On Tuesday, Lexy was most of the day alone and her boss was kept busy between meetings and trainings that sought to improve the company's statistics.

In the afternoon and almost at check-out time, the young woman received an encouraging email from Joseph and traveled with a silly smile to her home, where she saw her maternal grandmother, who was also her best friend.

Her parents had left in the afternoon and promised to arrive after eight and her boyfriend slept peacefully upstairs, giving them privacy and time to talk sincerely.

“Tea or coffee?” The young woman asked and moved agilely through the kitchen.

"A tea would be fine," Grandma replied, cutting two pieces of the cake she had bought from a nearby pastry. “And how about the job?”

"Excellent," replied a cheery Lexy, and smiled to add spicier to her confession.

“Secretary, right?” asked the old woman.

"Yes, from Joseph Storni," Lexy said, her eyes searching for the sugar.

"Storni, it sounds important," Elena, the grandmother, smiled. “He is handsome?”

"Grandma, please!" Lexy countered and laughed out loud.

"Joseph Storni sounds handsome," the spicy old lady continued. “Could I visit you at the office to meet him?”

Lexy was silent and very complicated and out of nowhere she blushed and returned to her usual shyness.

"And did she dress well?" The mature woman asked, and her eyes widened at the sight of her tense granddaughter at her request to meet her boss.

"Yes, Grandmother, he dresses elegant" said Lexy and sighed when she remembered Esteban.

“I love elegant men, but don't be sad, I'm not going to take it away from you.” Grandma said, laughing.

“What?” Lexy asked with a laugh, playing dumb.

"You already put an eye to it, didn't you?" the old woman insisted.

"You're crazy, I'm not setting my eye, least of all to my bosses," she softened, but her grandmother snorted.

"Stop being so silly, girl, take advantage of the fact that you are young, listen to me, I have more experience," the grandmother attacked and winked at her. “When you are married, you will regret it. When you are the wife of that good-for-nothing, you will regret not having tried other cakes”.

She played cheerfully and bit the apple pie between her fingers, closing her eyes to enjoy the sweetness and cream of the tart.

"Grandma, it's not that simple." Lexy said.

"Yes, it is simple!" “You are so pretty, Lexy, if you smiled more often, we would have rows of men waiting for you.” Her grandmother replied.

Lexy laughed and relaxed in the chair to gobble up the rich cake her grandmother had chosen to eat next to her and changed the course of the conversation when she inquired about her recent trip to Australia.

After a few minutes, Esteban appeared out of nowhere and although he greeted with courtesy, Lexy felt the man's annoyance, the one he still transmitted to her with his eyes.

The girl remained calm as they continued to share the tea, but she felt that things were not going well when she found endless excuses for not being alone with her future husband.

In a few words she begged her grandmother to accompany her until the arrival of her parents and although the old woman could feel her granddaughter's fear and longed to stay with her, the tiredness she felt defeated her while they watched the news in silence and in full darkness.

Her snores filled the room and although Lexy found grace in such fun and natural sounds, Esteban took advantage of the moment to do his thing.

"What were you talking about with the old woman?" he asked.

"About work," she replied tautly, digging her fingers into the pillow on the sofa.

“From work? Are you sure?” He insisted, and from a distance reached out to give her a hard pinch on the arm.

The girl jerked into position and stifled a cry of pain and although she tried to escape from his hands, the boy's speed and violence left her cornered against the sofa and her fury.

"Be careful what you do, Lexy, I'm not stupid," he scolded through clenched teeth, and although he often lost his mind when it came to his girlfriend, intelligence always dominated when he tried to hurt her and break her into a thousand pieces.

He grabbed the girl by the neck and hair and angrily slapped her on the forehead against the wood of the sofa.

The hit was not heard due to the padding on the furniture, but the pain and dizziness Lexy felt left her melted on the sofa; her eyes clouded, and she choked on a painful scream.

When Lexy calmed down, the violent man kissed the tip of her nose and with a soft but gloomy whisper gave her a cold goodbye.

Silently the man left, and Lexi followed suit, fleeing to the cold of her room to drown her sorrows and fears behind the door, where she always found absurd comfort.