Zulema De la Puente was about to turn twenty-five years old and believed that her life was absolutely perfect; however, in recent months her world had fallen apart and she had seen the true face of the people around her. There is nothing more revealing than when misfortunes arrive, they show you hypocrisy, and only the people who truly love you and true friendships remain by your side; you discover what you are made of and how much courage it takes to move forward.

It all happened since her father was accused of embezzlement, an accusation that destroyed her life. She did not understand how he could commit a crime, especially since he was always an ethical man, with high morals and strong convictions, someone who had guided, taught and supported her to become the person she was.

Without much detail, it must be said that the accusation and quite murky judicial proceedings led Don Santiago De la Puente to prison; where after a confusing and unfortunate incident, he died supposedly after having hanged himself with some sheets; the most traumatic and painful situation she had faced until then, but it was not the only one.

Zulema is convinced that such a situation could not be true, she refused to believe that version of the story, her father claimed his innocence despite the evidence against him, the actions of the embezzlement had been so obvious, that Zulema could not imagine that someone as intelligent as Don Santiago, could have left such loose ends in the denied assumption that he had committed the mentioned crime.

In addition, Zulema De la Puente was sure that her father would not choose to commit suicide but would demonstrate his innocence with conviction and strength, a man like that would not leave his family adrift.

After this terrible news, Zulema's mother suffered a stroke, leaving half of her body paralyzed and with problems speaking and eating, she has spent months hospitalized, with rehabilitation and therapy, with high costs that given her circumstances were difficult to cover.

To add to her sorrows, given the scandal, the company where she was working fired her, they did not want to have on their payroll the daughter of a presumed embezzler, most of her co-workers, who before congratulated her for the achievements she was reaching, began to turn their backs on her, and the professional career she was building was fading irremediably before her eyes.

Only Yanira Santibanez, the secretary of the design department, helped her take out her things and wished her good luck, telling her that if she could help her in any way, she could count on her; Zulema did not know that in the future Yanira's help would be of vital importance to clear the name of her father and her family.

They say that evils do not come alone and that rats are the first to abandon the ship when it is sinking; and for Zulema it was exactly that, her fiance Javier Belmonte, broke their engagement. A five-year relationship; in which she gave everything, building a future that collapsed instantly.

Not only that, when all the family's assets were confiscated, she wanted to sell the things she had bought for their life together; however, she was surprised to find that Javier had blocked all access to the penthouse that his mother had given them to live in after the wedding; which was going to take place three months after Zulema's twenty-fifth birthday.

There was Zulema, sitting at the bar of the pub, alone and wanting to distract herself a little from her evils, drinking a Cosmopolitan; that combination of cranberries, citrus fruits and vodka, passing through her throat, did not feel as strong as the bitterness she feels in her heart, she would like to go back in time and that none of what happened had happened.

"I never imagined seeing you in such a miserable state, the great Zulema de la Puente, in jeans and a cheap jersey," said Grecia Lujan with a disdainful look.

There was Javier's new girlfriend. Grecia had been after Javier for years, but he had never paid attention to her; until now.

Zulema was a woman with a beautiful face, tan skin, brown eyes, and black hair with slight waves; she came from an honorable family, whose members worked hard to obtain a small fortune that allowed them a fairly comfortable life. She was intelligent, creative, responsible, dedicated, and deeply loved Javier.

That's why, for him, Zulema was the perfect material for his wife and greatly improved his image to dispute his grandfather's inheritance, which his family urgently needed lately. However, Zulema's family situation affected his image, and Javier desperately needed someone to help him with that; he couldn't miss the opportunity to take control of the family fortune.

Soon Javier found the solution, Grecia Lujan, a rich and capricious girl, who had always been in love with him, and although she lacked many of Zulema's virtues, she belonged to an important family of construction input producers; Javier Belmonte needed support to guarantee his grandfather that he had what it takes to manage the family businesses, and for the family patriarch, marriage to a woman of his same category who contributes to investments was a significant endorsement.

"Maybe my clothes are cheap, but I don't go around buying boyfriends like others. Enjoy my leftovers, if that's what you aspire to," Zulema expressed, with a smile; maybe she had descended from the pedestal where she lived, but she would never allow herself to be humiliated; she was convinced that the value of a person was not measured by what they possessed but by who they really were inside.

"Says the daughter of a criminal, being a slut didn't help you to stay with Javier, women like you are never an option for important men, they are only good for a good time," Grecia Lujan stated, surrounded by an army of flatterers; otherwise, she would not have dared to insult Zulema, who has always been a woman of strong character.

"Someone thinks they're a queen bee, when they're just a poisonous wasp, you think so little of yourself to come and insult me because deep down you're afraid that Javier will never forget me, how sad your case is," Zulema expressed in a mocking tone.

"Stupid," said Grecia, before walking away with her group of flatterers, going to look for the manager to have Zulema removed from the pub; she couldn't stand that despite not having resources and with a criminal father, Zulema De la Puente was in such an exclusive place.

