Chapter 2 A Broken Promise

Chapter 2

Dorian went straight home It was the first time he went home during work hours.

The place, which was always spotless, no longer had any trace of Amelia, only the divorce agreement that the wind had messed up on the coffee table.

Dorian grabbed it. The document was simple, Amelia had not asked for anything, everything was going to remain as before her marriage. And there was her signature, as elegant and artistic as ever.

He stared at the signature on the paper, not realizing that time was still ticking, until he heard the soft sound of the door opening.

He turned his head toward the entrance. Cintia was just entering and she was scared by Dorian's intense gaze of her.

"What's wrong?" she asked confused, noticing how the hope on Dorian's face faded, leaving an unbreakable calm.

Nothing, he answered in a neutral voice, "and what are you doing here?"

"I came to see if Amelia was okay and to keep her company." Cintia approached smiling, "And you? Why did you come back so early? "Did something happen to Amelia?"

As he spoke, his concern was evident, he even looked back towards the rooms.

"Okay," Dorian looked at her, "Do you come often?"

"Not much, just once in a while.

Cintia seemed uncomfortable and I changed the subject when I saw the papers in Dorian's hand: "And what is that?" I tried to grab him, but Dorian was faster and I pressed him against the table.

"Nothing important," he said, staring at her, "If it's not necessary, you don't have to eat. Amelia is busy with her work. When we can, we will come visit you

His mother began to say "; How busy can she be? But she corrected herself in time, "It's okay."

He couldn't help but remind Dorian: Amelia has been trying to get pregnant for more than a year now and nothing, it couldn't be that something was wrong after that. Ella she should make herself known, lest it be that she ca n't have children.

Dorian responded curtly: "I no longer want a child."

Cintia looked at him surprised.

His son was already giving signs that the visit was taking place but he was even more explicit: "Better leave, and don't come back if it's not necessary. Cintia opened her mouth, as if wanting to protest, but before Dorian's cold look at her, she fell silent and left.

He saw the door close, glanced at the place that no longer had any signs of Amelia's life, sighed and knocked.

to his assistant: "Yael, coordinate an appointment with César, about the divorce."

"gEh?" Yael was paralyzed, if only yesterday he had seen Amelia and they didn't seem to be fighting.

But Dorian had already hung up, threw the papers on the table and left.

Amelia had moved back to her little house in the suburbs.

It was a property she had bought before she got married, small and perfect for herself.

And it was right there, in that tiny house, where she had a one-night stand with Dorian, got pregnant, and that tied them together irrevocably.

That night she couldn't refuse her friend Frida, who convinced her to go to a reunion of former school classmates. And against all odds, Dorian, who never went to those meetings, was there.

After graduating from school, they had lost all contact, neither taking part in alumni groups or attending reunions, as if they had only crossed paths for a brief moment before disappearing from each other's lives.

Dorian had even completely disappeared.

No one knew where he had gone or what he had done and Amelia, although she sometimes tried to get some information from her former companions, never found anything about Dorian.

So when she saw him suddenly after several years, she was surprised and nervous. Feelings that she had never had the courage to express when she was younger, now fluttered in her chest. But still, she did not dare to confess her love for him, or even to speak to him without feeling self-conscious, especially because Dorian sat next to her, so close to her that her shyness intensified with every moment.

She was nervous and didn't want it to show, so she hid behind food and drink to hide her concern, without realizing that she was starting to get drunk.

Probably out of goodwill at having shared a table, Dorian took the initiative to take her home at the end of the meeting.

Amelia lived alone and although she was somewhat drunk, she had not completely lost consciousness, but the alcohol had definitely affected her balance.

As soon as he entered his small one-room apartment, he tripped over the shoes he had left in the entrance. She was about to fall when Dorian, with quick reflexes even without turning on the light, grabbed her and pulled her towards him. Dorian had also drunk something and did not know if it was the effect of the alcohol or the darkness that stimulated that moment, but their gazes collided in the air and under the deep night, being the man she had secretly loved for years, she could not look away Slowly, as their gazes remained fixed, their breaths came closer.

