CHAPTER 12 – The Deception of a Proud ManNarrated by AdriánThe house was silent.The clock read 11:43 p.m. My mother was gone. She had set out to see Sofía, driven by a determination I had lost years ago. I stayed behind in the dining room, alone, my head buried in my hands. My mother’s tea was still steaming on the table. Linden and lemon—an aroma that flung me back to the nights of my childhood when I had a fever and she would sit beside my bed, watching over me as if I were the most precious thing in the world.And yet, when it came time to defend what truly mattered… I had let her decide for me. This time, my mother would help her. She had already chosen for me once—with my marriage.Sofía.Sofía and those large, pale blue eyes that looked at me as if I were capable of being better. As if behind the Castell name, there was a real man. Not a project. Not an obedient son. Not an heir.Just a man.I remembered the first time she walked into my house. A small brown suitcase in her h

CHAPTER 14 – The Promise to Love Her Always Narrated by Isabel Sometimes I think motherhood isn’t something you choose. There are bonds that aren’t forged in blood, but in skin, in shared silences, and in the promises one woman makes to another when life is slipping through her fingers. That was how Sofia became my daughter. It didn’t happen when I held her for the first time after she woke from her coma, or when I took her hand as we left the hospital. It happened before that. It was when Elizabeth—my best friend, my soul sister—looked at me with tear-filled eyes and begged me in a broken voice. That image still shatters my heart. “Take care of her, Isa. Promise me you’ll care for her as if she were your own. Support her studies. Don’t let anything or anyone limit her. She has a gift. She is strong. She is light.” We were in the ER. Elizabeth could barely speak; her body was ravaged by the accident, but her mind was crystal clear. She knew she wasn’t going to survive. Her hu

Chapter 16 – What I Didn’t Want to SeeThe phone screen read 7:50 a.m.Adrián held it with both hands as if it were a sacred object. Behind him, the sound of water boiling for his father’s tea seemed to mock his anxiety. He stood in the kitchen of the family home, his shirt wrinkled, face unshaven, eyes bloodshot from a sleepless night.He dialed his mother’s number. Isabel answered on the second ring.“Mom? Were you able to talk to her? Did you convince her?”The silence that followed spoke louder than a thousand words.“Adrián Castell… are you an idiot, or are you just pretending to be?”“Mom…”“No. Don’t ‘Mom’ me. Where are you right now?”“Here… with Dad. I just gave him his heart medication. I spent the whole night in my room, right next to his. I swear I didn’t leave the house.”“Then explain this to me,” she shot back, her voice blazing. “Why did that harpy of an ex—your protégée, your 'saint' Valeria—just send photos to your wife from your bachelor apartment? Huh?”“What… what

Chapter 18 – When Faith Breathes The hallway smelled of disinfectant and agonizing decisions. Sofía walked in silence beside Adrián, holding the red folder against her chest as if she were carrying her heart in her arms. He didn’t say a word. He walked at her side with his hands in the pockets of his dark gray pants, his gaze fixed on the floor. Every now and then, he caught a glimpse of her. Her profile seemed more beautiful than ever—and more distant too. She wore blue jeans, a low-cut green T-shirt, and her hair tied back in a low ponytail. No makeup. No armor. She walked forward with the raw truth exposed. When they entered Dr. Sergio Durán’s office, Adrián stayed beside her while they greeted him and explained the reason for the visit. Sofía spoke calmly—yet firmly—asking to repeat the genetic tests. “I know the results are probabilistic, not definitive,” she said. “I want to exhaust every option. If there’s even the slightest chance of a mistake, I need to know. And if

Chapter 20 – A Castell Man’s PromiseAdrián was still there, sitting inside his car, parked in front of Sofía’s building.The street was almost empty, barely lit by the soft neighborhood lights. On the second floor of that simple yet warm apartment, the living room window let a golden glow spill through the curtains, casting gentle shadows. From his seat, Adrián could make out a figure sitting on the couch. It was probably her.His heart tightened.Sofía.Alone. Thinking. Maybe crying, maybe laughing with Isabel and Lily. He didn’t know. He wasn’t there. Once again, he wasn’t.He pulled his phone from his pocket and texted his mother.Not long after, the reply came.“Relax, son. I already spoke to him. He’s fine. I told him you had good news to share. But don’t mention the baby’s possible genetic issues. If there’s any condition, he should know when the time comes. Not before. We won’t burden him with fear.”Adrián sighed. He agreed with his mother. He wouldn’t tell his father anythin