Chapter 2 Chapitre 2

When Bill left, Leandra's parents came to live, and at the same time he could have been Bill Kate's son-in-law if his daughter had ever wanted him, he had no intention of forcing his daughter to marry this man if she didn't love him.

Bill had returned to America very happy and had even organized a feast to announce to his family that he would be a father very soon, his mother wanted so much to meet leandra but Bill was obliged to tell her everything that had happened and also the fact that leandra did not feel the same way as him, she finally understood.

Ben and Carla lived their lives quietly and Carla realized two months later that she was pregnant. She told Ben and he was very happy, and he was even happier when she told him later that she was expecting a boy.

Leandra lived with her family and didn't think about anything else except the birth of her future child. At home, she had everything she wanted without exaggerating too much, Bill and his mother had come to see her more than once and Leandra had even surprised herself by enjoying the company of Mrs. Kate, Bill's mother.

At eight months pregnant, Carla was feeling increasingly tired, and one day when she was lying on a couch in their living room, and Ben was in the bedroom putting things in a bag, the contractions started and Ben rushed her to the hospital.

Eight hours after her admission to the hospital, she gave birth to a beautiful, hairy, chubby baby boy.

Ben's joy was overflowing and together with Carla they decided to name him Gian.

Leandra was already living her pregnancy well but sometimes she bitterly regretted her evening with Bill in that hotel. Every time she thought about it, she shed tears, if she had never made that mistake, maybe this child she is carrying today will be that of the man she had loved so much before and that she continued to love.

She had not heard from Ben after she discovered her pregnancy until she gave birth in the U.S. a few weeks after the birth of Gian to a beautiful baby girl she called Nabilla, Nabilla Kate, after living in the U.S. for a year with her daughter and her father, she decided to return to the country with her daughter to build her own business and settle there.

Months earlier, in order for the engagement to be broken off between Ben and Leandra, Ben had made her promise that she owed him something in return but that he could not say it now and that he would decide what he wanted later.

So when Ben saw Nabilla for the first time taking her first steps and playing in the vast backyard of the Leandra's home, he decided that she would be the wife of his son Gian, he said to himself that this beautiful little princess could have been his daughter, but fate had decided otherwise, and seeing that the link that should unite him to Leandra had been broken, he said to himself why not renew this link by marrying their child years later.

Leandra was reluctant at first, but Ben let her know that she had to honor her promise.

Leandra had no choice, and she couldn't tell Bill that she had made a deal with her ex-fiancé years before so that he could keep the fact that she had cheated on him a secret, nor could she tell him that she had sealed her little girl's fate a few years after her birth.

And so the years passed and the two children grew up quickly, surrounded by the love of their parents.

When Nabilla was eight years old, Bill took his daughter with him to the United States in the hope that Leandra would agree to follow them so that they could form a real family, but she always refused, because she felt that she was not in love enough with Bill to marry him and spend the rest of her life with him.

For eight years, Bill hoped that she would realize how much he loved her and wanted her by his side, but no, in all those years, Leandra never made up her mind, despite two consecutive marriage proposals from Bill, she said no.

It was amazing, Bill despite the fact that he was very wealthy, handsome, stylish, romantic and especially very nice could not have the only woman who made his heart beat, and yet he had several others who were chasing him but the only one who made him capsize was the mother of his little princess Nabilla, she had eyes only for another man who had eyes only for another now.

Ten met Carlos, a Spaniard with whom she spent some beautiful moments in love, she was only eighteen years old at the time, they got along great at that time, everything was going well in her relationship and in her life until her mother arrived in the United States a few months after she turned eighteen and with her Gian, she never said why he was there or anything else, but just at the sight of him Nabilla had seen herself melt like ice cream under the sun, it was obvious to her: she wanted him.

Gian was the perfect example of the man she wanted in her life, this love she had for Carlos was invasive, she said so, from the beginning Gian knew why he was there but he was not at all attracted by Nabila, he saw in her a little girl rotten whose parents gave in to all the whims, on the other hand he was struck by the beauty and kindness of his best friend, but he saw himself obliged to repress his feelings in order to accomplish what he was there.

Months later, Nabilla was doing everything to attract his attention, but he didn't want her, and as the well-known paradox of life says, we love those who ignore us and we ignore those who love us, so some time later Nabilla had ended her relationship with Carlos hoping to have a chance with Gian, Carlos had suffered so much to the point of moving to another city and later to another country, not to see Nabilla and not to hear about her.

Two years later, Gian had left Los Angeles, the city where he lived, to continue his studies in England, during all this time Nabilla thought about him day and night, called him all the time, made him understand how much she missed him, but Gian loved his best friend madly and this love was reciprocal, he never showed any interest in her.

But she kept hoping that he would love her one day as she loved him. During his stay in England Ben's father had put a lot of pressure on him about why he had left the country and as soon as he returned to England he decided to marry Nabilla to honor his father's word and for the greatest happiness of her, She had been delighted to marry him, it was obvious that she was madly in love with him and that they were not at all in love with her, Nabilla was so blind that she could never see him and also with time Gian had known to hide the fact that he was not in love with her.

That's how they spent all those years of marriage but Nabilla never got pregnant because Gian is always between planes and when he goes on a business trip, he goes for at least weeks, about one to two.

This time he made three and Nabilla doesn't know what to do anymore, she is tired of this life, she can't stand this contempt from her husband, even when he is there he hardly touches her and all he can do to please her is to offer her a gift or to take her to different countries so that she can discover other places, There is never any complicity between them, he always has to talk to her like a manager talks to his employee or as if she was a complete stranger, for him little sweet names only exist when he is proud and if he is not, he will call her as always "Nabilla".