Amelia was not one to let herself go easily, she had not even had a boyfriend before, but that night she got lost in Dorian's deep, tender and concentrated gaze.

It was the look and the man I had dreamed of countless times.

That night they gave themselves to each other with an innocent and burning passion.

Little did she know that Dorian, like her, was also inexperienced in matters of the heart and the flesh. His looks and his family didn't fit someone who didn't have a girlfriend.

But after two years of knowing each other, Amella understood why Dorian had always been single: a man dedicated to his work had no time or energy for love.

A strict upbringing since childhood had also made him remain pure. That night was a unique incident in both their lives.

Amelia had already planned her life. She studied architectural design at university, she had talent and excellent skills, so she wanted to continue studying. She was already in the process of applying to the Department of

Architecture of the Ziirich Federal Institute of Technology, but that unexpected night upset all his plans. She didn't expect to get pregnant.

They didn't take precautions that night and the next day they got up late. He had an interview and couldn't go to the pharmacy to get a morning after pill. She thought she would be safe in her non-fertile days, but she was not

When she found out she was pregnant, she didn't know what to do, but Dorian suggested getting married and having the baby.

It had only been two weeks since that night and they had not spoken. Amelia had no intention of telling him, but by chance they met at the hospital where Dorian was visiting his grandfather.

She felt uncomfortable and tried to hide her test results, but it was too late.

He glanced at the hCG report she was trying to hide behind her back and extended his hand towards her. Let me see.

Those two simple and calm words carried an authority that did not allow rejection.

Amelia, doubtful, gave him the results.

Dorian looked at the report in silence for a moment and then asked: ; What are you up to?

She shook her head, confused. She didn't know it, she hadn't planned that pregnancy and her arrival had disrupted all of her life plans.

"I'd rather we get married and have this baby," Dorian said. "But you have the last word. If you don't want to, I won't force you to get married.

Amelia was stunned, she thought Dorian was joking, but he nodded seriously: "I'm serious."

He gave him two days to think about it.

She loved him, she had loved him for many years, but she had never imagined that one day he would say to her:

"Let's get married.

After two days of internal struggle between confusion and desire, she met Dorian and said, "Let's get married. Her response was as calm as the day they got divorced, he! just nod this

good'.

On the third day, they got married.

It seemed crazy, but everything had its logic.

Only Amelia never imagined that that child would not be born.

Her marriage to Dorian also did not last until the third year. It started quickly and ended just as quickly.

Those two years were like a dream.

Looking at her house, Amelia felt empty and painful inside.

That look from that night, when she almost tripped over her shoes and he caught her, staring at her, kept replaying in her mind.

He clearly remembered the intensity and emotions flowing in her dark eyes and even today, his heart was pounding as he thought about it.

I thought that was love.

Like her, he had loved her for years, so that night there were feelings and passion. But that's not the case, he was simply drunk.

His heart felt heavy and aching as he realized that.

Amelia remembered days ago when she accompanied him to his house and when passing by the study, she accidentally overheard the argument between his father and him.

"I know that you were very fond of your grandfather, so when he was seriously ill and you wanted him to see you married before he died, you brought Amelia home, plus she was pregnant with your son, so I didn't say anything, at the same time." At least my father left peacefully. But two years have passed and the child did not have the opportunity to be born, are you going to continue like this with her for the rest of your life?

"I have my reasons, don't get involved."

~How can I not get involved? ~How could I not? They always say that alcohol brings problems, look what happened, because of Amanda Sabin, you refused to have a girlfriend and just to go to a damn alumni reunion, that woman found the opportunity."

"Dad," Dorian interrupted him, with a cold tone, "This is my fault, Amelia has nothing to do with it."

