Nor did I tell him that this contract had been carefully arranged by my father, a man whom Rya deeply admired but whom he had never met.
For Rya, my father was simply a powerful businessman, almost a living legend within the corporate world.
Richard Halstead’s name appeared constantly in business articles, financial conferences, and conversations between ambitious executives who dreamed of reaching their level.
Rya used to talk about him as if he were a role model.ucrm,
Sometimes he even repeated phrases he had read in my father’s interviews, trying to dream of being a visionary like him.
What I imagined was that the man I idolized was, in reality, my own father.
And that the contract that had just changed his career had not come through his own merit, but as a silent gift to protect me.
That morning Rya eпtró eп la cociпa coп upa soпrisa arrogaпte y el telefoпo eп la maпo, leereпdo eп voz alta los mensajes de felicitacióп qυe recibira de sŅs compañeros y superores.
He walked around the house with his chest puffed out, as if each compliment were an invisible medal hanging on his freshly laced suit.
—He said my presentation was the best he’s seen all year —he said proudly, raising the phone as if he were showing off a trophy.
Then he leaned towards me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, an automatic gesture that seemed more like a social habit than a show of real affection.
While I watched him talk nonstop about his bright future within the company, I felt a small lump in my stomach that had nothing to do with the pains of my pregnancy.
Coпoyó demasiado bien lo qυe ocυrría cυaпdo Ryaп se пtío poder.
Success transformed him.
It made him arrogant, impatient, and less and less able to see the people around him as anything more than tools.
When night fell, that change was already evident.
The door of the house opened forcefully and Rya entered, staggering slightly, enveloped in the strong smell of whiskey and euphoria.
His shirt was half unbuttoned and his expression had that dangerous mixture of pride and contempt that I had learned to recognize.
But what really made my heart skip a beat was the woman who entered behind him.
Sabri.
