"Enzo's Point of View"
Enzo Ravary wasn't the type of man who was easily shaken.
But there he was, standing before the large glass window of his office at Ravary Enterprises, his cell phone forgotten in his hand and his mind far from the contracts and meetings that filled his days.
Since the night before, a single image had been haunting him: Patricia's eyes.
It wasn't just beauty. It was... truth.
While everyone around him seemed to be playing well-rehearsed roles – flattering businessmen, self-serving socialites, overly smiling partners – Patricia had seemed raw, real. And, in a way he still didn't understand, familiar.
"Enzo?" Bianca's voice brought him back.
She came in without knocking, as she did when she wanted to remind him that she still owned some part of his life.
"The dinner with the Montecchi Group advisor has been rescheduled for Thursday. And the Langarian ambassador confirmed his presence at the event on Friday."
"Great," he said, without emotion.
Bianca observed him closely.
"You've been acting strange since yesterday."
He didn't answer. He looked out the window again.
"The woman from the gallery," she said, as if casting a net. "Did you know her?"
"No," he answered immediately. Too quickly.
Bianca raised an eyebrow.
"But you were interested, weren't you?"
Enzo turned his face to her, serious.
"Are you implying something?"
"I'm just observing," she replied with a controlled smile. "You never dwell on anyone for so long. Especially not a stranger."
"Maybe I'm just tired," he cut her off.
Bianca approached, placing her hand on his arm with rehearsed delicacy.
"Whoever she is, she's nothing. I know you, Enzo. You're not the type of man who gets distracted by just any woman. This will pass."
But she knew. She felt it. Patricia was a risk.
And she needed to disappear.
"Patricia's Point of View"
Patricia threw up for the second time that morning and had to lean on the sink to keep from falling.
The nausea had started discreetly, but now it was taking over everything. The mere smell of coffee made her sick. A colleague's perfume in the building's elevator made her want to run away.
She splashed water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror.
"You're pregnant," she murmured to herself. "Not sick. Breathe."
She tried to stay strong, but the pressure was constant. Her body was changing. Hormones were making her emotionally vulnerable. And, in addition, there was fear. Fear of Bianca. Fear of Enzo's reaction if he found out. Fear of not being able to protect that baby... or herself.
Despite everything, one thought haunted her more than she liked to admit:
Why couldn't she stop thinking about him either?
The way he looked at her, as if he saw her. As if he wanted to know who she really was.
But she couldn't afford to want that. Desiring Enzo Ravary was dangerous. Being close to him meant exposing herself. Being discovered. And losing control of what little she had left.
That afternoon, while out running errands at the registry office, Patricia had another surprise.
She was sitting in a discreet cafe, waiting for the paperwork to be ready, when she heard his voice again.
"You really have a knack for showing up in the most unexpected places."
She looked to the side.
Enzo.
In more casual clothes – a gray shirt and a light blazer – but with the same intensity in his gaze.
She felt her heart race.
"This is starting to look like stalking," she joked, trying to hide her nervousness.
"I swear it's not," he said, smiling. "But I admit that, after yesterday, I got curious. We keep bumping into each other too much for it to be a coincidence."
"Or you just hang out in the same places I do."
He laughed.
"Could be. But since the universe insists... can I sit down?"
She hesitated. She thought about refusing. Running away. Making up an excuse. But her own feet wouldn't move.
"You can."
He sat down, and for a few seconds there was only silence between them. A comfortable silence – and, at the same time, loaded.
"Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely.
She nodded, swallowing hard.
"I am. Just... living intense days."
"That, I understand well."
Enzo studied her features more closely than she would have liked. There was something about that woman. A discreet sadness mixed with strength. A look that carried a world. And, even without knowing why, he felt attracted, as if something inside him recognized something inside her.
"Do you have children?" he asked suddenly.
The question caught her by surprise. Patricia widened her eyes slightly and tightened her grip on the cup.
"Not yet."
Not yet.
The phrase escaped without her realizing it. And Enzo seemed to pick up on the hesitation.
But before he could say anything, his cell phone rang. He answered, annoyed, and stood up.
"I have to go," he said after hanging up. "But... can I see you again?"
She didn't answer immediately. She just looked at him, trying to understand why her heart was beating so fast.
"Maybe," she said, getting up too. "If the universe wants to."
Enzo smiled.
"I think it does."
And he walked away.
Patricia sat back down, staring at the empty chair in front of her. Patricia remained in the cafe even after Enzo left. Her fingers caressed the bottom of the empty cup, and her heart was still beating as if she were running. She was grateful for the chair in front of her being empty – but at the same time, she wished he had stayed a little longer.
"This isn't safe," she murmured to herself.
It wasn't. Being near him awakened feelings she couldn't allow herself to feel. Desire. Curiosity. A type of trust that didn't make sense – because, deep down, she knew what he represented. Power, risk... and a chasm between them.
But the way he looked at her... as if he could see inside her...
That was exactly what scared her the most.
She got up and hurried out of the cafe, feeling she needed to breathe. The air outside was hot, stuffy. The noise of the cars and people seemed to come from another world.
Her mind was spinning. And the pregnancy, the hormones, the fears, everything seemed to conspire against the peace she sought.
She couldn't fall in love with him.
Not when she was carrying the biggest secret of his life in her womb.
That night, Bianca was in front of the mirror in her closet, removing her diamond earrings with calculated movements, while observing the reflection of her own face. The call she had received earlier burned in her mind.
"He saw her again."
The private investigator's statement had been simple, but cutting.
Three encounters.
Three.
She knew Enzo too well. She knew how rational, selective, and reserved he was. If he insisted on getting close to a woman, it wasn't by chance. Something about that bitch was pulling him in. And Bianca refused to watch that happen.
Not after everything she had done.
She walked across the closet, opened a secret drawer, and took out an envelope.
Photos.
Copies of the clinic's medical records.
Patricia's initial ultrasound.
Everything she needed to destroy her reputation, if necessary.
Bianca squeezed the papers between her fingers as if crushing the threat with her own hands.
If Patricia didn't want to accept money...
She would accept fear.
And if even that wasn't enough...
Then she would make sure that Enzo would never believe her if the truth came out.
Even if it meant tarnishing Patricia's name completely.
Meanwhile, Patricia, emotionally exhausted, arrived home.
She took a long shower, and when she looked in the mirror, she saw that her belly was already starting to show the first signs. It was subtle. But there it was. A reminder that time was running out.
She lay down in bed, hugging the pillow.
And as sleep slowly took over, a single image formed in her mind:
Enzo's eyes, trying to decipher her.
She didn't know how much longer she could hide the truth.
But she knew one thing:
She couldn't trust anyone.
Much less her own heart.
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