He is almost never there for her, in all these years she has not had a single miscarriage, for about seven to eight years of marriage.

Nabilla would like so much to be a mother of a little boy, it is her dearest wish, and why should she not be happy if this child is the one of the man she loves with all her heart.

Nabilla is still standing in front of the car for almost an hour with her driver Noah, she is wondering if she should leave or wait for Gian, and even if she decides to leave, what reason will she give to her father justifying the fact that she decides to leave his home, Her father likes Gian very much, for him he is the perfect man for his daughter, he is very good in business and is faithful to his daughter, Bill is so absorbed in the work that his son-in-law does that he doesn't even understand that his son-in-law is leading his daughter by the nose.

Still standing there in front of the car, Nabilla wonders what's happening to her, she thinks about her teenage years when she was younger, she thinks about all those moments she spent with Carlos, they were a good pair but her father, Bill said that Carlos would not be a great man because he was always running to his daughter, he said that Carlos was carried away by love and did not think about his future, how could he reprimand someone for being very much in love? He who knew so well what love was, what could he do to prevent Carlos from running to his daughter every time? In any case it was one of the reasons that helped Nabilla to leave Carlos, he was so devastated when she told him she didn't want him anymore, after almost four years of relationship, Nabilla remembers those moments when he sang her music in Spanish, music of love, or those moments when he caressed her cheek, gave her little kisses on the forehead and accompanied her to the hairdressing salon that was just around the corner, so that she could make herself beautiful, he always reminded her how beautiful she was and he always had this joy in his voice when he said to her: my love, we will call our first boy juanito, he will be as beautiful as us his parents.

Gian had never made her even a small pleasure in this sense, he never made jokes not to think of accompanying her to a hairdressing salon, the only time she offered to do it for her, he answered directly that he would not go to a hairdressing salon for women, because he is a real man and real men never go to these kinds of places to accompany women to be beautiful.

They live like brother and sister, she does so much to attract his attention but he is never there for her, he almost never smiles at her and she always says to herself: he will change, I know he loves me, he will eventually change and understand that we are both married and that I am the one who would stay by his side until the end of his life.

She thinks so much, leaning against the car, her phone has just fallen from her hands, she bends down to pick it up and at the same time, she hears icicles of vehicles, the doorman runs to go open the gate, it's Gian's vehicle that enters, Nabilla jumps up and goes to the vehicle, she has so many questions to ask him.

Gian goes to the parking lot where he parks his vehicle and when he gets out of the vehicle he goes to the trunk and takes out a suitcase and a small bag, he brought back a lot of clothes to his wife, as she likes them he says to himself before dragging the new suitcase to her, Nabila runs to him and throws herself in his arms.

<< I missed you a lot darling but where have you been? For three weeks my love I have been calling you incessantly, I was so afraid for you, where have you been? oh my god how I missed you>> says Nabilla hugging her husband tightly.

<< I missed you too, but as we say very often it's one question at a time, you might choke me and don't forget I'm tired, I just got here>> said Gian as he headed for the door.

<< oh yes you're right my darling how silly I am let's go I'll run you a nice hot bath.>>

<< no need to bother you for that, I can do it alone, here I brought you some presents>> he said giving her the suitcase he was dragging.

<< thank you my love, I am touched by this delicate attention that you give me>>

<< What I will not do for you? You are my wife, and you deserve everything that is beautiful in this world.

he leans towards her and puts a kiss on her lips, Nabila blushes, she has just realized that it's been a long time since she felt so little attention from her husband, but what makes him so happy? she wonders.

Gian goes inside the house and Nabilla follows him, she leaves instructions to Noah to bring back quickly his things inside when her husband will be under the shower, what he executes just by shaking the head because he knew that she will eventually change her mind.

Nabila runs to the kitchen to concoct a quick meal for her husband, as he has lasted a long time this time she thinks that surely a good meal will do him good, she is happy that he has come back safe and sound and moreover very smiling, she prepares the meal and an hour later she has finished it, she goes to the room to call her husband so that they can eat together, this one is on the phone, he is talking about business, she makes him sign to join him in the living room as soon as he is finished and this one accepts with a nod.

Thirty minutes later Nabilla is still sitting near the meal to wait for Gian but he does not arrive, she waits still thirty minutes and goes in the room this time with the intention to make him hear her discontent.

When she enters the room, he is just lying down and sleeping, she swallows her rage and goes out to call Noah to come eat with her.

She can't finish everything she's done alone so she might as well share with Noah.

At Bill's house, he is at the table with his mother, eating and talking. His mother, Mrs. Lucy Kate, is a very disciplined woman, but has a great curiosity.

She wants to know everything about the why and the how, and right now she wants to know what is happening to her beloved granddaughter and son-in-law.

<< Bill? >> It's Lucie calling her son.

<< Yes, Mom.

<> Asks Lucie.

<< He's been back since last night.

<< Last night? And where did he go? Because I called Nabilla this morning and she told me he didn't come home.(She didn't call Nabila).>>

<< What do you mean? Well mom, you know what? I think we should let these two live their married life as they see fit, I already told you he came back that's the most important thing, and besides what have you always dug up in your little girl's house?.>>.

<< That's what I do, I let them live as they please, but I don't know what I would do if they ever hurt my little girl, to think you're a father blind to his daughter's suffering.>> said Lucie between two mouthfuls of meal.

<< Excuse me? The suffering? But my daughter is not suffering.

Lucie gets up and walks away, leaving Bill alone to talk to himself.