There was no inch of Ximena’s body that didn’t hurt like her but the one part the stood out was her heart. It felt like somebody had ripped it right out of her chest and had stomped on it repeatedly, of which in this case, the person was Adriano. Thinking about him made a blistering pain arise in her entire body and threatened to sink her further into depression.

Amanda’s words still echoed in her head because those were literally the last words she had heard before going under. It was like she had stabbed her in the heart and wrung the knife deep inside so she could feel the worst pain imaginable. Of course, her and Adriano had been a thing. That would explain why he had behaved oddly when she gate-crashed their wedding. But he had said she wasn’t anybody important…what a big fat lie!

Life wouldn’t be the same for her. Although most of her wounds were now healing, her left arm and left leg were very much still broken and the doctors had recommended nothing but bed rest. Eventually, after some weeks, she’d have to begin therapy so that she could gain proprioception in her two limbs so as to regain normal function.

When she had kicked Adriano out of her room the other day, her father had asked her what he had done to her. She broke down into tears and told them exactly what had happened that day. Her father was pissed to say the least. In fact, he was downright livid but she was sure she saw guilt flash in his eyes as well. She knew that he knew that it was practically his fault; the Dos Santos family wouldn’t even be in their lives if it wasn’t for him. But she couldn’t bring herself to hate her father for that.

She loved Adriano, despite his betrayal and something deep down told her that her feelings would never fade or they would take a long time to fade at least. All those months they’d spent together, living in the same house, sleeping in the same bed, wrapped up in each other’s arms…he was a part of her soul that she couldn’t imagine getting rid of.

After three days, the doctor gave the green light that she could go home. She got a stock up of pain killers, iron supplements and other medication for her to become fit again. All her family were there to assist her, her brother Salvador being extra sweet and even helped her sit in a wheelchair. It was odd; both sitting in a wheelchair and Salvador being civil with her. So, the little raccoon did have a heart after all.

Her mother rolled her out of her room and much to her displeasure, Adriano was outside in the lobby waiting to see her. He smiled at her but immediately looked away, not being able to maintain eye contact. The emotional wounds were still too fresh, too raw.

“Ximena, my love. Please look at me,” he said, well practically pleaded earnestly. She heard the urgency in his voice but she was too stubborn to respond, despite her raging heart.

“Didn’t she say she didn’t want you to come near her? Are you deaf, Dos Santos? Leave my sister alone or there will be consequences,” Salvador growled at him, just about to charge at him but thankfully, Andrea stopped him before he could.

“Don’t, hermano. You’ll make a seen,” she chastised him, her tone disapproving.

Emilio cleared his throat. “Get your lawyers ready, Adriano. A divorce will be underway soon,” he announced but so that they could hear and not everybody else. Ximena’s head shot up at this. Of course, she knew her dad was impulsive, but was he willing to lose 40% of his company’s shares.

“Papa, what are you saying?” she demanded just as Adriano asked, “Did you just say divorce?”

Emilio ignored Adriano and held Ximena’s shoulder. “You cannot be with a man who cheats and is disrespectful to you. I know full well the repercussions and I’m willing to face them. I won’t allow anybody to hurt my family,” he swore solemnly before he looked, actually glared at Adriano. “Especially not you. You and your father better get ready.”

Adriano’s face contorted in anguish and dispair. He padded over close to Ximena’s wheelchair and crouched down beside her “Is that what you want, Ximena. A divorce?” he whispered, hurt evident in his tone. He held a hand out to stroke her cheek and she instantly melted into his touch. It was so tender and familiar…but his question lingered in the air.

Was a divorce the right move?

“You can’t just end us. You can’t leave me. I can’t live without you. You haven’t even heard my side of the story and yet you just jumped to conclusions. Why would I hurt you like that?” he asked her but just as she was about to open her mouth to respond, her father cut in.

“Stop manipulating my daughter. What she was told is enough reason to end this farce. Let’s take our leave now,” he commanded swiftly and Dolores moved the wheelchair away from Adriano, not before shooting him a look of disappointment and despair.

As she was wheeled out, Ximena strained her neck to look back at Adriano. The look in his eyes spoke a thousand words. As his image grew fainter, she had to eventually look away but she was sure she had seen him mouth the words ‘I love you’.

It’s too late for that now, Adriano.

***

“You know, if you keep walking around like that you just might make a hole in the floor,” Santiago pointed out as he continued to stare at the ceiling above.

“Santiago,” Adriano began slowly trying to contain his growing anger, “Any other day your jokes would be much appreciated but not right now. If you keep running your mouth like a faucet, I will take a stapler and staple your lips shut. I invited you over so that you could help me figure things out not so just sit around and jest!” he snapped, his green blazing with unquenchable flames.