"It's okay, I won't talk about her anymore, every time I mention her you just defend her. Just tell me, if Amanda comes back, what are you going to do? Don't forget that you are committed to her."

"She will never come back."

Amelia noticed how Dorian's voice softened, it was rare to hear another emotion in his calm voice, he clearly felt a special affection for that girl called "Amanda."

It was the first time Amelia had heard that name and she was stunned for a moment.

She didn't know how to feel, she was suddenly confused, but she didn't feel rejection or resistance, she even felt a strange intimacy with that name.

She didn't try to find out who Amanda was, it wasn't necessary, the problems between Dorian and her weren't due to someone else.

She only appeared at the time when he needed to get married to appease his grandfather.

Now that his grandfather was no longer there and the boy who united them was no longer there, there was no reason to remain tied for life.

Amelia knew that if she didn't say anything, Dorian probably wouldn't mention the divorce either and they would continue together, living uneventful days.

But she didn't want to continue.

That was not the married life I wanted.

She wanted a husband who she loved and who loved her, who was not necessarily rich, but who understood the difficult and warm moments, who could share with her a daily life full of warmth and satisfaction, not someone who loved another person and saw her as a responsibility.

So I suggested divorce, an idea that had surfaced six months ago but that I had hesitated to decide on. And Dorian, as she expected, quickly agreed. He probably felt relieved, Amelia thought.

The pain in his chest continued. With my hand on my heart, I looked around the space that was once filled with her hopes, feeling increasingly distressed but also relieved to let it go.

After a while, he grabbed his phone and called the real estate agent who had sold him the house: "Hello, I would like to sell my case in Jardines de la Paz, can you help me with that?"

The agent still remembered Amelia, a woman with a soft and beautiful appearance, young and with a good temperament; She had left a deep impression on him.

Of course, no problem. I answered right off the bat. "Is the beautiful lady thinking of moving to a bigger house?" "No." Amelia smiled, amusing the topic. "Then I thank you."

The news that Amelia was selling her property reached Yael, Dorian's assistant, a couple of days later. He was looking to move somewhere closer to the office and had been looking at properties online.

The complex where Amelia lived was close to Dorian's company, so when searching for nearby properties, hers came up.

He had helped with the move when Dorian and Amelia got married, he perfectly remembered the interior of Amelia's house, decorated with elegance and simplicity, so I recognized her right away.

He was shocked and couldn't help but take a look at Dorian's office. His boss had asked him to help him with the divorce procedures, so he was aware of the separation between them.

It had always seemed to him that Dorian and Amelia got along well, they weren't one of those saccharine marriages, but they weren't a resentful couple either. It didn't seem like they had enough reasons to divorce.

I didn't understand why they had suddenly separated.

His boss didn't seem like the typical man disspondent over a divorce. Except for that day when I left everyone standing in the meeting room, it had been as always.

If there was something out of the ordinary, it was that Dorian spent even more time in the office, practically lived there and had become more demanding with his work.

They all walked on thin ice when he was around; The entire building was immersed in an atmosphere of

Constant tension

Yael suspected that the divorce had affected Dorian, although she did not know if it was just a fight between the

couple

He doubted whether he should tell Dorian that Amelia was selling her house, for him, selling the house was practically running away. As long as the person was there, there was a chance to fix things, but if they left, that chance disappeared. He did not want to continue working in such an oppressive environment.

Lost in his thoughts, he was snapped out of them when Dorian looked up from the computer screen and looked at him: "; What's happening?"

Yael was startled: "Nothing, nothing."

His boss scolded him: "If it's nothing, why do you look at me for so long?"

"I..." Yael was hesitant.

Dorian replied: "Speak clearly."

Decisively, Yael turned the screen of her cell phone towards Dorian: "It seems that Amelia is going to sell her house, maybe she will leave.

She watched as Dorian's hand that was on the mouse stopped, waiting for him to say something, but he coldly returned his gaze to the computer screen.

"And what? Was her response, calm and distant.