Chapter 1
In a deserted mansion, Patricia sits motionless on the sofa until, much later, the door opens and Ramon enters from outside. When his gaze falls on her, he pauses momentarily and then his expression turns cold. “Lucia has a fever today, why have you been calling me so much?” Patricia stands up, but remains head down and silent. She doesn’t answer and Ramon doesn’t leave. After a while, she finally speaks in a low voice, “At that time, I had something to tell you.” “What thing? You’re standing perfectly here. How important could it be?” Patricia’s explanation didn’t gain her understanding; on the contrary, her voice became even colder, “Didn’t I tell you that Lucia wasn’t feeling well and that I was going to be with her all day today? Did you do this on purpose? Patricia, I’ve already told you that you mustn’t have such inappropriate thoughts towards me. I’m your uncle, we can never love each other! If you do it again, you’d better move out.” After saying this, Ramón went straight upstairs, slamming the door behind him as he entered his room. Downstairs, Patricia was still standing, silently watching his figure as he climbed the stairs. Then she said in a low voice. “Ramón, I’m sorry. There won’t be a next time.” “Because I’m already dead.” Her voice was very faint, and Ramón, who was already upstairs, didn’t hear those words. Patricia didn’t seem to care either. She sat back down on the couch, but she couldn’t help but remember the past. Ramón, in fact, wasn’t her real uncle; he was just her father’s friend. From a very young age, she loved being around Ramón and calling him brother. Each time, Ramón patiently corrected her. “I’m not your brother, I’m your uncle.” The year she finally changed the way she called him was when she was eight, after her parents died tragically in a car accident, and that was when Ramón took her to Casa Fernández. Patricia was the rose carefully cultivated by Ramón, who had practically poured all his love into her. When she first arrived at the Fernandez House, she felt insecure about depending on others, and spent sleepless nights. It was Ramon who, despite being busy with his work, patiently comforted her until she managed to fall asleep. Since childhood, Patricia had been in fragile health and depended on medication to survive. When she was twelve, Ramon’s relatives, upset by the burden of supporting a sickly child, insisted that he send her somewhere else. Ramon refused. He preferred to become independent and move out of the Fernandez House rather than leave it. Later, he managed to found the Altaria Group and led it to become a company as powerful as the Fernandez Group. Only then did tensions between Ramon and the Fernandez family begin to ease. When Patricia was fifteen, she participated in a school trip that ended in tragedy: a landslide almost cost her her life. At the most critical moment, it was Ramon who,Without hesitation, he went into the mountains to rescue her. Throughout his life, whatever Patricia wished for, even if it was something as impossible as a star in the sky, Ramón did not hesitate to try to get it for her. However, the most profound memory for Patricia was the year her parents died. Her health was especially delicate, and on one occasion she had a very high fever that led to her being hospitalized for three days. When she woke up, frightened, she clung to Ramón crying inconsolably, while asking him between sobs. “Ramón, am I going to die?” At that moment, Ramón answered her firmly: “Pati, as long as I do not allow it, no one will be able to take you away from me. Not even Lord Mortius. If he dares, I will take you back from his hands.” Ramón kept his promise. For ten years, from when Patricia was eight until she was eighteen, he protected her no matter the difficulties, without ever considering abandoning her. But today, a group of robbers broke into the house and stabbed her more than ten times. Patricia, dying, called Ramon again and again, but he rejected her calls one after another, busy taking care of Lucia, who had a fever. Lucia had appeared in their lives three months ago. That night, Patricia had taken advantage of Ramon’s sleep to secretly kiss him. However, he immediately woke up, cold-faced, and asked her what she was doing. Upon being discovered, Patricia stopped hiding it and bravely confessed her love. But Ramon, with disbelief in his eyes, flatly rejected her, and to make her give up, he even started going out on frequent dates, eventually bringing Lucia, who met all the desired criteria and showed affection in front of Patricia every day. When Patricia died, after having called Ramon so many times, on one occasion Lucia answered the phone. Before Patricia could call for help, Lucia’s voice rang from the other end. “Patricia, do you need something? Ramon is cooking porridge for me, he doesn’t have time to take your calls.” After saying that, he hung up the phone. The instant the call was cut off, Patricia breathed her last. After her death, her spirit, due to her persistence, did not dissipate, and Lord Mortius, noticing the anomaly, sought her out, giving her the chance to make a deal with him. In exchange for never being reincarnated and her soul dispersing forever, she gained the right to return to the world of the living for seven days to settle her unfinished business. Patricia walked over to the calendar; if Ramon looked closely, he would notice that this calendar only had seven days. She moved forward and tore out a page, muttering under her breath, “Ramon, this is the first day of our farewell.”Ramón did not hesitate to try to get it for her. However, the most profound memory for Patricia was the year her parents died. Her health was especially delicate, and on one occasion she had a very high fever that led to her