Carlos did not insist, the woman had taken care of explaining it to him:
-We ran into Lluvia at the Ciudad Pesla mom and pop store and then we went to sit in the coffee shop that time and I told her a little bit about what Nilson had done to us and she had a calm look on her face and texted me later in the evening saying that she had actually been quite touched by Nilson like that, remember?
Carlos emitted a faint yes….
Of course he remembered, and the girl showed him that text message. Lluvia said she was touched by Nilson’s unwavering love for the girl despite knowing she was pregnant by another, and added that that was why it was justifiable for Nilson to do those abominable acts to her….
Micaela leaned her back against the back of the bed and tilted her head slightly, looking up at the ceiling in relation to the dim lamp on the bedside table.
-I guess Lluvia must have hated Nilson after that night and recognized him by the sound of his voice when she received a call from him after that, asking about my pregnancy….
By then Lluvia must have already known she was pregnant, while Nilson had no idea that the woman on the other end of the line was pregnant by him….
Nilson called Lluvia every month, and Lluvia grew fond of him and was probably touched by his persistence…..
There was silence on the other end of the line and Micaela wondered if there was no signal, put the phone in front of her eyes to look at it and heard Carlos’ voice on the line:
-Micaela, if you keep mentioning Mr. Nilson, I’m going to get jealous!
Well, right now it’s Mr. Nilson….
This childish man!
Micaela was crying and laughing, but her heart was full of sweetness, and her tone was unconsciously pampered.
-Sweetheart, you mentioned it to me yourself!
The word Honey made Carlos’ heart soften, so that he could suppress his jealousy at the girl’s mouthful of other men and ask the question he wanted to ask:
-So, if you like Nilson, why did you turn him down? Wouldn’t it have been easy to be ‘Mrs. Shaw’ with Estela as a medium?
Micaela grunted in amusement that Carlos, a very intelligent man, would ask such a cheap question.
-It’s because I like her that I don’t want her approaching her thinking about Estela, ah, she needs an emotional response, not to be with her because of the baby.
Carlos was silent for a long time and then said with great assurance:
-Micaela, you are right, absolutely.
Carlos was so sure, on the other hand, that Micaela had a moment of uncertainty and asked unconsciously:
-Why?
Carlos answered without hesitation:
-If you were with me for Mike, I would go crazy. I love you, pure, with hot emotions for me, not for anything else.
Instantly, Micaela’s heart beat incredibly fast, and a hand caressed her little face….
This man confesses his love at the drop of a hat and still has such touching words….
Micaela suddenly felt that being apart was not so terrible, that a single call could make her feel the same sense of love and security that Carlos felt for her….
In the middle of the day, anxious, he said:
-Carlos, don’t tell Nilson that Estela is his daughter, don’t let Lluvia’s hopes fade. She said she lied to us about Estela being a test tube baby because she didn’t want us to know the truth and to go tell Nilson that she was totally determined, that if Nilson wanted Estela, he would first have to fall in love with her wholeheartedly, that the starting point would have to be her, not Estela, and that was what she wanted, a man with eyes full of her….
There was no sound on the other end of the line for a few more moments, and Micaela was about to think there was no signal when Carlos’ voice rang:
-Girl, aren’t you mad at her for cheating on you? For not trusting you?
Micaela smoothed back the long hair next to her cheeks behind her ears and said matter-of-factly:
-Everybody has secrets they don’t want to tell, and besides, what do you want me to say, that she has her heart set on the man who forced her?
We are good friends and it’s hard for her to hide it from me, and I wouldn’t deserve to be her best friend if I didn’t understand her.
Micaela’s tone became a little firmer:
-And, I’m sure she’ll come forward and tell me the truth before Nilson knows Estela is his daughter.
For a while, Carlos’ deep voice reached her ears:
-Micaela, you are really a treasure to me.
…
At this moment, Lluvia’s house is brightly lit and she is sitting on the sofa in the living room, legs crossed and arms around her chest, looking at Nilson who walks with Estela in his arms, putting her to bed, very panting.
She lifted her wrist to check the time, it was good, 10 pm.
The man had waited for her at the door early in the morning, and then had stayed here all day, volunteering to cook in the kitchen at lunchtime and in the evening….
Of course, there’s no denying that Mr. Nilson is a good cook, but he also knows that he practiced that skill for Moya, who was previously stuck in the mountains serving a pregnant Moya….
A bit of annoyance rose in his heart and his tone worsened:
-I said, Mr. Nilson….
Nilson looked towards him and gestured with his eyes for him to shut up, Estela was about to fall asleep….
Lluvia had to shut her mouth and, with a somewhat exasperated look at Estela in her arms, looked away….
Estela is a real backstabber and has been crying all kinds of tears at night ever since that nasty breakup here, and now, the mere fact that he’s hugging her and walking her nonchalantly is putting her to sleep….
How much she likes Estela, and how much he likes Estela….
Lluvia was engrossed in her own thoughts, remembering Nilson’s comment at Moya’s wedding, remembering the day she returned from Ciudad Pesla, on the threshold of the house, when he asked in amazement:
Rain, do you want me to like you?
At that moment, he must have guessed that she liked him and just turned away because she couldn’t answer him….
And what does he mean now by this move?
Borrowing her to forget about Moya?
Lluvia rubbed her head in annoyance, mentally telling herself that she was upset, and looked up only to find that Nilson was no longer in the living room and that her own bedroom light was on….
Rain stood up and hurried to the bedroom, somewhat exasperated.
-Mr. Nilson, how can you come into a girl’s room!
Don’t let him see those things….
Just as she was reaching the door of the room, she bumped into Nilson, who was about to leave….
Her nose’s first reaction upon hitting the hard chest was not pain, but the vaguely familiar masculine scent of him….
Rain stepped back a step and Nilson reached out and took her hand between his, leaning slightly, looking into her eyes as if with great determination, and said earnestly:
-Luvia, let’s try it together, as bride and groom?
After a pause, he added:
-For the purpose of marriage.