Santiago held his hands up in surrender. For once, he knew that his best friend was in his infamous BS mode. It had been years since he last saw him like this; so restless and irritable. “Okay. So, this whole divorce thing is actually happening? What about the contract?”

The contract, which he and Ximena had both signed, clearly stated that ‘If either one of the signing parties should go back on the terms of the agreement, they are to hand over 40% of their company shares to the remaining party’. Their marriage, though totally legit, could really end with a simple signing of termination of the initial agreement. The one revoking the terms would have to surrender 40% shares as of immediate effect to the other party.

But Adriano didn’t give a damn about the contract. That piece of crap paper wasn’t what was binding him to Ximena and it had been like that for a while now. He wasn’t about to let her go, much less grant her a divorce. The look she had given him the day she had been discharged from the hospital spoke volumes. She was just as conflicted as he was. It had become no secret to him that she was always dancing to her father’s tune. Whenever he said jump, she’d ask how high.

Well, not this time around.

He was determined to prove that he had not been unfaithful to her, better yet he needed to first find out what exactly Amanda had said to her. How foolish he had been to have left his phone for her on a silver platter that night! Of all the stupid things he had done, that one took the cake. And to make matters worse, Amanda had gone off grid and it was virtually impossible to find her.

Something about this whole deal didn’t feel right. From the moment his father made this deal with Emilio, to the way things had turned out. It felt like he was being used somehow for someone to achieve something. Like one big elaborate scheme…that had Humberto Dos Santos’s name written all over it. All those subtle hints he’d been dropping over the months, and Amanda’s warnings were beginning to make sense.

Just like you to not be able to see past you own nose, Adri

Everything is going according to plan. If you keep up what you’re doing, you’ll have more power than you can imagine.

This is all just a game; you and I, even your darling Ximena are just pawns.

As the wheels began to turn in his head, it finally dawned on him what was going on. He finally stopped pacing and his eyebrows reached heavenward. He tried to shake it off, but the new knowledge wouldn’t go away. No, it was way to absurd to be true. His father wouldn’t be that diabolical, would he?

Hell yes, he can. This Humberto we’re talking about!

“I see all that calculation and piecing together you’re doing over there, buddy. Care to share?” Santiago mused, taking a sip from his glass of vodka.

Adriano sighed and ran his hands down his face. “This whole contract was a freaking set up. My father was behind all this crap. Maybe not the accident, but it did certainly work in his favor. He planned all of this for months, down to each detail. He studied the Dos Ramos’s, Ximena in particular and new somehow that we would fall in love. He placed Amanda in my life for the sole reason of sabotaging my relationship with Ximena so that she would file for a divorce which would inevitably result in his company having more shares. That would explain why she knows about the contract.”

His friend blinked before erupting into boisterous laughter. “Good one! That sounds like a great synopsis for a novel. Tell me bro, have you been reading Wattpad?” he chuckled, wiping away the tears that had formed in his eyes.

Adriano took the glass from Santiago’s hand and placed it on the coffee table. “Think about it. It makes perfect sense. You and I both know just how much of a conniving bastard my father is. Would you put anything past him?” he asked, and Santiago bit his lower lip as he pondered over it. The three glasses of vodka he had already had were clouding his better judgement. It was definitely a bad idea to start drinking that early in the day.

“Let’s just say that is correct… you can’t exactly prove anything. You’re just spinning a fairytale. You need concrete proof to vindicate yourself to your lady love. Without it, this divorce will go through and your father would have won.”

Adriano groaned in frustration. “You have a point. We need to find that stupid puta and get a confession out of her. And if I am right, I am going to make my father rue the day he ever messed with the love of my life,” he swore solemnly, causing Santiago to smirk.

“Look at you, Ximena’s knight in shining amour. You’re like the protagonist of some unrealistic telenovela. Never thought I’d see the day when my best friend became such a hopeless romantic.”

“It could also be the day that you lose your front teeth.”

“Touché. So, our current mission is to find Amanda, which had proven to be not any easy task. But I think I can easily make up for that. I have a friend who’s in the FBI…” he trailed off and grabbed his wine glass once again before taking a generous sip.

Adriano’s face turned. “You have a friend in the FBI? When did that happen?”

Santiago grinned. “You have your hobbies, and I have mine. Let’s leave it at that, shall we? I’ll need to get into contact with her as soon as possible-,”

“Of course, it’s a her. Why am I not surprised!”

His friend passed him a glare before ignoring his comment. “Finding Amanda is the easy part. The hard part is winning Ximena over and stopping this divorce. Her father is one tough nut to crack.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll not give up until she’s mine again. For good.”

_____________________

Second chapter of the week. Seems like Adriano is finally figuring things out. Well, took him long enough...