Estrella Berrocal had eaten breakfast and came directly to the house next door knocking on the door.
Dulcina Calvo ran to open the door.
“Star have you eaten yet?”
Estrella Berrocal nodded, “I came to ask Dr. Esteban something.”
Esteban Zaragosa said: “Adam should not be in Rome, you don’t have to worry”.
Last night, it was Esteban Zaragosa who had been badly injured, and Estrella Berrocal was too embarrassed to ask, she had been anxious in her mind.
“And where is he now?”
“He must have gone to Dublin.”
…
Estrella Berrocal was determined to go to Ireland to look for Adán Rouco, and Dulcina Calvo wanted to accompany her, but Esteban Zaragosa was too badly wounded to leave him behind.
In the end, Estrella Berrocal went to Ireland alone.
Ireland is fairly quiet and she should be fine on her own.
…
Adán Rouco flew overnight from Dublin to Rome.
Santino Yepes called Estrella Berrocal several times, but the phone was always off.
“Boss, the woman’s phone is still off, did something happen?”.
Even Adán Rouco, who was always calm and collected, was still in a state of blank mind, as Rome had just been attacked and terrorists were still on the move.
“Contact Esteban Zaragosa immediately!”.
“Yes.”
The signal in Rome was still not good and calls were intermittent.
Santino Yepes was able to communicate with Esteban Zaragosa.
On the other hand, Esteban Zaragosa said …
“Boss, the wife flew to Dublin to see you, just a few hours ago.”
“…”
Thank goodness he’s okay.
…
It was dark when Estrella Berrocal arrived in Dublin.
It was not a warm, spring-like day in Dublin, especially on cool evenings, and Estrella Berrocal was not overly warm, and as soon as she got off the plane she wrapped her knitted jacket around her, but she still felt cold and her teeth chattered slightly.
He entered the airport lobby and repeatedly called Adán Rouco.
But the phone was always off.
I was so cold and anxious that I was on the verge of tears.
There had been no terrorist attack in Dublin, no bombing at the signal station, so why was the phone still not working?
Estrella Berrocal was alone in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, and it would be a lie to say that she was not afraid.
She sat at the airport calling for a long time until her phone ran out of battery and she decided to go to a hotel for the night and continue contacting Adán Rouco during the day.
As soon as she left the airport she was harassed by a man whistling at her.
Estrella Berrocal couldn’t switch back and forth between the Englishman and the Chinese as she dodged back and forth, but the man played a trick on her.
“Get away from me! I’ll call the police if you do that again! Get away from me!”
Estrella Berrocal panicked and shouted for help to passersby, but the men around her seemed to have no intention of helping her as an Asian.
“Let go of me! Let go of me!”
Estrella Berrocal kicked him, but he was too aggressive and was about to put her in a cab when Santino Yepes, who had just followed Adán Rouco out of the airport, saw Estrella Berrocal being harassed by a man.
“Chief, I’ve seen the lady!”.
Santino Yepes ran at the man, kicked him away and punched him to the ground!
Estrella Berrocal looked back and saw Adán Rouco!
She ran to him quickly and ran straight into the man’s arms.
“Adam …”
He couldn’t see her, but managed to hug her tightly, his large hands stroking her back, trying desperately to reassure her, “Don’t be afraid, it’s okay.”
Estrella Berrocal emitted a muffled “mmm” in a sobbing voice, her small arms clinging to her waist.
“Why did you only come, I couldn’t communicate with you…. Why didn’t you answer my calls? You know how worried I was about you…”
As he spoke, tears of anguish spilled over and he sobbed uncontrollably.
Adán Rouco took her small face in his hands, lifted it and lowered his head to kiss her lips.
Estrella Berrocal’s sobs stopped abruptly, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes, her small hands clutching the material of his shirt around her waist.
The man’s voice was extremely soft against his forehead, “I made a mistake, okay?”
Estrella Berrocal sobbed with a sob, and Adán Rouco took her in his arms like a child and calmed her for a long time.
“I also wanted to take your call, I was in Rome, there had been a terrorist attack, the signal was all gone, Esteban Zaragosa arranged a private plane to take me and Santino Yepes.”
Estrella Berrocal choked back a sob and asked, “And now? I’ve been calling you for so long that … you haven’t even answered.
“Mrs. Rouco, a moment ago I was on the plane and my phone was off and I couldn’t answer it.”
Adán Rouco looked at her with downcast eyes, raised his hand to wipe away her tears with his fingertips and said, “I just flew in from Rome.”
Estrella Berrocal choked back tears: “Rome? You’re not in …”
“One after the other, you came to Dublin to fetch me and I was in Rome, Esteban Zaragosa said you ran to Dublin to fetch me and I flew back non-stop. Mrs. Rouco, it is not easy for us to see each other abroad.”
“…”
Estrella Berrocal’s eyes turned red and she threw herself back into Adán Rouco’s arms. “I thought I would never see you again…”
Adán Rouco let her hang from his neck and bent down, gathering her in a horizontal embrace, “I’m not looking at you.”
“Well…”
Estrella Berrocal arched her face between her arms.
…
When they arrived at the hotel and got out of the car, Adán Rouco took her to the presidential suite.
Estrella Berrocal told him: “Left, left, left, insert a room card”.
Estrella Berrocal let herself be led by him and took the room card and inserted it into the slot and the lights in the suite came on.
“That’s it, go ahead, right right right.”
Adán Rouco put her on the bed and said to her amused, “Mrs. Rouco, isn’t it very proper for you to let yourself be led around like that by a blind man?”
“… I was wrong.”
Adán Rouco took her little hand, half-kneeling in front of her, and said politely, “You were in a bad mood before, so there were things I didn’t say…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Estrella Berrocal covered his lips: “Adán Rouco, you are not allowed to give me lessons!
She would not have dared to disobey Adán Rouco if she were not pregnant now and knew that he would not dare to do anything to her.
Adán Rouco took his hand away: “Do you know what I’m going to say now?
Of course: “It will be a reprimand”.
“How am I going to give up.”
The man got up and sat down next to her, taking her in his lap as he sat down.
“You knew Rome was being terrorized and you had the courage to go to Rome to find me, don’t you want to die? Hmm?”
“I was worried about you … I won’t do it next time.”
“And dare there be a next time.”
Estrella Berrocal looked at his handsome face, suddenly serious, and said, word for word, “If this happens again, I will keep fighting to find you, and if anything happens to you, what will become of me and Paulita and the baby I carry in my belly?”
“Did you just remember you’re pregnant?”
“… But I’m fine now, not a hair out of place”.
Adán Rouco did not bother to educate her, she would not listen to him, and it was better to have her firmly in his sights in the future, that was the fundamental solution.
The man picked her up and got into bed: “I’m getting sleepy from all this flying, stay with me for a while”.
The man closed his eyes and Estrella Berrocal ran her small hands through his short, hard, spiky hair and said softly, “Didn’t we shower before?”
“We’ll wash after we sleep.”
Estrella Berrocal’s heart ached; she must have been so sleepy that she was not even able to wash herself.
She turned and leaned back in his arms, pressed against his chest, listening to the sound of his strong heartbeat, all those fears and tensions, all dissipated, extraordinarily safe.