Marriage Merger

Chapter 17

Ximena's phone rang for the fifth time and it had only been ten minutes since they left the house. She simply declined and then looked out the window, noting the scenery as it whizzed by them.

"Aren't you doing to answer that?" Adriano asked, briefly glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

"No. My dad is a control freak. I want him to know that I'm deliberately ignoring him," she responded coolly. "So, where are you taking me?"

"Anywhere you want to go."

Ximena stroked her chin, contempleting his offer. An idea came to mind almost immediately.

"I want a doughnut!" she exclaimed happily. Coincidentally, they came to a stop light and the car came to a halt. His green eyes flew to her in puzzlement.

"A doughnut? You want  a doughnut?" he inquired, incredulity lacing his voice with the slight Spanish drawl. The light turned green and then he switched his foot from the brakes to the accelerator. Adriano's eyebrows were furrowed and Ximena laughed.

She stretched her hand to the front console and flicked the radio on. "I love doughnuts. They're like sugar filled little packages of happiness and it just so happens I haven't had one in ages. So, take me to the best confectionery store to get one," she said and then began humming along to the familiar tune reveberating through the car.

Adriano remained quiet, probably trying to think of the best doughnut shop he could think off. Then he heard her voice. Distinct, melodic and entrancing. Despite the fact that he was currently driving, he looked over to her in awe.

"Run away but we're running in circles...run away, run away," she sang softly as her head bobbed to the beat. The windows were opened halfway and it made her black and blonde locks fly past her face delicately. Stunning, he thought to himself and at this point he really couldn't stop himself from feeling differently towards her.

The ride there was music filled, with Ximena belting out the lyrics to every song that came on and even though he didn't want to admit it, Adriano was enjoying every moment of it. Even more than he ever did when he spent time with Amanda...

He pulled up to a parking space in a crowded lot. She turned in her seat to look at him. "Where are we?"

He shrugged and removed his keys from the ignition. "A mall. I think they have a Dunkin' Donuts here somewhere, if I'm not mistaken."

They both exited the car and made their way towards the main entrance. The shopping mall was massive  with escaltators on every side and had stores such as Sephora, Target, Chanel, Forever 21 and so many more. Ximena looked on in astonishment and this did not got unnoticed by Adriano.

"Have you never been to a mall?" he asked, walking in step beside her. Though he didn't notice, he was receiving a few stares as he passed by some people.

She shook her head. "I didn't exactly have a normal childhood so going out to malls and partying wasn't something I did. I mean, my friend Chelsea and my sister Andrea tried to get me into it by inviting me or buying me designer clothes and shoes but..." she shrugged.

Soon they had wandered up an escalator to come into the food court section of the mall, which was decorated with various food establishments. Once a Dunkin' Donuts came into thier line of vision, they entered it. It wasn't too busy but there were quite a lot of people. Waiting in the line for a few minutes, it was their turn to place an order.

"What would you like?" the friendly cashier asked, with a smile.

"A chocolate ring doughnut with sprinkles," Ximena chirped and the guy behind the counter put in her order. When he told her the price, she frowned and turned to Adriano. "I didn't bring my purse," she stated with a pout.

Adriano rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket, bringing out his wallet. He pulled out a black card and gave it to the cashier, who swiped it and gave it back. A second later, he handed her her food. They walked away from the counter. Ximena took a bite of her doughnut and moaned quite loudly.

"So good," she breathed in bliss. They got out of the store. "Hey, why didn't you get anything?"

"I'm not really into sweet things," Adriano replied flippantly, tense all of a sudden.

She tsked and then stood in his path. He stopped and looked down at her, because that's how much taller she was than him. She barely reached his shoulders in her flats, but in heels she reached chin level.

Ximena held up her doughnut to his mouth. "Try it," she demanded rather than asked. He shook his head and turned it to the side. She moved it close to his mouth again but he moved his face again.

"Ximena, I said no," he repeated getting a bit irritated.

This time she held his face in the palm of her left hand and directed his face to her. But he continued to resist. Both hadn't noticed how close they had gotten, so much so that their chests were pressed together. His large hands snaked around her waist. Her hand that had been on his face was now around his neck and she pulled him down so that they were at eye level.

"And I said try it," she worded softly, his green orbs boring into her blue ones. Electric sparks flew between the both of them. Surrendering, he took a bite and then chewed it slowly.

Once he had swallowed, he cocked his head to the side. His breath fanned her face, and it made her knees weak. "Not bad," he commented and then let her go, at the same time she removed her arm from around her neck. Her cheeks began to heat up, her sugar treat long forgotten.

From somewhere nearby, Amanda and her friend had been in a yoga palour nearby. They both exited the establishment clad in their yoga clothes, mats rolled and tucked underneath their arms. Her friend, Patricia or Trish for short, exhaled dramatically.

"That was vigorous," she exclaimed as she wiped the sweat off her face with a towel.

Amanda rolled her eyes at her friend's comment. "It was just yoga, okay. It wasn't that bad."

"I only came with you to cheer you up and relieve some of that pent up stress. I've noticed the way you've been acting all week...distant and sad. Are you gonna tell me what happened?" Trish asked, sincerely concerned for her colleague.

Just then, from her peripheral line of sight, Amanda noticed Adriano exit the Dunkin Donuts acrorss from them...with the woman he'd bumped into weeks ago on their dinner date. They began to walk side by side until the woman stopped in front of him. She held up something to him, a doughnut it seemed but he refused to eat it. She kept on insisting and he also didn't stop resisting until they got really close, like they were about to kiss...

Amanda looked away, a familiar pain stabbing in her chest. Her throat constricted and tears threatened to spill from her eyelids. He had lied to her. He swore to her that he didn't know that woman but they seemed awfully close, and smitten.

Trish gasped. "Is that Adriano Dos Santos...with a female. I have to take a pic of this," she chanted with fascination as she fished her cellphone out of her gym back and took a snap of the two. After a few pictures, she scrolled through them with a megawatt smile. "This is gold. He hasn't been spotted with anyone in months. This could be a huge story."

Her friend remained quiet. She wiped away a few stray tears and then stormed off like a bat out of hell, leaving Trish dumbfounded. "Hey, Amy! Where are you going?" she shouted and then ran after her.

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Hi guys. Another chapter for you though I've been super busy. I hope you enjoy it. Excuse any errors, haven't proof read.😋🤗. Guys, lets get those votes up please, pretty please 💖💖💖.

Until next time,

~Deetronite.