Chapter Text
"Hi." He smiled the second he spotted Raquel sitting at the table all alone. He sat opposite of her, smiling.
"Hi." She smiled back at him, happy that he arrived after all. He took his jacket off and threw it on the seat next to him. Even then she noticed the banquet of flowers he was holding this whole time.
"These are for you." He handed the flowers to Raquel.
"Thank you, they're beautiful, Sergio." She smelled the flowers. "But you didn't have to." She placed them on the table next to her.
"I wanted to." He smiled. "Sorry for being a little late, did you wait for long?" He asked, a little bit of worry in his tone.
"You weren't late," Raquel chuckled. "And no, don't worry, I didn't wait for long." She gave him a warm smile. "In fact, I didn't even have time to order."
He smiled and nodded. They sat there for a while, looking at each other until Sergio started: "So, how have you been?"
Raquel couldn't help but chuckle at these words. "I've been doing good." She smiled. "What about you?"
"Good as well." He nodded. "I'm starting to work on the new project."
"Oh, sounds nice." Raquel smiled.
"It is." He smiled. "Our company is supposed to design some stuff for a new start-up."
"Seems interesting." She raised her eyebrows curiously.
"Yeah, but unfortunately it takes more time than I thought." Sergio chuckled a little bit uncomfortably.
"I can imagine." Raquel nodded with a smile on her face.
They sat there, smiles on their faces when the waitress appeared.
"Would you like to order?" She asked looking at the both of them. Sergio gestured towards Raquel simply showing that she should order first. Raquel nodded, smiling.
"I'll have a black coffee with the milk." Raquel smiled and the waitress nodded.
"And for you sir?"
"An apple juice please." He said politely.
"Anything to eat?" The waitress asked still writing down the previous order.
"No, thank you," Raquel answered as the first one.
"Same for me then." Sergio looked toward Raquel.
"Anything else?"
"No, thank you." Raquel smiled and the waitress left.
They sat there for a moment, talking when the waitress came back with the drinks. She put them on the table in front of them and left. Right then Sergio reached for Raquel's cup of coffee.
"What are you doing?" Raquel looked at him confused.
"Caffeine isn't good during pregnancy," Sergio whispered, taking the cup in his hands.
"And how do you know that?" Raquel raised her eyebrows.
"Well, I did read some articles." Sergio smiled and Raquel chuckled.
"And what am I supposed to drink now Mr. Marquina?" Raquel asked curiously, making Sergio smile even more.
"How about an apple juice?" He asked and put the glass in front of her.
"Hmm, doesn't seem so bad." She giggled and Sergio chuckled.
They were sitting in the café, talking, drinking.
"Hey, how about we would go for a walk?" Raquel suddenly suggested.
"In this weather?" Sergio raised his eyebrows unsurely.
"It's not that bad..." Raquel looked outside through the window. Snowflakes started falling from the sky.
"Right..." Sergio took a glance at the snowstorm outside.
"Come on, I need to get home somehow, when you're trying to be a gentleman at least act like one." Raquel teased.
"Well, milady, in that case..." Sergio smiled waving at the waitress with intention of paying.
It was cold.
No.
It was freezing.
But Raquel and Sergio continued walking through Madrid, talking about everything and anything.
"No, there's no way I met your best friend on the day I was running from your apartment." Raquel exhaled in disbelief.
"You really did, I swear." Sergio chuckled.
"I didn't realize that before." Raquel shook her head in disbelief. "At least now I know why he had to get going." She looked at Sergio.
"Yeah, well..." Sergio adjusted his glasses.
"I gave you a hard time, didn't I?" Raquel smirked.
"Well..." Sergio took a deep breath. "You can say I didn't handle the situation very well." He stared at the path disappearing as he was walking forward.
"But you are okay now, right?" Raquel asked with concern in her voice.
"Yeah." Sergio turned his glance at her. "I feel like it." He shrugged and a smile appeared on his face.
"That's good, that's good..." Raquel sighed and nodded.
