Not long after dinner, Juliet Sarinana excused herself to leave.
“I have an appointment with a patient for counseling at my clinic, so I’m leaving now.”
Estrella Berrocal stood up and smiled slightly at him, “I won’t keep Dr. Julieta then, I know Dr. Julieta is busy with her work and doesn’t have to come to our house on purpose.”
No need to be deliberate …
This statement made Juliet Sarinana’s eyes twitch.
Julieta Sarinana’s face paled slightly, her usual calmness disturbed by Estrella Berrocal’s provocative and pointed comments.
When Julieta Sarinana left the villa, Adán Rouco followed her.
Estrella Berrocal looked through the huge floor-to-ceiling window and saw the two men talking in the courtyard.
Julieta Sarinana’s face was embarrassed and Adán Rouco’s was cold and sullen, it did not seem, from the looks of it, that they were having a pleasant conversation.
…
The courtyard.
Adán Rouco said, “Don’t appear in front of Estrella again, she doesn’t like you.”
Julieta Sarinana’s eyes soured a little and she looked mockingly at Adán Rouco: “She doesn’t like me, so I can’t appear in front of her…. Adam Rouco, I am your friend, have you forgotten who was really by your side when you were suffering from depression?”
All along, he had given her more than Estrella Berrocal, but why did Estrella Berrocal steal from Adán Rouco without any effort?
The man’s face, flat and cold, “is it because I consider you a friend and you are bent on keeping my wife away from me, Juliet Sarinana, is that what you call a friend?”
“Adam… you, what do you mean?”
“You did the paternity report on Uncle Er and Estrella, didn’t you?”.
Juliet Sarinana’s heart stuttered, “You knew everything?”.
“Juliet Sarinana, you are too deep in your thoughts.”
Profound? Who was he, Adán Rouco, to say that someone else had a profound mind?
Julieta Sarinana laughed coldly, “I have a deep heart and I’m trying to get you back, what’s wrong with me, what’s wrong with me, do all you men like Estrella Berrocal? Yes, she’s nice, she’s white as a sheet, she doesn’t know how to do tricks, she just cuddles and cries, Adán Rouco thought you were different from other men, but why do even you like women like that?”
Adam Rouco’s brow furrowed, he never imagined that the resentment in Juliet Sarinana’s heart could be so deep, “Juliet Sarinana, you are too stressful.”
“Is it just because of that? I’ve always wanted to ask what exactly it is that makes me worse than Estrella Berrocal, so please tell me honestly and stop stringing me along with all those grandiloquent excuses.”
Juliet Sarinana pressed her palms together and stared at him for a moment.
Only after a long moment did Adán Rouco say: “I don’t like strong women”.
“…”
Julieta Sarinana froze.
I had thought of all the reasons that Adán Rouco could give, but I had never thought that Adán Rouco would dismiss it with such a simple reason.
He does not like strong women…
“But with you I can be a little woman, Adam, you never wanted to meet me, why include me in the impossible category all of a sudden?”.
Adán Rouco’s dark eyes deepened: “Maybe I’m just willing to give Estrella Berrocal a chance to come into my life, that’s the reason you want me to”.
Adán Rouco turned around and dialed a phone.
Estrella Berrocal, who was sitting in the living room when she received the call, said to Paulita, “Paulita, I’m going out to help your father, so you can play by yourself for a while.”
“Estrella, go on, and please be careful not to let Dad get hurt.”
Estrella Berrocal put down the phone and walked to the patio, looking at Julieta Sarinana, who was still in her seat, as she approached Adán Rouco.
“Doesn’t Dr. Julieta have a patient to see?”.
Juliet Sarinana grabbed the keys to her car, biting her lips pale as she walked briskly to the car in her high heels and without looking back.
Once in the car, he looked out the window at Adán Rouco and Estrella Berrocal.
Estrella Berrocal smiled sweetly at Adán Rouco, and the image was especially harsh.
Julieta Sarinana grabbed the steering wheel, swallowed saliva, her eyes aching, and finally started the car and drove out of La Villa Rouco.
The car left the courtyard before Estrella Berrocal took Adán Rouco by the arm and headed home.
“What were you saying to Juliet Sarinana, for so long?”.
She asks nonchalantly, but Adán Rouco catches the jealousy in her words.
Adán Rouco says playfully: “To arrange relations that will not be necessary in the future”.
Estrella Berrocal said “Oh,” pretending not to care, but gripping his arm tighter and with a soft smile on her lips.
The feeling of having one less competitor to love … , this feels so good.
…
After settling Paulita, Adán Rouco and Estrella Berrocal went to the bedroom.
After the shower, Adán Rouco half lay down on the bed and Estrella Berrocal did not go near him.
“Are you still not coming to bed?”
Estrella Berrocal was standing in front of the mirror, looking at her face.
The scar on his face seemed to be something visible, he had been taking care of Adam Rouco the last few days and had not thought about it, but today Juliet Sarinana had mentioned it to him and he had to face it.
The scar was enough to make him stand next to Adán Rouco and look very incongruous.
The scar had peeled off and scabbed over, but the mark was still visible and Estrella Berrocal, after applying a lot of skin care products, looked at it and thought it was still a bit unsightly.
“Adam, isn’t that scar on your face very ugly?”.
Adán Rouco, who was leaning on the bed, was slightly stunned: “Even if you are an ugly person now, I can’t see it”.
“…”
Estrella Berrocal rushed over to the bed in her pajamas and ran her hand over her face. “I don’t know if this scar will go away either. I’ll have to go to the hospital tomorrow and ask the doctor.”
Adán Rouco raised an eyebrow: “Didn’t you tell Julieta Sarinana that you didn’t care?”.
Estrella Berrocal gave him a sidelong glance, “That’s just for her, who likes to have a scar on their face all the time, it’s very unsightly.”
Adán Rouco put his arm around her, kissed her temple and said in a muffled voice, “Don’t worry, Esteban Zaragosa must have a solution.”
“Ah, yes, Dr. Esteban went to Italy on a business trip and I don’t know if he’s back yet.”
“How do you know he’s gone to Italy on a business trip?”
“He sent me a WhatsApp when I was in Flumrosa, telling me that there was a cure for your multiple personalities. By the way, Adam, could your multiple personality be cured by now?”.
“Well, I had a feeling that Jerold Rouco was much weaker after Lorenzo Rouco left. This time I got hit in the head, but Jerold Rouco didn’t show up, so maybe he’s disappeared.”
“That’s good.”
Estrella Berrocal put her hand to her neck, rubbed against his arms and asked, “Adam, if I’m really disfigured, do you still love me?”
“Mrs. Rouco, Mr. Adam is blind now, is it appropriate for me to ask this?”
“…”
The corner of Estrella Berrocal’s mouth twitched.
Adán Rouco held her little head: “Come on, don’t get carried away, the ugly one is married too”.
Estrella Berrocal’s heart was sweetened and she tilted her head to kiss him on the chin.
“Suddenly I’m a little glad now that you can’t see, so you can’t see how ugly I am and at the same time how beautiful other women are.”
Adán Rouco picked up the blankets and nodded: “It makes sense, what is not seen is not thought”.
“…”