"Heitor"I knew roughly what had happened. I'd always known my father was a scoundrel, but this was much worse. It relegated him to a category worse than a simple cretin or a harasser.Three years ago, my father spent a very long time in the city. I had already bought his shares in the company a few years earlier, but he had already blown all the money he'd earned and came looking for more. When I didn't give in, he continued to torment me as usual. But suddenly, out of nowhere, he left and remained silent in Miami, until now.I never understood why he left. I only knew roughly that two women had come forward saying he had harassed them and forced them to have sex, but I never knew exactly what had happened, and they soon disappeared.But now it was all there, before my eyes. My unlovable father was a rapist. I started reading the report. Three years earlier, when he was here, to show off his good life, he threw a party at a beach house he'd rented. His friends, all as cretinous as he

"Heitor"I'd been with Sam for a week. I couldn't resist looking for her, and I gave my heart and soul to her once and for all. I threw myself into her arms; it was the best night of my life, because I felt she, too, gave herself completely to me. But my cell phone rang, and I had to run out in the middle of the night.Reinaldo had been arrested, and my public relations team needed me to mitigate the damage caused by all the media coverage. We managed to hush up his arrest and maintain the confidentiality of the investigation, keeping the press away from the matter, but he found a good lawyer who got him out of jail within twenty-four hours. And that angered me deeply.I had left a note for Samantha at the apartment, asking her to contact me if there was any chance of repairing our relationship, but she simply ignored me. All I could feel now was pain, physical and emotional. I felt sadness, frustration, anger, and even remorse for having let myself be fooled by that jerk Reinaldo. I

"Samantha"I anxiously grabbed my phone, my hands trembling, searched for Heitor's contact information, and made the call. It went straight to voicemail. I looked uncertainly at Vini, and he sighed."The pizza's here. I'll get it, and you go get ready. We'll eat while you get ready, and then I'll take you to your boyfriend's house." Vini was more determined than I was."But what if he's with someone else, Vini?" I asked, feeling a mix of anxiety and jealousy."You kick her ass and make it clear that that man is yours. I guarantee he'll love it." I laughed at the way Vini said it.Vini got the pizza, and I did as he said, getting ready while he ate. When I was ready, I grabbed my bag, and we left. He stopped at Heitor's door, and I asked to wait a bit in case something went wrong. I went downstairs and went to the gate, but the security guard informed me that Heitor hadn't been there in months. Had he returned to the apartment?Like a good friend, Vini took me to Heitor's apartment and

"Hector"Melissa and I went for coffee at the bakery near the office. She gave me a "gentle" scolding, so to speak, and brought me back to reality.Then she laid down the rules: we would go shopping, take care of our appearance, I would run my empire tomorrow, and then she would help me with Samantha. I didn't understand what she meant by all this, but since I was in the rain, I was supposed to get wet, and since she was going to help me, I might as well take advantage of it.We left the bakery and took a taxi. We went straight to the hotel where I'd been staying for months."Martinez, here's the thing: you're going to take a good shower, pack your things, and leave this hotel now," Melissa said as we entered."Mel, I can't stay in that house without Sam, and if I go back to the apartment, she'll never forgive me.""Oh, I can see I'm going to have to change the order of things," Melissa complained. "Okay, I'll help you with Sam today, and on Monday you can go back to running your empi

"Samantha"After opening the door, I saw that the entire room was lit by small lamps scattered throughout. From the ceiling, there was a sea of transparent, pearlescent balloons filled with helium. Each one hung with a white ribbon, and at the end was a variety of photos of Heitor and me, notes with apologies or romantic declarations, or red hearts on cardboard. I went through each message and each photo of a happy moment we'd shared, and there were many.I arrived at the living room with tears already streaming down my face, and when I looked up, I saw Heitor standing there, in that room where we'd watched the sunrise and where our plush rugs and colorful pillows still stood. He was simply standing there, hands in his pockets and looking anxious. The ceiling of the living room was also covered in balloons with photos, messages, and hearts. And the same small lamps gave the room a cozy glow. On the side table next to the cushions were wine, cheeses, fruits, and chocolates. Around the