Alfredo looked at Pedro’s smile and felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Ever since Jaime returned to the Seco family with the handwritten letter, he had been worried about Jaime, trying to make it up to him in every way possible, while neglecting Pedro.
The boy was raised by him, not being close to the people of the Leoz family, and when he was sent back, he had a hard time making a place for himself in the Leoz family. All the resources for the position in the Seco family were taken by Jaime, and he must have suffered a lot being alone in the middle of the gap.
Even so, Pedro did not hold a grudge against Alfredo and always loved him as a grandfather.
And Jaime, who enjoyed so much of the Seco family’s resources and their unconditional support and affection, wanted to poison him over a small piece of property.
“That man was really bad from the root.”
Alfredo thought, with a murderous look in his eyes, and after a long moment, he patted the back of Pedro’s hand.
-I won’t treat you badly.
He owed Peter and Matthew a lot and will love them for the rest of his life.
Peter’s long-standing grievances surfaced forcefully, and he looked away regretfully for a long moment before calming his emotions.
-You don’t have to say that, I did it all of my own free will.
When he finished, he noticed that Alfredo had something to say to Mateo and excused himself:
-I’m going to leave the room first, I’m afraid Jaime’s people are going to get suspicious if I stay here too long.
Alfredo nodded to him and watched Pedro leave.
Only when he left, Alfredo looked at Mateo and said carefully:
-Mateo, I want to give Pedro part of the shares of Grupo Seco, what do you think..?
Mateo did not expect him to say this and a smile appeared on his lips.
-You decide for yourself, the Grupo Seco itself is what you have built, so you can give it to whoever you want, you don’t have to ask me.
If I had coveted ownership of the Dry Group, I wouldn’t have delayed his return for so many years.
Alfredo was relieved to see that it didn’t look like he was faking it, and he was getting happier and happier with Mateo.
This grandson of his was not shallow and would not cling to that little property, unlike Jaime, who had lost even his conscience over it.
-When I get Jaime out, I’ll pick you up and be sure to announce you to everyone.
Mateo was indifferent, but seeing Alfredo’s enthusiasm, he didn’t object.
He saw the small vial in Secretary Diaz’s hand and hesitated, asking the question he had asked before:
-Did you know Jaime was going to drug you and you just played along? -What’s with that vial?
Alfredo followed his gaze and saw the small bottle of pills in Secretary Diaz’s hand and let out a laugh.
-To pretend to be sick and hide it from most people, grandpa took some medicine, fell into a coma and woke up when he smelled the special aroma of the bottle. You don’t have to worry, that Jaime kid didn’t notice anything unusual and I successfully faked it.
Mateo sniffed and frowned.
-Is that going to do any harm to your body?
Without waiting for Mateo’s concern, Alfredo ironized:
-More or less, but it won’t be a problem.
His goal was to get Jaime to reveal himself, to force him to expose all the contacts he had accumulated in the shadows and the nails he had planted in the company over the years, and for another important purpose, to attract Mateo.
As long as he was sick, if Mateo thought of him as a grandfather and cared about him, he would come to see him in the hospital.
Alfredo had all these preparations in place and was waiting for someone to come to his door, as he did, when Mateo arrived.
Mateo’s eyes widened and he shook his head disapprovingly.
-You can’t joke about your body in the future either, Jaime is not more important than your body.
Alfredo’s mouth curved into a smile, he was not angry at being lectured by his grandson, but very happy.
-Yes, I’ll listen to you and I won’t do it again,” he said, nodding obediently.
Mateo was then satisfied.
For a moment, the room was silent.
It was Alfredo who broke the silence, his weathered eyes looking at Mateo as he spoke softly:
-Mateo, can you call me “grandfather”? I was in a coma, so I didn’t hear you.
Mateo ducked his head and pursed his lips.
He looked like he was in denial, Alfredo thought he might not be able to speak for a while, so he quickly snorted and rambled on:
-It’s okay, you just got back and you’re not familiar with Grandpa yet. I’ll wait until…
-Grandpa! -a deep voice sounded in the room.
Secretary Diaz looked at the old man with a smile on his face.
Alfredo also reacted from his daze, with slightly reddened eyes, and looked at Mateo’s face.
-Very good! -he answered excitedly.
He had been waiting for this cry for a long time.
How wonderful it would be if Luis was still alive and the family was well!
Mateo left the room silently, escorted by Secretary Diaz, and Jaime’s men did not notice anything unusual, but were completely relieved when they peeked out just in case, when the nurse entered the room in the early morning, and Alfredo was still unconscious.
Alfredo asked Secretary Diaz to greet the Santangel family, whose people were waiting in front of the hospital, greeted Mateo and took him directly to the Santangel family.
It was almost dawn and the Santangel family was still sleeping. Mateo went back to the guest room where he was staying and tried to get some sleep to refresh himself, but could not.
The atmosphere was emotional and warm, like a warm current flowing through his heart and veins, a feeling he hadn’t experienced in years.
After tossing and turning in bed until it got a little light, he half dozed off and simply got up and went to the courtyard.
The Santangel family’s yard was full of greenery and oxygen, and you could smell the grass and flowers first thing in the morning, which made you feel relaxed.
Mateo stretched and twitched twice when he heard footsteps behind him.
Thinking it was the servants, he turned his head and discovered it was Umberto and Albina.
The two looked very nice together in their sporty couple’s clothes. A handsome man and a beautiful woman.
Umberto was in front, in a good mood, with a handsome, cool face, and behind him, Albina was still in a daze, as if she hadn’t woken up, with the dull hairs on her head standing on end, and looking pretty and tender.
-Are you going out for a run in the morning?
Mateo spoke to Umberto, but his eyes were on Albina.
Umberto’s wrist shook her so much that Mateo wanted to give her a hand.
Umberto, aware of his gaze, discreetly stood in front of Albina and explained in an indifferent voice:
-Albina is not well and I take her out for a walk to strengthen her body.
Since then, Umberto had asked his doctor for an exercise chart and exercised regularly every day.
But Albina was sleepy after her pregnancy, didn’t like to exercise and was even lazier, so Umberto had to drag her out of the house half dragged, half carried.
Today was no different.
Albina staggered halfway through the door and finally came back to her senses a little, realizing that she had been carried out into the courtyard by Umberto. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Mateo’s figure, and she pondered for a moment before remembering who this man was.
She tilted her head towards Mateo, noting the slight smile on his lips, and suddenly let out an “Oops” that attracted the attention of both men.