✨Enchanted melody of our hearts ♾️

🙃FRAYED JOY-CHAPTER-23

A/N: "Happy birthday, da Naveen! And no, not Meera's brother Naveen. This is my bro, Naveen! Can you believe it? He's officially 18 today! 🥳 The guy who's the inspiration behind Meera's silent killer younger brother! 🎉

Linz, Austria.

A modest house, neither grand nor cramped, nestled amidst a well-tended garden and guarded by a watchful security system. Inside, bathed in the cool glow of a computer screen, sat a woman in her early thirties. Her midnight black hair was pulled back in a bun, revealing a face etched with exhaustion. Dark circles hung beneath determined green eyes, a testament to a sleepless night.

 Last night had been sleepless; her three-month-old daughter, Alba, had been unwell with a fever, demanding her mother's constant care and attention. Now, with her precious little one finally slumbering, the woman sought a different kind of challenge

Lost in thoughts of how to breach the cyber security shield of the Hernandez Corporation, A small voice broke the rhythm of her focus. "Mama!" A whirlwind of dark hair and energy, Jose, a skinny three-year-old, materialized beside her, clutching a plate of biscuits. He has Adrian's middle name! "What is it, little man?" she asked, her voice husky from sleep deprivation.

"You eat nothin'," Jose declared, holding out the biscuits with a determined pout. "Here, eat!"

A smile tugged at the woman's lips. These children, Jose and Alba, were her sunshine, the anchors in her rough life. "Thank you, mi hombrecito," (My little man) she murmured, ruffling his hair affectionately. 

Suddenly, she bolted upright, a spark of urgency igniting in her eyes. Sensing his mother's shift, Jose piped up, "Mama, no worry 'bout Alba. I jus' check, she all sleepin' now."

A wry smile flickered on Camila's lips as she took a bite of the biscuit, offering the rest to Jose. He munched contentedly, nuzzling into his mother's embrace. Camila Vargas. The name itself held a weight, a reminder of the tangled web of her life. Yes, she was Camila, Adrian's estranged sister, and the legal wife of Javier Vargas. 

"CAMILA" The sound of her name, sharp and laced with anger, shattered the fragile peace. It was Javier, his voice a storm cloud threatening to unleash its fury. Hurriedly, she ushered Jose upstairs, shielding him from the upcoming brawl. She could face Javier's wrath, but she wouldn't let it touch their innocent son.

Javier stormed in, his presence a dark cloud filling the room, he spat, his voice taut with barely contained rage. "¿Lo has crackeado? ¿Crackeaste el código?" (Did you crack it? Did you crack the code?)

Fear gnawed at Camila. "No, Javier," she stammered, her voice barely a whisper. Javier's jaw clenched tight, his anger a palpable entity in the room. He lunged forward, his hand wrapping cruelly around her jaw. "¡Por qué para la mayoría de mis proyectos has craqueado tantos escudos cibernéticos de empresas, pero no puedes acceder a la compañía de tu padre!" he snarled, his voice dripping with venom. "¿Es el vínculo familiar lo que te cubre los ojos?" (Why is it that you've cracked the cyber shields of so many companies for most of my projects, but you can't access your own father's company? Is it familial bond clouding your judgment?)

Camila whimpered in pain, her eyes welling up. Regret gnawed at her. She had fallen for Javier, his charm, and binding her to his true nature. At first, she hadn't known the full extent of his crimes, her skills were used to bolster his dark ambitions. Adrian's family had long held the belief that Camila had purposefully deceived them. However, the reality was far more complex. Blinded by love and manipulated by Javier's deceitful narrative, Camila had been naive enough to believe his lies. He had preyed on her emotions, whispering lies about her father, Carlos, portraying him as a villain who sought to destroy Javier because of his perceived lower social standing. Naive and desperate to protect Javier, Camila had chosen him over her family. Javier, however, had a darker plan in motion. He kept a devastating secret: the truth about her mother's death after their elopement. Then, under the guise of marriage certificates, he had presented her with documents that effectively transferred the assets Carlos had registered in her name to Javier himself. Only then, pregnant with Jose, did the horrifying truth dawn on Camila – she had been deceived. The worst part? Her family had no idea about her pregnancy. If they had, perhaps things could have been different. For the sake of her children, Jose and Alba, she yearned to break free from Javier's web of falsehood. But the road ahead was unclear, the potential consequences frightening, and the path to reconciliation with her family a seemingly insurmountable mountain to climb.