick?”.

Julieta Sarinana raised her hand and rubbed Paulita’s little head: “Paulita, it’s been a long time, you’ve grown up again”.

“Yes, Miss Juliet, how did you know she was sick?”.

He had only been in the hospital the night before, how did Juliet Sarinana know so quickly?

Juliet Sarinana was not surprised to be asked such a question and took it in stride, “Have you forgotten? I am a doctor and I have many friends in this hospital, they all know that Adam is a good friend of mine, they comment it by hearsay.”

Julieta Sarinana said it in a way that left no room for doubt.

“Thank you for coming to see me, then.”

“I’m a good friend of Adam’s, and now that you’re … pregnant with Adam, it’s only fair that I come to see you, isn’t it?”.

There was nothing wrong with Julieta Sarinana’s comment, but it was especially uncomfortable to Estrella Berrocal’s ears.

Julieta Sarinana looked at Felipa and Paulita and smiled, “Paulita, would you and Felipa like to go play for a while in the garden below the hospital? Your Estrella and I would like to talk a little bit.”

Paulita took Estrella Berrocal’s arm and said with a flattened little mouth, “But daddy told me to stay by Estrella’s side and take care of Estrella!”

Julieta Sarinana’s eyes fluttered, was Adam so valuable … to Estrella Berrocal? Was she afraid that Estrella Berrocal would run away?

“Paulita, it’s not like Aunt Juliet is going to bully your Star.”

Estrella Berrocal knew that what Julieta Sarinana was going to say was not convenient for Paulita to hear, so she cajoled her, “Paulita, I’m a little hungry, will you and Felipa go get me something to eat?”

“What do you want to eat Estrella?”

“Whatever you want, Paulita bought it and Estrella loves it.”

“All right then, Star, you have to wait for me!”.

After Felipa led Paulita out of the room, Estrella Berrocal asked, “Señorita Julieta, what do you want to tell me?”

“Analena Lozada she … is actually still alive”.

Estrella Berrocal’s watery eyes shook with force, and then she said amused, “Miss Julieta, are you joking, how is it possible that Analena Lozada is still alive if she sank in the sea ten years ago and was swept away by the wind and the waves?”

Julieta Sarinana looked her straight in the eye and said, word for word: “Yes, indeed Analena Lozada was swept out to sea by the wind and waves, but she was rescued.”

“What do you mean? But, but if she wasn’t dead, why didn’t she come to Adam, or Jonathan Tasis?”.

Estrella Berrocal’s hands, clinging to the sheets, tightened.

Julieta Sarinana saw her panic and said, without rushing, “Analena Lozada survived her ordeal, but lost her memory when her brain hit a reef in the sea, causing damage to her brain and hippocampus, so she forgot about Adam and Jonathan Tasis. Ten years have passed and he has been in therapy and has only recently managed to regain some of his memory.”

Estrella Berrocal could not believe it, but Julieta Sarinana spoke with logic and conviction.

“And how do you know Analena Lozada is still alive?”.

“As I told you, I am a doctor, I know many of my peers and it turns out that Analena Lozada had a treatment in the hands of a friend of mine, because I am a psychiatrist, and just yesterday my friend referred Analena Lozada to me for treatment, and I only found out before I had time to tell Adán. ”

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