being hospitalized for three days. When she woke up, frightened, she clung to Ramón crying inconsolably, while she asked him between sobs. —Ramón, am I going to die? At that moment, Ramón answered her firmly: —Pati, as long as I do not allow it, no one will be able to take you away from me. Not even Lord Mortius. If he dares, I will take you back from his hands. Ramón kept his promise. For ten years, from when Patricia was eight until she was eighteen, he protected her no matter the difficulties, without ever considering abandoning her. But today, a group of thieves broke into the house and stabbed her more than ten times. Patricia, dying, called Ramón again and again, but he rejected her calls one after another, busy taking care of Lucia, who had a fever. Lucia had appeared in their lives three months ago. That night, Patricia had taken advantage of Ramon’s sleep to secretly kiss him. However, he immediately woke up, his face cold, and asked her what she was doing. Upon being discovered, Patricia stopped hiding it and bravely confessed her love. But Ramon, with disbelief in his eyes, flatly rejected her and, to make her give up, he even started going out on frequent dates, eventually bringing Lucia, who met all the desired criteria and showed affection in front of Patricia every day. When Patricia died, after having called Ramon so many times, Lucia once answered the phone. Before Patricia could call for help, Lucia’s voice rang from the other end. “Patricia, do you need anything? Ramon is cooking porridge for me, he doesn’t have time to take your calls.” After saying that, he hung up the phone. The instant the call was cut off, Patricia breathed her last. After her death, her spirit, due to its persistence, did not dissipate, and Lord Mortius, noticing the anomaly, sought her out, giving her the chance to make a deal with him. In exchange for never being reincarnated and her soul dispersing forever, she was granted the right to return to the world of the living for seven days to resolve her unfinished business. Patricia walked over to the calendar; if Ramón looked closely, he would notice that this calendar only had seven days. She moved forward and tore out a page, muttering under her breath, “Ramón, this is the first day of our farewell.”Ramón did not hesitate to try to get it for her. However, the most profound memory for Patricia was the year her parents died. Her health was especially delicate, and on one occasion she had a very high fever that led to her being hospitalized for three days. When she woke up, frightened, she clung to Ramón crying inconsolably, while she asked him between sobs. —Ramón, am I going to die? At that moment, Ramón answered her firmly: —Pati, as long as I do not allow it, no one will be able to take you away from me. Not even Lord Mortius. If he dares, I will take you back from his hands. Ramón kept his promise. For ten years, from when Patricia was eight until she was eighteen, he protected her no matter the difficulties, without ever considering abandoning her. But today, a group of thieves broke into the house and stabbed her more than ten times. Patricia, dying, called Ramón again and again, but he rejected her calls one after another, busy taking care of Lucia, who had a fever. Lucia had appeared in their lives three months ago. That night, Patricia had taken advantage of Ramon’s sleep to secretly kiss him. However, he immediately woke up, his face cold, and asked her what she was doing. Upon being discovered, Patricia stopped hiding it and bravely confessed her love. But Ramon, with disbelief in his eyes, flatly rejected her and, to make her give up, he even started going out on frequent dates, eventually bringing Lucia, who met all the desired criteria and showed affection in front of Patricia every day. When Patricia died, after having called Ramon so many times, Lucia once answered the phone. Before Patricia could call for help, Lucia’s voice rang from the other end. “Patricia, do you need anything? Ramon is cooking porridge for me, he doesn’t have time to take your calls.” After saying that, he hung up the phone. The instant the call was cut off, Patricia breathed her last. After her death, her spirit, due to its persistence, did not dissipate, and Lord Mortius, noticing the anomaly, sought her out, giving her the chance to make a deal with him. In exchange for never being reincarnated and her soul dispersing forever, she was granted the right to return to the world of the living for seven days to resolve her unfinished business. Patricia walked over to the calendar; if Ramón looked closely, he would notice that this calendar only had seven days. She moved forward and tore out a page, muttering under her breath, “Ramón, this is the first day of our farewell.”Ramon answered her firmly, “Pati, as long as I don’t allow it, no one will be able to take you away from me. Not even Lord Mortius. If he dares, I will take you back from him.” Ramon kept his promise. For ten years, from when Patricia was eight until she turned eighteen, he protected her no matter the difficulties, never considering abandoning her. But today, a group of thieves broke into the house and stabbed her more than ten times. Patricia, dying, called Ramon again and again, but he rejected her calls one after another, busy taking care of Lucia, who had a fever. Lucia had appeared in their lives three months ago. That night, Patricia had taken advantage of Ramon’s sleep to kiss him secretly. However, he immediately woke up, his face cold, and asked her what she was doing. Upon being discovered, Patricia stopped hiding it and, bravely, confessed her love. But Ramon, with disbelief in his eyes, flatly rejected her, and in order to make her give up, he even started going out on dates frequently, eventually