Meeting point?

Ethan

When Mariana entered through a discreet door strategically placed near the corner behind the counter, I glared at Arthur, genuinely annoyed by his inconvenient presence in the store.

"I think now you understand that she doesn't want to talk to you," I pointed out the obvious.

"Nor to you," the idiot retorted.

"You're mistaken," I grabbed my phone, ready to send a message. "Mariana and I have a relationship, something you don't need to understand."

I let him think whatever he wants, I don't care, and I go to one of the display windows where I saw a beautiful dress that I'm sure will look splendid on Mariana, and soon an efficient saleswoman comes to assist me.

"How may I assist you, sir?" the young and beautiful attendant asks in a very professional manner.

"Do you believe this dress will fit Mariana?" I get straight to the point, there's no need for unnecessary detours.

I'll occupy my time buying something that has pleased me ever since I laid eyes on it in Mariana's store window.

"As luck would have it, this model is exactly the size Mariana wears," the young woman smiles, seeming to understand what I intend to do and appearing quite pleased with the idea.

The fact is, Mariana doesn't know yet, but she will accompany me to an important business event happening next weekend, and the dress on display would look perfect on her. I hope Arthur will leave soon and make things a little easier for both me and Mariana because otherwise, she will need to tell him to stay far away from here.

I continue talking to the saleswoman, requesting that she takes the dress off the display and provides beautiful packaging. When I go to make the payment, to my displeasure, I notice that Arthur is still in the store, just chatting away with one of Mariana's employees!

"So, I was right after all, and you came to make a purchase for your dear Bruna?" Arthur insinuates, further irritating me now. "If I'm not mistaken, she was also Murilo Fernandes' ex-fiancée, isn't she?"

"You haven't given up yet?"

I choose to completely ignore his absurd references to that b*tch Bruna, and after making the payment for my excellent purchase, Mariana's two employees seem quite curious, glancing at Arthur and then at me.

"I haven't given up, and I don't intend to."

"Mariana won't be pleased to see you here when she comes out of that room," I warn him.

The truth is, Mariana couldn't ignore me when she needed to come out of her hiding place, and Arthur would only play the role of the big idiot that he is, nothing more than he deserves, of course.

"You think you're better than everyone else, but things don't always go the way you want, Ethan."

"I just know that Mariana would never get involved with someone like you after everything that happened," I clarify. "You were weak, letting Gisele do what she did to her, and believe me, Mariana will never forget that."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but everyone deserves a second chance to do the right thing."

"You can try for your second chance with someone else because I won't allow it with Mariana."

Mariana

When the time came to start organizing things to close the store and leave, I was certain that I wouldn't find either of the two men waiting for me, and that's why I calmly left my office.

I quickly realized I was completely wrong.

"I can't believe you're still here!" I was truly indignant. "Don't you have anything better to do than disturb my beloved peace and quiet?"

Ethan and Arthur were still leaning against the counter, seemingly talking or arguing or whatever it was they were still doing there, and I was genuinely irritated by their persistence.

"I've been waiting for you to leave," Ethan says, sounding quite convinced that I would actually go home with him.

"And I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes," Arthur says on the other hand.

Do I deserve this? I ask myself the question and even answer it in my thoughts: Absolutely not! However, before I can say anything else, I see a woman enter through the front door, and I can't believe what my eyes are seeing.

"She's not a customer," I tell Matheus as he makes a move to attend to the newcomer.

Both men seem curious and turn in the same direction I'm still looking, and we all watch the woman until she stops next to them.

"Look who I found in a clothing store," Bruna says, looking from one to the other. "The two inseparable partners and friends, Arthur Rodrigues and Ethan Constantino..."

That creature has an extraordinary nerve, and I still can't believe her audacity to enter my store, clearly to confront the two men whom I didn't even want to be there in the first place.

"And is my store a meeting point now?" I ask rhetorically. "Absolutely not! Either buy something or feel free to leave."

Everyone looks at me with incredulity, and I don't understand why, really.

I'm tired of that pointless scene, right at the time when I was about to close the store and finally go home, have my well-deserved rest after a not-so-good night and a demanding day of work.

"I need to talk to you, Ethan," the woman insists, disregarding my words. "Let's go to your apartment?"

I try to maintain a facade of neutrality, but inside I feel something truly uncomfortable, and my heart beats a little faster. It must be anger towards those horrible people.

But I eagerly await Ethan's response, unable to believe that he would actually leave with that petty and shallow woman who pushed Lavínia down the stairs just a few days ago.

Ethan looks at Bruna, then at Arthur, and surprisingly, he grabs my wrist, swiftly moving around the counter so quickly that I didn't even have time to react.

"I have nothing to say to you, Bruna. But I can have my lawyer contact you if you insist on finding me," Ethan says, pulling me toward the door a few steps away. "Let's go to your office, I need to talk to you, Mariana."