Chapter 1 Preface

• Young Vasil walked nervously through the beautiful garden where adorned with exotic plants is the Ferrer Altamirano family's greatest pride. He looked around and behind him periodically as if afraid of being caught doing something improper. Despite the darkness, he didn't miss any detail of everything he observed around him.
• To tell the truth, there were reasons to fear. For months he had been secretly dating Natalia, the princess of the family, in this garden.They always met at night, sitting on one of the least visible benches near the house for a long time, laughing, flirting, caressing, kissing, and making promises of love. That's how they found happiness, planning their future together.
• Both of them were very young, she was 16 and he had just turned 19. They claimed to love each other madly and were willing to face anything to live that idyllic love. They wanted to run away together, and for that, he was not only helping his father in the mansion's garden but also working as a laborer in the Ferrer family's cement factory. He hoped to save enough money to fulfill their dreams.
• That day, they had decided to eat the forbidden fruit again. The first time had been two nights ago, unplanned, they had given in to the fire of passion on the grass, under the open sky, with the firmament as their witness. It had been their first sexual encounter, but that hadn't prevented them from having the best moment of their lives. This time he had decided to prepare a surprise for her, to make her completely happy, to make her never forget that wonderful night. They would meet in one of the small cabins located at the back of the extensive garden.
• Vasil had prepared the place that afternoon with colorful flowers, which created a romantic sense. Everything was ready for their special night, and he was exciting because he would enjoy it with his beloved.
• Since he could remember, his parents had worked for the Ferrer Altamirano family, who were characterized by living an excessive life, with eccentric interests, lovers of luxury, appearance, and concerned about what others would say. Their members were marked by deep snobbery, looking down on anyone they considered inferior in the social scale. They were even unfair, not caring about causing harm to others as long as they got their way. Although Natalia was different from them.
• With exciting, Vasil stepped toward the beautiful two-story wooden house. The moonlight illuminated it, giving it a mysterious and welcoming atmosphere. It seemed to have come out of a fairy tale. He smiled happily, his heart beating anxiously in anticipation of having her in his arms again. He had left a trail of petals from the entrance to the first floor earlier, and on the bed in the room, he had drawn a heart made of flowers and placed some delightful scented candles around the room.
• He opened the door and found it strange that the petals were not where he had left them. He thought maybe the wind had moved them, although he couldn't ignore the footprints marked on the floor.
• However, he didn't pay much attention to that detail. He headed for the stairs to go up to the next level, excitedly climbing them two by two. But with a strange sensation, he suddenly felt his body trembling. A cold sweat ran down his spine. When he opened the door, he was stunned by the sight in front of him, to the point of being unable to utter a word for a few seconds. He felt as if he had been kicked hard in the stomach, leaving him breathless.
• He couldn't believe the scene before him, tears welled up in his eyes, but he held them back. There, in front of him, was his little baby girl, the beautiful young woman with celestial eyes, hair as dark as jet black, who had sworn eternal love to him, rolling around with Sergio Alcazar in the room that he had prepared with such care for their night of love.
• Both, upon hearing the noise of the door, turned their gaze towards him, but there was no surprise or remorse on their faces, only amusement.
• She sat up with the sheet wrapped around her body, a mocking smile on her face, and began to speak.
• "Oh! Vasil! What did you think? Fool! Did you really believe that I, a Ferrer Altamirano from head to toe, would fall in loce with a poor boy like you?" she inquired, looking him up and down disdainfully. "Haven't you seen yourself? How could you believe that a girl with a renowned surname and a member of one of the most powerful families in the country would show interest in a filthy person like you, beyond a night of sex?"
• "You even don’t know how much I laughed at your stupid plans to save money by working like a poor laborer for our future. You're so stupid! Now you have to leave here, with your miserable family. Take your things and never come near this house again, because if you do, next time you'll end up in jail accused of theft. Get away! Out!" the woman shouted, her eyes red.
• He didn't know her clearly; she seemed like a different person from the one he had known during these months of their relationship.
• "Bravo, Natalia Ferrer! You're the best actress!" the young man exclaimed, applauding, although inside he felt his heart shattered, bleeding from the betrayal. "You turned out to be just as much of a witch as the rest of your family, you deceived me so well, giving yourself to me like a whore. But it doesn't matter, I swear to God! Someday, you and all the Ferrer Altamiranos, along with the Alcazars, will pay for all the pain you've caused. Never forget, a Greek always keeps his promises."
• With that, he turned and left the room, the feeling of defeat pressed on his shoulders, refusing to cry over that wicked woman. Two men were waiting for him downstairs, and they accompanied him to the small house where he lived with his family on the mansion grounds. However, upon arriving there, the situation was no better. He found Simon Ferrer, the patriarch of the family, directing a group of workers who were taking their belongings without any hesitation.
• That day, they were thrown out of the mansion like dogs, amidst the tears and pleas of his mother and sister. Meanwhile, his father and foster brother, Xander, silently gathered their things. For him, a growing hatred and bitterness had emerged towards all those people who would eventually pay for their humiliation, one by one.
• "Revenge destroys one's life because, while one is busy planning it..., one forgets to live." Elisabet Benavent.