Chapter 2 Unraveling Ties

Dorian went straight home. It was the first time he had returned home during work hours. The place, which was always spotless, no longer had any trace of Amelia, only the divorce agreement that the wind had messed up on the coffee table. Dorian grabbed it. The document was simple; Amelia had not asked for anything, everything was going to remain as before her marriage. And there was her signature, as elegant and artistic as ever. He stared at the signature on the paper, not realizing that time was still ticking, until he heard the soft sound of the door opening.

He snapped his head toward the entrance. Cintia was just entering and she was scared by Dorian's intense look.

“What's wrong?” she asked confused, noticing how the hope on Dorian's face faded, leaving an unbreakable calm.  "Nothing," he answered in a neutral voice, “and what are you doing here?”  “I came to see if Amelia was okay and to keep her company,” Cintia approached smiling, “And you? Why did you come back so early? Did something happen to Amelia?”  As she spoke, her concern was evident, she even turned to look at the rooms.  “Okay,” Dorian looked at her, “Do you come often?”  “Not much, just once in a while.”  Cintia seemed uncomfortable and changed the subject when she saw the papers in Dorian's hand: “And what is that?”   She tried to grab it, but Dorian was faster and pressed it against the table.   “Nothing important,” he said, staring at her, “If it's not necessary, you don't have to come. Amelia is busy with her work. When we can, we will come visit you.”   His mother started to say, “How busy can she be?” but corrected herself in time, “It's okay.”

She couldn't help but remind Dorian: Amelia has been trying to get pregnant for more than a year and nothing, it might be that something was wrong. She should make herself known in case she can't have children.   Dorian responded curtly: “I no longer want a child.”  Cintia looked at him surprised.   Her son was giving signs that the visit was coming, but he was even more explicit: “Better leave, and don't come back if it's not necessary.”  Cintia opened her mouth, as if wanting to protest, but before Dorian's cold gaze, she fell silent and left.   He saw the door close, glanced at the place that no longer had any signs of Amelia's life, sighed, and knocked.  To his assistant: “Yael, coordinate an appointment with César about the divorce.”   "Hey?" Yael was paralyzed, if only yesterday he had seen Amelia and they didn't seem to be fighting.  But Dorian had already hung up, threw the papers on the table, and left.  Amelia had moved back to her little house in the suburbs.   It was a property she had bought before she got married, small and perfect for herself.

And it was right there, in that tiny house, where she had a one-night stand with Dorian, became pregnant, and that tied them together irrevocably.   That night she couldn't refuse her friend Frida, who convinced her to go to a reunion of former school classmates.   And against all odds, Dorian, who never went to those meetings, was there.

After graduating from school, they had lost all contact, neither taking part in alumni groups nor attending reunions, as if they had only crossed paths for a brief moment before disappearing from each other's lives.   Dorian had even completely disappeared.   No one knew where he had gone or what he had done, and Amelia, although she sometimes tried to get some information from her former companions, never got anything about Dorian.

So when she saw him suddenly after several years, she was surprised and nervous. Feelings that she had never had the courage to express when she was younger now fluttered in her chest. But still, she did not dare to confess her love for him, or even to speak to him without feeling self-conscious, especially since Dorian sat next to her, so close to her that her shyness intensified with every moment.   She was nervous and didn't want it to show, so she hid behind the food and drink to hide her concern, without realizing that she was starting to get drunk.   Probably out of goodwill at having shared a table, Dorian took the initiative to take her home at the end of the meeting.

Amelia lived alone and although she was somewhat drunk, she had not completely lost consciousness, but the alcohol had affected her balance.   As soon as he entered her small one-room apartment, he tripped over the shoes she had left in the entryway. She was about to fall when Dorian, with quick reflexes even without turning on the light, grabbed her and pulled her towards him. Dorian had also drunk something and did not know if it was the effect of the alcohol or the darkness that stimulated that moment, but their gazes collided in the air and under the deep night, being the man she had secretly loved for years, she could not look away. Slowly, as their gazes remained fixed, their breaths came closer.

