CHAPTER 642. RED PROMISE. Tell Me You Didn’t Do ItAinara knew exactly how to contact Senator Rosso without anyone finding out—she had done so for years. However, ever since she started working as part of his campaign team, she had full authority to call him directly on his cellphone without any issues.“Senator,” was her first word when the man answered the phone. On the other end, there was a silence filled with surprise.“Ainara?!”“Yes, it’s me. I’m in Bern right now. Please, I need to see you,” she said firmly, and his response was exactly what she expected.“I’m not in Bern at the moment, but give me a couple of hours and I’ll meet you at the campaign office. Does that work?”“Alright, I’ll see you there,” Ainara replied. She didn’t bother using the chauffeur Mauro had assigned to her, confident he would have no trouble giving her the address.Instead, she stepped out onto the street and hailed a taxi, which dropped her off several blocks away from the senator’s campaign office
CHAPTER 643. RED PROMISE. You Are MineMauro looked like he was about to explode with rage. Ainara stood in front of him, defiant, holding those papers as if proving she was a woman who could get anything she wanted.“You disobeyed me!”“I don’t exist to obey you!” she hissed back.“We have a contract!”“One that demands pleasure! Pleasure, pretty boy—not obedience!” Ainara shot back. “And it seems pretty clear that you need me more than I need you.”She thrust the paper she’d obtained from the official in his direction, and Mauro read the name of a woman written on it.“Do you know her?”“No, I don’t,” he muttered, frowning. “Who is she?”“The one who paid to have your bid denied. And by the way, Rosso is the one who got it approved for you, so learn some manners and thank him!”Ainara lifted her chin and moved to walk past him, but Mauro’s abrupt grip on her arm stopped her. He pulled her roughly against his body. He didn’t care about the hospital or whoever was trying to stop it—w
CHAPTER 644. RED PROMISE. Something RedIt was a painful exercise in memory, but Ainara didn’t hesitate to do it because she knew this wasn’t the first time Mauro had mentioned a website for escorts and the name "Red."She felt his body pressed against hers, both of them struggling to catch their breath after the climax. Mauro rested his forehead against the wall, a mix of pleasure and frustration etched on his face.“How much did she charge?” Ainara asked slowly. Mauro pulled back, meeting her eyes.“What?”“That escort site you say I was on… and my name was Red. How much did she charge?” she repeated. The tension between them thickened as Mauro stepped back, allowing her feet to touch the ground again.Ainara watched him clench his jaw in irritation as he turned his back to her. She made no move to dress; standing there naked didn’t bother her in the slightest.“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” Mauro hissed through gritted teeth.“No,” she said calmly. “I don’t think you’re lyi
CHAPTER 645. RED PROMISE. My Date TonightThis was the most exclusive school in all of Switzerland, attended by the children of magnates, politicians, and the country’s top lawyers. It was there that the four of them had met: Lugh and Cassiel had been friends since kindergarten, and although the ideas often came from them, it was Mauro who had the money to bring them to life.No one quite knew how Charmaine had joined their group, only that, like any Keller, she was drawn to Mauro as if magnetized.Unfortunately, what everyone did remember was how they had met Ainara Jáuregui. And after that night, Ainara was certain no one would ever forget her again.She made the call she had been delaying for months, smiling at the nervous voice on the other end, asking where she was. Once she gave the address and hung up, she selected one of the dresses stored in a protective cover and chose a lipstick in a blood-red shade. She slipped on silver heels and donned a subtle, elegant necklace-and-ear
CHAPTER 646. RED PROMISE. A Lovely Love StoryThe silence in the room was so profound it was almost terrifying. Four faces were present, but only Ainara's displayed complete satisfaction.Charmaine was the picture of helplessness, Lugh of dismay, and Mauro looked as if he'd been hit over the head with a stone and left dazed.“Fiancé…? What do you mean, fiancé… Lugh… you…?!”The words Mauro wanted to shout but couldn’t utter were “How can you marry her knowing she was a…?” Ainara seemed to read them in the midst of his stammering.“Oh, I’m a lucky girl, wouldn’t you say?” she said, caressing Lugh’s face until he looked at her again. “Unlike you, who would do anything to hide me… Lugh doesn’t mind marrying a prostitute.”The pupils of the man in front of her dilated instantly, and Ainara could almost hear him swallow the lump in his throat.“Because that’s what you told Mauro, isn’t it, love?” she hissed, her voice icy as she fixed her gaze on him.“No… Ainara… this is a misunderstandi
CHAPTER 647. RED PROMISE. Truths and Lies“Ainara, enough!” Lugh shouted, but at that very moment, Mauro pointed at him in rage.“Don’t you dare raise your voice to her!” he snapped. “Answer her instead. Say it! If it’s true you knew her before all of us, if it’s true your father…! What the hell does your father have to do with her, Lugh?!”Mauro couldn’t understand any of it, but he wanted answers—now!“That’s none of your business,” his friend hissed. “You broke up with her! You left! I stayed!”“I broke up with her because of what you told me! Because of what you…!” He turned to Charmaine, who was as red as a pomegranate, and shook his head in fury. “Because of what you two showed me…!”“Oh, yes! Let’s not forget the little hooker website!” Ainara exclaimed, raising her glass. “Was that your idea too, love? Who came up with the brilliant plan to post a photo of me in a red dress on a prostitution page? Did you do that too?”Mauro turned to Lugh and saw his friend’s eyes unconsciou
CHAPTER 648. RED PROMISE. Red PromiseIt was, without a doubt, a terrible day to be Mauro Keller. He had the opening gala for two hospitals to deal with, the country’s entire press watching his every move, a ten-year betrayal weighing on him, and the painful certainty that he had lost the love of his life.Yet, no matter how many obligations he had or how much he wanted to finish beating the crap out of Lugh, his priorities were crystal clear. They propelled him to run down the same hallway Ainara had disappeared into.“You and I will settle this later, you traitorous bastard!” he spat in Lugh’s direction before leaving, saying nothing to Charmaine because Ainara’s slap had clearly left her choking on her own blood.Ainara felt relieved. That was the only word she could use to describe how she felt—not “happy,” definitely not that. But she was calm, finally able to resolve the uncertainty that had plagued her for years.She headed toward the door, knowing she had no reason to stay at
CHAPTER 649. RED PROMISE. A HellPerhaps the only thing that could interrupt the stormy silence in that garden was the untimely clatter of heels belonging to one of the organizers, frantically looking for Mauro.“Mr. Keller! It’s time for your speech. The guests are getting impatient.”“I need five more minutes,” he replied without looking at her.“But—”“Let them wait! Let them drink more champagne! This is a party, isn’t it? Let them keep celebrating, and I’ll give the speech when I’m ready!” Mauro growled impatiently, and silence returned as the woman hurried away to carry out his orders.Deep down, however, he knew that neither five, ten, twenty minutes, nor all the time in the world would be enough to convince Ainara to stay. And for some inexplicable reason, he felt that the moment she disappeared from his sight, she would be gone forever.“Ainara… I need you to stay. Please, this conversation can’t end here…” he said anxiously. “Stay, come with me to—”“Are you crazy, or is th