Seeking Forgiveness

Ethan

That simple gesture seemed to snap her out of the stupor she was in. With her eyes looking like two beautiful pools, she stared at me with a faint smile.

"What did you say?" Mariana asked.

"That I love you, Mariana," I repeated my declaration of love. "I love you so much! And that's all that matters to me now. Do you understand?"

The face that once seemed a mask of anger and numbness had completely transformed. Before I stood my joyful and vibrant Mariana, looking at me with passion, even though she hadn't yet confessed her feelings for me.

"I apologize for interrupting the lovebirds, but I have something very important to tell you," Arthur interrupted us.

Only then did I realize the presence of the other man in my office because, until that moment, Mariana had my full attention.

"I believe you won't be happy to hear this, but Bruna has left," he revealed.

I sighed with irritation, trying to control the anger that had taken hold of me upon learning that Bruna had managed to escape, taking advantage of the moment when my attention was solely on Mariana.

"Damn it!" I cursed in frustration.

Mariana gave me a disapproving look as she saw how upset I was about Bruna's departure. I quickly explained after briefly touching my lips to hers. I missed her terribly and would seize any opportunity to touch her.

"You'll soon understand why I'm so upset about Bruna's departure," I explained to Mariana. "But first, I'm curious about why you're here."

I was addressing Arthur, who smirked sarcastically, fully entering my office and comfortably sitting on my couch.

"I believe you already know about the media's newest favorite topic," Arthur teased, creating suspense.

"Yes, yes," I quickly agreed. "And what do you have to say about it?"

That subject was distressing to Mariana, and I didn't want to see her suffer, so I tried to get straight to the point.

"I'm here to tell you that it was Bruna who sold the story of the auction to the press," Arthur revealed.

I immediately became tense and genuinely angry upon hearing that accusation.

"How can you be sure?" Mariana asked, sounding even more curious than I was.

"And how can we be sure that it wasn't you?" I pointed at my partner, "Who leaked this story to the media?"

Arthur then told us everything, particularly the part where Bruna had discovered the auction and her lack of character in using that secret as a bargaining chip to benefit herself at the expense of Mariana and Virginia.

"You were a complete idiot," I pointed out, stating the truth. "For letting Bruna find out about this. But now it's too late, and all we can do is try to minimize the damage caused by the news in the media."

Although Arthur had a significant role in everything that was happening, I didn't dwell on that issue. After all, the damage had already been done, and it was a cowardly act.

"Afterwards, we can talk more, okay?" I asked Mariana.

"Okay," she agreed with extreme sweetness.

We needed to talk and clarify many things, but being with Mariana by my side was so wonderful that I couldn't even think straight. I was feeling so happy to have her with me. And that was what truly mattered.

"I really need to go," Mariana seemed reluctant to leave, actually. "Aunt Celina hasn't seen anything in the newspapers yet, but it won't be long before she does. So, before she finds out in the wrong way, I'd rather tell her myself."

I admired Mariana's courage and the way she seemed to be facing the situation. Unfortunately, I couldn't accompany her at that moment because I couldn't let Bruna get away with it.

"Don't worry," Mariana said when I shared what was going through my mind. "I actually prefer to talk to my aunt alone, to have that moment just between us."

I understood perfectly what she meant. After all, it had always been just her and Aunt Celina, and I would never try to interfere in their relationship.

After Mariana left, I contacted Joshua and Murilo, who, like me, were absolutely furious, especially after finding out that Bruna was responsible for the leak.

"That woman needs to pay for her actions," Murilo pointed out with extreme coldness. "She can't get away with it once again, like when she pushed Lavínia down the stairs."

Of course, he was right. But when Arthur and I searched for Bruna in her apartment, we found no one. Even after bribing the building's doorman, all we discovered was that she had hurriedly arrived at her apartment, grabbed some suitcases that were probably already packed, and left on a trip.

We couldn't extract any more information, and we weren't even sure if it was accurate. But there was no point in putting someone to watch over Bruna when she had already done what she needed to do.

Now I just have to wait.

But Arthur had done something good after letting that information slip to Bruna, and I was extremely pleased to learn that he had even taken the initiative before us. He bought the Season Hot nightclub and shut it down, redistributing the employees to his other ventures so that no one would be adversely affected by the situation.

So when the media tried to contact the place, nothing could be discovered beyond what Bruna had already told the newspaper she had sold the story to.

But as Mariana said, the damage had already been done, and she, along with Virginia, was sad but resigned to what had happened.

After briefly speaking with Murilo and being informed that he intended to take Virginia out of São Paulo for a few days, at least until things could calm down a bit, I considered it the perfect opportunity to do something I had been wanting to do for a while but hadn't done yet due to all the ups and downs in my relationship with Mariana.

Without hesitation, I sought her out and personally extended the invitation. I would take her to my parent's country house. They needed to meet the woman of my life, the one I wanted to marry and build my own family with.