Chapter 3
Sofia...
On the first day of the event, Marcelo and I started growing closer, and an inevitable attraction began to emerge between us.
Everything happening between us was beyond my control.
The three of us spent all our time together.
Marcelo introduced us to influential people in the field and helped however he could, always showing special interest in me—and I felt the same way.
On the second day, noticing our chemistry, which was undeniable and plain for anyone to see, Eliana seized the moment while he was in the bathroom and called me over to talk.
“When do you plan to tell him?” She raised an eyebrow, looking at me inquisitively.
“Tell what? To whom?” I pretended not to understand what she meant.
“Sofia, the vibe between you two is obvious. Marcelo needs and deserves to know that you left an unresolved situation with your fiancé behind before coming here,” she argued.
“Ex-fiancé. Jo?o broke up with me before I came here. Remember?” I tried to justify myself. “Marcelo and I... is it that obvious?” I asked awkwardly.
“On both sides.” She smiled.
“I won’t deny that I’m feeling very attracted to him, especially since Jo?o and I have been arguing a lot lately and it’s left me feeling sad and vulnerable,” I argued.
“He used to be so special and attentive, but he changed out of nowhere, and I couldn’t help feeling this way.
” I sighed deeply. “But even though we ended our engagement, it all happened in the heat of an argument. Our relationship is complicated—it involves family, business, and long-standing friendships, which makes everything even more complex. You’re right, I need to be honest and tell Marcelo everything.
He has the right to decide whether he wants to get in the middle of this war or not.
As soon as I have the chance, I’ll tell him everything that happened. ”
“So you’re engaged?” I heard his soft, husky voice behind me and immediately felt a chill in the pit of my stomach.
“Well, you two need to talk. I’m going to walk around the booths and leave you alone.” Eliana walked away to give us some privacy.
“When were you planning to tell me?” he asked, looking intensely into my eyes. “If you were even planning to.”
“Of course I was going to tell you. I was just waiting for the right moment,” I replied awkwardly.
“I think one just came up. Now that I’ve found out everything, I don’t think you’ll find a better opportunity than this.” He smiled wryly.
“You talk as if I owe you some kind of explanation. As far as I know, we don’t have any kind of relationship,” I argued.
“But you’re not stupid. You noticed my interest and encouraged it, exchanged looks with me, showed me it was mutual,” he said, running his hands through his hair nervously. “So, are you going to tell me or not?”
“I’m sorry! You’re right, I shouldn’t have let things get to this point.
” My voice trembled as I began to speak.
“I do have a fiancé—actually, an ex-fiancé—because before I came here, he didn’t want me to come, and in the heat of an argument, he broke up with me.
His name is Jo?o Luís. We’ve been dating since I was eighteen, and about a year ago, when I graduated, we got engaged.
” I sighed. “Actually, we’ve been disagreeing for a while now.
Jo?o is a successful businessman who runs the family business, and he thinks that because of that, after we get married, I won’t need to work—that what he earns is enough to support us and live comfortably.
If he had his way—and he’s not at all happy that I came to the congress—I wouldn’t even have graduated.
” Before I knew it, I was opening up my whole life to Marcelo.
That’s when I realized how much I trusted him, despite him being practically a stranger.
“And that’s why he’s not here and you two haven’t even been talking?” He hit the nail on the head. “After all, I spend almost all my time with you, and I haven’t seen any suspicious calls that might tip me off that you’re taken.”
“Exactly. But like I told you before, I’m not engaged anymore.
The day before I came here, he stopped by my house to say goodbye because he was going on a business trip, and when he found out I was still coming here, he reiterated that if I came, it was all over between us.
” I began to recount my last encounter with Jo?o.
“Actually, he had already told me about this business trip, but I don’t think he expected me to stand up to him and come to the congress alone.
I think realizing that I wasn’t intimidated by his threat to break up was too much for him.
And even though I argued about how important the congress was to me and my professional career, he didn’t care.
We ended up arguing again, and he left angry, announcing we were done. ”
“You know this changes things between us, don’t you?
” He held my face in his hands, looking at me intensely and not letting me look away.
“I don’t usually get involved with women who are taken, and I don’t do to others what I wouldn’t want done to me—even if the other guy is a ridiculous idiot like you just described your fiancé.
” He smiled. “You’re a beautiful, charming woman, and we have so much in common, but it’s complicated.
Even though you’re telling me you broke up, from what you told me and what I heard from your conversation with Eliana, you’ve been together for a long time, your families are friends, you have business together, you split up in the heat of an argument and could get back together at any moment.
Believe me, I’ve seen this movie before.
So even though he’s a chauvinist who doesn’t deserve you, unfortunately, the two of us will just be good friends. I hope you understand.”
“Of course. And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner.” I started to explain myself.
“It wasn't deliberate, and I didn't have any ulterior motives. I want you to know that, just like you, I felt really attracted to who you are, to everything we have in common, and I just never found the right moment to tell you the truth. But I swear I was going to.”
“Okay, you don't need to justify yourself.
You're completely transparent—I can see your reactions, your emotions, your sincerity just by looking at you.
I know you're telling the truth.” He let out a breath, visibly dejected and disappointed by what he'd just learned.
“Now let's go find Eliana because there's a really interesting lecture in the auditorium soon.” Just like that, he put an end to our conversation and any possibility of us getting involved.
I have to admit, it left me feeling sad and lost in thought.
The rest of the day flew by. Marcelo kept showing Eliana and me around, but he tried to keep his distance and avoided any intimate contact with me.
Every now and then I'd catch a different look in his eyes, but whenever I caught him watching me, he'd quickly look away.
To be honest, he avoided me almost the entire time.
“Girls, do you mind taking a taxi back to the hotel today?” Marcelo surprised us with his question after that fateful day's events had wrapped up. “I'm meeting up with Alex, a photographer friend of mine who's coming to shoot my lecture tomorrow, to go over some details,” he explained.
“Isn't Alex that friend you said you were going to introduce me to?” Eliana asked.
“That's him, but I'll introduce you both tomorrow. Tonight's a guys' thing, and we're going to talk business—I'm sure it would be a boring night for you two.” Marcelo deflected awkwardly. To me, it was obvious he was avoiding me once again.
“Okay, tomorrow then,” Eliana replied.
“Actually, tomorrow I probably won't show up until close to my lecture time.
I'm going to spend the rest of the day preparing.” He started making excuses.
“But there's a lot of interesting stuff happening at the conference, so you should come and enjoy it.
I'll meet up with you both and introduce Alexandre in the late afternoon, okay?” Before either of us could respond or say anything, he came over, gave us each a quick kiss on the cheek, and left.