Santiago Santoro:

He is a 29-year-old businessman, his hair is dark brown and he has an indefinite eye color, at times they are green and when he gets angry they can change to a deep blue like the ocean itself. He is an only child, orphaned by his father and mother, as both lost their lives in a car accident when he was just a young boy of 12 and his maternal grandparents raised him surrounded by love and understanding. However, he lost faith in love years ago, does not believe in the concept of family and does not want to bring a child into this cruel world for anything in this life. Although he is engaged to a beautiful model, his intention is to remain single and never formalize with Diana. His only goal in life is to increase his fortune and be the most powerful man in the world without anyone at his side to stop him. His character is cold, obsessive and undemonstrative and he almost never smiles.

Karen Jones:

She is a 24-year-old young woman, her light brown hair is very common, her eyes are greenish-gray and her nose is covered with freckles, her skin is so fair and soft that it attracts the attention of others; her build is small although her figure is very beautiful and defined. She ran away from home a couple of months ago, when her mother remarried a despicable being, who was only looking for her money and to have fun with any woman who passed in front of his nose. For this reason, since she arrived in the city she has been desperately looking for a job, however, not having a university degree and no work experience, it is very difficult for her to get a formal job and she will have to settle for accepting the job offered to her in a club.

Diana Lois:

She is 26 years old, she is a very beautiful woman, with a hellish body, and a supreme elegance that leaves men speechless and causes envy in women. She has dark hair and most of the time she wears it wavy, her eyes are brown; however she wears green colored contact lenses to accentuate the perfection in her face. Since she can remember she loves cameras, and her desire is to succeed in cinema, but for now she is content to be one of the most recognized models in her country, at least until a film or television director discovers her. She is frivolous and calculating, so she does not care that her boyfriend does not want to formalize, have a family, or be unfaithful to her, as long as he continues to provide her with luxuries, lets her use his last name to rise in high society and treats her like a queen, she will continue at his side.

Giovanna Santoro:

She is Santiago's grandmother, a very lively woman with a young spirit, who loves to travel and see the world. She and her late husband took care of her grandson when her only and beloved daughter died and although they tried to give him all the love in the world, Santiago's resentment for the death of his parents soon became present. A few years ago, she had to resume her business life with the early death of Marcos Santoro and bring her company afloat. Currently, she is 69 years old, but the passage of time is not reflected in her skin and her eyes are a very beautiful green, she wears her hair in a very elegant cut and it is covered with beautiful gray hairs. Giovanna, only has one dream in life and that is that her beloved grandson starts a family and changes his mind about marriage and children, so that he can truly be happy. For this reason, she will do everything possible to make him leave his girlfriend and fall in love with a good woman and have his heirs.

Trevor Hamilton:

He is a lawyer, right hand, best friend and private secretary of Santiago. They have known each other since he was a child and together they brought the Santoro company forward once his grandmother gave the presidency to Santiago. He has the dream of meeting the ideal girl, getting married, and starting a big family with several children; unlike his bitter friend. His dark complexion contrasts with the lightness of his eyes and his smile makes women fall in love, but the ideal he has in mind has not yet appeared before his beautiful eyes.

Santiago is lying on the couch in his office, only a tiny piece of clothing covers his body, and it's a pair of black boxers, which until a few minutes ago were on top of the desk lamp. He watches as his fiancee adjusts her clothes in front of his completely messy desk, and a current of nervousness runs down his spine at the sight. His OCD doesn't allow him to live in chaos and disorder, so he lights another cigarette to quell his internal storm and focuses his attention on a painting, but he can't stop thinking that once Diana leaves, he will have to spend a good while putting everything in its proper place.

The smoke permeates the office and camouflages the smell emanating from their bodies after passionately surrendering on the desk. Diana slowly approaches, holding her hair, and turns her back to him.

"Can you zip me up?"

"Of course, darling." With a single movement, he sits her on his legs and delicately zips her up, brushing against her delicate skin. "Done."

"You were incredible today." She turned her face to kiss him passionately, and as they separated, she took the cigarette from his hand and brought it to her lips. "I won't be able to see you tonight, I have a meeting with my manager," she says after exhaling the smoke from her lungs.

"I didn't intend to be with you either, I had enough with this visit for today," he replies annoyed. "I have a lot of work and I'm already quite behind."

"I'm sorry, it's just that it's been days since we were together."

"You know I'm having problems with my grandmother."

"Is she insisting on the son again?"

"Yes, and since I don't plan to give it to her, I'll probably lose everything."

"It's not fair, do whatever it takes to stay in front of the company or we won't be together anymore."

"It's simple, you just have to get pregnant."