They walked for a few minutes until they finally reached Raquel's apartment.
"So, here we are." Raquel looked at Sergio and he nodded.
"Here we are." He smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot to say, you have a nice apartment." He looked at her.
"Oh please." Raquel took a deep breath.
"No, really." Sergio looked into her eyes.
"You don't have to lie." She took a deep breath.
"I'm not." He smiled again.
"You have a much better place to live in..." Raquel looked at the ground.
"Maybe I do, but that doesn't mean it feels like home," Sergio whispered to himself.
"What did you say?" Raquel looked at him concerned.
"Nothing, don't worry." Sergio gave her a warm smile.
"Well, I should get going." Raquel smiled and Sergio nodded. "Thank you for walking me home."
"You're welcome." Sergio smiled and moved closer to her. Raquel looked into his eyes as if something was about to happen. She was almost ready to run away when suddenly Sergio opened his arms and pulled her into his warm embrace. Raquel accepted the hug. Soon enough they said their goodbyes to each other and went home.
"I'm home!" Raquel shouted the second the door closed behind her.
"How was it?!" Silene ran into the room as if Raquel called her.
"It was good, I enjoyed it," Raquel answered with a smile on her face.
"Just good? Girl, you had a date with the hottest billionaire in Spain." Silene gave her a knowing look.
"And?" Raquel raised her eyebrows.
"It must have been freaking amazing," Silene smirked.
"Well, he did bring me flowers." Raquel smiled as she walked to the kitchen seeking a vase.
"You see?" Silene followed her. "Who brings flowers on a date that means nothing to them?"
"I don't know." Raquel shrugged. "Gentlemen?"
"At least he is a gentleman, you see?" Silene smiled as Raquel filled the vase with water.
Sergio opened the door of his apartment. He walked in and took his coat off. He sat on the couch, smiling. He took the phone out of his pocket and quickly slid through his app to messages. The only thing that was on his mind was her and he couldn't help it.
"I really enjoyed today :)" He clicked on send and took a deep breath.
What was this woman doing to him? He put the phone on the small table in front of him and walked to the bathroom. The only thing he needed after today was a hot steamy shower.
Raquel smiled as she sat on the bed reading the message from Sergio. It's been two weeks since Sergio and Raquel saw each other for the last time, but every morning Sergio sent Raquel a message saying 'good morning', or even a simple 'hi'.
They were texting a lot these past weeks and without even noticing it, they began to grow closer to each other.
Raquel put her phone down and got out of bed. She went to the kitchen, to get ready for another usual day. Thankfully her morning sickness wasn't present for the past week, so she could enjoy long sleep without getting woken up by her growling stomach.
"Late again, Murillo!" Raquel heard an angry voice behind her as she arrived at the restaurant. She turned around to face her boss. "That's the third time this week!" He shouted as Raquel looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again..." She started, her voice quiet.
"No, it won't because if it will, you'll be fired, this is your last warning, Murillo." He gave her a warning look and Raquel only nodded. "Now go and do your job." He scoffed and Raquel quietly obeyed.
She stepped into the kitchen, she would burst into tears, but she couldn't. She had to do her job as Prieto said, so without any other thoughts, she changed her clothes and started working.
It was a long day, it was Saturday after all, what's a better day to visit a restaurant than on the weekend.
Tired Raquel finally managed to finish her shift, she was about to change clothes, when she heard Prieto's voice behind her back.
"Where do you think you're going?" He looked at her and she took a deep breath.
"I'm going home, sir." She explained herself, but Prieto didn't seem to understand it.
"I don't think you are." He decided. "You were late too many times this week, so today you're staying until the closing."
"But sir," Raquel tried to complain.
"No buts, you're staying or you're fired," Prieto smirked.
"Yes, sir." Raquel glanced at the floor.
"Good, now get back to work." Prieto nodded and so Raquel began.
She was working for another good three hours. If she would just be in another situation she would rather quit than listen to her stupid boss, but now it all wasn't only about her. She had to support her baby and she couldn't let that little human growing inside of her down.
