5.- ETERNAL LOVE. PART THREE.

-Good, good.

-Well, not so good, how about we run away and go have fun somewhere else, here we only talk about business, it's really boring, don't you think?

She looked at him angrily and said:

-No, no thanks I'm fine here and to me if I find the meeting fun for what it is if that's okay.

-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you.

-I don't even know you and how can I go with a stranger?

-Don't tell me your mom told you not to talk to strangers.

When he said this, she smiled and was very upset and answered him:

-No, it wasn't my mom, but it was my dad.

He smiled again and then told her:

-Look my name is Antonio and what is your name?

She answered him:

-Karina.

He said:

-Karina, Karina, your name is not very common and it is very pretty.

-I had never thought about it before, but if you say so, well, it's good.

And so time went by as they talked about unimportant things and danced, he did not leave her side until about one o'clock in the morning when she began to say goodbye to all the guests, so she said goodbye to Antonio and he told her:

-I am going to leave you at home.

She replied:

-No thanks, I'll bring my car, thank you.

He went to drop her off at her car so Karina left the meeting the next day she arrived at the office and her secretary told her: -They brought you this arrangement:

-They brought you this arrangement.

Karina saw it and it was a big arrangement of flowers and fruits, she took the card and told her secretary.

-She said to her secretary, "Have them take it to my house and send it there.

She went into her office and sat down, opened the envelope and took out the card that said:

LET'S HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER, PLEASE, I'LL PICK YOU UP AT TWO O'CLOCK. ANTONIO.

Karina just smiled and continued working when it was time for lunch she didn't remember the invitation so she left and when she got out of the elevator in front of it Antonio was standing with a bouquet of white roses she got out of the elevator he approached her gave her the flowers and said:

-Let's go.

Karina was pleased and they both went to eat she thought and how to refuse if he is so attentive Karina at the precise moment she saw him with the flowers coming out of the elevator at that precise moment she saw him more closely and that was when her heart beat faster and she felt something in her stomach she only thought "how handsome he is" so the meal was very pleasant Antonio made her laugh the meal was a success she felt so comfortable with him it seemed that they had known each other for a long time so he took her back to his office they said goodbye with a promise to see each other again Karina was so comfortable with him it seemed that they had known each other for a long time He made her laugh and the meal was a success and she felt so comfortable with him that it seemed like they had known each other for a long time so he took her back to his office and they said goodbye with the promise to see each other again Karina was delighted she had never met a man so attentive, respectful and funny after arriving at the office she asked herself "Who is Antonio? "so she began to rummage through her papers until she found the list of all the guests invited to the boss's meeting, she looked for Antonio's name among all the people there but no. Antonio's name was not there so she decided to look for him, Antonio's name was not there so without giving it any importance she kept the list and thought that maybe he was just a special guest so the days and weeks passed between meals, dinners, the theater and the cinema Karina and Antonio saw each other more and more often, she was in love with him but he did not dare to tell her to be his girlfriend until one day he invited her to dinner they went to an Italian restaurant the restaurant was very Russian. The restaurant was very rustic and decorated in a very Italian style. Everyone in the restaurant was very friendly and greeted them as if they had known each other for a long time, between the kindness of the employees and the romantic atmosphere of the restaurant Karina felt very comfortable:

-Kari can you do me the honor of being my girlfriend.

She looked at him and with a big smile she answered:

-Yes, yes Antonio.

He came closer and gave her the long awaited kiss, it was a delicate kiss, but with passion, which Karina liked the most. Antonio wanted to take everything calmly and that pleased Karina very much, so the big night went by, then Antonio went to leave Karina at her house and when he said goodbye Antonio took her in his arms and gave her a long kiss and they said goodbye when Karina entered her house her sisters were already waiting for her and she told them everything, then she went and told her father, he didn't say no, but he told her:

-Karina, the only thing I ask of you is that you give yourself respect and leave this house as you deserve.

-Yes, yes, Dad really does, if he loves me in a good way, but let's wait, this is just beginning, okay, Dad.

-It's okay, daughter, it's okay.

So Karina continued to fall more and more in love with Antonio and he with her, so time went by without any news, then one day when they went to dinner Antonio and Karina, Antonio told Karina in the car.

-Kari love, I love you very much and I don't want to be separated from you, I want you to be with me for the rest of my life and that's why I want you to marry me, what do you think?

