Ariana rarely showed weakness. There was only once, when she cried in front of Macos and Albina.
Because of the exhausting trip, Ariana wanted Albina to enjoy her party, stay with Umberto and have a good rest instead of worrying about her affairs.
Albina held back the urge to go inside and reproach Santiago.
She hadn’t been back for a long time, so Umberto looked for her down the hallway, and found her leaning against the wall of a room with numb eyes.
-Albina.
Umberto approached her and took her hand.
-What happened?
Albina looked up at Umberto with her fingers in her hand.
-Santiago is a bastard! -she shouted angrily.
Umberto was surprised.
-What is it? Has he done something wrong?
Albina led him to the door of the room and let him see inside.
The room was noisy. Natalia lost the game and had to drink. She already drank too much and her cheeks turned red. She picked up the cup and looked at Santiago with pleading help.
Santiago hesitated for a moment, but helped her.
Everyone applauded. Natalia approached Santiago to retrieve the cup.
Santiago did not stop her.
Albina became enraged and squeezed Umberto’s hands to hold back the urge to go inside.
Then, she led Umberto back with large footsteps. You could see her anger with every step she took.
When he reached a quiet place, he stopped and looked at Umberto.
-Did you see him? What a bastard! He’s Ariana’s boyfriend, but he’s dating another woman.
Umberto frowned in confusion, he also didn’t understand her behavior.
Umberto and Camilo had warned him that he had to stay away from Natalia and he had already acknowledged his guilt, but why did he do it again?
-Maybe it’s a misunderstanding.
Umberto didn’t pay much attention to Santiago these days, that’s why he didn’t know what happened.
Hearing that, Albina got angry.
-What misunderstanding? I saw clearly how he helped the woman and they embraced. What misunderstanding can there be there?! What did he say when he refused the invitation to this party?
-He said that the doctors of the hospital he collaborates with would visit them, that’s why he didn’t have time.
Albina laughed.
-She just wants to take this opportunity to be with her first love.
Umberto stroked her hair to calm her down.
-If you want to know the reason, I’ll call him and we’ll ask him.
Umberto headed for Santiago’s room, but Albima stopped him.
-It’s not necessary. Ariana doesn’t want us to get involved in this. If she can’t solve it on her own, we’ll help her.
Because of what happened, Albina didn’t want to continue the party.
Seeing her expression, Umberto hugged her shoulders.
-Are you tired?
Albina nodded her head.
-I haven’t slept well for three months. And I haven’t rested on a plane.
-We said goodbye to Macos and Camilo and returned home.
Umberto texted Camilo and took Albina to his car.
Albina grabbed his arm and stayed awake.
-Let’s go to Ariana’s house. She doesn’t want me to intervene in this, but I’m afraid of a scandal between them. We just need to stay in the car to watch her.
Umberto fixed her hair, looked at her tired face and said in a soft voice:
-Don’t worry, I’ll send people to keep an eye on her. If anything happens, they will prevent it. The only thing you must do now is rest. Don’t think so much. Besides, Santiago would never hit Ariana.
Ariana was indifferent and Santiago liked her, so they wouldn’t argue no matter what.
Even if Santiago lost his mind, Ariana would not. What Albina feared would never happen.
Albina got into the car for Umberto’s comfort and slept on the way.
When they arrived home, Umberto looked at her and discovered that she already slept soundly leaning against the window.
She was not awakened once by the movement of the car. It seemed that she was very exhausted.
Seeing her poor appearance, Umberto pulled her out of the car hugging her carefully.
Feeling that she was thinner than before, he frowned.
It took a lot of effort to feed her well before she went to Paris, but the trace of his effort was gone. Albina was very thin and Umberto knew that she did not eat on time.
He thought of several recipes to feed her. He had to help her recover.
He took her home, took off her clothes and cleaned her face carefully so as not to wake her up.
After the bath, Umberto lay down next to Albina and hugged her.
Albina felt a familiar smell and unconsciously rubbed herself against his chest. She rolled over, shifted to a comfortable position and leaned into his arms.
Umberto felt her soft body, brought his head close to her neck, smelled the scent he loved so much and finally calmed down.
After a while, he raised his head and looked lovingly at Albina.
He noticed that her face thinned, becoming thinner. Her closed eyes, her long eyelashes, her soft breathing, Umberto loved it all.
Albina slept like a baby.
Umberto came up to her and kissed her on the eyes, nose and lips.
With each kiss, Umberto’s heart beat faster and faster. If Albina wasn’t so tired, tonight he wouldn’t let her sleep.
Umberto held all his impulses and hugged her tightly.
After a few moments, Umberto became sleepy. He also didn’t sleep well in these months, so he soon fell asleep.
The party was over.
Santiago had drunk a lot, so he was not awake and one of his companions held him.
-Santiago is drunk and so am I. We can’t drive. We can’t drive. Can someone take him home? -said the companion who was holding him in anguish.
All the men had been drinking and none of them could do it. Hearing that, Natalia said in a soft voice:
-I’ll take care of it. I haven’t had much to drink and Santiago has helped me, so I’ll take him home. I know his home address.
The partner hesitated.
-I’m afraid it will cause a misunderstanding. Santiago already has a girlfriend.
-Don’t worry, I know her. I even have her phone number and have connected her many times.
Looking at the call logs, the partner took him at his word and left Santiago in Natalia’s car.
-I’ll send someone to drive her car to the hospital tomorrow. We are leaving.
-Goodbye.
Natalia said goodbye to him and got into the car. She looked at the drunk man and laughed. No one knew what Natalia was thinking.