Here begins a story that will captivate you from the very first minute. A woman facing life with courage, a man marked by a dark destiny, and a little girl who becomes the link between them. What happens when worlds collide amidst despair and hope? Don’t miss this story that will make you question the meaning of love, struggle, and life itself.
Join us until the end to discover how fate’s twists and turns unfold. If you enjoy this type of content, don’t forget to subscribe to our channel, Tales for the Soul. We publish three videos every day. Like the video if you enjoyed this story, and let us know in the comments where you’re listening from and what time you watch. Let’s get to the story.Carla balanced her purse on her left shoulder, the diaper bag in her other hand, and pushed the stroller with her foot as she tried to open the back door of the San Martín mansion. Her baby daughter, Abril, whimpered softly. Behind her, the soft sound of her labored breathing would break any mother’s heart.

“Relax, my love, we’re coming in now,” she whispered, finally managing to open the door. The July chill enveloped her like a sharp knife. Carla looked at her 8-month-old daughter, wrapped in three thick blankets, and felt a tightness in her chest every time she had to bring her to work. The daycare had called to say they couldn’t accept children with cold symptoms, and there was no other option. She needed that job.

She crossed the enormous kitchen, her footsteps echoing in the silence of the empty house. She had only been working there for a month and still felt small, lost amidst so much luxury. White marble, crystal chandeliers, paintings that were probably worth more than her entire life, all covered by a fine layer of dust that she was slowly removing.

The owner of the house, Agustín San Martín, would return the next day. Marta, the secretary who had hired her over the phone, was clear. The Pindo Mansion had to be spotless for the boss’s return after six months out of the country. Abril coughed and whimpered a little louder.

“I know, darling, it’s freezing,” Carla murmured as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. She tried the mansion’s heaters one by one, but none of them worked. Living room, library, guest room—nothing. Finally, in the study at the end of the hall, warm air blew when she turned on the heater.

“Okay, my princess, you’ll be nice and warm here.” She placed the stroller near the heater, close enough for the temperature to keep her safe, but not in direct drafts. Abril was already calmer, her eyes heavy with sleep and medicine. Carla arranged the blankets and kissed her warm forehead.

She checked the baby monitor in her pocket and said quietly, “Mom, come right back.” Yes, I’m just going to clean the living room and I’ll be right back. She went downstairs, mentally running through her to-do list: vacuum the Persian rugs, polish the wooden staircase, clean the living room windows. If she hurried, she’d finish everything before Abril woke up for her next bottle.

Two hours later, Carla was on her knees waxing the dining room floor when she heard a muffled cry. She dropped the rag and ran upstairs, her heart pounding. Abril should have woken up, but the monitor wasn’t beeping. She stopped in the office doorway and froze.

A tall, broad-shouldered man stood with his back to her, wearing a dark gray sweater. He held Abril against his chest, gently rocking her. The baby was whimpering, but she was calmer now. “Shh, little one, it’s okay.” The man’s voice was deep, low, and careful. Carla couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. The man turned, and their eyes met.
He was handsome, devastatingly so, with dark, slightly tousled hair, stubble, and deep brown eyes that held an ancient weariness. But what paralyzed her was the expression on his face, a mixture of surprise, confusion, and something that seemed like pain. “Who are you?” he asked, but his voice didn’t sound hostile, almost lost.“I’m Carla,” she managed to say, trembling. “Marta hired me a month ago.” Marta. He looked at Abril in his arms and then back at Carla. Something crossed his face, something broken. “Excuse me, I didn’t know you were coming back today.” Carla stepped forward, extending her arms toward her daughter.

She has the flu, she explained quickly. The daycare wouldn’t take her. She had no one to leave her with. How many months old? He interrupted. What? The baby. How many months old is she? Eight, Carla answered. He closed his eyes for a second, too long. And when he opened them, there was something different in his gaze, something dangerous, but also fragile. She was crying, she said.

I just arrived, heard the crying, went in, and rocked her. I picked her up without thinking. Carla took another step closer, but he wouldn’t give Abril back to her. He kept rocking her as if he didn’t realize what he was doing. “Is this Mr. San Martín?” she asked. “Agustín San Martín. That’s me,” he replied, as if the fact that it was him made the situation clearer. Abril cried. He didn’t know her.

