Wrong choice (Ferran Torres)

Chapter 32

Having a second income again was great news. Anna had saved a lot of money while she lived with Hugo but it felt good to know she didn't have to worry about money.

And it also meant she could look at better apartments to rent, so her dad took that information and tried to find the perfect one for her. They visited two apartments before Ferran could join them. He had training in the morning.

"Hello".

Hearing Ferran's voice, they both turned to look at him and Anna smiled, taking her dad's hand so they both approached her boyfriend.

"Hi. Ferran, this is my dad, Josep. Dad, this is Ferran".

"I guess you're the new guy...", said Josep, looking at Ferran with a serious look.

Anna felt the nerves Ferran was also feeling all of a sudden. She needed her parents to like Ferran. So she said the first thing that came to her mind. "Ferran is super religious, dad".

"Is he?", she asked her before turning to look at him. "Are you?"

"Yes, sir".

"Look!", said Anna, showing him Ferran's wrist. "A cross tattoo".

"Is this your way to try and make me like your new boyfriend, sweetheart?"

"No...just a fun fact".

Josep shook his head, amused by his daughter's behaviour, and faced Ferran again.

"Look after her and don't hurt her like the other bastard did. That's all I ask for".

"I'd never hurt her".

"And he's looked after me so much after what happened with Hugo", added Anna.

"Good. Let's see the next apartment. And we want your opinion too, Ferran".

Anna smiled hearing that and wrapped her arms around Ferran's neck so she could get closer and kiss him. "I told you it'd be fine".

"Not while I'm here, Anna".

"Sorry, dad", she told her dad, separating a bit from Ferran but grabbing his hand so she could hold it.

The next step after finding the right apartment was going to meet Anna's mum, who was eagerly waiting for them.

"Hi Ferran. I'm Sofía. It's nice meeting you in person finally", she told him, engulfing Ferran in a hug.

"It's very nice meeting you too".

"Come inside. I got some snacks ready. What would you like to drink?"

"Water is fine, thank you".

"Hi, mum! I'm here too. I'll have a coffee, please".

Sofía rolled her eyes. "Honey, the guest of honour comes first. You know that".

"And the daughter is now forgotten...".

Anna helped her mum get the drinks ready and they all sat down on the living room's sofas to chat.

"Joel seems to really like you, Ferran", said Sofía. "That gave you extra points".

"That's good. I haven't spent much time with him but he seems to be a nice guy".

"He is", agreed Anna's mum. "It's thanks to him that I've accepted this so easily".

"What do you mean?", it was Anna who asked.

"Anna, my darling. I know no one has suffered more pain than you have because of everything that's happened. But I'm the next one on that list. You'll understand one day how horrible it is to see your daughter being hurt like that".

"I can guess...".

"I was almost afraid of seeing you after that article came out. Because I felt useless. What could I do to make you happy again? To heal all that pain? Well, it turned out I didn't need to do anything because Ferran had done it already".

"I had?", he asked, not understanding what Sofía meant.

"You had. Joel told us about when he went to your house to take Anna's belongings there. I asked him to tell me immediately how she was doing to know how to help. And he told me she was fine".

Anna was thinking back to those moments and it was true that Ferran had made everything so much better just by being there for her.

"Joel said Anna looked fine. She didn't look like someone who had been crying for hours. She didn't look like someone whose heart had been broken. She looked...happy. And when she looked at you", she said directly to Ferran. "She looked even happier".

Anna smiled at Ferran who didn't really know what to say.

"I can see what my son meant now".

"Thank you", was all he said.

"No", it was now Josep talking. "Thank you. Anna left the country when she was only 19 and there were quite a few sleepless nights for us because of that".

"Sorry", apologized Anna.

"It's fine. You had to live your life but it wasn't easy for us. And I guess we feel a bit more overprotective over you because of that. We never wanted to take your freedom away but...we still worry. We always will. And your mum and I really thought Hugo could help us worry less. But we know how that turned out".

"What are you doing about your relationship?", asked Sofía. "Do you plan on making it public soon or...".

"We don't know yet. Maybe it's better to wait until people forget more about what Hugo did. And I rather concentrate on my job than what people think".

"Sounds like a good plan", told her Josep. "Should we go have dinner?"

A few days later, Anna was already moving to her new apartment.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?", asked Anna while Ferran kept moving boxes around the rooms. "I'm not ready to be alone at night".

"Afraid of the dark?"

"Terribly. I need a handsome and strong man with me to protect me".

"I didn't know being handsome was important to protect you from the evil lurking in the dark".

"Oh, it is", she laughed. "It's very important".