My Blind Fiancée

On that day, Daría arrived from the United States with her parents. Her father-in-law wanted to talk to Mateo about the wedding date, as people were starting to make fun of his daughter, and he wouldn’t allow that. Mateo went to the airport to receive them but had to wait for a while as their flight was delayed.

He felt annoyed about having to wait for them. Daría had promised to obtain the files he needed from Teodoro in exchange for a definite wedding date. Lost in thought, he suddenly noticed Tadeo. He saw that Tadeo was accompanied by a young woman-very fair-skinned with long, black hair, slender but with a great figure. Mateo approached them.

Ava had arrived in Milan with Tadeo. In Switzerland, she had undergone surgery to regain her vision. They had drained accumulated fluid from her secondary optic nerve, and the doctor had performed a corneal stem cell transplant. It had taken three months for her to fully regain her vision, and the process had been challenging. At first, she thought the surgery had failed, but her vision gradually returned.

She decided to change her appearance so that Mateo, especially Teodoro, wouldn’t recognize her. She wore honey-colored contact lenses, applied makeup differently but not excessively, and dressed sexily without looking vulgar. Nothing remained of the sweet image Mateo knew. She was confident that they wouldn’t recognize her. She tattooed her eyebrows and had long eyelashes applied. She also reshaped her face with buccal fat removal surgery, and these small changes had a significant impact on her appearance.

She stood with Tadeo, waiting for their luggage to be delivered when she suddenly felt it-an unmistakable scent of wood and musk. She turned around, and her eyes locked with a pair of clear blue eyes, belonging to a tall, well-built man with a neatly trimmed beard. He was the sexiest man she had ever seen, well, not that she had seen many until then.

Tadeo was attractive, very sexy, but this man was on another level, and those eyes-she couldn’t describe the sensation she felt when their gazes met. His gaze was intense, and she couldn’t explain what was happening with that guy.

Mateo approached without taking his eyes off the girl. He had seen her somewhere before, or maybe it was because he noticed a certain resemblance to Ava. She was beautiful. As he got closer, he noticed that her eyes were brown, not blue like Ava’s.

“Buongiorno, detective. What a coincidence to meet here,” he said, still fixed on the girl. Tadeo felt annoyed by his insistent gaze.

“Buongiorno, Licciardi. You’re right; it’s quite a coincidence to meet here. By the way, congratulations on your engagement,” Tadeo added the last part to remind Ava how easily he had replaced her.

Hearing the last name, Ava felt like the ground was shifting beneath her feet. It was him-Mateo, her Mateo. The owner of that voice that had stirred up so many emotions in her. She had imagined him, but the reality surpassed her imagination. He was like an Adonis-a perfect man, a man who would soon belong to another woman, and she couldn’t do anything to prevent it. She averted her gaze to avoid looking into his eyes.

“Are you feeling alright?” Mateo noticed the girl’s strange behavior.

“Yes, thank you. It must be that I’m a bit tired from the journey,” Ava tried to conceal her nervousness. She couldn’t believe she was face-to-face with the love of her life. She hadn’t imagined he would be like this. His voice, his face, his body-he seemed like the perfect man.

“She’s Grecia De Luca,” Tadeo introduced when he noticed Mateo’s curious gaze.

“Pleasure to meet you, miss,” Mateo replied with a friendly smile.

He extended his hand and gave her a gentle handshake when she offered hers. At that moment, he felt an electric current coursing through his body-a sensation he had only felt with one person, Ava. He continued to observe her closely, and indeed, he noticed a certain resemblance, or perhaps it was because he missed her so much that he saw her in everyone.

Ava felt the same as Mateo, that strange electric current running through her being. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, but she held back, afraid of his reaction to her having left him. At the same time, she was angry, thinking that if she had truly mattered to him, he wouldn’t have become engaged to another so quickly. She felt an immense anger towards him as she recalled that.

Mateo couldn’t stop looking at her, and Tadeo feared that he might recognize her. They needed to leave as soon as possible.

“Excuse me, Miss Grecia, have we met somewhere before?” Mateo was puzzled. This girl had a certain resemblance to Ava, except her hair was very black, her eyes were honey-colored, and she could see. The shape of her face was also different.

“I doubt it, Mr. Licciardi. This is my first time visiting Milan,” she replied, trying to change the tone of her voice, although she trembled inside. She tried to stay firm.

Tadeo had created a new identity for her, complete with a backstory, which was readily available to Mateo in case he decided to investigate.

“Your face does seem familiar to me,” Mateo insisted.

“I highly doubt it, Licciardi. She is a renowned concert pianist in Switzerland, and she will be performing for the first time in this city.”

“A concert pianist? That’s wonderful! When is her performance? I would love to attend,” he said quickly.

Tadeo and Ava exchanged glances. Mateo had practically invited himself to the concert. In Switzerland, after regaining her sight, Tadeo and Lola had encouraged her to start playing again. She was exceptionally talented on both the violin and the piano. In just three months, she had given a series of successful concerts in Switzerland.

Ava was scheduled to give a concert in Milan, accompanied by the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra. Tadeo hadn’t agreed with her returning so soon, but she was determined to go back and continue with the plan to expose Teodoro. Her parents’ deaths couldn’t go unpunished. She felt that the investigation was progressing too slowly. Deep down, Tadeo knew that her return was also connected to Mateo.

“Of course, Mr. Licciardi,” Ava said, handing over a couple of passes. “I assume you’ll be attending with your fiancée,” she added, trying to hide her pain. She was holding back tears, on the verge of breaking down.

“That’s right, thank you very much,” Mateo replied, reaching out to receive the passes from Ava. As he took them, he looked deeply into her eyes, and she immediately averted her gaze, not wanting him to notice her suffering upon hearing that he would soon be married.

They bid him farewell and headed to the apartment in Tadeo’s building where Ava had stayed before. Lola would arrive the next day with the child. They hadn’t traveled together to avoid putting themselves in danger, which turned out to be the best decision. If Mateo had seen them together, especially with the child, he would have immediately recognized them-they were identical.

Mateo waited a while longer until Daría arrived. He watched her approach, and she exaggerated her walk, trying to appear sexy, but it bordered on vulgarity. It was evident how much he had to endure to bring down Teodoro Miller.

“Ciao Amore, I missed you,” she said, draping her arms around his neck. Mateo felt the urge to distance himself from her, but he managed to contain it.

“Hello, Daría. How was your trip?” he replied, his tone cold.

“It went very well. Look, these are my parents,” she said, turning around. Mateo’s gaze was fixed on a couple approaching. The man was stocky, and the woman was short and slightly overweight. The man immediately approached him.

“So, you’re the man who’s been stringing my little girl along, constantly changing the wedding date,” the man said in a tone that indicated he wasn’t joking. He was clearly upset.

“You must be Daría’s father,” Mateo replied, completely ignoring the man’s tone.

“That’s right, I’m her father, and I’m very upset about what’s been happening. My sweet little girl doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. She’s a decent girl and deserves respect and love.”

“I’m sorry; I have to resolve several matters before I can get married. That way, I can give your daughter the honeymoon she deserves. Right now, it’s impossible,” Mateo explained. His first impression of his father-in-law was quite unpleasant.

“You see, Daddy? I told you that Mati is a very important businessman, managing one of the most prestigious companies in the country. That’s why he’s always busy,” Daría chimed in.

“My schedule is overly busy; I can’t set aside my work. Her future and a more comfortable life depend on it. If I focus solely on her now, we might encounter financial problems down the line,” Mateo explained, feeling somewhat foolish as he provided these explanations. Daría’s father stared at him intently.