Chapter 8

Dominic returns to her room, rethinking everything that happened. That interview wasn't exactly about hiring, the intention was that she wouldn't pass and he would realize that the girl who dominated his thoughts was just an insignificant woman. But that interview made everything worse, because it left him intrigued.

He walked and went to the glass wall of his office, observed the people below, looking as small as ants. They came and went all the time.

He continued to look, involuntarily trying to recognize some silhouette.

A flash in the sky surprised him, suddenly gray clouds became lower and lower, making the view of the landscape hazy.

Dominic frowns and puts his hand in his pocket on impulse, then he realizes what he was about to do and looks at the smartphone in his hand...

Nina finally leaves that building.

In a few hours, she experienced intense emotions. The messed up meeting with Dominic and the disastrous meeting with Samuel. She leaves the building, and steps into the courtyard, where several people were entering and leaving, without looking around. Nina looks up at the sky, takes a deep breath, grateful for having survived that day.

She sees the clouds, dense, and realizes that they are getting darker and darker. A big storm was definitely coming. However, instead of taking shelter like many people were doing, she continues to walk. As he walks, he hears some thunder.

In a few seconds, she begins to feel drops of water falling on her. These drops increase in intensity and speed and when she realizes, it is raining heavily. She puts the bag on her head and doesn't stop, she continues walking. Dominic's company was located in a valued region where there were only high-value company buildings, so there was no bus stop nearby, as most of the individuals who frequented there had their own vehicles.

When she arrived, she was in an app car, but when she left,  had to go by bus. I couldn't spend so much money using private transport.

Nina stopped on a nearby street, at a pedestrian crossing, and waited for the traffic signal to give her the go-ahead to pass. She continued trying to protect herself from the rain with her bag, which wasn't doing much good, but unlike the people who seemed in a hurry and desperate for shelter, she had a calm expression on her face.

  Suddenly, a black car stopped in front of him and on top of the pedestrian crossing. Nina took a step back, suspicious of the vehicle. Suddenly, the driver's front door opened and a lady came out.

This lady was dressed entirely in black, in a set consisting of a black skirt that went past the knee, and on top, there was a black blazer, closed. Inside, she wore a black shirt and a silk tie, also black.

The lady had white strands of hair interspersed with a few blond strands. Her hair was meticulously combed back and tied into a bun at the back of her neck, forming a ball. She had dark, arched eyebrows and a stern expression on his face.

Nina was impressed by the woman's appearance, who seemed mature, but at the same time strong and fearless. He thought that that lady would probably be able to scare any man who approached her.

The lady took something from inside the car and took a step forward. Nina, suspicious, took another step back, keeping her distance.

The lady, without caring, extended a black object towards Nina, which looked like a stick. Nina took a few more steps back, intrigued by the object the stranger was offering her.

Suddenly, the lady made a movement, placing the object vertically and the black stick opened, making her realize that it was an umbrella. Nina opened her eyes wide, impressed by the scene. The lady extended the object to her, demonstrating her intentions. Nina, a little hesitant, took a few steps forward and picked up the umbrella. Then, immediately, the lady returned to the car.

Nina blinked a few times and realizing that she was now protected, she bent down, knocked on the car window and said:

— Hey, lady! Thank you for the help!

The lady rolled down the window, looked out the car window and said:

— Say thank you to Mr. Dominic.

Soon after, she closed the tinted window of the car and started it.

Nina watches the car drive away, holding the umbrella in her hand. Still a little confused by everything that happened, she asked herself:

"Does he care about me? Does he have some kind of concern?"

She shakes her head no, putting these thoughts aside, because, yes, it was the first time she had seen that man and she didn't know exactly what his intentions were.

  Then she continued on his way to the bus stop and from there she went straight to the hospital.

At the hospital, she went straight to take a shower and clean himself of all the dirt and pollution of the streets. Afterwards, she went to his daughter's room and sat next to the girl's bed.

  Hannah slept and Nina knew that was because of the medicine, her daughter ended up becoming very sleepy. Nina placed her hand on the girl's forehead, checking her temperature. Realizing that it was normal, she held her hand, brought it to her nose and smelled her baby.

Nina kissed his hand and thought:

"I feel that now, daughter, everything will start to work out for us. Be strong, because I will be able to help us, I will be able to pay for your treatment and when you are cured, we will go far away from here."

While Nina wishes for a better future, in her thoughts, and holds her little one's hand, she hears the sound of the bedroom door opening and then closing. She looks to the side without being scared, knowing that whoever entered there was someone she trusts.

And yes, it really was. The person who entered was Célia, his mother. The woman who pulled out all the stops to take care of Nina after her husband's death. Because of her, Nina graduated and was strong and courageous. She was a great inspiration to her, especially in this difficult time. Few people can say that their best friend is their own mother, and Nina could say that. She felt lucky to have that woman always by her side