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Side Story (Claudio Falcone)
Claudio had overestimated his own callousness. In his mind, his connection with Dora was nothing more than a business partnership. But he’d overlooked a fundamental truth that people were emotional beings, and the adage “love develops over time” existed for a reason.
Those seven years by her side were the most relaxing days of his life, Sure, he had an accident, yet his mental faculties remained sharp. There had been a blood clot in his brain, but in less than half a year, it had slowly dissolved. Only he knew that he’d concealed the truth from Dora for a solid seven years. Throughout that period, he witnessed her unwavering dedication to his care. Despite her daily exhaustion, whenever she laid eyes on him, a beaming smile would grace her face. He was well aware of her predicament within his family. While he couldn’t turn the situation around, he did his utmost to smooth things over. In the beginning, he approached it with a friendly and cooperative mindset. After all, Dora was the one looking after him, and he felt obliged to make sure she didn’t get pushed around or bullied. As time passed, though, he saw these people’s actions escalating. They started to go overboard, engaging in acts of false accusation. What was worse, even his own mother took a dislike to her. The truth was, his choice to be with her was all meticulously calculated. It was a strategic move he had deliberately made.
He had initially anticipated that this plan would come to a swift conclusion. Never had he imagined that those two fools would be so inept that it would take an interminably long time just to deal with one of them. His state of mind evolved through a series of phases. In the beginning, he was brimming with expectation, eagerly looking forward to the plan’s fruition. As time dragged on and obstacles piled up, frustration crept in, gnawing at his patience. This was soon followed by incessant complaining as he vented his dissatisfaction with the sluggish pace. Gradually, he became desensitized to the setbacks, slipping into a state of numbness. Eventually, he found himself teetering on the edge of a breakdown, so close to throwing in the towel in despair. He couldn’t help but think that if he had taken matters into his own hands, he
could have brought down the opponent within two years. But those two idiots had needlessly prolonged the whole ordeal for what seemed like an eternity.
Just as the first light of victory peeked through the clouds, he was so fixated on the end goal that he completely missed the stirrings of his own heart. Without realizing it, he had already tumbled headlong into love with Dora, to the point where he relied on her presence like a flower depended on sunlight. In the days when she was absent, he felt listless and out of kilter, as if every activity had lost its luster. Habit, it turned out, could be a quietly powerful force, one that had stealthily wound its way into his life. But time was running out. He couldn’t afford to give Cristian the breathing room to lick his wounds and stage a comeback. If he allowed him to regroup and rise again, he’d find himself backed into a corner. And so, the moment clarity dawned on him, he wasted no time in seeking out Alessa.
D
Yet when Samanta showed up before him, agreement in hand and signature affixed, not a glimmer of joy could be found on his face. He was plunged into a maelstrom of inner turmoil and quandary. Logically, he knew he ought to promptly sever ties with Dora through divorce
12:42 Thu, 10 Apr
prolonged the whole ordeal for what seemed like an eternity.
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Just as the first light of victory peeked through the clouds, he was so fixated on the end goal that he completely missed the stirrings of his own heart. Without realizing it, he had already tumbled headlong into love with Dora, to the point where he relied on her presence like a flower depended on sunlight. In the days when she was absent, he felt listless and out of kilter, as if every activity had lost its luster. Habit, it turned out, could be a quietly powerful force, one that had stealthily wound its way into his life. But time was running out. He couldn’t afford to give Cristian the breathing room to lick his wounds and stage a comeback. If he allowed him to regroup and rise again, he’d find himself backed into a corner. And so, the moment clarity dawned on him, he wasted no time in seeking out Alessa.
Yet when Samanta showed up before him, agreement in hand and signature affixed, not a glimmer of joy could be found on his face. He was plunged into a maelstrom of inner turmoil and quandary. Logically, he knew he ought to promptly sever ties with Dora through divorce and embrace a new life with Alessa. But the moment Dora materialized before his very eyes,
the words of divorce lodged themselves firmly in his throat, refusing to spill out. He found
himself ensnared in a relentless war between cold rationality and the dawning realization of his
emotions, desperately groping for a compromise that would appease both sides, yet coming
up with nothing. And so, all he could do was procrastinate. Each day was a stolen moment, a
postponement he clung to as if his life depended on it. He dallied on and on until, at last, the
sands of time had run out and he could delay no more, even though the whole ordeal had spanned but a brief interlude.