The last guest left, and Raquel stayed in the restaurant all alone. Even Ángel had to leave because of some family dinner, but Raquel didn't mind being alone that much.
She turned all the lights off, closed the door to the kitchen, took her coat on, and walked outside. It was already dark, even though it was like 8 pm. Raquel didn't mind it, she simply turned around to lock the door, when she heard someone breathing on her neck.
It was him.
She would recognize this guy's scent everywhere.
She lost her breath, her whole body started shaking from fear. She felt his cold hand, touching her neck.
"Go back inside," He whispered and she couldn't do anything else than listen.
She slowly opened the door and walked inside, fearing the worst.
"He came back..." She thought to herself as she heard the door lock behind them.
"Look at me!" The man ordered.
Raquel slowly turned around, not wanting to face him. Tears started appearing in her eyes as she recalled all those memories.
"Good girl." The man moved closer towards her, taking her under her chin.
Now she was looking into his cold eyes. He began moving even closer to her, taking her coat off.
"I will make you mine," he whispered with a smirk.
"No!" Raquel shouted in fear.
"No?" The man gave her a puzzled look. "So, you will say no?" He bit his lower lip. "I will show you." He smirked.
He took her around her waist, but Raquel pushed him away.
"No, Alberto!" She shouted.
He only smiled and began moving back closer to her.
"No!" She shouted, hitting his arm. That didn't stop him, so she took all her courage and with all her strength she punched him.
By that, she managed to slow him down a little so without any hesitation, she began moving away.
But before she could fully escape, he took her arm and pushed her against the wall.
She felt a sharp pain going through her whole body as her back hit the wall.
*Flashback*
"No! Please no!" Raquel shouted as Alberto put her on the bed, making sure she had no way to escape.
"Begging won't help you," he whispered and took her bra off. Raquel cried, tears were running down her cheeks. He was just too strong, again. No matter how hard she tried, he was always stronger.
She felt as he began taking her underwear off. She could scream for help, but no one would hear her. She could call the police, but that wouldn't help her. Alberto had his contacts and no matter how many times she tried to ask or call for help, no one could help her.
She felt disgusted by this man. When she married him, she didn't know all this could ever follow.
Sobs turned into loud cries as she felt him enter her. She felt like throwing up, she felt like screaming, but that would only make it worse. She just had to wait for it to be over.
"Leave me alone!" Raquel shouted as she tried to push him away.
"Or?" Alberto looked at her, an evil smile creeping his face.
"Or I will prove it." Raquel took a deep breath.
"Oh really?" Alberto smirked. "And you will do that how?"
"Cameras are here." She smirked, exhaling as he freed her from his grip. He stopped, looking at her.
"You don't have anything." He raised his eyebrows, unsure.
"Do you want to risk it?" She smiled, hoping he will leave.
He only stepped aside, letting her go. He was looking at her, his eyes cold and full of rage. Then he finally made his way to the exit.
"This is not over," he whispered, closing the door behind him.
Raquel exhaled heavily, her breath shaky and her whole body trembling. She couldn't believe what just happened.
She took a deep breath, sitting on the closest chair. Tears started falling down her cheeks and her sobs started getting louder and louder.
She broke down in tears.
Will he ever leave her alone?
She laid her head on the table, feeling the wood touching her skin. Tears were falling on the table as her sobs sounded through the whole restaurant.
She had no proof and what was worse, he could have been waiting for her behind every corner.
She didn't have any better idea than to take the mobile out of her pocket and call the first person she could think of.
"Good evening Mr. Marquina." The man greeted Sergio as he walked inside the building.
"Good evening." Sergio smiled and walked inside. He walked to the closet where he was supposed to take his coat off.
Then he walked to the mirror, making sure his tie was in the correct order. After that, he headed to the main hall which was now full of guests.
"Good evening." He heard a familiar voice as he saw a girl approaching him. It was Tatiana Peréz, a woman, with whom he was currently working on a project.