Zulema took another sip, looked up, and met some dark and penetrating eyes in the VIP area; there was the enigmatic Mathias Belmonte, younger brother of her ex-fiance's mother; one of the most sought-after bachelors in the country.

Mathias was a handsome man, with brown hair, who at thirty-five years old managed his own multinational beauty company, with an excellent participation in the stock market, apart from other investments in which he remained low profile; there were many women trying to conquer him, but he always seemed to ignore them, besides being immune to falling in love.

Zulema returned to her drink, she had forgotten what happened with Mathias two weeks ago, she said to herself "Come on Zulema, what are you doing in this place, you don't have time for this, tomorrow you have to go to the cafeteria, the payment for mom's therapies, doesn't pay itself. Your magic world is over, this is not your place." Taking the last sip she said "Happy birthday, Zulema."

Zulema adjusted her hair, checked her bag, she needed to return to the small apartment she was renting, on a rooftop, near the hospital where her mother is hospitalized; she had to hurry if she wanted to take the subway, she couldn't afford to take a taxi. She had to sell her car to pay the hospital bills.

"The gentleman from the VIP area invites you for a drink," said the bartender.

Zulema looked around, many looked at her with that face of those who judge without knowing; what did Javier's uncle expect from her, was it another humiliation, for what happened the other night, maybe she had been imprudent, but she was not going to allow him to think that because of that he could humiliate her at will.

Zulema took the glass, and with it in hand, she raised her face and ascended with the elegance that characterized her. Mathias' bodyguards let her pass, and she sat across from her ex's uncle, drawing a smile. Another would have ended up fleeing; she didn't, she told herself.

"While I was dating Javier, he seemed to ignore me, and now he invites me for a drink in public. He'll also rub in my face the shame I caused his family, like his sister did. That didn't seem to matter to him that night; I think we're both adult enough for this," Zulema expressed.

"I always thought that relationship between you was very disproportionate; one part had great value, and the other was just a graceless ornament," Mathias said.

Zulema threw the contents of the glass at him with fury and turned on her heel, surprising those present; no one dared to treat Mathias Belmonte like that.

"Clarifying that the graceless ornament is my nephew," Mathias said, taking out his handkerchief to dry himself.

Zulema stopped instantly; she was surprised by the words of her ex-fiance's uncle. Mathias approached and gave her a card.

"I always separate the personal from the professional. I loved your portfolio; if you're interested in working at Bella & Moda, I'll expect you at my office tomorrow at eleven, be punctual. Good night, Miss Zulema de la Puente," Mathias stated, withdrawing.

Zulema shook her head when she realized she could have damaged an important opportunity; no one in the industry wanted to hire her, and the CEO of the most important beauty product company was making her an interesting proposal. Even though it came from her ex-fiance's uncle, she couldn't waste the opportunity that was appearing before her eyes.

She was about to leave the pub when a man approached her; she could recognize the shield of the clothing on the uniform; it was someone who worked for the Belmonte family, but she had never seen him before.

"Miss Zulema, Mr. Belmonte has asked me to take you to your home, please follow me," the driver said.

"Excuse me, but I don't know you," Zulema expressed, stepping back.

Just then, her phone rings; she doesn't recognize the number, but she still answers; "Miss Zulema, please accept that my driver takes you to your home, as an apology for the bad time that the idiot of my nephew's girlfriend gave you; if you don't, I'll have to come in person for you," Mathias said and then hung up. Zulema was very surprised, but she saw Grecia Lujan approaching with her flatterers, followed by the pub administrator. Zulema didn't want any more problems.

"Of course, I'll follow you," Zulema told the driver.

"This way, Miss," the driver expressed.

Zulema hurried to follow the driver, disappearing from the sight of Grecia and the others. She got into the vehicle that was waiting for her, quite luxurious for the area she was going to, but she was quite exhausted and didn't want to think about anything else. She gave the address to the driver and put her head back; tomorrow will be another day, she told herself, maybe luck is about to change for me.

From a vehicle, Mathias Belmonte watches her leave, he always believed that Zulema was not truly appreciated by Javier.

"I never saw you interested in anyone," said Lucio, Mathias' best friend; they were in his vehicle; Mathias had offered his own car for Zulema.

"There's always a first time, don't you think," Mathias stated.

"She's quite young," Lucio stated.

"She's not a child; today she turned twenty-five; and I'm not a decrepit old man," Mathias replied.

"I'm not saying it for that reason; it's always better someone who helps you grow the empire," Lucio commented.

"There's something more important than wealth to grow an empire: talent, intelligence, and character; you should already know that," Mathias stated.

"And she has all that?" Lucio asked.

"I'm sure of it, let's go now, what I came to do is already done," Mathias replied.

Lucio accelerates and drives away from the place; Mathias still doesn't recognize the feelings for her; he only knows that he likes her a lot and that he must be careful. That woman seems fragile and defenseless, but she is a tornado of emotions.

Mathias will soon discover how much Zulema could shake his perfect world.