JOAQUIN did not stay long that night at Lara's house. After eating he just rested for a while and then said goodbye. The young lady just delivered him to the gate. At that moment both her father and her daughter were asleep.
Lara went straight to her room with Callie after that. She took off her clothes and took a shower for a while and then lay down.
As she stared at the ceiling at that moment everything that had happened throughout the day came back to her mind. She couldn't help but feel the thrill and strange flow of heat in her body every time she thought back to how Joaquin had claimed her this morning. Include the quickie they shared in the comfort room in her office.
Everything is so fast. Just proof that the longing and desire are so intense that they both feel for each other.
Then Lara sighed and then turned to her daughter who was sound asleep.
What will Joaquin do when he finds out about Callie? And what if because of her constant tolerance, the young man would get her pregnant again? What will she do?
It's easy to figure out the solution there. She had to refuse.
But what was her assurance that she could deny what he wanted to happen? Even though she is the one who asks more intensely every time the two of them are in the heat of the scene?
*****
"WHEN will I meet your girlfriend you say, Joaquin?"
The next day as they were eating breakfast that was what Joaquin Sr. asked him.
In order not to get upset with him, the young man decided to go home to their mansion after he had his dinner at Lara’s house. At the thought of his beautiful girlfriend, Joaquin couldn't help but smile.
"Soon, Papa," he replied as he started eating breakfast.
“Don't procrastinate. I want to meet her right away,” he insisted in an insistent tone.
Joaquin laughed softly at what his father said. “Pa, we agreed for two months, didn't we? Lara and I haven't been together for a month,” he said to his father.
“That's right, you haven't had a month, but you can say that you are in love with her. How can you prove that to me?” his father's provocative question to him.
Joaquin just shrugged his shoulders and then continued eating. “Love doesn't take a long time, does it? Others still believe in love at first sight,” he reasoned.
A deep sigh was what Joaquin heard his father let out. After that, he shook his head and picked up his cup of coffee, and sipped it.
“I want to get to know her right away. Do that on the weekend so that you can convince me that what you are saying is true,” said his father.
At that point Joaquin fully understood everything. Her father wants to meet Lara so that he can prove to him that he is telling the truth. That way it was possible without his father insisting on what he wanted to happen. To marry him to his friend's daughter.
“Okay, if that’s what you want. But just like you want it to happen, Lara knows nothing of who I am. So I can't take her here at home. Maybe we can meet outside, I'll tell you where and when,” he said as he finished his meal.
Joaquin Sr. nodded in agreement with what he said.
"Are you going home tonight?" his father questioned him.
"Yes, Pa," he replied then came out of the dining room.
*****
"WHY so fast?" Lara's question in a tone of disbelief then she reluctantly lowered the hairbrush she was holding.
She just woke up and in fact, it was Joaquin's call that woke her up. Closing would be her schedule for today as yesterday, so she had time to sleep longer especially, and she was really tired. When she remembered two reasons why she got tired she couldn’t help but blush. And she could see it in her reflection in the mirror in front of her.
“He wants to meet you. He wants it as soon as possible my father is excited,” Joaquin replied from the other line.
Lara's chest heaved even more because of what the young man said. She doesn't know why but she is nervous to meet her boyfriend's father.
"I don't think I'm ready yet," she admitted glancing at her daughter who was still sound asleep.
"Why? Are you nervous?” Joaquin asked as she heard what he said followed by an amused laugh.
“Isn't that normal? Especially since I already have a child?” she said that it was also one of her reasons.
“We won't tell him about Callie right away. And one more thing, just in case, I won't let him hinder our love, sweetheart. I promise you that I will fight you against anyone else,” Joaquin said passionately, which pierced her heart.
Lara couldn't help but tear a sweet smile from her lips because of what Joaquin said. A sweet promise came from him, and it was wonderful; to hear. A promise that caused her to have enough courage to agree to what he wanted to happen.
“Okay go ahead, just tell me when so I can talk to Cynthia about my schedule. Of course, I have to ask her for that,” she said to the young man.
"Thank you, sweetheart," said Joaquin. "I love you," he added.
"I love you too," she replied.
While having coffee that same morning, she told Rodolfo about the conversation he and Joaquin had had earlier on the phone.
"Are you scared?" her father asked her.
Hesitantly Lara nodded. "That's normal, isn't it?" she asked.
"Of course. But you also need to know that you have no reason to feel that way. Because Callie is Joaquin's child. The difference is that you haven't told him yet, so he doesn't know,” Rodolfo explained to her.
“Anyway, but the truth is, I'm also afraid of being criticized by his father. Maybe it’s because of how I feel for Joaquin. After all, the parent has a big influence on the child. Just in case he can dictate Joaquin and tell him to leave me in case he doesn't like me for his son,” Lara admitted worriedly.
At that point, Rodolfo gently grasped her hand. “Just in case, our life will return to normal. But from what I can see, even though you haven't been together for that long, Joaquin loves you. And I see that every time he stares at you.”
Rodolfo's words did a great thing in Lara's heart. That is why the worry in her heart has completely disappeared.
Of course. In case Joaquin leaves her because his father doesn't like her. The life of the three of them will just return to normal. It will be difficult perhaps in the beginning. But eventually, she’ll be okay too. And that's what she's going to handle.