Despite all the assurances that they would meet each other again soon, Carmen and Claudia's farewell had been tearful. Isidro had stood pensively and watched as Fina had said goodbye to her friends with a long hug. Carmen and Fina in particular had found it difficult to say goodbye.

'I'm going to miss you. Who, if not my best friend, will look after me now and prevent me from doing anything stupid?' said Fina as she finally released herself from Carmen's embrace.

'I wonder that too.' Carmen tried to smile, but she only half succeeded.

Then she said emphatically: 'We'll see each other again, Fina. And we'll talk on the phone every week, right? When I finally find the person I want to spend my life with, I really want to tell you about it.'

Everyone had agreed that whenever the question would arise, Fina would have travelled to a relative on the Atlantic coast to finally recover from the trauma of the attack in the sea air. There she would fall in love with a young man and so the days of her return would be postponed further and further. At some point, an engagement might be on the cards and it would be clear that Fina would not return. Or the relationship with the unknown young man would break up, sadly, sadly, and Fina would return to her father - if she had to. Whether this story would hold up and convince people like Gaspar remained to be seen.

Fina and her father spent most of the journey north in silence. They were both lost in thought. Isidro found it difficult to say goodbye to his beloved daughter without knowing when he would see her again. And even Fina, who was feeling an immense sense of anticipation, found it a little hard to say goodbye. It was nowhere near as easy to leave everything behind as she had thought. Even if Marta had been no reason not to leave this time. Leaving friends and family for a future that was not yet written was one of the most difficult decisions she had ever had to make. And even though it didn't hurt as much as the separation from Marta, she still didn't really feel exuberant joy. Perhaps that would change as soon as she saw Marta again.

They had arranged to meet in the woods not far from the Belmontes' estate. Perhaps it would seem a little strange if Fina didn't just drive up and arrive, but they walked all the way to the house. But after they had already been cheated out of a goodbye kiss, Marta at least wanted to make sure that they had a moment to themselves when they met again. And the quiet forest provided the perfect, secluded backdrop before they had to be a little more careful on the estate again.

Marta sighed. She hoped that this kind of hide-and-seek wouldn't go on forever, but her thoughts were interrupted by the approaching hum of an engine. Her heart began to pound wildly and she rubbed her hands nervously. It was silly to feel like a young girl before her first date, but that was the way it was. There was nothing she could do about it.

Isidro stopped the car a few metres away. Marta's silhouette emerged at the edge of the forest and Fina could already see her smile. As she went to open the door, Isidro grasped her by the shoulder.

'Just a moment, hija. I need to ask you this. Are you sure?' He looked at her with fatherly love. 'I would understand. And I wouldn't hold it against you if you changed your mind now. And I'm sure Doña Marta wouldn't either.'

No, thought Fina, Marta wouldn't. But it would break her heart. Nevertheless, she understood that her father had to ask her this question. Was it all worth it? For a future that still remained in the dark? No one could guarantee that they would be happy. And even the greatest love could collapse under the right circumstances. Nor could she promise her father with certainty that they would be safe.

'I have to be with her. I can't live without her. ' She glanced at her father, begging for forgiveness.

Isidro understood. He thought of his own wife, Fina's mother, whom he had loved so much and whom he missed every day. She had been his light. And he too would have followed that light to the end of the world. He could have spent years with her in the dungeons of the Alcázar and would still have been happy as long as she had been with him - if he had had to. If only he had been better able to show his feelings back then, when his wife was still alive, as Fina was already able to do. He admired Fina for that and was equally proud of her. She undoubtedly got her big heart and her courage from her mother.

'Bueno, hija, just make sure that Doña Marta also follows your lead sometimes when the situation demands it, not just the other way round. You're a strong woman Fina, don't forget that. And you very often have a sense of what is the right thing to do and what is not. You can trust that.'

'I will, Dad, don't worry. Marta would follow me either if she had to. You don't know her like I know her. She's nowhere near as strong as everyone thinks. At least not always. That's exactly why I have to go with her. She is my anchor and I am hers.'

'I love you, my daughter.' He gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead and gestured with his head towards Marta, who already seemed to be getting restless. 'Then let's finally put her out of her misery, shall we?

As Isidro opened the car door and heaved himself out of the car, he saw Fina hurrying towards Marta with long strides. The two women sank into an embrace and finally into a long kiss, in which everything around them seemed to fade out.
Looking the sin in the eye should perhaps have made him more uncomfortable. But the longer he watched, out of furtive eyes, the more stupid he felt about the first reaction he had had when Fina had confessed to him that she was in love with a woman. Because what he saw was love; joy and relief. And his heart also lightened at the sight. What's more, he had seen Doña Marta sink into his daughter's arms as if nothing in life gave her more support than Fina's slender figure.

Fina was right, he didn't know this Marta. He knew Doña Marta, who had always been careful never to lose her composure towards employees and house staff over the years. She had been tough and strict with others, but even tougher and stricter with herself. Someone who never seemed to make a single decision without having thought long and hard about it. In all those years, Isidro only now realised, he had often seen her smile, but never laugh.

