Chapter 3 Trapped in Her Web

Emilia sank into the couch in her apartment, exhausted by the pressure she constantly felt on her shoulders. Her briefcase still rested on her lap, a constant reminder of everything she had to do and, above all, everything she couldn't avoid. The weight of the Vega Industries project crushed her. The city of Capital Style, with its skyscrapers dominating the skyline, was a prison without bars, but with an oppression much harder to escape.

In her hands, the plans for Vega Industries' new headquarters spread out on the table, the lines and architectural details reflecting a future she didn't want, but one she was compelled to build. Each stroke seemed a reminder of the invisible chains that kept her tied to that project, to that man. Adrián Vega wasn't just a boss, not just a client. He was a symbol of everything she had wanted to avoid: control, manipulation, domination. Despite her attempts to focus on work, her mind drifted to him again and again. The way he'd looked at her in her office-that piercing gaze, as if he could see right through her-unsettled her. He wasn't just the powerful man in town, he wasn't just the CEO of Vega Industries. There was something else, something that trapped her, that left her breathless every time she thought about it.

The sound of her phone pulled her out of her spiral of thoughts. It was a text message, and although she didn't want to look at it, her finger couldn't help but slide down to the screen. Adrian Vega:

"Meeting at 10:00 a.m. Tomorrow. RSVP."

The simple message filled her with a sense of hopelessness that enveloped her. She'd had enough. She felt trapped in a destiny she hadn't chosen, in a cycle she couldn't escape. The pressure mounted with each passing day, and Vega's anticipation only suffocated her more. The desire to run away, to abandon everything, was consuming her.

Emilia sighed and, before she could process all the emotions overwhelming her, replied with a simple, "Confirmed."

She put the phone on the table and closed her eyes for a moment, searching for respite. But all she felt was that every time she moved forward with this project, with this job, she lost more of herself.

She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be part of that machinery. She had promised herself that she wouldn't fall into the traps of power, that she wouldn't let her life be manipulated by a man who didn't understand her. But now, at that very moment, she realized it was too late. She was trapped, and she didn't know how to escape.

The sound of her phone vibrating again woke her from her slumber. It was a call. Mateo.

The sight of her ex-husband made her feel even more trapped. Mateo, the man who had shared her life, but who, in the end, had left her with more questions than answers. Their marriage had begun as a promise of love, but had ended as a battlefield filled with lies and secrets. Despite everything, Emilia couldn't stop her heart from beating faster every time she heard his voice.

"Hi, Emilia," Mateo said, his tone warm, but there was something in his voice that made her feel lonelier than ever. "How are you? How are things going with Vega?"

Emilia leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling as she tried to find the right words. But, like with everything else in her life, words weren't enough. How was she going to explain that her life was falling apart? That she had started working for the man who represented everything she hated, everything she had sworn to avoid in her professional life? How was she going to tell him that she felt she was losing control of her destiny?

"Fine..." she said finally, her voice tinged with exhaustion. "The work is progressing. But, you know, it's... big. Too big."

"Too big for you?" Mateo replied, a smile evident in his tone. Emilia could sense the irony through the phone. That smile that had always been so easy to read, the one she couldn't hide even through a call.

"No, it's not that. It's just... more than I thought. Everything is bigger than I thought. Not just in terms of work, Mateo. In everything," Emilia began, feeling her voice crack. She couldn't control what she felt, and it terrified her. The feeling of entrapment that haunted her in her professional life had also reached her personal life, her heart. She felt like a prisoner of her own decisions.

"Yeah..." Mateo said, pausing. He seemed to understand it too, albeit in his own way. He knew the relationship with Adrián was affecting her, though he didn't know how. She couldn't understand what was really going on in her mind, but Emilia no longer had the strength to explain it to him. She no longer wanted to talk about this with him. She no longer wanted to tell him how she felt, trapped, how her life was slipping through the hands of others, how her decisions were no longer hers alone.

"Listen, Mateo, I'm busy," she finally answered, with a strength she didn't feel, but forced out. "I need to focus. This isn't the time to talk about this."

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Mateo answered.

"I understand," he said, his tone a little more distant. Emilia couldn't help but notice how he was moving away from her, as if he no longer knew how to be there for her. But the truth was, she herself didn't know how to be there for him. She no longer knew who she was, or what she wanted from her life.

She hung up the phone and remained silent, staring at the plans in front of her. The lines she had drawn, the building she was designing, felt like an imposed future, an invisible chain that bound her ever more tightly. But the hopelessness she felt was greater than the fear. The desire to escape, to flee from all of it, washed over her like a wave.

She knew she couldn't go on like this. She needed to make a decision. But how could she escape something that had already completely absorbed her? How could she change her destiny when the doors she once thought were open now seemed to be closing one by one?