Micaela looks at Alba with some surprise, even more joy and excitement….
She knew, of course, that Alba valued her and that she herself felt the same way about her…..
Alba recalls those somewhat distant memories and continues.
-I thought it was strange too, how my feelings for him came so suddenly, when I hadn’t even gotten along, where did that good feeling come from?
It wasn’t until I got over my face blindness and out of that emotional loop that I woke up to the fact that I was really just longing for love, for someone who would love me as much as Carlos loves you….
I would have gone through a process of forgetting if I had really fallen in love with him, but the truth is that person was Ernesto.
Micaela reached out and hugged Alba, overcome with emotion and with her voice a little breathy.
-Alba, I’m sorry, you must have also struggled and suffered when you didn’t know about this, when you still thought you were really in love with the same man I was, but I didn’t know anything, I’m sorry…..
Alba also hugged Micaela and laughed.
-Micaela, what’s there to apologize for? Good thing you didn’t know at the time, otherwise I would really be ashamed of myself and I would have made us both suffer, besides, it only hurt for a while, and then, didn’t I have Ernesto?
And if you hadn’t gotten together with Carlos, Ernesto and I probably wouldn’t have crossed paths, so I have to thank you for indirectly playing matchmaker for us?
Alba’s face was beaming with satisfaction when the hidden door beside her burst open and Ernesto stepped out, full of excitement. Micaela hurriedly let go of Alba and Ernesto immediately pulled her into his arms.
-Little bastard, why didn’t you tell me this before…?
Ernesto’s heart filled with surprise, it turned out that Alba had never been in love with Carlos, the little bastard’s heart had always been his alone, it was so joyful and satisfying that he couldn’t wait to take her in his arms and spin her around in her place….
Alba gave him a deliberately expressionless look at his joy.
-Don’t let you get away with this!
-I’m so proud of myself, my tail is soaring in the air, Alba is mine intact!
Seeing his sweetness, Micaela felt sincerely comforted and satisfied. It turned out that Ernesto had also long known of Alba’s feelings for Carlos, but still insisted on being with her, pampering her, guarding her, and finally getting what he wanted….
Micaela remembered something and asked curiously:
-Alba, how did you know that I knew about this?
My me back then was trapped in that basement and I knew that Alba and she were in love with the same man, or so Natalia told herself….
Alba simply explained:
-The conversation you had with Natalia after Natalia took you, trapped in that basement, and the images recorded on Carlos’ car recorder of Carlos chasing the car he thought was taking you and jumping into the sea, all recorded on a flash drive, a clear record of everything that happened, which Diego gave us.
So that’s what happened….
Halfway through, Micaela, even more puzzled, asked again:
-So, who prepared this USB flash drive? It was definitely deliberately prepared from the beginning.
This had not occurred to Alba, who was looking at Ernesto next to her.
Ernesto nodded with a slight frown and answered:
-He is Carlos’ grandfather. We all thought you were dead when we read the contents of the flash drive….
Victor had known for some time, through Elsa, Moises’ mother, that Carlos could not come to Salamonsa and that you could not leave Salamonsa.
He and his uncle wanted us all to hide it from Carlos so that he would really think that you had never been in his world, and the pendrive was to make it clear to all of us what really happened that day…
Micaela and Alba are silent…
Ernesto also sighs and concludes:
-After all, they all care about Carlos and don’t want anything to happen to him, just in the wrong way.
The door on the other side suddenly opened and Carlos, thinking the girl was still downstairs chatting, was about to go and get her when he saw the three of them standing in the doorway and walked over, naturally reaching out to put his arm around the girl’s shoulders and saying in a weird joking voice:
-Where is the meeting here?
Ernesto nodded with a fierce look.
-Yes, a general meeting about you, you’re late and the meeting is over.
Alba pulled herself together and looked at Micaela.
-Micaela good night.
Micaela waved back:
-Good night.
The two men smiled at each other and then went back to their rooms.
Carlos ushered Micaela into the room and turned to close the door behind him.
Micaela looked first at Mike’s crib and sure enough, her son was sleeping.
Turning around, she threw herself directly into Carlos’ arms, her little arms around his waist, her emotions very mixed, her mind was all over what Alba and Ernesto had said earlier saying….
Carlos naturally likes the girl’s proximity, wrapping his arms around her and silently experiencing the beauty of cuddling….
Micaela’s cheek against Carlos’ chest, he’s showered, in his pajamas, the familiar, fresh smell of shower gel mixed with the smell of….
-Carlos…
-Hmm?
-You really knew how Alba felt about you at the time, didn’t you? That’s why you asked me that night:
-What would I do if Alba fell in love with you?
Were you afraid that I would give Alba to you because I valued her?
Carlos guessed what they had just discussed and grabbed the girl’s chin, making her look up at him, and said domineeringly.
-I didn’t ask you because I was afraid you’d give me to her, I asked you not to even think about it! Besides, would I do what you would let me? You have my heart, and no one can take it from me; not even you can take it from me; it will only be in you.
There was probably another moment when he also wondered who was more important in the girl’s heart, himself or Alba?
Micaela’s heart skipped a beat, it swelled with emotion when she looked into his deep eyes and said anxiously.
-I want it, who says I don’t want it!
Carlos smiled with satisfaction, grabbed her around the waist and headed for the bathroom.
-I just bathed Mike, now it’s your turn.
The woman, suddenly blushing, put her hand on his neck, looked at his handsome side and asked, “Aren’t you curious about what I’m doing?
-Aren’t you curious about what we just talked about out there?
Carlos left the girl sitting on the sink and reached up to unzip her short, wide jacket, his voice a few shades darker.
-I’m not interested.
After a pause, he adds:
-More interested in giving you a bath.
The woman grew redder and redder, grabbed his large hand, bit her lip and asked, “Carlos, aren’t you going to report back?
-Carlos, aren’t you going to inform Grandfather and Mrs. Matthew of our marriage?
In fact they must already know that Carlos has been in Salamonsa for so long and is also in contact with Tomas?
After a pause, she threw her arms around his neck, looked at him and whispered:
-You know all the reasoning, they did so much, they just don’t want you to abandon them, I also know that you also value them, things have reached this point, they must also repent, in the end they are all family….
Carlos looked at the girl in front of him, with her thin upturned lips, looking at Micaela once again indisputably blushing, not knowing what to say, biting his lips, slightly lowering his head and rubbing his eyes….
Looking at the shy girl, Carlos felt his heart melt as he approached her and gave her a kiss on the lips, whispering to her:
-Micaela, with such soft words from you to persuade me, I don’t mind any hatred? -Micaela was so busy with her heart beating like a drum that she didn’t hear him for a moment and looked at him….
-What did you say…
Carlos caressed her cheek with one hand, with a slight smile in his eyes.
-I hope that they and I can reconnect and not be separated by you, and that our wedding, with their approval and blessing, will be….
The tender love in his eyes and the action of kissing made Micaela’s brain go on strike and it was a long time before she gave a muffled bass….
-I’ll tell you the answer after I bathe.
Then she took off her coat…..
The woman, however, was delighted, having guessed Charles’s answer, and half reacting to his movement, grabbed his big hand, knowing, implicitly, that it was something more than a bath, and asked weakly:
-Can I refuse, er, I mean, I’ll take a shower?
Carlos raised an eyebrow, looked at her, leaned closer, and his muffled voice sounded in her ear:
-What do you think?
Yes, not once did she manage to refuse, biting her lip and burying her face in his arms….
Forget it, let it be…