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Nikola Keller listened attentively to every word of his son and when he finally finished his head shook from side to side with a negative gesture. “You are disinherited,” he said and Zack rolled his eyes. “Dad, you know that I have never cared about money…” “But I do, and since you have already shown more than enough that you are quite a brute, your part of my inheritance goes entirely to my granddaughter. Period!” he declared confidently and his son could only smile because he knew that even if he told him that she was not his blood, Nikola would not accept that Adriana was not his granddaughter. “I told you once, that if you lost her I would win her over for one of your brothers, but Andrea and my granddaughter are staying in this family no matter what, so you better agree!” Zack laughed as he squeezed his father’s hand with a gesture of affection and nodded. “Of course I agree, dad.” And I promise you that I will win Andrea back… and if I can’t, I’ll kidnap her, but if they stay, they stay,” she murmured. Nikola agreed more calmly. It wasn’t like he didn’t suspect what was happening, but he had never imagined that things had gotten so difficult with the girl’s biological father. “Well, now let me ask you something… how are you?” she challenged him and saw him shrug his shoulders. “I don’t know, Dad. I want to believe that you’re fine, but I don’t know.” “You can’t be fine. Zack… you lost two children in the last year. You were involved with the death of a person, directly or indirectly… but whatever, you’re my son, I know you. You’re not even dealing with this,” Nikola said as he saw his son’s eyes fill with tears. “I just really don’t know how to deal with this…” she murmured. Thanks for reading on LeeNovelas.com. “Then let me help you. Focus.” Go back to doing the things you used to do when you were feeling insecure. Or have you forgotten where we are? Zack looked out his bedroom window at the huge snowy mountains where he had first learned to ski. If you don’t know what to do, ask for help. Your mother and I will always be here for that. Zack nodded and took a deep breath, trying to keep in perspective everything he was going to do from then on, which to be honest, was a lot. A few hours later a messenger knocked on Andrea’s door and left her a beautiful package. It was the corniest thing in the world, chocolates and a note wishing her a speedy recovery… But then a bouquet of flowers arrived… And then her favorite pizza… And then an ice cream truck… Andrea couldn’t stop laughing, because he had literally been stuffing her with sweets all day, and in the afternoon he finally showed up at her door with several bags. —You were the one who sent me to live with my mother, now you can’t turn down her dinner — was his greeting and Andrea rolled her eyes but didn’t dare to reject him because Mrs. Luana’s food was really delicious. She let him pass and while she put a couple of plates on the table,Zack devoted himself to making Adriana feel all the sweets. He had really missed her a lot, but Andrea was right. Remember. Read this novel only on LeeNovelas.com, not on other sites. “I assumed that she would be fine with you,” he murmured, stopping at the dining room door and Andrea looked at him with a questioning expression. “What are you talking about?” “About Adriana,” Zack answered. “You are her mother, she has always been with you, I assumed that if she had you she didn’t need me… I assumed that if they were fine and safe they didn’t need me.” Andrea pressed her lips together and shook her head. “People who love you will always need you. But you have to learn to stay, because the only problem that is solved by putting distance between us is forgetting. Do you want us to forget you?” she asked him and saw him immediately shake his head. “No, of course not,” he replied thoughtfully. “But in the end you were right, I didn’t take that into account when I left.” I’m a man with a daughter, but I’m not a father yet… So from now on we’ll have to do better, right my love? —he said lifting Adriana to his face while she tried to reach his ears. Yes, we’ll do it right from now on, my love —he said turning to meet Andrea’s eyes—. No more running. —Fine… —she sighed trying not to show the relief she felt with that answer. Your mom cooked a lot. Are you staying for dinner? —Only if there’s ice cream for dessert. —And you wash the dishes. —Done, Zack smiled. They shook hands as if it were a business deal, but neither of them could avoid that shiver running through them. That tension, that desire, that could never disappear between them, but Andrea needed more and he had to be willing to give it to her. They had dinner in peace and harmony, and as much as it cost Zack, when the clock struck ten, he said goodbye with a kiss and headed for the door. It was torture to sleep without Andrea, but it was a necessary torture. The next day, early in the morning, he went downtown to buy breakfast for Andrea at her favorite coffee shop, when an ad caught his eye. He took the rental notice and went out into the street, looking around for the building, then he called the number that appeared and shortly after he made the best transaction of his year. “Ben,” he said as soon as he had the signed documents, “I need you to do me a favor.” “You decide,” answered his friend who was always willing to help. Zack told him his plan and gave him two days to make it effective. Meanwhile, he began to visit other places he had planned and that afternoon he arrived at Andrea’s house loaded with bags and a proposal. “Hi,” she said, leaning on the door. “Hi,” he murmured and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek that made Andrea’s heart race. “Um… now that I’m alone and all that… well, I entertain myself by watching the cooking channel, so I wanted to see if you’d let me cook for you.” Andrea raised an amused eyebrow but ended up nodding.Of course I wouldn’t let him chew on a spoon without supervision…and she knew she would probably poison them, but it was cute to see him trying. The Master Chef dinner was terrible, but ending up eating emergency ramen in front of the fireplace was the most fun. “Cupcake… I was thinking about something and I wanted to ask you what you think,” he said suddenly getting serious. “Yeah, sure, tell me.” “How about we start taking Adriana to daycare again?” he asked. “We know she likes being with other kids, and she also needs to socialize.” Andrea thought about it for a moment and nodded. It wasn’t a bad idea, even if she was at home and could take care of her, Adriana needed the company of other babies her age for at least a few hours a day. “Yes, you’re right,” she said with an accepting smile. “Tomorrow I’ll start looking for daycares and…” “I’ve already seen some,” he interrupted her. “Tomorrow I can take you to see the nicest ones… and if you want we can go for a walk later.” Andrea looked at him for a long minute. Of the stern man she had met, at least for her, there was nothing left, and it was really nice to receive that invitation full of insecurity, because at least it showed that he no longer took her for granted. “I would like that very much,” she replied. That night Adriana fell asleep in Zack’s arms and after laying her down in her crib he went to the door. “Tomorrow I’ll come for you at nine, we can leave Adriana with my parents and you and I will go see the nurseries,” he said. “At nine then,” Andrea agreed and the two of them stared at each other for a second before Zack wet his lips, approaching her. “I want to kiss you,” he said holding his breath and Andrea felt her breath go out too. With a gentle movement, Zack leaned his head forward and their lips met. The kiss was initially sweet, but soon became deeper, as if they both couldn’t control the impulse to be together. They loved each other, they wanted each other, they needed that contact desperately because despite all the mistakes there was one thing that was undeniable: they were still each other’s. When they finally separated, they were both panting with their eyes closed, trying to control the impulse to go much further. “I love you,” he murmured as he stepped back and smiled at her. Then he left silently, leaving Andrea with her heart pounding like crazy, and without having any idea of ​​all the surprises that awaited her the next day.