bringing Lucia, who met all the desired criteria and showed affection in front of Patricia every day. When Patricia died, after calling Ramon so many times, on one occasion Lucia answered the phone. Before Patricia could call for help, Lucia’s voice rang from the other end. “Patricia, do you need something? Ramon is cooking porridge for me, he doesn’t have time to take your calls.” After saying that, he hung up the phone. The instant the call was cut off, Patricia breathed her last. After her death, her spirit, due to her persistence, did not dissipate, and Lord Mortius, realizing the anomaly, sought her out, giving her a chance to make a deal with him. In exchange for never being reincarnated and having her soul disperse forever, she was granted the right to return to the world of the living for seven days to resolve her unfinished business. Patricia approached the calendar; if Ramón looked closely, he would notice that this calendar only had seven days. She moved forward and tore out a page, muttering under her breath, “Ramón, this is the first day of our farewell.”Ramon answered her firmly, “Pati, as long as I don’t allow it, no one will be able to take you away from me. Not even Lord Mortius. If he dares, I will take you back from him.” Ramon kept his promise. For ten years, from when Patricia was eight until she turned eighteen, he protected her no matter the difficulties, never considering abandoning her. But today, a group of thieves broke into the house and stabbed her more than ten times. Patricia, dying, called Ramon again and again, but he rejected her calls one after another, busy taking care of Lucia, who had a fever. Lucia had appeared in their lives three months ago. That night, Patricia had taken advantage of Ramon’s sleep to kiss him secretly. However, he immediately woke up, his face cold, and asked her what she was doing. Upon being discovered, Patricia stopped hiding it and, bravely, confessed her love. But Ramon, with disbelief in his eyes, flatly rejected her, and in order to make her give up, he even started going out on dates frequently, eventually bringing Lucia, who met all the desired criteria and showed affection in front of Patricia every day. When Patricia died, after calling Ramon so many times, on one occasion Lucia answered the phone. Before Patricia could call for help, Lucia’s voice rang from the other end. “Patricia, do you need something? Ramon is cooking porridge for me, he doesn’t have time to take your calls.” After saying that, he hung up the phone. The instant the call was cut off, Patricia breathed her last. After her death, her spirit, due to her persistence, did not dissipate, and Lord Mortius, realizing the anomaly, sought her out, giving her a chance to make a deal with him. In exchange for never being reincarnated and having her soul disperse forever, she was granted the right to return to the world of the living for seven days to resolve her unfinished business. Patricia approached the calendar; if Ramón looked closely, he would notice that this calendar only had seven days. She moved forward and tore out a page, muttering under her breath, “Ramón, this is the first day of our farewell.”Upon being discovered, Patricia stopped hiding it and bravely confessed her love. But Ramon, with disbelief in his eyes, flatly rejected her and, to make her give up, he even started going out on frequent dates, eventually bringing Lucia, who met all the desired criteria and showed affection in front of Patricia every day. When Patricia died, after having called Ramon so many times, on one occasion Lucia answered the phone. Before Patricia could call for help, Lucia’s voice rang from the other end. “Patricia, do you need something? Ramon is cooking porridge for me, he doesn’t have time to take your calls.” After saying that, he hung up the phone. The instant the call was cut off, Patricia breathed her last. After her death, her spirit, due to her persistence, did not dissipate, and Lord Mortius, realizing the anomaly, sought her out, giving her a chance to make a deal with him. In exchange for never being reincarnated and having her soul disperse forever, she was granted the right to return to the world of the living for seven days to resolve her unfinished business. Patricia approached the calendar; if Ramón looked closely, he would notice that this calendar only had seven days. She moved forward and tore out a page, muttering under her breath, “Ramón, this is the first day of our farewell.”Upon being discovered, Patricia stopped hiding it and bravely confessed her love. But Ramon, with disbelief in his eyes, flatly rejected her and, to make her give up, he even started going out on frequent dates, eventually bringing Lucia, who met all the desired criteria and showed affection in front of Patricia every day. When Patricia died, after having called Ramon so many times, on one occasion Lucia answered the phone. Before Patricia could call for help, Lucia’s voice rang from the other end. “Patricia, do you need something? Ramon is cooking porridge for me, he doesn’t have time to take your calls.” After saying that, he hung up the phone. The instant the call was cut off, Patricia breathed her last. After her death, her spirit, due to her persistence, did not dissipate, and Lord Mortius, realizing the anomaly, sought her out, giving her a chance to make a deal with him. In exchange for never being reincarnated and having her soul disperse forever, she was granted the right to return to the world of the living for seven days to resolve her unfinished business. Patricia approached the calendar; if Ramón looked closely, he would notice that this calendar only had seven days. She moved forward and tore out a page, muttering under her breath, “Ramón, this is the first day of our farewell.”
