The old man raised his cane, struck heavily at his talkative sons and daughters-in-law and scolded furiously:
-Shut up, all of you get out of here!
Instantly, the room went into an uproar.
Micaela was stunned.
“Salamonsa? Carlos’ mother is from Salamonsa? No wonder I’m familiar with her picture – did I ever meet her in Salamonsa when I was a child?”
Carlos was no less surprised than Micaela, and many doubts arose in his mind, but his first concern was still his Mica, and he quickly took her in his arms.
His mother was from Salamonsa and his Mica was also originally from Salamonsa, so there was no way he could allow the two most important women in his life to be insulted like this!
He looked at his uncles with an extremely indifferent look and warned them:
-Uncle Barcelo, Uncle Ramon, please, have respect for my deceased mother!
Tomas also said in exasperation:
-Yes, be careful what you say! My mother was always my virtuous and decent wife, I won’t allow you to humiliate her reputation!
That was what Carlos was trying to say.
The two brothers were still underage when their mother died, but they knew very well that their own mother was a gentle, kind and generous person, and that she could not be the kind of person their uncles were describing.
Barcelo became angry at the attitude of the two brothers and scoffed:
-Carlos, I am your uncle! With what attitude are you talking to me? We still don’t know if you are Fernando’s son or not, maybe your biological father is some barbarian that your mother had seduced!
Before Tomas and the old man could defend Carlos, Micaela stepped forward, shielded Carlos behind her, and looked fiercely with her clear eyes at Barcelo and said in a stern voice.
-Mr. Barcelo, I do not allow you to humiliate Carlos like this! You are the eldest and come from a noble family, therefore, you must be very cultured and have a very good education. But how can you speak so rudely to your nephew? It doesn’t matter what Carlos’ origin is, since Mr. Matthew treats him as his own son and Grandpa treats him as his own grandson, then he is a member of the Aguayo family! In addition, Carlos is much more outstanding compared to his children. If it hadn’t been for Carlos’ help in the crisis last year, how would you still be able to live here so comfortably?
At Micaela’s justified words, Barcelo, Ramon, and their respective wives were speechless, not knowing how to refute for a moment. Especially Paco and Mauricio were so embarrassed that they lowered their heads.
Carlos was so moved by the woman’s bravery in defending him that the hostility and anger vanished instantly.
How could he not be attracted to such a woman?
The old man shot an appreciative glance at Micaela. He liked this pure girl more and more, but she had a very complicated mood. Behind the luxury and nobility of her family, there was so much dirtiness that it was embarrassing for the old man to look into Micaela’s clear eyes.
-Barcelo, Ramon, go out first,” the old man commanded.
They were so ashamed and humiliated after hearing Micaela’s words that they did not want to stay there any longer and they all left.
Carlos, Tomas, Micaela, Bianca, the old man and Matthew, who was lying on the hospital bed, were the only ones left in the room.
The old man looked at his son lying on the bed and many old memories came to his mind. At the thought that the secret he had been trying to hide was revealed, he became somewhat annoyed and said indignantly:
-That Salamonsa woman is a disgrace to my family!
Because of that woman, his second son and his youngest son turned against each other and finally the latter broke the father-son relationship with him and left the Aguayo family!
-Grandfather, it wasn’t my mother’s fault! -shouted Tomas.
Until they became adults, the two brothers then learned that Barcelo and Ramon coveted their mother’s beauty. To avoid unnecessary hassle, their parents moved out of the old village and lived alone. As teenagers, Carlos and Tomas even quarreled violently with their grandfather because the old man always put all the blame on their mother. In one of the fiercest fights, Tomas even left home so that the grandfather would stop blaming his mother.
However, in the end nothing changed and his mother was forced to take poison under pressure from the old man and died.
Carlos left Salamentro and went to Teladia because he could not get out of the shadow of his mother’s death for years.
The emotions that the old man had been repressing for years burst out at this moment:
-Yes, it’s not your mother’s fault, it’s her extraordinary beauty that’s to blame! Beauty is always the source of all evil. Your mother did nothing, and her beautiful face already made them all lose their souls, and made my Ferdinand die on the way abroad!
Everyone was very surprised to hear the grandfather say that his youngest son had already died.
The old man, with an anguished face, murmured with a trembling voice:
-It’s all your mother’s fault. It was because of her that my dear son died. And the most outrageous thing is that my favorite Carlos….
Without finishing his sentence, Grandpa stopped abruptly.
Everyone fell silent, not daring to utter a sound.
Carlos naturally knew what his grandfather meant.
When the old man would not allow him to donate blood for Matthew, he had already vaguely guessed it, but now, hearing that he said it personally, he found it quite hard to accept such a cruel truth.
It was an oversight on his part. He had never thought of the possibility, had it not been for his father’s accident today, he would probably never suspect his origin
“Is it because of my illegitimate origin that made grandfather take issue with my mother? Grandfather loves me so much and has raised me as the successor of the Aguayo Group. Anyone could imagine how angry he was to learn that I am not Matthew’s biological son.”
Thinking of his mother’s last anguished and determined look, and the way she looked at him with reluctance, Carlos felt a watery pang in his heart.
He strided up to the old man and asked in a deep voice:
-Then, am I Uncle Fernando’s son?
Micaela stepped forward and took him by the hand nervously. Seeing his pained look, she became very distressed. However, in this family conflict, she was an outsider, so she didn’t know what to say on such an occasion.
Grandfather gripped his cane tightly, closed his eyes and, after a good while, spoke angrily:
-It would be nice if you were Ferdinand’s son, but you are! That damned woman didn’t reveal who your biological father was until the last moment of her life! And Matthew protected her at all costs. His younger brother already lost his life because of this woman, but he still defended her. And now, because of her, he even has no motivation to survive. What, does he want to leave me, an old man, alone in this world?
The old man gasped as he spoke, and Bianca hurried to pour him water and calmed him by patting him on the back.
Carlos clenched his fists with all his strength, with many emotions intermingled in his heart, and Tomas remained silent without saying anything.
***
When night came, the old man returned to the villa. And Tomas, who had been wounded and had donated blood, also returned home with Bianca to rest, leaving Carlos and Micaela alone in the living room.
Carlos sat in a chair and stared at Mateo on the bed, with inscrutable eyes.
Micaela sat down next to him and took his hand. Carlos took her in his arms, her forehead pressed against his, and said:
-Mica, thank you very much.
He wouldn’t have been so calm if she hadn’t been by his side.
Micaela looked him in the eyes and said seriously:
-Don’t thank me. I want you to stop thinking too much and getting caught up in things we can’t change. Your mother’s death was not your fault. Surely, she didn’t want you to live blaming yourself. Besides, I want you to know…
Micaela stopped and lowered her head shyly, but then she gathered her courage, looked into Carlos’ deep eyes and whispered:
-I want you to know that in my heart you are the only Carlos, the one I love the most.
Carlos did blame himself, he did feel torn, but thanks to Micaela’s words, the heavy emotions that had been building up eased quite a bit.
“Mom refused to say who my father was until the last of her life. I guess she must have had her own reason. As Mica says, for things we can’t change, we have to stop getting entangled. In the universe, everything has its own destiny. As long as I have Mica by my side, sooner or later, the truth will come out…”
With that in his mind, Carlos felt much calmer, he hugged Micaela tighter and wanted to kiss her lips, but she covered his lips and said:
-Carlos, I met your mother.