CHAPTER 20
“True love is the kind that grows through the storms…”
MARIA GAbrIELA
By Sunday morning, we were already on his private jet. The clouds drifted lazily past the window, but my stomach was more turbulent than ever.
I sat there trying to keep my composure while Diego, as usual, sat beside me. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, his expression stern—a mix of concern and something I couldn’t quite read.
“You’re seeing a doctor as soon as we land,” he said flatly. “Even if it means missing work on Monday.”
It wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order.
His voice was low and firm—the kind of tone he used when something mattered too much for him to accept excuses.
I looked at him, caught off guard by the intensity.
He wasn’t just worried; there was something else there—something that made me feel like I was completely under his control.
His gaze cut right through me, steady and unrelenting.
And no matter how much I wanted to push back, I knew it was pointless to argue.
I nodded, doing my best to hide the unease twisting inside me.
“I’ll see a doctor as soon as I get the chance,” I said, forcing a smile I knew wasn’t convincing anyone.
In truth, I already had another plan. Before any appointment, I was going to take a pregnancy test. Even if the chances were small, that feeling in my stomach… I needed to know for sure.
Diego kept watching me, his seriousness unwavering. It was as if my answer wasn’t enough, as if he needed more—some kind of reassurance.
I couldn’t tell if it came from genuine concern or from that old possessive instinct of his. He’d always needed to control everything. And now, maybe I was right at the center of that need.
The silence between us was heavy, the tension thick enough to feel in the air. I needed to get out of that suffocating energy—shift the focus, somehow.
“So,” I said, forcing a lighter tone, “at least the meeting was a success. The investors seemed pretty happy with the proposals.”
Diego’s gaze lingered on me for a few more seconds, as if debating whether to go back to the subject of my health or let it drop. Finally, he sighed and crossed his arms.
“Yes, they’re satisfied,” he said, but his voice was distant.
That wasn’t satisfaction. That was distraction. He was still thinking about me—about what was going on with me. And the fact that I couldn’t give him the reassurance he wanted made me even more anxious.
I tried again, desperate to escape the gravity he put into everything.
“And S?o Paulo... do you think we’ll be able to close that deal with the other telecom company?” I asked, keeping my voice as casual as possible.
But nothing I said seemed to work.
He turned his face toward me, his dark eyes studying me for a moment that lasted too long. The tension was written all over him. Diego rarely showed worry so openly, but I could tell this was affecting him more than he wanted to admit—maybe even more than he understood.
“Maria Gabriela,” he said finally, his tone serious again. “Don’t try to distract me. I want you to take care of this—whatever it is. And soon.”
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay calm. He was pressing me, but at the same time, there was something else behind his insistence—something I couldn’t name.
“I will, Diego,” I said again, trying not to sound shaken by how intensely he was handling it.
My mind wandered back to the possibility of pregnancy, and fear clawed at my chest. I didn’t want to consider it, but my body wasn’t giving me a choice.
Diego had no idea what was running through my mind. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking that if that were really the case… everything between us would change forever.
The flight continued in tense silence, and I knew this calm was only temporary—a quiet before the storm.
He was still waiting for answers.
And I was drowning in questions.
The moment the jet landed and I had a chance, I’d take the test. Even if it seemed unlikely, I needed the truth before anything else. My body was trying to tell me something, and I had to find out what it was.
Diego leaned forward slightly, his eyes still locked on me. There was something almost possessive in the way he looked at me, like not knowing what was happening made him lose control—and he hated that.
Deep down, I knew it didn’t matter what I said. Diego would keep his eyes on me until he had answers.
He wouldn’t rest until he was sure I was fine… or until he understood exactly what was going on.
And I was trapped in that spiral of uncertainty, torn between trusting my body—and fearing the cold precision of his.
At home, I stared at the pregnancy test box sitting on the table.
It was just a small plastic stick—something so simple, yet powerful enough to change my entire life. My fingers trembled as I looked at it, like that tiny piece of plastic might suddenly explode into a thousand pieces.
I tried to push the fear away, to rationalize what was happening. It could be an illness, food poisoning… something less complicated than pregnancy. But deep down, I knew it was time to face the truth.
I took a deep breath and finally opened the box. The sound of the plastic tearing seemed to echo through the silence of my apartment.
Everything inside me felt frozen.
I’d faced so many challenges in my life, made so many hard choices—but nothing had ever felt this heavy.
I walked to the bathroom, my heartbeat quickening with every step.
I turned on the light and looked at myself in the mirror. Same Maria Gabriela as always—but with a whole world of uncertainty staring back. I tried to smile, but it was empty. The fear was creeping in, consuming me from the inside out.
I sat down and followed the instructions, going through the motions on autopilot. My hands were still trembling, and I took another deep breath, trying to steady myself. When it was done, I placed the test on the sink and stepped back.
Now came the worst part. The waiting.
I had to physically stop myself from looking at it right away. My mind was racing.
What if I was pregnant? What if everything changed from this moment on?
I wasn’t ready for that.
To try to ease the tension, I did what I always did in stressful situations—made a joke out of it.
“Maybe it’s some rare disease,” I muttered to myself, forcing a laugh that died before it even started. “Something weird that just makes you throw up in the morning and freak out for no reason.”
It didn’t work.
The truth was, I already knew what was happening.
I was just delaying the inevitable.
Finally, after what felt like hours—but was probably only a few minutes—I moved closer to the sink. A rush of adrenaline went through me, and I closed my eyes for a second before gathering the courage to look.
When I opened them, there it was.
Two lines. Clear. Undeniable.
My heart stopped. For a second, the whole world seemed to slow down.
“This can’t be…” I whispered, barely hearing my own voice.
Pregnant.
I was pregnant.
My mind went blank. I just stood there, staring at those two lines, as if somehow the result would change if I looked long enough.
But it didn’t. Nothing changed.
It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. My breathing turned shallow, and suddenly I felt trapped inside a bubble, cut off from the world outside.
Pregnant.
The word thundered in my head. This wasn’t part of my plan. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Panic began to take over, blending with a crushing wave of confusion.
What now? What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to tell… Diego?
The thought of him hit me hard, sending a chill down my spine.
Diego Bittencourt. The man who always had everything under control. The man who’d told me he’d never wanted anyone the way he wanted me.
I knew this news would change everything between us. It would change everything in my life.
I sank to the bathroom floor, too weak to stand. Shock settled over me, heavy and cold, while the weight of reality pressed down harder by the second. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely think.
The fear and uncertainty were overwhelming.
I’d always been independent, always fought for everything I had—but this… this was something I wasn’t sure I could face on my own.
And yet, the idea of depending on him for anything terrified me even more.