Chapter 10

Helena opens her eyes and, for a few seconds, feels like she's waking up somewhere else, at another moment in her life. It's a moment from a few days ago, to be exact. Perhaps because it was the day she would be returning from this trip. She raises her left hand, making sure it's just a sensation to feel the weight of her 18-carat gold ring, perfectly chosen by her for her wedding day. She closes her eyes, caressing her finger while letting her mother's words sink in. Indeed, Helena didn't want to end up like her mother, and she had agreed to go to Parati just to rub the email in the face of the audacious clerk. Of course, she also wanted to reflect on how to reverse the situation, but now... Now, it didn't make any sense. She would change the situation, and then what? Marry Leandro and pretend that nothing he said affected her? Ignore that this trip had affected her? Conceal that Bruno was stirring something in her in two days that her fiancé couldn't do in years?

"What?" Hel