Chapter 21

The two discussed how they would act now. This precaution already existed, but as Samuel hadn't appeared for a long time, Nina felt that perhaps they should take greater care so that the child's existence was not discovered.

She feared for her daughter's safety, as it was proof that Samuel was not as upstanding a man as he demonstrated in his speeches and that his marriage to Kira was not a fairy tale, as they tried to show in the media.

In the past, after the discovery of the betrayal, Nina suffered persecution for a long time and when she revealed her pregnancy to Samuel, believing that he would take responsibility for her daughter, he showed her his darkest side, forcing her to take abortifacients.

It was a very traumatic event for Nina and she was hospitalized due to the effects of the medication. She and the baby were almost gone from this world, and that's why she decided to be a single mother, because those people were too cruel to allow them to participate in her daughter's life.

Her mother, a nurse at the hospital, arranged for a false medical report to be issued, saying that Nina had suffered a miscarriage and so, when Samuel went to check, he believed that she was free from what he considered a problem. He didn't even try to find out about Nina's health, proving to her once again that she was just used as an object in his hands.

As soon as she was discharged, she tried to return to her normal life, but she realized that she was frequently being followed by strange people, who she didn't know exactly who they were hired by, but she suspected that they were sent by Kira and Rosália, trying to ensure that Nina wasn't getting sick. getting closer to Samuel.

Because of this and the pregnancy that was beginning to become evident, Nina began to lock herself at home and transferred to an online college, so as not to interfere with her studies.

With her disappearance, Rosalia and Kira no longer saw any reason to continue sending people to chase her and so Nina was able to give birth in peace. However, her peace ended when Hannah began to lose weight and experience unusual symptoms. Until the worst happened, the diagnosis of aggressive lymphoma came. Since then, the lives of the three women have been racing against time.

During that time, she acquired a lot of debt, took out several bank loans, and mortgaged the house she grew up in, an inheritance from her father left to her. He sold the car and everything of value he owned, with not many things remaining in his possession today.

All the money she could get, she placed in the hands of Júlia, who was responsible for signing all the documents and checks, to mislead Samuel and his family, in case they decided to reappear and turn their attention to Nina.

And now, working with Dominic, she had the slight impression that she wouldn't just bump into Samuel and so Nina made a decision:

— I'm going back to live at my mother's house. I can't stay in the hospital anymore. — she says to Júlia, with regret.

— He is sure? Hannah will miss you so much.

Nina takes a deep breath. She would also miss her daughter very much, but she had to make difficult decisions for her own good.

— I'll find a way to see her again. Mom told me she has a plan.

— Your mother is very smart. She probably has a good plan. — Julia says and caresses Nina's back — But you don't have to be alone in that house, you can stay here, okay?

— I can't. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I need you to spend more time at the hospital keeping an eye on Hannah. And if you follow me and see me with you a lot, you can connect the dots.

— Are you going to walk away from me, too? — Júlia says, distressed. They had been helping each other for so long that they ended up creating an emotional dependence on each other.

— Never! I'm just going to give it some time until I'm sure those people aren't around.

— Oh, I hate this Samuel so much! You could have had better luck in life, friend. Having found someone who deserves you.

— Ah, maybe I got what I deserved… I was always stupid and pathetic. You know, I try really hard to do things right, but I don't know why, everything almost always goes wrong. I just didn't want Hannah to suffer so much because of me. Anyway, let's not dwell on these things, one day things will have to work out.

—- And your boss, the billionaire, has been bothering you?

Nina looks into space, remembering the latest events, and nods.

— No… he didn't do anything…

— That's it? Why does it feel like you're trying to hide something from me?

— It's just… — she considers whether she should mention this to Júlia and ends up deciding to vent — I feel that Mr. Dominic looks at me in a different way and Richard told me that he might be interested in me, he said that he might be the one. Solution to my problems.

— Certainly a billionaire could be the solution to anyone's problems, but... at what cost, Nina?

— No! I wouldn't be able to get involved with someone just for money and besides, I don't know him, he could be someone like Samuel or worse!

— Not getting involved even to save Hannah's life?

— You know that for my daughter I would be able to give my life, but if he is like Samuel, things will get worse and not better.

— True…

— But don't worry, I'll make it clear to him that my interest is strictly professional. — she says with determination.

Nina returned to the home she lived in all her life. It was a simple suburban house, where the grass was tall and the flower beds were dry. It had been a long time since anyone had bothered to take care of the place.

She entered and turned on the lights, everything was silent, but in her mind she heard Hannah's shrill smiles. She remembered when her little one learned to take her first steps in that room, the mess she made when she went to eat, banging her spoon on her plate with crushed fruit.

She walked down the hall and arrived in the kitchen, where the furniture seemed untouched, remembering when Hannah followed her crawling. She had very happy moments watching her little one develop and without her, that house seemed silent and had an emptiness that was reflected in her heart.

Nina went upstairs and went to Hannah's room. He picked up some teddy bears that she could no longer play with. She hugged and squeezed the toy, trying to smell her little one.

Nina sat on the girl's bed, and caressed the pink sheet that covered her, then lay down and ended up falling asleep. He opened his eyes, and it was already morning. The impression he had was that he just blinked, but he slept a whole night in a deep, dreamless sleep.

The first thing he did was call his mother and make a video call to Hannah, who was undergoing medical procedures early in the morning.

—Mommy, are you still hurting? — the girl asks, looking at her mother through her grandmother's cell phone screen.

— A little, darling. — Nina says, returning a solemn smile.

— I wanted you to braid Lili's hair. I haven't learned how to do it properly yet. — the girl shows her the doll, which had disheveled hair.

—- Well, I thought you did very well. Lili looks very pretty! — Nina says, encouraging her daughter.

—But you know how to do better, Mom. Can grandma give you an injection to get better?

Nina knew that her daughter was missing her, and she really wanted to see her and that broke her heart.

— Mom will find a way to see you tonight. — Nina says, smiling.

Hannah smiles broadly, showing her small teeth and squeezing the corners of her eyes.

It was Saturday, and with nothing to do, Nina decided to remove the dust from the house. She mainly cleaned Hannah's room, imagining seeing her playing again, happy and healthy in that place.

As soon as she finished, she threw himself on the living room sofa to rest and ended up falling asleep.

Not much time passed, and the doorbell woke her up. She woke up a little disoriented and went to answer it, and whoever was at the door completely surprised her.

— Pa-Patel? What are you doing here? — she asks, extremely confused.

— Let's go! — Patel says, holding her by the hand — Mr. Dominic told me to come and get you!