After Alessa sought out Dora and she laid bare the truth of their cooperative liaison, any pretext or rationale for further stalling evaporated into thin air. That fateful encounter had ended on a sour note. In the ensuing chaos, he seemed to have unearthed a secret that Dora had been harboring, a revelation that sent him reeling. Unable to come to terms with this new facet of her, he chose to retreat into the shadows, shutting himself off.
It was two months later.
Out of the blue, Victor emerged on the scene. His background was enshrouded in an air of impenetrable mystery, to the extent that even I wouldn’t dare to cross paths with him on the wrong side. And then, he made his move. He intended to lend a helping hand to Cristian. Time was slipping through my fingers, and I was left with no choice but to seek the backing of the Gallo family. Divorce with Dora had become an inescapable necessity. The day we stood in the courtroom to dissolve our marriage, I finally mustered the courage to voice the questions that had haunted me for what felt like an eternity. She turned her gaze towards me and proceeded to unravel the knots of my confusion. But instead of the catharsis I’d anticipated, a profound sense of hollowness engulfed me. It was in that moment that I grasped the full extent of her simmering resentment. She was far too shrewd. She’d seen through my charade ages ago. And yet, she’d stoically played her part, stringing along with my theatrics for all this time. The implications her words were crystal clear that she’d never harbored any love for me. That brief glimmer! thought I saw was nothing more than a passing moment of pity. But my actions had cleaved her heart in two. I didn’t deserve to love or be loved, for every move I made was steeped in cold
salondation
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and quandary, Logically, he knew he ought to promptly sever ties with Dora through divorce and embrace a new life with Alessa. But the moment Dora materialized before his very eyes, the words of divorce lodged themselves firmly in his throat, refusing to spill out. He found himself ensnared in a relentless war between cold rationality and the dawning realization of his emotions, desperately groping for a compromise that would appease both sides, yet coming up with nothing. And so, all he could do was procrastinate. Each day was a stolen moment, a postponement he clung to as if his life depended on it. He dollied on and on until, at last, the sands of time had run out and he could delay no more, even though the whole ordeal had spanned but a brief interlude.
After Alessa sought out Dora and she laid bare the truth of their cooperative liaison, any pretext or rationale for further stalling evaporated into thin air. That fateful encounter had ended on a sour note. In the ensuing chaos, he seemed to have unearthed a secret that Dora had been
harboring, a revelation that sent him reeling. Unable to come to terms with this new facet of her, he chose to retreat into the shadows, shutting himself off.
It was two months later.
Out of the blue, Victor emerged on the scene. His background was enshrouded in an air of impenetrable mystery, to the extent that even I wouldn’t dare to cross paths with him on the
wrong side. And then, he made his move. He intended to lend a helping hand to Cristian. Time was slipping through my fingers, and I was left with no choice but to seek the backing of the
Gallo family. Divorce with Dora had become an inescapable necessity. The day we stood in the
courtroom to dissolve our marriage, I finally mustered the courage to voice the questions that
had haunted me for what felt like an eternity. She turned her gaze towards me and proceeded to
unravel the knots of my confusion. But instead of the catharsis I’d anticipated, a profound sense
of hollowness engulfed me. It was in that moment that I grasped the full extent of her simmering
resentment. She was far too shrewd. She’d seen through my charade ages ago. And yet, she’d
stoically played her part, stringing along with my theatrics for all this time. The implications of her words were crystal clear that she’d never harbored any love for me. That brief glimmer I thought I saw was nothing more than a passing moment of pity. But my actions had cleaved her heart in two. I didn’t deserve to love or be loved, for every move I made was steeped in cold
calculation.
Subsequently, I managed to marry Alessa. With the Gallo family’s support, and now that Victor had withdrawn his support from Cristian, he was no match for me. I finally attained the position I’d coveted for so long. Just as Dora had predicted, I’d stop at nothing to reach my goal. But the elation I’d expected never came. I couldn’t even muster a convincing façade. Alessa soon caught wind of my inner turmoil. When she unearthed the truth, a tempestuous argument ensued, and she broke down in a torrent of tears. I wanted to offer her comfort, but the right words eluded me. Well, it seemed that when it came to matters of the heart, I was doomed to be a failure. All I could do now was skulk in the shadows, spying on the happiness I once though‘
D could claim for myself.
End.
