CHAPTER 50
“Forgiveness is the first step toward freedom…”
MARIA GAbrIELA
Over the next three months, dinners and outings with Diego became a regular part of life, and little by little, I felt myself stop being afraid of the past.
Now, we were heading off on a weeklong trip to Porto Seguro. The four of us.
In that time, I’d grown closer to Arthur—his son—and I think I fell for him first because of how he treated his sister. The two were inseparable, and honestly, I was sure she loved him more than she loved me or Diego.
You could see it in their eyes—that bond that kept deepening day after day. And I felt more and more like part of this small, unexpected family we’d somehow become.
Clara and Arthur were joined at the hip, and the way he cared for her—with so much tenderness and protectiveness—filled my heart with warmth. Watching them together felt like witnessing the life I’d always dreamed of: a close family, where love was tangible in every gesture.
Diego, on the other hand, kept surprising me. He’d become such a devoted father, something I never thought I’d see. The way he looked at Clara, the way he held her tiny hand or made her giggle with his silly jokes—it was nothing like the stern, distant CEO I used to know.
He had changed, and that change was getting harder and harder to ignore.
As the jet sliced through the clouds on its way to Porto Seguro, I sat between Clara and Arthur, both of them buzzing with excitement. Diego, across from us, watched with a soft smile—the kind he saved for moments like this.
“Mom, can Clara sit on my lap when we get to the beach?” Arthur asked, his voice brimming with enthusiasm.
That word—Mom—had felt strange at first, but it warmed something inside me I couldn’t quite explain. After a few days, though, it stopped feeling strange altogether. I thought of Arthur as my own.
I glanced at Diego, who nodded with an approving smile, before turning back to Arthur.
“Of course, sweetheart. She’s going to love that,” I said, laughing at his excitement.
Diego reached out his hand to Clara beside me, and she wrapped her little fingers around his, giggling—as if she knew she was safe there, between us. It was such a simple moment, yet so full of meaning.
“Are you happy?” Diego asked quietly, his voice low but sincere.
I met his eyes, a wave of emotion rising inside me. The truth was, no matter how hard I tried to keep some emotional distance, moments like this made it impossible.
How could I not be drawn to a man who, after everything, was showing me he could be someone different—someone I could finally trust?
“I am,” I said, trying not to let him see the confusion that still lingered in my heart. “And you?”
Diego smiled—that rare smile that had started to appear more often lately.
“I’ve never been happier,” he said, his eyes locked on mine, like he wanted to make sure I felt the weight of his words.
The jet continued its steady descent through the clouds, and our conversation flowed easily. We talked about the trip, about our plans for the week, even about the smallest things—what we’d do first once we hit the beach.
But beneath it all, there was an unspoken understanding between us, a quiet awareness that something deeper was happening.
We were slowly, almost imperceptibly, becoming a real family.
And as terrifying as that realization was, it also made me feel whole. I realized that with every passing day, with every shared moment, I was falling not just for Diego—but for the version of him who was trying so hard for us, for our daughter, for the story we were still writing together.
As the plane began its descent into Porto Seguro, a thought settled in my mind. Maybe this was the beginning of something I’d always dreamed of but never truly believed possible.
And as I held Clara’s hand and glanced at Arthur sleeping beside me—Diego watching us with a tenderness that melted every last piece of my fear—I realized that sometimes life surprises you in the most unexpected ways.
We landed with this quiet certainty that the future could finally be everything I’d ever wanted.
And for the first time in a long time, I let myself believe it. I let myself dream of being truly, completely happy.