Ava tried not to show her surprise, but she became overly nervous. She took a deep breath to gather her courage and waited for a moment. Then, she opened the door, and there he was, as handsome as ever, with that sexy smile that could melt anyone. The shirt he was wearing allowed a clear view of his well-defined muscles. She instinctively bit her lip, which he found incredibly sexy. He looked her up and down; she looked beautiful in that tight dress that entuated her curves.


    “Buonanotte,” he greeted her with that husky voice that had the power to make her tremble just by hearing it, the voice she had heard so often in the darkness and that always seemed to be in her mind when she closed her eyes.


    “Good evening, Mr. Liardi,” Ava used the littleposure she had left to respond.


    “I just wanted to congratte you; your performance was wonderful,” he said, handing her the bouquet and giving her his best smile.


    “Thank you very much,” she replied as she received the bouquet, trying to appear asposed as possible, even though she felt that her nerves would give her away at any moment. With this, she confirmed that he was a real charmer. He was engaged, and yet here he was, trying to win her over.


    “I insist, are you sure we haven’t met before?” he asked curiously.


    He said this, dangerously closing in on her. He put his hand on the doorframe, trapping Ava between his arm and the wall.


    Ava breathed heavily, his closeness was irresistible to her. She wanted to move away, but her body didn’t respond. Mateo noticed it and leaned in to kiss her. Just as he was about to kiss her, Tadeo appeared. Mateo cursed inwardly, and Ava sighed in relief. If he had kissed her, she wouldn’t have been able to resist.


    “What’s going on here?” the detective asked loudly, clearly displeased with what he saw.


    “Tadeo,” Ava responded, visibly nervous.


    “What are you doing so close to my girlfriend, Mr. Liardi?” he said, emphasizing that Ava was his girlfriend. He had an immense desire to punch this smooth-talking charmer. Did he want to have all the women just for himself?


    The two men stared into each other’s eyes, challenging each other with their gaze.


    “Why ask the obvious, Bludosky?” Mateo replied mockingly.


    “Mr. Liardi was helping me with a little speck that got into my eye,” Ava hurriedly responded while rubbing her eyes.


    “Well, thank you very much, Liardi. It’s best if you leave. If something bothers my girlfriend, I’ll take care of helping her,” Tadeo said, looking at Mateo with fury. Of course, he didn’t believe that story for a second. He had seen perfectly well that Mateo was about to kiss her and that she was allowing it.


    “Goodbye, Miss De Luca. I hope to see you again soon,” he bid farewell while winking at her.


    With these words, hepletely ignored Tadeo and looked directly into Ava’s eyes, who couldn’t take her eyes off him. Mateo turned around and left. She watched him walk away, and Tadeo’s voice brought her back to reality.


    “Is it so easy for you to fall into his clutches again? Have you forgotten that he’s about to get married?” he said with the intention of upsetting her.


    “I know, but it’s so hard to have him near. I still love him,” she was always honest about her feelings.


    “You know I’m your friend, and I care about you. That’s why I won’t let Liardi hurt you,” he said while clenching his fists.


    “Thank you, Tadeo. I know you’re my only friend, and I count on you for support,” she truly appreciated Tadeo’s friendship, but she didn’t have any feelings beyond friendship for him.Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    Tadeo approached and hugged her, inhaling her soft perfume and the scent of strawberries from her hair. He was determined to win her love, even if it meant pretending to be just her friend. He wasn’t going to give Mateo Liardi a free pass. Ava would be his alone.


    Back at the Liardi Corporation, Mateo was distracted, thinking about that beautiful girl, when suddenly Daría stormed in, furious. He was surprised to see her; he hadpletely forgotten about her, leaving her abandoned at the concert venue.


    “How could you do this to me?” she asked while crying loudly. She said it out loud.


    “I’m so sorry, Daría. I felt really bad and decided to leave that ce,” he tried to justify himself, but the truth was that he couldn’t care less, and he had just remembered that he had left her stranded.


    “You could have at least let me know. You left me standing there like a fool. I waited for you until I saw that the ce was empty. People were looking at me with pity. I waited until they asked me to leave to clean up. I thought something might have happened to you. A girl told me she saw you entering the dressing rooms with a big bouquet.”


    “You’re right to be upset. It’s just that I have so much on my mind that I’ve been very distracted,” he said, avoiding the topic of the bouquet. He wasn’t in the mood forints.


    “What’s going on?” she asked, curious.


    “The investments I made with Miller, they’ve all been merged with the newpany I bought. I’ve noticed red numbers, rming figures. I had an internal investigation done without Teodoro finding out, and it turns out he’s been diverting funds to an ount in Switzend. In hispany, he’s been manipting the financial statements. This could lead thepany to ruin,” Mateo said, smiling inwardly. He knew that by bringing up this topic, she would forget that he had abandoned her.


    Daría was furious, seething internally against Teodoro. He wasn’t going toe and ruin what would soon be hers. Mateo had promised her that once they were married, thispany would be hers. She had thought it through carefully; by telling her that Teodoro was ruining it, he knew she wouldn’t refuse to help. While she had manipted figures a few times, she had no knowledge of this.


    “This can’t be happening. What can we do to prevent it? Mypany can’t be ruined like this.”


    Mateo smiled to himself; she had fallen into the trap. It was so easy for a woman like her to be lured by ambition.


    “I need your help, but you must be very careful with what I’m about to ask. Teodoro Miller is a very dangerous man. I don’t want him to harm you, but we must protect thepany I’ve gifted you.”


    “Thank you for thinking of my safety, amore, but tell me, what do I need to do? I’ll do whatever you ask,” she said, determined not to make things easy for Teodoro.


    “You’ll have to copy all the files from that man’sputer.”


    “All of them?” she eximed in surprise. Teodoro had too many files on hisputer.


    “That’s right, doll. We need to know how long he’s been doing this. The more evidence we gather, the easier it will be to sink him and save thepany.”


    “Of course, I’ll do it. It will be easy. I have ess to all his files, I’ve earned his trust,” she thought maliciously as she nned to delete any evidence that incriminated her in some cases.


    “Thank you, amore.”


    He approached her and kissed her, making sure she didn’t distrust him and that she was willing to do anything for him.


    He locked the door, moved closer, and began kissing her neck, uncovering her breasts and sucking on her nipples forcefully. With a woman like her, used to being with so many men, he couldn’t be gentle; he had to make her feel that there would be no one else like him.


    He put on protection and took her right there in the office, on the desk, in a violent manner but without causing her harm. Daría’s moans were loud, and Mateo was thankful that his office was soundproofed.


    “Oh, God! Matti, that was spectacr. How have you deprived me of this for so long?”


    “Now that we’re getting married, you’ll have it every day. Now, go; I have a meeting soon, and I don’t want the employees to realize what just happened. It would tarnish your image.”


    “You’re so considerate with me. That’s why I love you. Everything is almost ready for our engagement party. Will I see you tonight? My parents are looking forward to meeting you again.”


    “I’ll call you tomorrow. Apologize to them for me,” he replied coldly, not wanting to endure her beloved inws.


    Daría pouted, approached, and kissed him again. When she left, Mateo went to shower in a room behind his office. He didn’t bring Daría there because he didn’t consider her worthy of invading his privacy. He vigorously scrubbed his body, wanting to remove the scent she had left on him.


    He couldn’t deny that Daría had a great body, but she was so vulgar and promiscuous that she wasn’t worth it, not even as a lover. She was so different from Ava. He closed his eyes as the water fell on his body.