Now, however, he noticed a gleam in Doña Marta's eyes that he had never noticed before. And this sparkle was directed solely at his Fina, who returned it with shining eyes. Accompanied and surrounded by love, he thought contentedly, accompanied and surrounded by love, come what may.

'Isidro!' Marta finally broke away from Fina and turned to the man who was standing a few metres away, cap in hand, watching her.

Marta's heart was so relieved and her gratitude so great that she didn't even think about it, but took a few steps towards him and hugged the man, who was quite a bit shorter than her, tightly. Isidro stiffened for a moment, but then returned the hug, albeit somewhat awkwardly. Embarrassed, he scratched his head.

'Doña Marta,' he then greeted again formally with a nod of his head.

For a brief moment, Marta thought that she should ask him to stop calling her Doña. But it would probably be pointless anyway. He wasn't her father, but she had known him all her life. And even as a child, before the war, she had been Doña Marta to him. Probably even as a baby, when he was still driving her mother and her around, he had already used this form of address, as it should be, as it was expected. It wouldn't change that quickly.

'Isidro, thank you. For bringing her to me. For your trust. I will not betray it.' She took Fina's hand.

'I know, Doña Marta, I know. It's all right. But take good care of my Fina, yes.' He shrugged. 'She's the most important thing in my life. And I promised my wife that I would always look after her. If I can't do that myself now, then... then...' He gulped again.

'That's my job now, Isidro. I will do everything I can to fulfil my promise.' Then she smiled briefly. 'Otherwise you'd probably send Digna after me. And we both know how that turns out once Digna is angry.'

Isidro laughed and nodded. Marta also laughed briefly. But then all three became serious again.

'Bueno, I should get going. And you too.'

Fina's eyes filled with tears. She detached herself from Marta's hand and threw her arms around her father's neck.

'I'm going to miss you so much, Papa.'

'I'll miss you too, my little girl, I'll miss you too. We'll definitely meet each other again. I'll listen to everything the doctor says, I promise. But just in case we don't,' Isidro lifted his daughter's head from his shoulder with both hands and looked at her, 'I love you, Fina. I love you more than anything, my daughter.'

'I love you too, father, I love you too.'

They had listened to the sound of the car moving away for a while, deep in an embrace, while Fina sobbed and Marta also had to wipe a tear from her cheek. It shouldn't be this hard for us, she thought. And the start of something new should feel easier, more exciting. She hoped that would soon be the case.
When Fina's sobs seemed to calm down a little, she gave Fina a long kiss.

'I'm sorry, querida, that everything is the way it is.'

Fina shook her head. She looked sadly once more in the direction of the path Isidro had taken. Then it was her turn to clear her throat. She shook her upper body and straightened up.

'Come on, Marta, it's time we are heading for the house'.

Marta nodded. 'Above all, it's time we start our new life,' she said. 'But, querida, that won't be the case here yet. My cousin is a kind person, really, but I couldn't tell her everything. She thinks I'm here at my father's orders to take care of some business in Valdelamasa. And that I've come exactly here without his knowledge to mend family ties.'

'Won't she let Don Damian know?' asked Fina anxiously

'No, no. They don't actually like Damian very much. And more importantly, he doesn't like them at all. I've told them that I'm here without my father's knowledge to explore the possibilities of a reconciliation. And that my father would rage if he knew I was here. At least that wasn't a lie. We'll be safe here for a few more days until you've reached Esther and we might know what to do next.' Then Marta smiled.

'And we'll have to travel around in the car a bit, after all, I have business to attend to. She winked at Fina. 'I've already used the week to scout out some nice places for a picnic. A little further north, a small river flows through the middle of the forest, it's perfect there.'
Fina sighed. The prospect of finally being able to spend some time alone with Marta made her forget the pain of parting for a moment. She opened her lips and gave Marta a kiss, which she returned all too willingly.

'Maybe then, I can show you the products you've ordered.'

'The products?' Marta frowned, then realised. She laughed, but also blushed a little. Fina could have fallen in love with her again at that moment.

'Sí, the products,' said Fina with a grin.

'I would love that, Fina. I've always really enjoyed what I've found in the shop.'

'Then I hope I won't disappoint you, Doña Marta.'

'That's impossible,' Marta whispered as her lips opened into another kiss. Her hands slid down Finas back to her hips, back to Finas shoulders and slowly down from there.

She had almost reached the swelling of Fina's breasts when her hands were grasped by Fina's hands and pulled away.

'It's getting dark, Marta, we have to go now.'

Marta's lips formed into a pout, but she nodded. Fina gave her another quick kiss and then took her hand. Turning round, Marta tried to reach for her hip to pull her towards her again, but Fina skilfully evaded her at the last moment. Marta pouted again.

'Pull yourself together, woman,' she said with a mocking grin, then pointed in the direction of the crossroads ahead of them. 'Where do I have to follow you?'