Marriage Merger

Chapter 31

Ximena was on cloud nine. Now that she was married to the man she loved, what more could she ask for? The moment the priest pronounced them as husband and wife, all the anxiety and nervousness immediately lifted off her shoulders as Adriano kissed her passionately. He looked so handsome in his tailored suit, and now he was all hers. Or so she wanted to believe.

No sooner than they had walked away from the alter did a woman with red hair come up to them. And there was no problem in particular about that but she didn’t miss the way Adriano stiffened beside her. She smiled brightly at both of them, but her eyes lingered a little longer on Adriano and that did not sit too well with Ximena. When she got a closer look at the woman, she immediately noticed that she was indeed very beautiful; and it made her feel slightly insecure.

But why? It’s not like she knew who this woman was…

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” she asked her, trying to hide her piqued curiosity in her tone.

The woman, after batting her eyelashes at Adriano, directed her vision towards, lips tilted up in a close to derisive smile and extended her hand. “Oh, my bad. I haven’t had a proper introduction. I’m Amanda O’Brien. I’m Adriano’s-,” she didn’t get to finish her sentence as Adriano abruptly went forward and stood between her and Ximena. His jaw was clenched and eyes glaring at her with green rage.

“She’s someone I used to know. Could I have a word, Amanda?” he said in a terse voice and didn’t wait for a response to drag her to the side, leaving his wife utterly baffled by his unexpected shift in attitude. Something was definitely up, and Ximena decided she didn’t like it. Before she could dwell on the matter for long many other people, her family and friends came to give their congratulatory remarks and sometime in the middle of all the exchanges, Adriano came back to her side and held her close to him by the waist.

Almost like he was afraid of losing her.

The whole group was directed towards the lush garden where the reception was being held. It was decorated lavishly, with tables and a dance floor. After a few drinks, some fine cuisine and exchanged laughs it was time for the couple’s first dance as newlyweds. It wasn’t long before they went into the floor and began to dance to their wedding song; Hero by Enrique Iglesias. It was a very slow and sweet song, so their moves matched the tempo. They were finally alone and now she could bombard him with her questions.

Maintaining eye contact, she kept her hands around his neck. “So, who was that woman?” she finally inquired and his eyes averted hers. He spun and brought her back to him, only this time her back was against his chest. His touch was sending delicious shivers all the way down her spine but she wouldn’t let that distract. She would get some answers.

“She’s just an old friend. We ended off on the wrong foot and I was just shocked she showed up here. I didn’t even invite her,” he admitted but she couldn’t quite tell if he was telling the truth or not because his tone was unreadable.

They continued to sway to the music in that position. “So, who invited her?” she further prodded, wondering how she had gotten an invite. The guest list was pretty short and exclusive so not just anyone was invited.

Spinning her back around, he closed his eyes and placed his forehead on hers. “Yo no se (I don’t know). Baby, let’s not ruin this special moment talking about unimportant matters, si? Can I just enjoy having you in my arms,” he whispered and her heart soared, making her forget all about the ordeal.

“Okay,” she squeaked shyly and a couple of moments later the song ended, and everybody clapped for them. Then it was the father daughter dance up next, whilst her mother Dolores danced with her new husband.