Amelia wasn't one to let herself go easily, she hadn't even had a boyfriend before, but that night she got lost in Dorian's deep, tender, and focused gaze.  It was the look and the man she had dreamed of countless times.  That night they gave themselves to each other with an innocent and burning passion.   Little did she know that Dorian likes her, and was also inexperienced in matters of the heart and the flesh.   His looks and family didn't fit someone who didn't have a girlfriend.  But after two years of knowing each other, Amelia understood why Dorian had always been single: a man dedicated to his work had no time or energy for love.   A strict upbringing since childhood had also made him remain pure.   That night was a once-in-a-lifetime incident for both of them.   Amelia had already planned her life. She studied architectural design at university, she had talent and excellent skills, so she wanted to continue studying. She was already in the process of applying to the Department of Architecture of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, but that unexpected night upset all her plans.   She didn't expect to get pregnant.   They didn't take precautions that night, and the next day they got up late. She had an interview and couldn't go to the pharmacy to get a morning-after pill. She thought she would be safe on her non-fertile days, but she was not.   When she found out she was pregnant, she didn't know what to do.   But Dorian suggested getting married and having the baby.

Only two weeks had passed since that night and they had not spoken. Amelia had no intention of telling him, but by chance, they met at the hospital where Dorian was visiting his grandfather.   She felt uncomfortable and tried to hide her test results, but it was too late.

He glanced at the hospital  report she was trying to hide behind her back and extended his hand toward her.  "Let me see."  Those two simple and calm words carried an authority that did not allow rejection.  Amelia, doubtful, gave him the results.   Dorian looked at the report in silence for a moment and then asked: "What do you plan to do?"   She shook her head, confused. She didn't know what to say, she hadn't planned that pregnancy and her arrival had disrupted all of her life plans.

“I'd suggest we get married and have this baby,” Dorian said. “But you have the last word. If you don't want to, I won't force you.”  “Get married?”  Amelia was stunned, she thought Dorian was joking, but he nodded seriously. “I'm serious.”   He gave her two days to think about it.

She loved him, she had loved him for many years, but she had never imagined that one day he would say to her:  "Let's get married."

After two days of internal struggle between confusion and desire, she met Dorian and said, “Let's get married.” Her response was as calm as the day they got divorced, he simply nodded.  "Good."  On the third day, they got married.  It seemed crazy, but everything had its logic.   Only Amelia never imagined that that child would not be born.  Her marriage with Dorian also did not last until the third year.  It started quickly and ended just as quickly.  Those two years were like a dream.   Looking at her house, Amelia felt empty and hurt inside.   That look from that night, when she almost tripped over her shoes and he caught her, staring at her, kept replaying in her mind.  She clearly remembered the intensity and emotions flowing in his dark eyes, and even today, her heart pounded when she thought about it.  She thought there was love.   Like her, he had loved her for years, so that night there were feelings and passion.   But that's not the case, he was simply drunk.  Her heart felt heavy and aching as she realized that.

Amelia remembered days ago when she accompanied him to his house and, passing by the study, she accidentally overheard the argument between his father and him.

“I know that you were very fond of your grandfather, so when he was seriously ill and you wanted him to see you married before he died, you brought Amelia home, and she was also pregnant with your son, so I didn't say anything, to the least my father left peacefully. But two years have passed, and the child did not have the opportunity to be born, are you going to continue like this with her for the rest of your life?”  “I have my reasons, don't get involved.”   “How can I not get involved? How could I not? They always say that alcohol brings problems, look what happened, because of Amanda Sabin, you refused to have a girlfriend and just to go to a damn alumni reunion, that woman found the opportunity.”

“Dad,” Dorian interrupted him, with a cold tone, “This is my fault, Amelia has nothing to do with it.”  “It's okay, I won't talk about her anymore, every time I mention her you just defend her. Just tell me, if Amanda comes back, what are you going to do? Don't forget that you are committed to her.”  “She will never come back.”

