Chapter 3 crazy

shaken. — I looked at her, who had both hands on her chin thoughtfully, the purple mark on her wrist was still visible, for a moment I thought about approaching her to give her a little massage, but that would be very daring on my part. I put coffee in the cups, handed one to Lara, took a pancake, added honey and served it. She thanks. I sat down opposite her and we started drinking coffee, as I'm not one to think about things to talk about, I immediately explained what I had been thinking all night to her. I stared at her, working up the courage to expose all my feelings for her. - How are you feeling? If her wrist is really painful, we can go to the orthopedist,” she said after taking a sip of coffee. — It doesn't hurt. Don't worry. What hurts me are those debts that Fernando left in my name. I never thought he was capable of such an act. — I noticed the hurt in his voice. I thought about everything and decided to propose what I had been pondering all night. — I could pay the debts that my brother left and that are now falling on you, Lara. But that would mean your departure, and I can't lose you again. So in this case, I allow myself to be selfish. At least once in my life, I'm allowing myself to fight for the woman I love, who I've always loved. I thought of a solution for both of us. Will you marry me, Lara? If you don't fall in love with me for a year, you will be free to live your life. — As soon as I finished, I looked at her, who started coughing, choking on the coffee, I stood up quickly, patting her back twice. She stopped coughing, passing the napkin over her mouth. I handed him the glass of water I got from the fridge. She drank half the liquid. - Marry you? I don't understand, Frederico — she said, amazed. I approached her again, trying to explain better what I just said. I know I was quick and didn't express myself well. — I've always been in love with you, Lara. Ever since I saw you leaving that shoe store where you worked; At first, I went to the mall just to try to talk to you, but I never had the courage; The days went by, I told my mother about my feelings for you, I'm sure Fernando heard it and went on your date first and won you over. That's why I decided to leave Brazil, I couldn't bear to see you together, I didn't want to get involved because you became his girlfriend, and then his fiancée. — My words came out quickly. And I noticed that I was breathing quickly. Lara got up, pacing back and forth nervously, claiming that she never noticed my interest in her. Of course, she only had eyes for my brother. I got closer trying to touch her shoulder, but she backed away, avoiding my touch, my heart sank due to her rejection. I decided to stay quiet, waiting for her to say something to me. — You are very selfish, Frederico. I thought you were different from Fernando, but I noticed it was only in appearance, since, in character, you are so similar. — He threw the words in my face, leaving me hurt. —Nothing hurt me more than your assumption about me, comparing me to Fernando. Know that I would never raise my hand to a woman, except to caress her, and when you get to know me better, you will see that you made a big mistake about me. I'll leave before we hurt each other any more. I'll let you think it all over, and when I have an answer, you know my cell phone number. — Lara didn't turn to look at me, so I opened the door and stomped out, heading to my car. Upon arriving at the hotel where I was staying, I decided to take a shower to cool down. I thought about going to my mother's house the next day and trying to understand all of Lara's pain. I know Fernando had a dubious character, but if he mistreated her, why didn't she leave him? I left the bathroom, going to bed afterwards, I wasn't feeling well, and seeing Lara after months, hurt, injured, just left my heart broken even more. CHAPTER 4 Lara Barcelos After Frederico left my house yesterday quite upset, and rightly so, I was assimilating everything we talked about. I never imagined that he had any feelings for me, I confess that something inside me changed, and I imagined myself, for a brief second, marrying him. I imagined what our life would be like. Would it be the same hell that lived with Fernando? I shook my thoughts away and left the house, my cell phone vibrated, warning me that the app car was in front of the house. I locked the door and went towards the car, I looked at the driver and he was the same one in the photo, I greeted him and got in. I was going to have lunch with Cristina, the only friend I had left after I moved in with Fernando, we worked together at the shoe store in the shopping center in the north zone. I called her, inviting her to lunch, because I wanted to vent. I thanked the driver and walked out to get on the escalator, fixed my bag, entered the store and, as soon as she saw me, she walked towards me, smiling happily. After we hugged, I waited for a few minutes for her to leave for her lunch break. While she waited, I kept thinking that I could go back to work here, maybe the store doesn't need a salesperson, since it's the end of the year and they're always hiring. After Cristina was released, we went to the food court. We sat down and I started to tell her everything, from the beginning of my relationship, the fights with Fernando, the accident and, finally, my brother-in-law's proposal to pay my debts. In that last part, she put her hand over her mouth, but didn't stop smiling. — My God, friend! I never imagined you would go through all this at the hands of that scoundrel. Why didn't you ever tell me anything? The last time I saw you, I noticed you were looking pretty haggard. I called you and your cell phone was just turned off, I thought you had gone on a trip, so I didn't worry, and then the news came out about Fernando's death, I couldn't even be with you, my mother fell and broke her femur, we had to pay for the surgery, it was a crazy rush, she is still recovering. — She finished speaking and looked at my wrist. I still covered it up, but she touched the purple area very slowly. —Was it him, Frederico? — She asked quietly. — No, of course not — I quickly denied. Frederico would never do that to me. — Frederico is the opposite of his brother, despite having proposed marriage to me, he is good, I feel. — Cristina looked at me smiling. — He's very handsome, I always noticed his second thoughts at you, but you only had eyes for the wrong twin. Will you accept his proposal? — I thought about your question and we ordered our lunch. — I don't know, I can sell the house, maybe go back to the store? — She looked at me sad. — The store will close after Christmas and New Year sales. Dona Salete will sell the space; After her husband passed away, she decided to live near her children in