My Daughter's Best Friend

I won't be free and safe from him for a while

Heitor got into the car and held her on his lap, overwhelmed by the situation, the threat, the destruction, and Júlia’s despair as she cried uncontrollably.

“Calm down, Ju. We’ll sort this out. Everything’s going to be alright,” he said, hugging her in an attempt to soothe her.

“How am I going to handle this, Heitor? He destroyed everything my sister and I worked so hard to achieve… my life.”

“Hey, everything will be alright. I’ll help you. We’ll solve this. You’re not alone. Please calm down. I’ll take you back to my house. Being with Jade will do you good, and you’ll be safe there until you calm down and we can decide what to do about this situation.”

The entire drive passed in a heavy silence. Júlia cried quietly, thinking about how much more difficult her life would be from that moment on. What she didn’t know was that she would receive so much support that her life would eventually change completely.

When they arrived at Heitor’s house, he opened the car door for her and helped her out, supporting her in his arms. She was disoriented, psychologically shattered. Seeing her like that shook him deeply, and he was willing to do whatever he could to help her.

“Dad… Júlia… what happened?” Jade asked, shocked by Júlia’s condition.

“Jade, talk to Júlia and help her calm down. I need to take care of something.”

“Okay, Dad,” Jade replied, still confused.

She helped her friend to her room. There, lying down and still crying, Júlia explained everything that had happened. Jade listened in shock, but also with growing fear for Júlia’s safety.

“Jade… can I stay here tonight? I’m scared,” Júlia said through tears.

Jade hugged her tightly.

“Of course, Júlia. That bastard won’t touch you. You’re safe here,” Jade said, holding her close.

After their long conversation, Júlia eventually fell asleep, exhausted from the emotional strain. Only then did Jade move away from her. She needed to inform Júlia’s sister about what had happened, in case Júlia’s ex tried to harm her as well.

In a brief ten-minute conversation, Jade explained everything that had happened since the previous day. Juliana was shaken by the news. Years of effort had been destroyed, but she remained strong and determined. She would fight to rebuild everything again, especially for her sister.

After the call ended, Jade went to look for her father. She found him in the office, sitting at his desk with his face in his hands. What he had witnessed earlier had clearly affected him deeply.

“Dad…”

“Dear… I didn’t see you come in.”

“I noticed.”

“And Júlia?”

“She fell asleep. She’s devastated, Dad. It hurts so much to see her like this.”

“You have no idea how much it affected me to see everything I saw today—her crying over her belongings, all her hard work destroyed, the threat… He left a message on the wall saying he would kill her if she found someone else. We need to help her. I feel obligated to do something for her.”

“She asked to stay here tonight. I also informed her sister about what happened and told her to be careful. We don’t know what that madman is capable of.”

“You’re absolutely right, dear. But I’m going to do more. I contacted my lawyer. He advised taking her to the police station to file a report about the assault and the damage he caused. I suggested a restraining order, but he said that even with one, it doesn’t guarantee Júlia’s safety.”

“That’s true. How many cases have we seen where women were murdered even with restraining orders?” Jade said, tears filling her eyes. Just imagining something like that happening to her friend made her chest tighten.

Seeing how affected his daughter was, Heitor walked over and hugged her.

“That won’t be Júlia’s fate. I want her and her sister to come live with us, at least until we resolve this case in court and that bastard is imprisoned.”

“Thank you, Dad. You’re amazing.”

“When she wakes up, tell her we need to go to the police station. We have to try to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

For the rest of the day, Júlia slept. Jade considered waking her so they could go to the police station, but Heitor said the best thing for now was to let her rest. She had been through so much that sleeping was the only moment she seemed peaceful. She would also need to be calm to go through all the procedures at the police station.

So Jade let her sleep.

Her rest lasted until early evening, when Jade finally woke her. Juliana had arrived and wanted to see her sister.

“Ju… your sister is here,” Jade said softly, gently shaking Júlia’s arm.

Júlia suddenly sat up, frightened. After everything she had experienced in the past few days, her reaction was understandable.

“Sis, it’s okay…”

“Juliana… he destroyed everything. I’m sorry,” Júlia said, tears already filling her eyes as guilt overwhelmed her.

“It’s not your fault, Júlia.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Jade said, stepping out of the room to give them privacy.

“You once told me he wasn’t a good person. If only I had listened to you,” Júlia said.

“It was just intuition. I never imagined he would go this far. How are you holding up?”

“I’m devastated. He ruined everything—even my college supplies. He destroyed my dream. How can I go back to college if I have nothing? I don’t even have a job anymore to buy my materials again… or to help you repair our house.”

Juliana gently wiped the tears from her sister’s face and hugged her.

“I’ll figure something out. Maybe I can get a loan.”

“I don’t want you buried in debt. We already have so much to repair.”

“But what about college? Júlia, I won’t let you give up on your dream. You worked so hard to earn that scholarship.”

“I know… but I don’t see another option right now. I need to find a new job. Maybe two.”

“Hey, don’t make any decisions yet. We’ll figure this out, and everything will be okay.”

Júlia sighed deeply before asking about something else that worried her.

“Where are you going to stay now? The house is a complete wreck.”

“Heitor said I could stay here if I wanted, to stay safe from that jerk. But I’d rather stay at my boyfriend’s place. I’ll feel safer there and more comfortable, too. Heitor also mentioned he wants to take you to the police station to file a report.”

“I should have done that yesterday. I thought everything would end when I broke up with him… but it looks like I won’t be free or safe from him anytime soon.”