Prisioner In Your Arms

The two couples arrived at the mansion, and Bruno decided not to go back to the office for the day.

“This place is beautiful, the layout of the house is perfect, and those enormous windows let in enough light inside. The garden is truly stunning,” exclaimed Sophie, amazed.

“Nicole designed the garden.”

“That’s great, friend.”

“The sad part is that I don’t even remember it.”

“Brother, let’s have a whiskey in the study.”

“Sure, brother.” Dante followed him, understanding that Bruno needed to talk to him alone.

“What’s going on?”

“Uffff, too much is happening,” he replied as he finished his whiskey.

“Nicole has forgotten everything about our relationship. I don’t know what her reaction will be when she finds out or starts to remember. She will hate me again,” he said, completely distressed.

“Then gather your courage and tell her yourself. She will appreciate your honesty.”

“I will, but first, I will make her fall in love with me again.”

“Their relationship has been filled with challenges and significant problems from the beginning.”

“That’s right, but the love I feel for her won’t yield to anything that may happen, and I know that even though she doesn’t remember it, she loves me too.”

The next morning, Bruno and Dante headed to the corporate office. The blonde had to bring him up to speed on the financial state of the new company, and René would also be present.

Early in the morning, Max called the girls, expressing his desire to have breakfast with them. Nicole asked him to come to the mansion, where they would have breakfast. Bruno had asked her not to go out without his company as it could be dangerous, even though they had bodyguards. She felt safer if he could protect her.

“Good morning, Sophie, little dragonfly,” he couldn’t help but call Nicole that; they had been doing it for many years.

“Good morning, Max,” both girls replied.

They had breakfast while catching up. Nicole was amazed at everything she had forgotten. The guys avoided the topic of her relationship with Bruno; that was something only he could tell her.

“Girls, I need to talk to you about something very serious, and even though I’ve tried to move on, it still embarrasses me.”

“You know you can tell us anything. More than a friend, we consider you our brother, and we will always support you, no matter what happens,” Nicole replied.

“That’s right, friend,” Max sighed before speaking.

“For a long time, I thought I was in love with you, Nicole. For many years, I believed I was. That is until I met someone who made me realize that my affection for you was a brotherly love.”

“I’m glad to hear that there’s someone in your life,” Nicole genuinely felt happy about it.

“It’s more than that. It’s very complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be if you’re in love,” the blonde said.

“Ufff, I’m too in love, but the problem is not that I am, but with whom,” Max confessed.

“You’re scaring us, friend. What’s wrong?” Nicole asked, worried.

“I hadn’t wanted to realize what was happening to me. How many girls have you known who had some kind of relationship with me?” Max asked.

“Now that I remember, I think you had a fling with a girl when you entered university. After that, you remained obsessed with Nicole for most of your life,” Sophie recalled.

“That’s right, and I hadn’t even realized what was happening inside me. In college, while I was training with the football team, I always felt admiration for the other guys. Well, I thought it was just that,” Max explained.

“Friend, are you trying to tell us that…” Nicole began, but Max didn’t let her finish the sentence.

“I fell in love with a man,” Max said. Contrary to what he had expected, he felt a sense of liberation in admitting it.

The girls were left speechless, completely amazed. They had never thought that Max was into guys. It’s not that they thought it was wrong; it was just a complete surprise to them.

“I’m glad you have someone you love by your side. Look at me, at least for now, I’m with Bruno, and I don’t remember loving him,” Nicole said.

“Can we meet him?” Sophie asked curiously.

“You already know him. In fact, you saw me with him yesterday,” Max revealed.

The girls turned to each other, completely lost, until they remembered.

“So, your partner, the man you’re in love with is…” Nicole started.

“Yes, it’s Amadeus Richter.”

Nicole covered her mouth with her hand, unable to believe it. Amadeus was known for his fascination with women; he was quite the playboy.