I’m sorry. Abril started crying again, burying her face in his chest. Agustín looked at her with that broken expression and finally reached out to Carla. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t ask if I could. No, it’s okay, Carla said, taking her daughter in her arms. Thank you for calming her down. Silence filled the room.

Agustín ran his hand through his hair and turned toward the window, his back tense as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. “The house is well-maintained,” he finally said, still with his back to her. “You did a good job.” “Thank you, sir,” Carla murmured. “Just Agustín,” he corrected without turning around. “I’m sorry, Agustín, I didn’t know what to say.”

“You can keep her,” he said suddenly. “If you need to bring her back, you can. The office is big enough.” “Mr. Agustín, I don’t mean to inconvenience you. The daycare usually accepts her. It was just today, so it’s not a bother,” he insisted, interrupting her. “It doesn’t bother me, really.”

If he needs to stay, that’s fine. I don’t want you to worry about it. Carla remained silent, watching as he turned and continued staring out the window. The intensity of his gaze made her hands tremble. “Do you need anything else?” he asked after a while. “Strong coffee,” Carla said, feeling the urge to say nothing more.

“Perfect,” Agustín replied calmly. “Then I’ll make a pot.” Marta started making the coffee while Agustín went to take a shower. The house was still quiet, but somehow the atmosphere had changed. Carla made the coffee as quickly as she could, but her mind kept racing with what had happened.

Agustín had been kind. Perhaps more so than she expected, but something in his gaze still unsettled her. Did he really care that she had brought Abril? Or was it simply a way of avoiding further complications? She took the tray and slowly carried the sleeping Abril upstairs to the office. Upon reaching the office, she knocked on the door.

Agustín sat behind his large desk, his shirt still damp from the shower, his gaze distant. The house was completely silent. He looked up when Carla entered and stood to get the coffee she had made. “Thank you,” Agustín said, taking a sip. “It’s perfect.” Carla could barely manage a smile.

She didn’t know what to do or say. There was something about him that made her uncomfortable, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. But before she could say a word, Agustín broke the silence. “My wife died eight months ago,” he said suddenly, staring at his coffee cup. Carla froze. He looked at her as if he didn’t care that she was listening.

I lost her and our son during childbirth. I went to Germany trying to find answers, but I didn’t get anywhere. I came back early because I couldn’t bear it any longer. And when I heard April crying, I thought I was going crazy. I thought it was a hallucination, but no. She was there. Carla felt the air escaping from her lungs.

Agustín was sharing something profound, something painful that she hadn’t expected. She didn’t know how to react. She knew what it was like to lose someone, but not on this scale. After all, she had lost her mother when she was a child. “I’m so sorry,” Carla murmured, unable to stop herself. “I know,” Agustín said with a faint, broken smile.

“I didn’t tell you this to upset you, but you need to know that if you’re going to work here, you’ll have to understand that the house is full of memories, of things that are no longer here. I’m full of those things too, ghosts, if you will.” Carla looked at him, trying to understand, but she felt immense pity for him.

Agustín wasn’t the arrogant, distant man she had known. There was something vulnerable about him, something no one could see. It was as if he himself was struggling to find a place where he belonged. “I understand,” Carla replied, searching for the right words. More than you think. The silence that followed was heavy.

April stirred in his arms, waking up slightly. Carla cradled her gently, trying not to break the spell that had formed between them. Agustín seemed more relaxed, though the sadness on his face remained. “Thank you for staying here,” Agustín said after a while. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Carla.” He felt it, but said nothing more.

She was speechless after hearing all that had happened. She didn’t know what to think either. The house felt empty in a way she’d never experienced before. There was something about it, something in the hallways and rooms, that resonated with Agustín’s past, something that still haunted him. Carla didn’t know it yet, but she would be part of it, of what was to come.

Agustín stood up from his chair, turning his back on Carla and walking to the window. The air in the room felt heavier. Agustín didn’t seem to want to talk anymore. Carla watched his figure against the stillness of the mansion. “Rest, Carla,” he said, almost an order, but with a gentleness he hadn’t shown before. “See you tomorrow.”

Carla left the office, leaving Agustín behind with his thoughts. As she closed the door, something in her chest tightened. It was as if everything she had experienced up to this point, the life she had left behind, was beginning to crumble. What did it all mean? How did she fit into this story? She sat on the stairs with Abril in her arms and tried to calm herself. She couldn’t.

