The next day was a weekday and Umberto got up early.
He looked at Albina, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, and kissed her gently.
Fearing to wake her, he carefully removed the already numb arm from under her head before walking gingerly to the bathroom.
He had been up all night last night, excited at the truth of getting a marriage certificate with Albina, and he wanted so badly to look at the person he loved beside him, but she was still three months pregnant and he was afraid of hurting her.
So he spent the whole night looking at Albina, and he couldn’t get enough of her.
Umberto would never have believed that he could love a woman so much, and hold her in his hands for fear of dropping her.
Umberto washed himself, his face glowing. He did not wake Albina when she was not yet awake.
“It’s better to let her rest.”
Umberto changed his clothes and kissed her on the cheek. He watched her with eyes full of affection and the corners of his lips curved into a soft smile.
When he came downstairs, Daniel, Olivia and Sergio were already seated at the table.
Seeing that he was alone, Olivia asked:
-Where’s Albina, hasn’t she woken up yet?
-Not yet, let her sleep more.
Umberto sat down and ate his breakfast with good humor.
Daniel, Olivia and Sergio had their eyes on him with strange expressions.
Umberto’s senses were sharp enough to notice their stares and he looked up to ask them:
-Why are you looking at me like that?
Olivia, with a smile on her face, looked at him with interest.
-Umberto, you’re in a good mood today, you’ve had a smile on your lips from the time you came downstairs until now. That’s very rare.
When Albina had not come to the Santangel family, Umberto had always been cold, and rarely smiled in front of the elders.
Only Sergio got some soft smiles from him, while Daniel and Olivia only got a cold smile from him.
Then Albina came to the Santangel family and Umberto started to smile more, but it was unheard of to see the corners of his lips pulling upwards from start to finish, like today.
Umberto froze at her words and coughed slightly with his hand clenched into a fist against his lips.
-You’ve seen wrong.
Daniel took a sip of his coffee, a smile in his eyes, patted Olivia on the back of her hand and teased Umberto:
-He can’t be unhappy. He’s finally married the girl he likes and his rival is gone. I’m afraid Umberto’s heart is super happy.
Sergio interjected:
-It’s a rare occasion. Umberto, don’t rush yet, take a picture for our family album.
-I’ve already finished eating and I have to go to the office. When Albina wakes up later, remember to make her breakfast. Some fruits should be eaten in moderation, especially apricots!
He felt almost a little shy, but patiently admonished Olivia.
Albina was especially fond of sour fruit since she was pregnant, especially apricots, but such fruit should not be eaten in excess and could easily damage her body.
Olivia looked at her.
-It’s okay, it’s okay, we know everything.
Although she herself loved Albina and treated her as her own daughter, it was rather bitter for her to see her son being so tireless and patient.
In all her life, her son had never cared so much about her.
Umberto rubbed his nose, a little uncomfortably, and left.
Sergio watched his back, a fond smile in his eyes.
The little boy who liked to keep his face tense, withdrawn and distant had grown up and had a certain desire to protect the most important person in his life.
His wife’s face flashed through his mind and his eyes welled up with sadness.
“Oh, my dear, you left too soon to see our Umberto and his beloved little girl.”
Sergio, slightly dejected, left the silverware in his hands and walked slowly to his room on his crutches.
He missed his wife, and very much…..
Daniel and Olivia looked at Sergio’s lone figure and sighed.
-Did Dad think about Mom again? -Olivia took Daniel’s hand, looking dejected.
When she hadn’t married into the Santangel family, she had seen firsthand how Sergio had spoiled his wife, just as Umberto had.
Seeing how Sergio and his wife got along, Olivia decided to marry Daniel despite all odds.
She thought that with parents who had such a good relationship to teach her, her son would be no worse off.
As it turned out, she made the right decision, as Daniel had loved her for years, rarely got angry at her and always spoiled her.
Only later, when she was about to go astray, when she was poorly raised, when she suffered at Yolanda’s hands, did he hold back.
Olivia leaned on her chin, looked at the man beside her and sighed.
-Why is everyone else’s love sensational and mine is so bland?
When she and Daniel were together, they only encountered small obstacles, and then everything was smooth and uneventful.
Daniel was not a great man, but he was very correct in his relationships with men and women and treated her well.
Sergio and his wife’s relationship grew through the difficulties, and Umberto and Albina went through all kinds of trials and tribulations with a bang.
Hearing his wife’s words, Daniel looked at her.
-What, you want to experience an abusive relationship too?
Olivia stared into his feignedly wicked and wild eyes and suddenly shuddered.
-Forget it, it’s okay to be mediocre?
Umberto drove all the way to the office, circling purposefully for a little while longer before entering the company.
As he entered, he smiled at the receptionist.
The smile startled the receptionist.
Mr. Santangel never liked to smile in the office, and the sudden smile made her feel creepy.
-Mr. Santangel, you’re in a good mood today, is something good happening?
Umberto’s eyes lit up as he waited for her to say this, and with a natural movement he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.
-Nothing good. It’s pretty hot today and everyone’s been working hard, so you can order afternoon tea for everyone.
The glossy paper, held in his hand, fanned slowly and deliberately, and the receptionist, stupid though she was, could already see Mr. Santangel’s intentions.
She laughed twice, pretending to be surprised by the sudden discovery, and said:
-Wow, Mr. Santangel, do you have a marriage certificate in your hand? Have you and your wife been a legal couple?
The corners of Umberto’s mouth curved into a smile as he pretended to remember that he had just found out, and he looked down in surprise at the marriage certificate in his hand.
-Oh, I made a mistake by accident, but now that you’ve seen it, I won’t hide it. Yes, I just got married yesterday, how about this? In addition to afternoon tea, you can order more cakes and sweets and give one to everyone in the company, consider it my wedding sweet.
The corners of the receptionist’s mouth twitched, but she was still happy to take the afternoon tea and cakes and sweets, and nodded in despair.
-Yes, thank you Mr. Santangel, I wish you and your wife a lifetime of happiness.
Umberto suddenly felt that this receptionist was very nice, or so his heart told him.
He laughed involuntarily.
-Thank you, go collect your prize.
-Thank you, Mr. Santangel! -said the receptionist, her voice clear and full of joy.
Seeing Umberto leave, she hurried to post the news on the company’s group, which exploded instantly.
Umberto stepped into the elevator and saw the message in the group, with a triumphant gleam in his eye.
He had deliberately shown it to the receptionist, who was the company’s famous loudspeaker, and if she knew, the whole company knew.
At the morning meeting, Umberto and Ruben entered the meeting room and he also pretended to take it out of his pockets, only to accidentally drop the paper.
Ruben’s mouth twitched behind him.
Why hadn’t he realized earlier that his boss was a braggart?