LOVE AND IT CIRCLE

Chapter eighteen

Gabriel•

As I rose from the bed, the warmth of the morning sun streaming through the window, I noted Zach's absence and smiled to myself, taking pleasure in our newfound closeness. Donning a robe, I meandered to the changing room, curious as to what had captured his attention. Coming up behind him, I slipped my arms around his waist,"What you doing there handsome?"
my cheek grazing his back.
"No, the question is what is this doing here?"
As I caught sight of the maid’s uniform, a wave of panic coursed through me, my mind racing to construct a plausible lie.
"I'm  sure it belongs to one of the maids."As my hand brushed his shoulder in an attempt to deflect his attention, I continued my ruse, mentioning the protocol that forbade housekeepers from entering the closets of husband and wife. I hoped that my logic would convince him, my voice steady, but with an undercurrent of nerves."but the maids are not allowed in the closet." I watched his expression shift, noting the momentary pause before he sighed," perhaps resigned to accept my explanation.

"I sent one of them to clean up."I defended.
"Okay, not that it's a problem."
But I knew this was merely the beginning. I had to be more vigilant, more careful, if I was to keep my true identity a secret.As he turned towards me, his hands at my waist, his lips caressing my neck, his words were filled with promise, as if to remind me of the depths of his desire.

"How about we go out this morning and eat breakfast somewhere?"

As he mentioned breakfast, I felt a flutter of excitement at the prospect of spending more time with him. The mere thought of it was intoxicating, yet I knew better than to be lulled by the charms of this man who had once imprisoned me.
"Not a bad idea." I said.
As his serious gaze fixed upon me, the sharp beauty of his eyes captured my attention, sending a shiver down my spine.As I gazed into his eyes, the depth of my feelings for him became a tangled web of confusion. Had my love for Zach been sparked by the deception of my disguise, or had it always been there, hidden beneath the surface of my resentment?

"Then what do you say my love?" goosebumps.

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The petals of the flowers that floated atop the bathwater soothed my frazzled nerves, but my mind remained troubled, a brewing tempest of questions and doubts.

I remembered the moment before Almanzer and Mr capo’s interruption, and the unspoken words that seemed to hover between us, yearning to be revealed.The fear of Mr Capo's presence still lingered in my mind, a chilling reminder of the danger that lurked just beyond the gilded walls of Zach’s home. My thoughts raced, swirling around the thought of Almanzer’s knowledge of my true identity and the possibility that Amelia’s disappearance might be tied to her awareness of my charade.

The questions piled up like bricks, forming a wall of uncertainty around my mind. Could it be that Zach was complicit in his ex-wife's disappearance? Or was it merely a tragic coincidence?As I leaned back in the bathtub, allowing myself a moment of respite, I found myself face to face with an unfamiliar expression on Zach’s features—a smile. The warm, genuine curve of his lips drew my own into a mirrored expression, and for a brief, shimmering moment, I glimpsed a side of Zach I had never seen before.

But like a cloud passing over the sun, the sparkle of mirth in his eyes vanished, replaced by a contemplative look as he reached for the glass of champagne I hadn't even noticed.

Zach's pause sent a ripple of expectation through me, the anticipation of his next words heightened by the vulnerability in his expression.
" you know I've never used the bathtub for a while." I smiled to him,"I always used the shower because what was the point on using the bathtub alone."

He was clearly besotted with the illusion of Amelia, the woman he thought I was. His enthrallment with the phantom that hung over our heads, her ghostly presence lingering like a wisp of smoke, threatened to sully the delicate beauty of this moment. But I pushed those thoughts away, determined not to let the specter of a dead letter interfere with our connection as I wondered what was on that letter.
"I'm here now and I can't leave you for someone else." I said to him.

"I also wouldn't stop loving you for someone else, just like I said on that letter."He said, so he also wrote a letter for Amelia? But Amelia wrote it first to him right?
The letter keeps on coming back to the picture of these whole thing . What's in the letter that Amelia wrote?

As Zach drew closer, our lips met in a tender embrace, his kiss filling me with a fluttering energy that seemed to defy explanation, like the poetry of lovers' lips transcending rational thought. I found myself completely enraptured, my senses drunk on his touch.

But just as I was lost in the embrace, he pulled back, his eyes reflecting a depth of emotion that seemed poised to reveal something profound. The silence between us, pregnant with possibility, enveloped us as I awaited the words that would change everything.

"I want to tell you something Amelia."
As his expression melted into a mask of guilt, a pang of compassion echoed within me, quelling any sense of resentment that had begun to brew.

"You can tell me later." I didn't want anything to disturb this moment.
Our lips found each other once again, a reunion of desperate desire that dissolved all misgivings. My hand, an envoy of pleasure, drifted across the water to his manhood, and I felt a surge of guilt wash over me. I knew that my actions were more than a simple act of love—they were a willful betrayal of Amelia’s memory.Zach's gaze lingered, the depth of his eyes reflecting a weight that bore down on him like an anchor.

His silence became deafening, every moment a ticking time bomb of confession.

I found myself captivated, my heart hammering against my ribs as I struggled to decipher the secrets that danced on the edge of his lips.

"I have a big secret Amelia and I need to tell you."
His hands rested on the edges of the bathtub, the definition of his muscles rippling beneath my hungry gaze.

It was as if he were poised to reveal the truth that would unlock the mystery of his past, a past that haunted him still.A thousand possibilities swirled in my mind like a tempestuous storm, all roads leading to a truth that I was desperate to uncover. His eyes locked with mine, a million unspoken words trembling on the edge of his tongue.

"Zach." I said, he looked at me like I was all that mattered right now and nothing else did.

My breath caught in my throat as he remained silent, the tension palpable in the air. But my body refused to be still, my legs parting in an invitation that defied my own misgivings. As he stole a glance between my thighs, a spark of desire danced in his eyes, a salacious promise of what was to come.

"Amelia don't do these to me."He said , trying his best to remain to what he was about to do.
"Don't forget there is also breakfast." I said leaving a smile form on my cheeks.

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