A Resistance To Love

Beluvia has always been known as the city of love, but also as the city of lust. And it's in this sensual and mysterious place that our story unfolds.

Romeo Petraglia is the heir to the city's largest publishing house, Petraglia Books. Known for being an irredeemable womanizer. Single and happy, this was Romeo Petraglia Petraglia's mantra. Nothing was more pleasurable than being able to have any woman he desired and never fall in love, breaking hearts and never having his heart broken. But his life will change completely when he meets Mikaella Assunção Vergara, his new secretary, serious, gentle, and seemingly "innocent."

Romeo will do the impossible to have her in his bed.

Mikaella Vergara Assunção is a free-spirited woman who had to live by the rules her whole life. As the daughter of the responsible lawyer Fernando Assunção, she had no choice but to pursue a career in law. After a major romantic disappointment, Mikaella decides to give up everything to pursue her dream. As a condition to be happy with herself, she makes a pact not to fall in love with anyone else.

Until one tumultuous morning introduces her to the seductive Romeo. Will she be able to keep her promise and resist the charms of this skilled seducer? Or will she stand firm in her decision and let the chance to discover a new love slip away?

Mikaella Vergara is a free-spirited woman who had to live by the rules her whole life. As the daughter of a family of lawyers, she had no choice but to pursue a career in law. She would work in a cubicle in the city center until she became a model lawyer like her brother David. He was a man who lived for work, and Mikaella didn't want to be like that. It wasn't her dream to be buried in an office. Her biggest dream was to be an editor. She loved to read and felt she had a great instinct for discovering successful stories. She also planned to try her hand at writing someday. She had many drafts of stories she had been writing since her adolescence but had never had the courage to show them to anyone other than her best friend, Betina. They had been friends since childhood, and Betina was responsible for getting them into the biggest and most fun messes. Mikaella adored her friend and knew that without her support, she wouldn't be able to handle all the challenges she had faced since her mother's death less than a month ago. She had thought she would fall apart. Her mother was her guardian angel, her fairy godmother, the one who would always be there for her, always protecting her from any harm. And she had protected her until her last moments, when stomach cancer had completely consumed her life. Without her mother, no one would defend her, especially not her father, who constantly pressured her to work in the family's law firm. She was about to explode, and without her mother, she felt helpless. David had tried to help, but he never dared to defy their father or go against his opinions, even though he loved his little sister.

With her mother's death, her hopes of finally pursuing her dreams were shattered. Until she met Julio L'port, a wonderfully handsome and talented painter. Well, he was handsome; talented, Mikaella wasn't so sure. She had never understood any of his paintings, and she didn't dare to say so for fear of hurting the young man's feelings. What mattered was that he supported her, and she was completely in love with Julio's freedom. They had met casually one afternoon when Mikaella visited Betina at the café where she worked. Julio was sitting at one of the tables, enjoying a cappuccino and reading a book that Mikaella immediately identified as "Justice at Dawn," a book by her favorite author. She was not the type of woman who would hit on a man, take the initiative, or start a conversation. That was definitely Betina's role. But when she noticed the book in the hands of the man, she was filled with an unknown courage, despite Betina's discouragement.

"Hey, where are you going?" Betina asked when she noticed Mikaella heading towards the unknown man in front of her. Mikaella turned to her friend and smiled.

"Hey, isn't it you who keeps saying that I should be brave, that I should take the initiative and be a strong, independent woman? Well, I'm going to be a strong, independent woman now!"

She said, walking towards the stranger.

"Mikaella, wait, not with this guy! Oh, darn!"

Betina tried to stop her, but it was too late. Mikaella had walked directly toward her fling from the previous month, and she couldn't reveal that and make her friend feel embarrassed on her first courageous moment.

"But why did it have to be Julio, my God? Out of all the wonderful men out there, this airhead had to be interested in the jerk! Oh, God, help me."

Betina thought, raising her hands to the sky as if waiting for a miracle. Mikaella walked slowly toward the handsome stranger who was sitting reading his book.

"Good morning, may I sit here?" she asked, gathering her newfound courage, hoping he wouldn't respond with a resounding "no," and dreading the sight of a wedding ring on his finger. The man raised his face to look at her, and Mikaella was enchanted by him. He was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen, with long black hair that reached his neck and puppy-dog eyes that she adored. It was as if he had been waiting for her.

"Of course!" he agreed, while gazing at her, assessing every detail of the beautiful brunette in front of him from head to toe. He stood up, gently pulling out a chair for her to sit in front of him.

"Sorry for coming out of the blue and interrupting your coffee. I don't usually do this, so please don't get me wrong. But a friend always told me that I should be brave, take the initiative, and make a move. And when I saw you reading 'Jô La Femme,' I felt that I really should get to know you."

"Imagine, you don't bother me at all. I was quite bored sitting here alone drinking coffee. So, you also like Jô La Femme?"

"Like her? I don't just like her, I'm absolutely passionate about everything she writes. I'm in love with her. If she wrote a notebook of notes, a recipe book, or even a shopping list, I would read it and fall in love. She's simply a legend in the world of romance writing."

"Wow, you really love this author! It's great to meet someone so passionate about something. It's been a while since I heard someone speak so passionately about something they like."

He said those words, and Mikaella was completely smitten. Was this man for real? Had she found the right guy this time? He seemed so sensitive, definitely in love, and he liked Jô La Femme! He knew Jô La Femme! That should be valued, and it earned him a thousand points on the ideal man list. Betina couldn't stand watching her friend approach Julio in silence

. If only Mikaella knew...

She thought about interfering, going over there, making up an excuse to take Mikaella away from him, but it would be awkward to suddenly separate her friend from him. Maybe she should have done it earlier if she had foreseen what would happen in the future. Trying not to be too intrusive but also trying to protect her friend, Betina took a tray with coffee and a plate of cookies and walked toward the table where they were.

"Excuse me," she said, pretending not to know the man in front of her, "Would you like to try our new cookie flavor?"

Julio looked a little surprised, but quickly realized that she didn't want to reveal their acquaintance and played along.

"Oh, yes, of course. I'd love to. What's the flavor?"

He asked provocatively, and Betina was sure he wasn't asking about the flavor of the cookies. Mikaella seemed not to have noticed that the two of them knew each other and smiled at her friend. Betina noticed that Mikaella gave Julio that look, the same look she gave every time she thought she had found the love of her life. The three hundred thousand times she had done it.