"Darling, I don't love you enough to ruin my body."

"Nor do I love you enough to want to be a father with you."

"Good thing you still understand." She kisses him one last time.

"You better finish getting ready and get out of here. I have a meeting in an hour."

He shifts with her between his legs, and Diana understands that she must stand up. As they separate, Santiago sits up and lights another cigarette; he doesn't like sharing his cigarette with the beautiful woman in front of him because her red lipstick always gets on the filter.

"Santi, I'll call you first thing tomorrow," she says as she puts on her thin heels. "I'm sure I'll have news of my next job."

"Don't worry, it's not necessary. If I want to be with you, I'll call you, you know the rules."

"I know."

"Go."

"Goodbye, darling." She leaves the cigarette in the ashtray and leaves that place, swaying her hips with a sexy movement.

Trevor, Santiago's personal assistant and best friend, watches her from afar and sees how she waits for the elevator, tapping the steel door with her nails, as if with that absurd movement the machine would hurry its departure, and he laughs at how ridiculous she looks. He walks firmly to his boss's office and enters without knocking.

"I see you had a visitor!"

"I just needed to de-stress."

"And did you succeed?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No." is the blunt answer.

Trevor sits in front of the desk and watches as Santiago enters the bathroom, after a few minutes he returns to his office, sits down and rests his head on the backrest, then begins to speak looking at the ceiling.

"My nona insists on the same thing, I only have a few months to get married and start a family or I'll lose all this."

"Can she take the company away from you?"

"Yes." He sits up and looks at his friend and confidant. "She can do it and I'm sure she will, Giovanna Santoro doesn't beat around the bush."

"That's impossible, your grandfather left you everything in your name." Trevor tries to dream peacefully.

"We didn't read the fine print of the contract when he gave me the presidency. I'm just an attorney until my grandmother leaves this world or loses her mind to the point that she doesn't even know her name, and that brother, is never going to happen. My nona is healthy, strong, and has a brilliant mind." He gets up from his desk and goes to the small makeshift bar. "I have to find a solution. There must be something I can do to convince my grandmother that the perfect family doesn't exist and that I don't want to have a child with any woman."

"Friend, let me think of something, maybe we can annul that document."

"And automatically everything would pass into her hands." he says while pouring two glasses of whiskey and handing one to Trevor. "I must be more astute and find a way to give her what she wants without affecting my personal life."

"We'll think of something."

"I swear that since today a crazy idea has been running through my mind, but I'm afraid of making a mistake."

"Which one?"

"To rent a woman's womb, continue my normal life and give my nona a great-grandchild."

"That's crazy."

"I'm just thinking about it."

"Look, we can't do anything for today. You better calm down."

"You're right, I'm going to tidy up my desk so I can think more calmly."

"I have a better idea, why don't we go for a drink at the bar? Pietro inaugurated a special room where you can have fun as you please." he proposes while drinking from his drink. "Besides, his dancers are exquisite, they are very beautiful women and maybe you'll find someone who really de-stresses you." he smiles mischievously.

"Okay." he accepts while leaving the glass on the desk. "We'll just have a drink and then I'll go to sleep."

"Alright."

"Now let me finish tidying up my office and sign some papers." he picks up some things from the floor. "I'll see you in two hours, now leave me alone."

"Ok."

Trevor leaves the office with a smile on his face, his friend, no matter how committed he is, still has fun like a single man and he likes that. Upon entering his office, he searches the internet for rented wombs and looks for reliable information on countries where it is allowed and what are the insemination methods for Santiago to be his biological father. Everything is in front of his eyes and now he believes that his friend's absurd idea can be carried out.

Karen walks through the crowd, hugging herself to hold back the tears that once again threaten to escape from her beautiful eyes. This morning, while putting her change of clothes in her backpack, she discovered that she doesn't have a single penny. All her money ran out quickly, not even enough to buy a little bread, and her stomach starts to bother her more and more, and her legs tremble as she walks, being so weak. She feels famished and fears that at any moment she will collapse in the middle of the street. Her hopes of getting a decent job have been fading, and now her expectations have lowered, and she is looking for anything that will bring a plate of food to the table. She continues walking, holding on to the walls, until she finds a bar on the corner. In the window of the premises, there is a black board where, in careless and barely legible white letters, it reads that they are looking for employees.

⎯ Come on, be brave and ask what the job is about,⎯ she speaks in a low voice and encourages herself.