"Good evening, Miss Peréz," He greeted her back with a handshake and kisses on the cheeks. "I must say this gala looks magnificent."
"Thank you, Mr. Marquina." She smiled as she looked at him.
The both of them began talking to other people and the whole gala began.
It wasn't even an hour when Sergio arrived and his phone suddenly rang.
"Excuse me." He smiled shyly and took the mobile out of his pocket to turn it off, even then he noticed that the one calling him was Raquel. He stopped, holding his phone, looking at her name. He had to answer this call.
"I'm sorry, excuse me for a moment." He apologized and quickly walked to the balcony to answer the call.
"Sergio." Raquel exhaled the second she heard that he picked up the call. "Hi."
"Hi." Sergio smiled to himself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distribute you..." Raquel exhaled heavily, she must've heard the noise in the background.
"Don't worry, you're not distributing at all." Sergio chuckled when suddenly he heard a light sob on the other side.
Was she crying?
"Is everything okay?" He asked, concerned about the situation Raquel could be in.
"I..." Raquel sobbed.
She was crying.
"Can you please help me?" Raquel took a deep breath.
"Of course, what should I do?" Sergio answered quickly.
"Could you please come and get me?" Raquel asked with a low voice.
"Yes, sure, where are you at?" He looked at his phone and quickly clicked on maps to set the navigation.
"I'm at Chicago." Raquel exhaled.
"Okay, I will be there in ten minutes," Sergio announced.
"Thank you." Raquel closed her eyes before ending the call.
Sergio hurried from the balcony to deal with the people waiting for him. He said his apologies and rushed to the dressing room. He quickly took his coat on and he was about to run from the door when someone appeared behind him.
"You're already leaving, Mr. Marquina?" Sergio turned around to face Ms. Peréz.
"Yes, I'm sorry Miss Peréz, it was a great evening, but I have to go." Sergio quickly explained himself.
"So all of the sudden?" She narrowed her eyebrows.
"Yes, I have an emergency, now if you will excuse me, I really have to go." He answered and without further thinking ran out of the door.
He ran towards the car, quickly taking the keys out of his pocket. The second he managed to unlock the car, he sat in and started the engine. He put the seatbelt on and drove from the parking lot.
Raquel sat at the table, tears still rolling down her cheeks. Loud sobs sounded through the restaurant as she quietly hoped for Sergio to hurry up. She hoped she did the right thing when she called him...
The light finally turned green and Sergio could continue driving. He was only one street away from the restaurant and he could only hope not to be late.
As he managed to turn to the street, he looked around. The street was dark, a lack of light during the evenings was obvious and that scared him even more.
Anything could happen, Raquel cried when she called him after all.
That thought terrified him, he didn't was her to cry and most certainly he didn't want anything to happen to her or the baby.
He finally pulled over in front of the restaurant and stepped out of the car. He closed the door and rushed towards the door to the restaurant.
A man was standing there behind the corner as if he was ready to run at anyone who would try to open the door.
Was he the one who caused all of this?
With a little bit of hesitation, Sergio turned his head around to fully face him.
The man grinned and turned around, walking away.
"Odd.." Sergio thought and knocked at the door of the restaurant.
Nobody answered.
He knocked again and still no answer. Even then he decided to try whether it was unlocked. He took the handle and slowly pulled it towards himself as the door opened.
He began walking inside, the room was dark, there was no light in it.
As soon as Raquel heard the door click her breath stopped.
She stopped sobbing for a second, trying to concentrate on the footsteps she heard.
"Raquel?" He called her name softly.
"Sergio..." Raquel sobbed as she recognized the voice of the man who walked inside.
Sergio walked through the room, following the sound of her voice, finally, he managed to find the place she sat, and as soon as he saw her he ran towards her. Raquel stood up, tears rolling down he face, she ran towards him.
"Are you okay?" He asked as she threw herself in his arms. But she didn't answer, she only buried her face in his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.