Chapter 2
Sofia...
The moment I learned that the International Congress of Investigative Journalism, one of the largest in Latin America, was coming to S?o Paulo for a week, I knew I had to be there and started figuring out how to make it happen.
This year, I wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything in the world, unlike the year before.
This time, I was going with or without Jo?o Luís's approval—at this point, I didn't even know if he was still my fiancé or my ex.
Even though I was sad and hurt by his refusal to come with me and by his declaration that everything was over between us, I reached out to Eliana, a dear friend from college who had graduated with me.
She was attending the congress and offered to share a hotel room.
She also mentioned she'd introduce me to a friend of hers—a renowned journalist and writer with excellent connections who was helping her network with important people in the field.
He could do the same for me. I accepted without hesitation.
I didn't speak to Jo?o Luís at all in the days leading up to my trip, and he didn't ask about it or reach out to me either.
He seemed determined to keep his word and end our engagement.
The day before he was set to leave on his business trip—as he'd told me he would—he showed up out of nowhere at my house to say goodbye.
When he saw my suitcases packed on the bed, we argued again.
I think because I hadn't mentioned the congress anymore, he assumed I'd given up on going.
He couldn't accept it, but I refused to let his words and threats intimidate me.
I was going to the congress, period. In the end, he didn't even say a proper goodbye—he left angry and sulking, reiterating once more that if I went, I shouldn't bother looking for him when I got back, because our engagement was over.
The next day, I ignored my father's pointed remarks—he kept insisting I was throwing everything away and risking my engagement—and my mother's sullen face.
Little did they know that Jo?o had given me an ultimatum, and if he was as serious as I suspected, he'd already ended our relationship.
I took a taxi to the airport because neither of them would take me, then caught a flight to S?o Paulo.
When I arrived at the hotel, my friend was already in the room.
I greeted her with a long hug—I'd missed her so much.
We hadn't seen each other since graduation, and back in college, we'd been inseparable.
She told me her friend Marcelo had invited us to dinner to plan which events we'd attend during the congress and so he could meet me.
Even though I was tired from the trip, I decided to go to dinner to avoid making a bad impression.
After all, Marcelo didn't even know me personally yet was willing to help me make some important contacts.
So, without arguing or complaining, I took a quick shower, put on a beautiful cream linen dress with vertical brown stripes, nude heels that my petite stature let me get away with, and left my dark brown hair down.
I did light, natural makeup, just giving my almond-shaped eyes a bit more definition.
Once we were ready, we took the elevator to meet Eliana's friend in the hotel lobby.
“This is Marcelo,” Eliana said, hugging the handsome man with dark brown hair and blue eyes standing before us.
“Marcelo, this is Sofia, the one I told you about.” We just looked at each other for a moment without saying anything, until he took my hand and gave me an affectionate kiss on the cheek.
With a captivating smile, he looked me up and down, his gaze intense.
He was a very attractive man, and we hit it off instantly.
The three of us talked a lot during dinner, which was quite pleasant.
We also had fun and drank a bit more than we should have, to the point where we were laughing constantly and talking nonsense.
He gave us plenty of tips, pointing us toward the right people to approach and offering to help with whatever we needed.
After dinner, he kindly walked us back to the hotel before heading home.