She looks at her reflection in the glass and, before opening the large black door, straightens her clothes a little. She sighs resignedly; she can't do much with her disheveled attire; then she takes courage and enters the bar. The place is illuminated by the sun that enters behind her, and she observes that it is a large and dark room, only illuminated by the red lamps located on each of the tables. The only thing really illuminated is the bar, which is covered by various LED signs and colored lamps that illuminate the bottles, glasses, and goblets. She closes the door, and everything seems to be in semi-darkness. She slowly approaches the bar and asks the man behind it who she should talk to about the job. The bartender only points to a table, and she clumsily approaches a robust and sinister-looking man who is next to a very beautiful, though somewhat older, woman.

⎯ Hello, sweetheart, what are you looking for in a place like this? ⎯ he asks, scanning her body and delighting in what his eyes see.

⎯ I need a job. I'll do anything for a plate of food.

⎯ Are you hungry? ⎯ the woman asks, and she only nods. ⎯ Come, sit down, I'll bring you something while you talk to my husband. Whether you get a job or not, you'll leave this place with a full stomach. ⎯ The woman stands up and disappears.

⎯ What can you do?

⎯ I can clean, wash clothes, serve tables, and what I don't know, I can learn.

⎯ What's your name and how old are you? And don't lie to me about your age, because I don't accept minors for any reason, and you look very young.

⎯ My name is Karen Jones, and I'm 24 years old. If you want, I'll show you my ID, I'm not lying to you.

The man looks at her for a moment, and something about her is familiar.

⎯ Are you Michel Jones's daughter? ⎯ he asks, astonished, and his voice softens.

⎯ Yes, sir, but my father died two years ago, and my mother married a bastard who little by little brought us to ruin, and I preferred to flee from that place before enduring one more of his insults.

⎯ I understand. Do you have any education?

⎯ No, when I left school, I enrolled in the faculty of medicine, but my father got sick, and I abandoned the classes to take care of him, and I couldn't resume them.

⎯ It's a pity, I'm sure Michel would have preferred you to pursue a career.

⎯ I know, someday I'll go back to studying,⎯ she daydreams.⎯ How do you know my father?

⎯ He was a childhood friend, however, as the years passed, we grew apart, although every time Michel came to the city, he visited me at the club.

⎯ I can't imagine my father in this place.

⎯ And I can't believe that his daughter is asking me for a job.

⎯ Will you give me a job?

⎯ For now, feed yourself well, I'll think about what you can do for me. ⎯ He orders when he sees his wife arriving with a tray with a plate of soup, a sandwich, and a glass of water. ⎯ Come, Paola, we need to talk. ⎯ They both go to the bar and start a conversation, the woman occasionally observing Karen with curiosity.

The young woman is so focused on finishing her sandwich that she doesn't pay attention to what is happening around her.

The couple, after talking for several minutes, returns to her side, the man sits in front of the young woman and cannot take his eyes off her, a touch of nostalgia and melancholy appears on his face as he sees an exact copy of his friend sitting in his bar. Paola, seeing that her husband is immersed in emotion and shocked to the bone upon learning that Michel has died, is the first to break the awkward silence that surrounds them.

⎯ Did you like the sandwich? ⎯ she speaks in a maternal tone.

⎯ Yes, ma'am, thank you very much, it was delicious and it's the first bite I've had in days.

⎯ That's not right, you must feed yourself, now take the soup.

⎯ I know, but the little money I had I spent on the bus ticket and the rest wasn't of much use.

Pietro listens attentively to what that little girl with freckles and big eyes says, and watches how she brings the spoon to her mouth and delights in the soup; then he intervenes.

⎯ Where are you staying?

⎯ At first in the bus terminal, but the police very kindly asked me to leave the place, and before ending up at the police station, I left. ⎯ she comments while shrugging, downplaying the importance. ⎯ Now I'm in a church.

⎯ Did a priest take you in?

⎯ No, I just wait for the mass to end to hide between the pews, and once the priest turns off all the lights, I sleep for a couple of hours. ⎯ she confesses with sorrow and lowers her gaze to the plate, then continues with her story. ⎯ Since I fled from home, everything has become complicated, my lack of education doesn't allow me to get a job, and not having anyone I know to talk to or ask for help in this big city has been terrible. ⎯ she dries a treacherous tear that she can no longer contain. ⎯ But I don't care, I prefer a thousand times to keep walking aimlessly, sleep in churches, and spend days without eating, before returning to that place that I once called home.

⎯ Don't worry, we will help you. ⎯ Paola says while taking her hand tenderly over the table.

For several minutes Karen vented, she was immersed in sorrow, pain, anguish, and despair. For two years she had not been able to see the world with good eyes and only wished that her bad luck would vanish once and for all and her good fortune would reappear again. She longed for the days when she was a happy young woman with her father.