04

"He who does not love does not know God, because God is love." —1 John 4:8

Florianópolis, May 21, 2020.

Giovanna Rinaldi

I took a deep breath and decided to tell you what really happened because if Antonella was capable of putting that being in here, I don't know what else she's capable of.

• In 2013, I was 16 years old, it was the Christmas party of my father's company, Conceito Rinaldi, since it was relatively close to the Christmas holidays, the company stopped for two weeks to celebrate the festivities, Saulo was 21 at the time, he was, or rather still is, a spoiled brat who gets everything when he wants it and it was no different with me, Antonella told me to go to my father's room to get something that I don't remember now and, when I got there to get it, I was startled to see Saulo, I asked him what he was doing there, since it was forbidden for anyone other than my parents or my brothers to enter, and then he said to me: "- I'm here to look after you, beautiful. " You don't know how I felt when I heard that, it was totally psychotic, but I tried not to show fear and to get out of there as quickly as possible, but before I could think of anything, he grabbed me and kissed me forcibly, I tried to get free in every possible way until I saw an object on my father's table, I luckily managed to pick it up and hit him on the head, the impact was so great that he even fainted. I ran out in despair, crying a lot, and when my father saw me like that, he almost flew to me, I told him everything that had happened, he went crazy and went after Saulo to kill him and only didn't do it because his father begged him a lot, my father called the police and within a few hours he was arrested and I got a protective order against him, but the next day he paid the bail and was released. My father did everything he could to get him out of the country and he succeeded. He was never supposed to come back, but he decided to show up today. - With every memory of that night, more tears fell down my cheeks. I don't confess this to anyone, but I'm so broken inside that I ended up accepting this crazy marriage for my father and to get away from Antonella.

• And I thought my life was crazy, I'm sorry I made you remember that. - He hugged me, and I snuggled into his arms.

• I don't know why Antonella hates me so much, I was lucky to grow up full of love from Mariam, my father, my brothers, the twins, but a mother's love is missed. - I replied after a while in silence.

• In time you'll find out why, if there's one thing that never stays hidden for long, it's the truth.

• Thank you for giving me strength and saying those nice words, I'm even calmer, but now I just want to enjoy this party as much as I can. - I smiled and he gave me one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen.

• Fair enough, shall we go back to the party then?

• We did!

We enjoyed the party with our happy guests. When we got back from the outbuilding, I didn't see Saulo anywhere in that huge garden and I heard later from Ana that he had been kicked out by my father. The party lasted until dawn, and I don't even remember how I got to my room, lying in my beloved bed, ready to sleep for the rest of the day. It didn't take me long to fall asleep and when I did, I slept peacefully without worrying about tomorrow or the world outside.