Madrid English Version

Chapter 15

(Back to the normal chronology, so after chapter 13, even if there are a few inconsistencies, I tried to do as I could, I'm sorry if it's not necessarily very clear)

But this was no ordinary person, this was a man, who looked barely younger than her.

Aria didn't see Carlos in the hallway, but he saw her. He saw her hugging a man. A man other than himself. He'd been dreaming about her hugging him. To him, and only him. No other men. A form of jealousy had settled over him, yet Aria was just a friend to him. How could he be jealous of a man he didn't even know. He took the time to visualize the whole scene, his hand on the doorknob, watching the man detach himself from the engineer, look at Carlos and smile mischievously, which only increased the jealousy inside him. How could he be angry with a man he didn't know?

The pilot decided to put his jealousy aside and go home, to rest after a grueling week. He set all his belongings down by the sofa, and quickly headed for the bathroom, to shower and enjoy a moment of relaxation. Afterwards, he dropped onto his bed, wetting his pillow with his damp hair. Curiosity, a very nasty flaw, among many living beings on this earth. He couldn't help wondering if his neighbor was in a relationship.

He took his phone in hand and headed for Instagram. He was careful not to be with his main account, so as not to arouse suspicion among fans, but also to preserve the brunette's identity. He typed Aria Torani into the search bar, and clicked on the first profile that appeared. He knew it was the right one when he saw Lando's secondary account subscribed to it. Carlos pressed his finger against the subscribe button and put down his phone, waiting for it to be accepted. If it was accepted, he told himself. His pseudonym was made up of his middle name, Antonio, and his mother's maiden name, Vázquez. It was his British friend who had given him the trick, so that he could spend time on social networks without being scrutinized for every interaction.

Fifteen minutes passed before Aria accepted his request. Fifteen minutes spent questioning all his life choices. His phone rang, notifying him that he now had access to his account. Carlos reached for his phone, which had been lying on his chest, to take a look at the account. He saw a profile photo of Aria, wearing a strapless summer dress revealing her shoulders and part of her bust, with her hair longer than usual and her gaze directed to the right. The pilot couldn't help noticing that she was resplendent in this photo.

The only information given in her biography was a Spanish flag, underlining her nationality, and her profession, aerospace engineer. Only one publication graced this page, at her graduation in 2019. Four photos made up this publication, one where Aria held her diploma in her hand, alone. The next, Alba and herself with their diplomas in hand, while holding each other. The third, again a photo of the same circumstances, but with her parents, sisters and brother present. And finally, the last one a photo with her friends, also graduates in a different field from engineering.

Yet, despite a single publication, the front-page stories were more numerous. There was one dedicated to her studies, made up mainly of time-lapse videos of the former student working at various times of the day, marked by light changing according to the time of day. You could see her working on a computer, or practicing her sketches of required jobs, when she had to represent certain parts of a satellite or a rocket engine. Aria also had a story dedicated to photos of landscapes or interiors she found beautiful, and one for trips or vacations with family and friends, which was more meager than the others. And finally, her last story was reserved exclusively for her and her best friend. Only photos, or videos of them messing around, laughing and smiling like children, made up this last part of her Instagram profile.

Carlos had taken a tour of this profile, which had intrigued him beforehand. He decided to review each of the stories. But he made a mistake worthy of Instagram beginners. He liked one of the stories, a photo of Aria in a swimsuit taken by Alba during the summer. Panic overcame him and he rushed to remove the heart he'd just put in, but only made matters worse, because as well as liking the story, he reacted to it and liked the one after it.

Fingers trembling, breathing quickening, the Spaniard left his profile and the application before switching off his phone and placing it on his bed, which unfortunately ended up on the floor. He turned to see his phone lying motionless on the floor, the screen facing the marbled floor. He picked it up gently, turned it over slowly, and felt relieved when he saw that there was only a thin scratch across the screen.

As usual, when Carlos found himself in a situation where he didn't know what to do, like the one he was currently in, he cooked. He loved it. It was a passion he had inherited from his mother and grandmother, both great cooks. Spanish culinary traditions held no secrets for him. Tapas, empanadas, paella... He knew every recipe inside out.

The dark-haired man decided to cook what he loved most in the world: peppers. If he could, he'd eat them morning, noon and night. Luckily for him, it was a beneficial food for top athletes. To try and relax, in addition to cooking, he switched on the speakers in the main room and launched a playlist he found relaxing, consisting mainly of Lana Del Rey, an artist he particularly liked. The American was his favorite singer, and each of her songs had a therapeutic effect on the pilot.

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For her part, Aria spent part of her evening face-to-face with her British friend and the other part with a man. A man she knew well. Very well indeed.

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