“Friend, are you sure he feels the same way about you? He’s known for being a playboy around the world,” Nicole asked, feeling deeply concerned that Amadeus might come to despise her friend.

“Does he know that you love him?” Sophie inquired.

“Relax, girls. We’ve been living together for some time now. We’ve traveled around the world,” Max explained, leaving the girls gaping in surprise. How had this happened? “I met Amadeus at a bar. That day, I decided to have a drink because I felt bad knowing that the person I thought I loved was completely out of my reach.”

“I’m sorry for making you suffer, friend,” Nicole said, embracing Max.

“That day at the bar, I didn’t realize I was being watched. Amadeus followed me when I went to the restroom. He stood in front of me, and it was all very strange. We were both quite drunk, and then, when I least expected it, he kissed me. I pushed him away and quickly left that place. I had no idea what the hell had happened. Later, I saw him again at your parents’ house by the beach.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

I felt terrible when Sophie asked during the game if I had ever wanted to sleep with someone of the same gender. Of course, I was going to lie, especially because Amadeus had his eyes fixed on me. It has been difficult for him too. He had created a reputation as a womanizer.”

“Oh, friend! You’ve been through so much, and we had no idea,” Nicole said, tears streaming down her cheeks. Both Max and Amadeus were going through a lot to be together.

“After that, we met again at the bar. After avoiding each other for some time, many things happened. Then he went back to Russia and tried to continue his life, dating some girls, but it wasn’t the same anymore. So, he came back to find me, and here we are, ready to face everyone. It’s incredible that many people who know us are the ones pointing fingers at us and even mocking us.

When we’re among strangers, it’s normal; no one pays attention. That’s why we’ve been traveling these past months. But we know we have to face our reality and make all those people who have ridiculed us at least respect us. The most challenging part is Amadeus’ playboy reputation. Sometimes, in public places, when a girl who knows him approaches to suddenly kiss him or sits on his lap, a few months ago, he had to hire someone to delete some news that was published online.

There were photos of us kissing, and the mocking of his character was inevitable. People enjoyed pointing fingers at him and gave him terrible nicknames. It’s mostly a smear campaign by the women he has been involved with in the past. Those girls dreamt of marrying him; they all fought to be with the handsome millionaire. One girl even slapped me when she saw us at a restaurant, and another spilled hot coffee on me.”

“God! People can be so stupid,” Nicole exclaimed, her tears continuing to flow. Both Max and Amadeus were enduring so much just to be together.

“Actually, despite the external struggle I’ve been facing, the internal one is the worst. Nevertheless, Amadeus is the one who has suffered the most. People feel entitled to point fingers and mock us without considering that what happens between him and me is our concern alone. It’s our relationship, our feelings. We’re not hurting anyone by being together. If either of us had a girlfriend or were married, then it would be wrong. It’s not right to hurt another person just to maintain appearances. I would never agree with that; it wouldn’t be fair.”

“I admire your bravery in fighting for that love, friend. Rest assured, I would never judge you. On the contrary, I’m glad you have found love, whether it’s with a man or a woman. You have the right to be happy,” Nicole said, her words filled with sincerity.

“Thank you, my little dragonfly. You know that my love for you will be eternal,” Max said, embracing Nicole tightly. He felt comforted by that hug.

“Hey, guys, what about me? You know I feel the same as Nicole,” Sophie said, joining the embrace. At that moment, Danna, who was sleeping in her stroller, woke up crying.

“Sorry, guys, it’s time to breastfeed her,” Sophie said, covering herself with a small blanket to nurse her baby.

“Wow, you’re breastfeeding your baby,” Nicole exclaimed, amazed.

“Believe me, friend, you told me you did the same with Santi. It’s the best thing we can do for our children. It strengthens the bond between us and improves their health,” Sophie explained.

Nicole became serious. She had several questions in her mind. How many more things had she forgotten? Why did Sophie say that she had told her? She wasn’t with them when her child was born.