The two turned around and walked back the way they had come before, and as they reached the car, they saw two men who looked like bodyguards guarding it.
Allyce and Severo had brought no bodyguards with them when they arrived.
So these two bodyguards could only belong to Adam.
He turned his head to look at Severo.
Severo still looked placid, not at all alarmed.
One of the bodyguards was the first to speak: “Mr Betances, Mrs Betances…”.
Probably because Allyce and Severo were from Z, spoke English and were educated.
Severo looked at the bodyguard with an expressionless expression: “Where is Adam?
“Señor Betances”.
At that moment a male voice suddenly came from behind the two bodyguards.
The voice came from the same Adam they had just been talking about.
“Long time no see.” Adan approached with just the right smile on his face, his whole body carrying the same grace and ease that Allyce had when she first met him.
For a moment, Allyce was in a trance, not knowing whether she was standing before her uncle Desiderio, her blood relative, or Adam, the man who had an important role in Grizzi.
But it was only for a moment.
I hadn’t seen the real Desiderio, so I didn’t know what kind of person he was.
There was only one Adam in front of her.
Adam, and his men, behaved kindly, as if they were friends they had not seen for a long time.
“I’ve been very busy lately, so even though I knew you were in J, I haven’t had time to have lunch with you.”
The smile on Adam’s face continued and he turned his attention to Allyce.
“Thank you Mr. Natividad for remembering me”. Severo said this coldly and led Allyce back to the car.
Adam and his two bodyguards stood aside, as if they had no intention of embarrassing Severo and Allyce from the start.
Allyce looked through the car window at Adam, standing by the roadside, as he got into the car.
His face was still smiling and his eyes fell on the passenger seat where Allyce was sitting.
There was no sign of sadness or happiness in his expression, let alone sincerity.
Allyce returned to her thoughts.
“There is no need to think so much. Severo, who was concentrating on driving, spoke coldly.
Allyce’s thoughts were withdrawn.
He looked at Severo, whose face was as calm as the smile Adam had been wearing, giving no hint of emotion.
“You know what I was thinking?” Allyce frowned slightly, appraising Severo.
He had a strong feeling that Severo was hiding something very important from him.
Severus asked rhetorically: “What don’t I know about you?
Allyce said no more, the days in J were quiet on the surface, but in reality they were far from comfortable.
And Severo was always like that, without saying anything to him, and his mood inevitably became a little sombre.
…
The next morning, Severo went to work, and received a call from Gabrio from behind.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, I haven’t had much of an appetite lately, and I was wondering if I’d get a chance to eat with you. Gabrio’s voice was as warm as ever, with a hint of a smile.
Allyce smiled back, though she found Gabrio’s comment inexplicable: “If you were in J, lunch would be an easy thing to do.
“Then it’s a deal, we’ll have lunch together at noon”. Gabrio said and simply hung up the phone.
Allyce shouted into the phone: “Hello?
And all he heard was a busy tone on the other end of the line.
Why did you hang up?
Oh yes, Gabrio had just said that we would have lunch together at noon.
Allyce’s eyes widened as she thought of something.
Gabrio was to come to J.
He hastened to call Gabrio back.
The phone only rang once before Gabrio answered.
There was a faint smile in his voice: “What’s wrong?”
Allyce asked sharply: “Gabrio, are you here in J?
Gabrio did not mince his words with her and gave her an affirmative answer: “Yes”.
Allyce and Gabrio finalised a meeting place and hung up the phone.
She was glad Gabrio came, as Severo and the others were busy and she had no friends here.
…
The international airport of J.
Gabrio hung up the phone and saw Delfina staring at him.
He frowned imperceptibly and before he could say anything, Delfina had already averted her gaze to look away. “Are you on the phone with Allyce?
She had never seen him so tender with anyone but Allyce.
“Your brother is on his way to pick you up, so we’ll split up here. There was a note of urgency in Gabrio’s tone.
Delfina knew that the urgency in her tone was due to Allyce.
Gabrio seemed to be kind to everyone, but Delfina knew that because he was kind to everyone, there seemed to be a barrier between them, a sense of estrangement.
Allyce seemed to be the only exception in their eyes …
Delfina involuntarily clenched her hands, pursed her lips and released them a moment later with a hint of stubbornness in her expression, “Why don’t you come and stay at my place, my brother has already prepared a place for me to stay, you …”
Gabrio interrupted her: “Thank you, I appreciate your kindness, I have an appointment at noon, I’m leaving.
His tone remained polite and rusty, and with that he pulled his suitcase to the other side.
Delfina bit her lip and reluctantly went after him again: “What if something happens to my health again? If you live in my house, if anything else happens to my health, with you there, I’ll ….”
“How many more times do I have to remind you? Your body has no problem if you take good care of it, unless you don’t want to live anymore and have to torment yourself, that’s not even a problem.”
Gabrio’s face became serious and his tone a little stern.
Delfina’s words stuck in her throat, her eyes glistened with water, but she couldn’t get a word out.
Gabrio, however, had already turned and walked away, his hurried steps showing how anxious he was.
Delfina stood in place, resentment shining in her eyes.
What was so good about Allyce that she had married and had children and yet Gabrio was still in love with her?
Was she less than Allyce?
He had been in poor health before, but now he had no major health problems and could live for decades more as a human being without incident.
Most importantly, he loves Gabrio with all his heart.
He had not even looked at her more than once … He did not have her in his eyes!
“Delfina!”
Someone behind her called out to her and she jerked her head to see Adam coming her way, the indignation in her eyes faded in an instant and a smile broke out on her face, “Brother”.