Mr. Arrogant ✞ Carlos Sainz Jr

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 16

♫ Say you're here, but I don't feel it
Give me peace, but then you steal it ♫

Sofia Morales POV

I would prefer to be punched in the gut than to come back to work after 3 weeks off but I had to. I got to our floor and I saw Amelia and Juan were already there.

"You are looking good. Were you able to enjoy Christmas?" Juan asks politely and I nod.

"I recovered pretty well. Are you feeling good for 2022?" I ask pouring some coffee in my cup and they look at each other and nod.

"I would rather be home but since we have to work then let's hope 2022 is better than 2021" Amelia says excitedly and I laugh.

"Well, let me see my inbox because I feel like I will stay there all day" I am already tired and I just got here.

"I am dreading looking at my email" Juan says fearful. I went into my office and checked everything.

I sure did spend my whole morning doing that. I was about to head outside when I see Blanca and Reyes entering the floor. Dios mio, can't I have a break? I knew 3 weeks of no one bothering me would be too much.

"Darling, could we speak to you?" Reyes asks and I nod pointing to the chairs in front of me. I close my laptop and face them with some defensiveness.

"I just wanted to apologize. I was too quick to judge. Knowing you were abused by Miguel was like someone had ripped my stomach out. I couldn't even eat or sleep for a few days. I can't imagine how it was with everything on top of it. We just made it worse and I apologize for my part in it" Blanca says clearly regretful. She was not eating alright, her face was skinnier than a few weeks ago.

"I- I loved you so much cariño. I didn't want to believe it but I thought that if something worse had happened you would've contacted us. After hours of trying to reach you and no answer, we just thought you were hiding. We could never imagine how much worse it could be. I feel like my heart got ripped out. I loved you like my daughter and-" Reyes was already crying so she had to stop and I made that my cue to talk.

"I don't think apologizing will make anything better. I am glad it happened in the sense that I got to see how my future would be. Sooner or later there would be a moment where I wouldn't even be a concern. Carlos is the focus and he is the heir, he is the one who everyone needs to stand up for. I am glad it happened before we got married. I got to see what would be done to me if I ever went against the two families. I would be kicked out and ignored like I committed a murder"

The bitterness and anger I felt are still in my voice. Could I forgive them? I could. I had already done it. But I still needed to show them that they couldn't judge a situation based on something so superficial.

"We acted based on one of us being betrayed. Carlos was a wreck. As hours went by his behaviour got more erratic, he was crying and saying that he was leaving the country. We couldn't reach you. There was no way to know. We doubted it, until we couldn't deny what was being seen" Blanca says completely hopeless. She knew what my point was.

"Everyone made mistakes. I should've requested that someone be called when I was found but I didn't know I would wake up a few hours too late. You shouldn't have turned on me this quickly, it wasn't fair. I deserved more. And Carlos. He should've done more. He is the one who should've known I would never do that to him. My parents and brother should've looked for me. I disappear for a month and I could've been dead that nobody would notice. A lot of mistakes were done"

They were taking in my words and they nodded in understanding. This is not a good time for any of us. I would like to throw the blame at them but the blame is on Miguel. He did this. He knew this would happen.

"I also think that these apologies will do nothing for both sides. You are dealing with guilt. The guilt of your actions is eating you up, I warned you that would happen. You need to deal with that. I think that you need all the information, Carlos shouldn't be the only one knowing the full truth so I will trust you to pass the message so you can heal and maybe learn to live with it" I say calmly.

"We will do whatever you need us to" Reyes says firmly but I saw the fear in her eyes.

"I was raped and beaten by Miguel. He burned the car Carlos gave me on my birthday, he stabbed me in my lower stomach, and left me for dead in an alley. I was found and I had to undergo surgery. I woke up to everyone's hateful messages. I tried to kill myself 2 days later which caused me to miscarriage. The doctors didn't tell me about the baby and the pregnancy was already in danger from the stab. I lost my baby at 12 weeks of an unknown pregnancy. I was admitted to the psych ward for the suicide attempt and I got out just to be thrown out. The rest you know"

As soon as the stab was mentioned I saw them both bringing their hands to cover their face. They just sobbed by the time I was done. It's strong but I don't think that it's fair to give them information little by little. They should recover from what was done as a whole. I kissed their cheeks and I left them in the office. I went to a meeting with another department and by the time I came back they were already gone. This will be tough on anyone.