She looked at him very serious and surprised because she did not expect this, but then she smiled and told him:

-Yes, yes love I also want to spend the rest of my life with you I love you and I always will.

Then they gave each other a big kiss and then he put the engagement ring on her and told her:

-Prepare everything in your house so that I go with my parents to ask for your hand.

She answered him:

-Yes, yes and I will do the same with my father and my sisters.

So the two of them started looking for a house to live near Karina's family because she didn't want to leave them the furniture and everything that comes with having a home but the day came to ask for Karina's hand so they prepared a big dinner for the occasion Karina didn't know Antonio's family but Antonio was the other way around he knew his sisters and dad so Karina felt nervous she wanted her parents to like her, not so much because of them but because she wanted them to like her. She wanted to belong to that family so she decided to be herself and if they liked her parents then go ahead and if not then there was nothing to do so they waited for Antonio and his family Karina was too nervous and anxious for them to arrive until they finally knocked on the door she ran to open it and when she did she was in front of the door Antonio Karina made them come in right away and Antonio introduced them.

-Mom, Dad, this is Karina.

Her mother greeted her warmly and said:

-Mucho gusto Karina and just as I imagined you.

She answered:

-Thank you go ahead.

Then her dad who also greeted her warmly and behind them came her boss, which puzzled her, but he welcomed her and then Antonio told her:

-He is my brother.

That was when Karina realized why Antonio was not on the guest list of that meeting, then she just smiled, after that they all sat down in the living room, they introduced themselves and Karina introduced them to her father and sisters who very kindly welcomed them, so the night passed very pleasantly until it was time to ask for the hand and set the wedding date and so it was done, Karina said to them:

-Well, Antonio and I have decided to get married in ten months to prepare everything calmly.

They all smiled and agreed so the evening was very pleasant, but Karina noticed that both her brother and Antonio did not look like her father, he was the opposite of them, the father was blond while Antonio and her brother were dark and with light brown eyes, but well, she did not give it importance and so the evening passed when they retired, leaving the family alone, her father said to Karina, "Well, I thought the evening was very good and the gentlemen are very polite and nice, Kari, I am very satisfied, I know you are going to be happy and, in any case, we will always be with you.

-Well, I thought the evening was very nice and the gentlemen are very polite and nice Kari, I am very satisfied, I know you are going to be happy and, in any way, we will always be with you.

The next day that Antonio and Karina saw each other, they were happy that everything went so well, so Karina said to Antonio.

-Your mom is very pretty and young, and so is your dad, but it's very curious, you don't look like your dad.

Antonio smiled very slightly and said to her:

-Yes baby is that I have not told you and you should know, that Alfredo is not my dad, you know my dad died when we were just five years old and my brother six, my mom loved him with all her soul, but he died of a heart attack, nothing could be done, my dad was still very young, he was only thirty-three years old so my mom was left alone with two children, on the economic side she was not worried, because the company was my dad's and he seemed to sense that he would not live long, because he left everything prepared, My mother did not have any problem, a few years later she met Alfredo, she fell in love with him and they got married, he is a very good man, he helped my mother to raise us, we did not call him dad, he earned that name little by little, until from one day to the next my brother and I started calling him dad and that's what he has been for us, as far as my dad's company is concerned he never wanted to take care of it, he has his own, so as you can see, that's my family, I have nothing to hide and there is nothing to hide my love.

She replied:

-Thank you love for your sincerity and your trust, and let me and I tell you my story, I also have a not very nice one and I appreciate your discretion, by not asking me why we are only with my dad.

He told her:

-Because I thought that, just as I lost my dad, you had lost your mom.

-Yes, yes, but no, my mother still lives with grief, but she is still alive.

So Karina began to tell Antonio everything, she did not hide anything from him about her mother, so after she finished telling him, she was crying, Antonio consoled her and told her: "Don't worry love, you don't have to worry, you don't have to worry:

-Don't worry love, you are not to blame for anything, we have to get ahead and the problems, because we are going to have problems, we will solve them as they arise, but just one thing, I promise you and you must promise me that whatever it is we will always tell each other everything, everything, communication is very important for a couple.

She answered him:

-Yes, yes love I promise you, if you are the only thing I have after my dad and my sisters.