Amelia noticed how Dorian's voice softened; it was rare to hear another emotion in his calm voice. He clearly felt a special affection for that girl called "Amanda."  It was the first time Amelia had heard that name, and she was stunned for a moment.  She didn't know how to feel; she was suddenly confused, but she didn't feel rejection or resistance; she even felt a strange intimacy with that name.  She didn't try to find out who Amanda was; it wasn't necessary. The problems between Dorian and her were not due to anything else.

He only appeared at the time when he needed to get married to appease his grandfather.  Now that their grandfather was no longer there, and the child who united them was no longer there, there was no reason to remain tied for life.   Amelia knew that if she didn't say anything, Dorian probably wouldn't mention the divorce either, and they would continue together, living uneventful days.  But she didn't want to continue.  That was not the married life she wanted.

She wanted a husband whom she loved and who loved her, who was not necessarily rich, but who understood difficult and warm moments, who could share with her a daily life full of warmth and satisfaction, not someone who loved another person and saw her as a responsibility.  So she suggested divorce, an idea that had surfaced six months ago but that she had hesitated to decide on.   And Dorian, as she expected, quickly agreed.  He was probably relieved, Amelia thought.

The pain in her chest continued. With her hand on her heart, she looked around the space that was once filled with her hopes, feeling increasingly distressed but also relieved to let it go.  After a while, she grabbed her phone and called the real estate agent who had sold her the house: “Hello, I would like to sell my house in Jardines de la Paz, can you help me with that?”  The agent still remembered Amelia, a woman with a soft and beautiful appearance, young and with a good temperament; she had left a deep impression on him.

“Of course, no problem,” he responded right off the bat. “Is the beautiful lady thinking of moving to a bigger house?”  "No." Amelia smiled, diverting the topic. “Then I thank you.”

The news that Amelia was selling her property reached Yael, Dorian's assistant, a couple of days later. He was looking to move somewhere closer to the office and had been looking at properties online.   The complex where Amelia lived was close to Dorian's company, so when looking for nearby properties, hers emerged.  He had helped with the move when Dorian and Amelia got married; he remembered perfectly the interior of Amelia's house, decorated with elegance and simplicity, so he recognized it right away.

He was shocked and couldn't help but take a look at Dorian's office.  His boss had asked him to help him with the divorce paperwork, so he was aware of the separation.  It had always seemed to him that Dorian and Amelia got along well; they weren't one of those saccharine marriages, but they weren't a resentful couple either. It didn't seem like they had enough reasons to divorce.  He didn't understand why they had suddenly separated.  His boss didn't seem like the typical man despondent over a divorce. Except for that day when he left everyone standing in the meeting room, he had been as usual.  If there was anything out of the ordinary, it was that Dorian was spending even more time in the office, practically living there, and had become more demanding about work.

They all walked on thin ice when he was around; the entire building was immersed in an atmosphere of constant tension.   suspected that the divorce had affected Dorian, although he did not know if it was just a fight between the couple.

He doubted whether he should tell Dorian that Amelia was selling her house; for him, selling the house was practically running away.  As long as the person was there, there was a chance to fix things, but if they left, that chance disappeared.

He didn't want to continue working in such an oppressive environment.  Lost in his thoughts, he was snapped out of them when Dorian looked up from the computer screen and looked at him: “What's wrong?”  Yael was startled: “Nothing, nothing.”   His boss rebuked him: “If it's nothing, why do you look at me for so long?”  “I…” Yael was hesitant.  Dorian replied, “Speak clearly.”

Decidedly, Yael turned the screen of his mobile phone toward Dorian: “It seems that Amelia is going to sell her house, maybe she will –.”  He watched as Dorian's hand on the mouse stopped, waiting for him to say something, but he coldly returned his gaze to the computer screen.   "And?" was his response, calm and distant.