The following days were strange. The house, which had previously seemed empty, began to fill with a new energy. Carla and Agustín, though still distant in many ways, began to find a balance. He continued working from his office, silently, but sometimes he would look at her and Agustín with a mixture of sadness and something more.

Carla took care of her daughter, the house, everything Agustín could no longer do. Little by little, he began to open up more, without the walls that used to separate him from everyone else. One afternoon, while Carla was preparing dinner, Agustín entered the kitchen with a different, lighter expression, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Carla looked at him and saw something in his face she hadn’t seen before, a small spark of hope. “Carla,” Agustín said in a soft but firm tone. “I’ve been thinking. I know this isn’t ideal. I know my life is made of ruins and memories, but you and Abril have brought something into this house that it hasn’t had in a long time. Life.”
Love. Carla stopped what she was doing, surprised by his words. She hadn’t expected him to speak like that, but something in her heart beat faster. Could it be that Agustín was beginning to heal, that he could truly see beyond his pain? “I… I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Agustín continued, looking at Abril, who was playing peacefully on the floor.But if you wish, I would like this house to be a home for the three of us. I’m not asking for anything, I just want you to know. I want to see Abril grow up. I want to be a part of her life, even if it’s not enough. I want to be here for you. En Agustín’s words touched Carla’s heart deeply.

She had never expected to find something so genuine in a man so marked by pain. But there he was, standing before her, his eyes filled with vulnerability. “I don’t know if I’m enough for you, or if this is the right place for us, but I want to try. I want us to be okay. Even if our time together is short, I want us to live it to the fullest,” Carla said, unable to stop a tear from sliding down her cheek.

If you let me, I want to stay here. I want to be with you and Abril, if you want that too. Agustín looked at her, his face softened by emotion, but a light of hope shone in his eyes, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. It wasn’t the perfect solution, not the ideal ending, but at least it was a beginning, a beginning they could build together.

Tonight, after Abril fell asleep in her crib, Carla and Agustín sat together in the living room under the soft glow of the lamps. There was something comforting about the tranquility, something that gave them the feeling that despite everything they had lost, there was still something worth fighting for. I want you to know something.

Agustín broke the silence as Carla looked at him. “Thank you for not leaving me alone. Thank you for staying.” “Thank you too,” she replied with a shy smile. “For giving me the chance to see something different in you, for giving me the chance to stay.” Agustín nodded and, for the first time in a long time, he truly smiled.

We still have a lot to do, but with the two of you, I know I can keep going. I’m willing to try, to live. The days passed slowly, but with each one, Carla and Agustín began to find their place in that home together. Sometimes sadness lingered, like a shadow behind everything else, but they learned to live with it.

They realized the pain would never completely disappear, but love and companionship could make it more bearable. Abril began to walk. Her first steps were an unexpected gift for Agustín. That afternoon, when the little girl took her first step, Agustín looked at her with shining eyes and bent down to pick her up. “I saw it, Abril.”

“I saw your first steps,” he said, almost incredulously. Carla looked at them, feeling a mixture of excitement and relief. Something had changed in her life, something she hadn’t expected, but that she was grateful to have found. And although they didn’t know what the future held, they knew they would face it together. Several months passed, and although time continued to be a constant enemy for Agustín, his life with Carla and Abril began to have more meaning.

Agustín gradually recovered, not only from the loss of his wife and son, but also from the emptiness he had felt for so long. Carla and Abril gave him a reason to go on, to look ahead. One day, while they were walking in the park, Agustín stopped and looked at Carla with a serious but calm expression.

I want you to know that even though the future is uncertain, I know now that I don’t want to waste any more time. You and Abril are my family. I want to be by your side no matter what. I know we can’t control everything, but at least we can choose what truly matters. Carla looked at him without saying anything, but in her heart she knew that was the truth.

What truly mattered was the present, what they had in that moment, and what they could build together. In the end, life went on. It wasn’t easy, and there were moments of uncertainty and pain. But what Carla and Agustín learned was that sometimes love and courage are enough to keep going. The San Martín mansion, which had been just an empty place filled with sad memories, was transformed into a home filled with laughter, love, and hope.

And although the future remained uncertain, Carla, Agustín, and Abril knew that as long as they were together, everything would be alright. Thank you so much for listening this far. If you’re enjoying this emotional story, don’t forget to subscribe to our channel, Tales for the Soul. We publish new videos every day.