Chapter 21. We don't know each other

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Altagracia had been giving him the cold shoulder for four days now, still pretending to be a good wife in front of people but didn't even spare him a glance when they were alone.

He bought her expensive gifts thinking that her resistance will melt away but she returned every single one. The redhead had cleared Elijah's name but she didn't even look at him. She refused all the dinners he proposed to have with her and never answered her phone when he was the one calling.

He was so frustrated. He never had to run after a woman as it was usually the other way round, and to top it, his investigator didn't give any feedback for more than a week now. He left their room and had been sleeping on the uncomfortable couch of his study room.

Just then, his annoying friend walked into his office with his hands in his pockets.

"So how is it going with your wife?"

"Don't even mention her name. That woman is so stubborn, she doesn't even want to listen to what I have to say. Sigh"

"Oh, love in the air"

"I don't love her" He said glaring at Steffen.

"That's what you say buddy. The old you would never bother explaining anything to a woman" He said leaving him short of words before he found an answer.

"I won't fall for a woman like her"

"Like her, list her flaws"

"She sleeps around, is arrogant, manipulative, stubborn"

"You're are trying to convince yourself not to like her using those flaws. What if she proves you wrong?"

"That's never..."

"You said exactly the same thing when your grandfather gave her a job, that she could never succeed where you failed. You know how it ended. What if she proves you wrong again? "

"Then I'll eat my words back again, but that's... "

"Never gonna happen? Think about it. You're grandfather may be old now, but he is very smart and righteous person. Do you think he will just find you a random wife"

"Steffen leave this place, I need to work and you're messing my brain up" He said and Steffen stood up sensing the change in his mood, and left.

He started considering factors he didn't when he tried to analyze his wife behavior. Indeed he knew his grandfather won't just choose and random woman for him and that many women fitted his beauty standards in LA, but he had to go and choose one in another hidden country, why that one?

Now that he thought about it, he never asked her he reason to this marriage but assumed she wanted his money, which she had proven from the very beginning she didn't want. But if it wasn't for that reason, then why? She was young and showed him a few coy signs of attraction towards him but didn't really make a move on him, instead, he had always been the one initiating their kisses, moreover seemed surprised the day she saw him for the first time. So it couldn't be said it was because she was attracted to him.

Just then, his phone rang and it was his investigator's number.

Finally

He picked it and a voice tinted with a heavy accent, surely Mexican spoke.

"You want to know about your wife, come and meet me"

"Who are you to order me, why do you have Ben's phone?"

"Oh, your dog is dead, serves him right for getting into my business"

"Altagracia life has nothing to do with you"

"Are you sure about that, ask her who Orlando Echeveria is and watch her reaction. I am the man she would never forget" He said and hung up.

*******

As soon as she walked into the house, she was pinned to the wall as hot lips captured hers. His left hand roamed on her curves while his right hand pinned both her hands above her head. He parted only when he was sure she was breathless.

"What the hell?" She asked panting and he tried not to be proud of the state he brought her in.

"Listen to me first" She opened her mouth to protest and he kissed her again, pushing his body further into hers. At this level, and ant couldn't walked in the middle of their glued bodies. "Altagracia, I swear it was a misunderstanding, do you really think I will cheat on you when I told you not to?" She shrugged.

"We don't know each other. Moreover you are a man with needs" She said nonchalantly with a light shrug and he smirked.

"Are you for real? I mean I have have bio food at home and I'll just go and eat transformed ones?"

"Depends, you told the bio food you didn't want to eat it, so you may go find a cute red ice-cream... "

"Are you sure we are still talking about food?"

"You know very well we were never talking about food initially."

"I personally prefer hazelnut to ice cream sweetheart" He said and winked at her leaving her open-mouthed and a deep blush on her face. But he didn't end there.

"Speaking of not knowing each other, let's try knowing more about each other"

"Why will you want that?" She asked and he shrugged nonchalantly.

"We could at least end this marriage in less than eleven months as friends" He said and she smiled awkwardly.

"But I know everything about you already, like your ego has the size of planet earth..." she said with a small smile and he chuckled.

"Okay you tell me about...hum... Orlando Echeveria" He said and her smile fell and she broke free from his grasp or rather, he let her.

"Orlando is something I want to forget but I can't" She said and he clenched his jaw as a new feeling arose in his heart but he didn't have time to detect what it was and instead smiled.

He was just a man, I'm sure I can make her forget about all the men she knew. And I'm not doing this because I like her, but because it looks like a challenge.

"What about we go for a dinner?"

"What? Right now?"

"Yeah I've checked, Yaya didn't cook anything today"

"Hum, okay why not" She answered and he smiled at her leading her out.

They went to one of his favorite Italian restaurant and he took lasagna for himself and told her to try the tagliatelle with tomato soup and meat balls. They talked about everything, from their jobs to their hobbies and they even engaged in an embarrassing conversation which had her glaring at him playfully.

"You're so shameless Mr Hales" She said covering her face like a kid and he smiled at her, genuinely this time around.

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