Page 61 of Consequence of One Reckless Night

Lately, Alexandre had begun to spend more time with her, offloading much of his work to subordinates, choosing to work from home mostly. He was always around to help with the chores and even the gardening. They went for a walk every evening on the beach, and often when she got tired, she ended up napping on the sand with her head cradled in his lap.

She thought his care and attention was because she carried his child. Was it also because he’d begun to feel more for her?

Hope flickered anew. Perhaps her wish would be granted after all—to be loved in return like she loved him.

Brimming with hope and joy, she followed a member of the staff to the parlor where she was asked to wait for the Monteiro patriarch. But minutes later when Erica, Leandro’s mother greeted her, her ebullience died a swift death.

“So you came,” Erica remarked haughtily as she parked herself in a chair opposite her. “I didn’t think you would. Not after the way you left my son for that dreadful man.”

Raquel bit her lip as her eyes dropped to her clasped hands in her lap. She knew Erica was terribly upset by the upheaval caused by their hurried wedding. What mother would be happy if her son’s bride chose the illegitimate son of her husband instead?

“As a child, he was always jealous of my Leandro, wanting everything he had,” Erica continued disparagingly. “His clothes, his toys—he wanted to be treated like Leandro, but we surely couldn’t, you know? He is a bastard after all—Rico’s dirty mistake that came back to haunt this family. What could you possibly have seen in him?”

Raquel’s eyes blurred as every word pierced into her heart like a poisoned barb.

“You would have made such a nice bride for Leandro,” she remarked. “But he couldn’t tolerate Leandro finding happiness, so he took you for himself.”

Lifting her head, Raquel opened her mouth to protest. She understood that Erica thought Alexandre took her for himself because he wanted what Leandro had, but the truth was that she had met Alexandre and conceived his child long before meeting Leandro. Certain that this information wouldn’t go down well with Erica, she chose to be quiet.

Erica looked derisively at her bump visible against the soft cotton of her dress. “He’s like his father—he has a wandering eye,” she warned her, her head turned away as though loathed to look at her. “It won’t be long before he finds another woman to share his bed. You can’t trust Alexandre. He’s a bad seed.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Erica’s words frozethe blood in Raquel’s veins. It was a relief when Carlos finally joined them. Although there was no warmth in Carlos’s smile as he greeted her at least he was cordial as he led her to the ornate dining room where she was buffeted by the memories of the night she had learned about Alexandre’s identity.

Stiffly, she sat on Carlos’s right, while Erica chose to sit facing her. Staff jumped into action, serving course after course which Raquel couldn’t do justice to. Her stomach churned as she picked at the fried fish on her plate, unable to put the aromatic morsel into her mouth.

Erica continued her vitriolic harangue about Alexandre’s childhood misdemeanors while Carlos ate heartily, unfazed by his daughter-in-law’s vituperation. Stealing a glance at her grandfather-by-marriage, Raquel wondered how he could listen to Erica harp non-stop about his grandson, and why he didn’t ask her to shut up. She too, decided to tune out Erica, grateful that she hadn’t married Leandro, for she didn’t think she would get along with such a cynical woman.

When the meal was cleared away, and Erica excused herself for a nap, Raquel breathed a sigh of relief. She’d come to the mansion hoping for a reconciliation, but seeing no evidence of that happening, she decided to take her leave when Carlos offered to show her around the family home. Realizing that turning down the host wouldn’t be prudent, she let him show her around the huge house that was the seat of the Monteiro clan for many decades.

“Let’s sit down,” Carlos commented as they walked up to the gazebo.

He looked tired, Raquel thought as she helped him into a chair before taking one right next to him. The last time she was at this gazebo, she was with Leandro, struggling to tell him the truth about the baby she carried in her womb.

“I would’ve invited you here sooner,” Carlos said, his voice frail and his breathing a loud wheeze. “But things have been... unpleasant around here since your wedding.” His expression hardened and Raquel braced for whatever admonishment was sure to come her way. “This all could have been yours,” he said, waving one frail arm around, “had you married Leandro.”

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