Tender Feeling

Mariana

To my relief, Joshua intervened once again, bringing his common sense into play.

"From what I understand, your fiancée is pregnant and has already been seen here at this hospital today," he addressed Murilo. "Wouldn't it be better to take her directly home? My friend will safely take Mariana to her place, I'm sure of it."

I greatly admired the way Joshua always seemed to value harmony, and at that moment, something else caught my attention. Artemis was clearly drooling over the man!

I discreetly smiled at the realization and decided to speak up about the delicate situation as well.

"I can go with Ethan, Murilo," I took the opportunity to say. "That way, you won't have to go out of your way for me.

"I'm going out of my way anyway because I still plan on dropping off Artemis at her place, and yours happens to be on the way," Murilo insisted. "And you don't have to feel guilty about it. After all, both of you live in the same direction."

As much as I knew Murilo had good intentions, I felt slightly irritated by his insistence, but I was at a loss for words to refuse his offer once again.

"I can take your cousin home, Fernandes," Joshua promptly offered, saving us all from the discomfort. "That way, everyone can take the girls to their respective homes since it's evident that everyone needs some rest after the emotions of tonight."

I immediately looked at Artemis, as I believe everyone else did too because it depended on whether she would accept this unexpected proposition or not. But I quickly realized that she was quite happy to go home with Ethan's friend.

"I think it's a great idea!" Artemis accepted Joshua's suggestion right away, as I had predicted, but then she tried to cover it up. "Virginia and Mari don't really need to rest, and I can easily go home with Mr. Gunther."

Mr. Gunther... Okay, I thought mischievously, but I kept the insinuation to myself and inwardly thanked that the situation hadn't spiraled out of control.

"Then it's settled," I took advantage of the opening to put an end to it and leave. "I'm going with Constantino. I'm already quite worried about the time, after all, Aunt Celina is home alone."

I didn't wait for any further interference and said a brief goodbye to everyone, promising to call Virginia and Artemis the next morning. I was curious about Artemis's blatant interest in Beatriz's brother.

On second thought, maybe this was an opportunity to clarify some points about this damn complex story involving Ethan, Murilo, and Beatriz.

"Let's go, I'm really worried about my aunt," I said to Ethan when we got into his car.

"No rush, Mariana," Ethan scolded me. "And don't forget to fasten your seatbelt. Tonight has been enough, and I don't intend to take unnecessary risks again."

Ethan

We arrived at Mariana's house around one in the morning, and when she opened the living room door, the first thing we noticed was Matheus, her neighbor, and the store employee, sitting casually on the couch, watching TV.

I had asked for the young man's number to get in touch with him and ask him to keep Aunt Celina company, as I had no idea when we would leave that hospital, and I was very concerned about Mariana when I saw the severe swelling on her face, along with her eye that was already completely bruised.

Matheus quickly stood up when he saw us enter the room, but the expression on Mariana's face revealed that she had already perfectly understood the reason why Matheus was in her living room. Nevertheless, I decided to clarify.

"I was afraid that we would take a long time at the hospital, so I preferred to make sure Aunt Celina wasn't alone at home."

Mariana didn't make any comments, but she held my hand as a way of thanking me.

"How are you, Mariana?" Matheus asked, and it was evident that he was quite worried.

"For my peace of mind, it wasn't anything serious, really," Mariana tries to reassure him. "I had some tests done and I was cleared. Everything is fine."

"Wow!" Matheus said admiringly, and he smiled contentedly. "I feel relieved to hear that."

Mariana returned the young man's smile, and I felt a certain discomfort with the connection they seemed to have with each other, but I kept myself apart, or at least I tried to do so.

"Thank you for your help, Matheus," she thanked him. "It was very kind of you to keep my aunt company until now."

"I also want to thank you for coming when I asked, Matheus," I interjected into their friendly conversation.

"It's nothing major," the young man said, now looking a bit embarrassed. "I'll be going then. I assume you'll be resting for a few days, right?"

His question was directed at Mariana, but I already knew she would deny it, and I ended up interrupting her before she made such a mistake.

"That's right, Matheus," I spoke up. "Mariana needs plenty of rest, so she won't be going to the store in the next few days."

I didn't care about the furious look Mariana shot my way upon hearing my response to her employee. Her health and well-being were more important than anything else.

"We'll talk more tomorrow, Matheus," she simply said.

"Okay then," Matheus agreed. "See you tomorrow, Mari... See you another day, Mr. Constantino."

For the first time in my life, I felt uncomfortable being addressed as "Mr." and I made a point to correct the young man.

"You can call me Ethan."

"Ah... Until another day, Mr. Ethan," he mistakenly corrected, and it made me grind my teeth in displeasure.

Matheus hurriedly left after that, and Mariana accompanied him to the door. When it closed, she unleashed her anger and showed her complete dissatisfaction with my interference.

"You can't meddle in my life like this, Ethan!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger right at my face. "I won't accept you bossing me around. I only do what I want, and your blackmail is already wearing me out. Is that clear to you?"

"As clear as water," I responded sarcastically.