Relationship For Convenience

Chapter 3

Alex didn't know what he had been thinking when he called her, or rather he knew exactly what he was doing. He had to let her be; he scolded himself internally. He couldn't give her the forever she wanted, but he also couldn't stomach the thought of her finding that forever with another man. If that made him selfish then let it be, he never claimed to be good, he thought with a shrug.

The past month he spent away from her just made him very gloomy. He spent the better part of his daydreaming of the 'what ifs' in their situation. His time with her hadn't been enough, he often reflected with regret.

Her apartment wasn't far from his penthouse, so the urge to pick up his key and drive to her was always there. But he realized he was doing the right thing for both of them. They needed to go their separate ways. She was too good for him; he thought with remorse, stringing her along would only hurt her more.

The proximity of her apartment was convenient when they were together. They had easily shuffled between the two addresses, although she mostly stayed over. His family business was based in Italy but his own, the business he started with his partner Brad was in New York, so he often divided his time between the two countries.

Everything reminded him of her. She never came to pick up her stuff, and he didn't have the mind to throw them out, so they were there as a painful reminder of what he lost.

Memories of her tainted his penthouse. He was sure if he looked well enough, he would still see the knick-knacks she left in her wake. He was staring at a vase she got for him, insisting the vase matched his living room decor. How a pale pink vase matched the modern look of his penthouse failed to register in his mind.

Thinking back to the day they met, he couldn't help but smile as he remembered how he was roped into going to the art exhibition organized by the gallery she worked at. He wasn't a huge fan of artworks, but his friend Brad and his pregnant wife- Dana had convinced him to attend.

Staring at a peculiar painting, Alex did not notice the brunette by his side, until she commented on his apparent interest in the painting. Their conversation started from there and when he realized she was the exhibit designer for that gallery, he couldn't help but admire her work, seeing as the exhibition was running without a hitch.

Alex couldn't quite recall what exactly they had talked about, but he remembered being impressed by her intelligence, which was a bonus point to her in his book. They had exchanged numbers and planned to meet up the next day for dinner, and from there, they say, the rest was history.

He hadn't meant to take it this far, only intending for her to be his last fling before he eventually settled down. But now, thinking about his engagement left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Physically, Anna wasn't his type, in fact, she was the exact opposite of his type. He usually preferred his women slim, tall, and blonde, and Anna was neither of those.

He would have preferred to marry her instead of Claudia, his fiancée. Nothing was wrong with Claudia. She was nice enough, beautiful, a little frigid, but everything you would require in a wife. But they lacked something fundamental.

They lacked the chemistry you would expect from a couple. Admittedly, their impending marriage wasn't for love. It was for both of their family empires to be in union.

Both of them couldn't hold a reasonable conversation without him wanting to bang his head on the wall. It wasn't like she was dumb or dimwitted; she was the know it all type, that was her problem. Claudia always dismisses other people's ideas as inferior. Alex didn't have the patience to argue with her about every little thing. So he kept his opinion to himself anytime they were in the same room.

They had prepared them both for the marriage so it wasn't just sprung up on either of them. He just assumed he had more time.

His last trip to Italy had been more or less a shock to him when his grandfather had demanded that he was to make his engagement public as soon as possible.

What he didn't expect was to feel during his grandfather's speech was that his time with her hadn't been enough. They had been together for ten months now, not that he was counting.

Thinking back to their breakup, they said a lot of things, someone meant to be hurtful, the rest said in pain. He couldn't fault Anna for any of her reactions. She was fairly reasonable. Even when he was being purposely mean, he admitted to himself with a sad smile.

..........................

After recovering her luggage from the terminal, Anna was trying to navigate her way through the crowded airport, meanwhile impatiently checking her phone for any call from her friend who was supposed to pick her up thirty minutes ago. She spotted her friend before the impatience became anger.

She could barely make out her friend's form, seeing as she was shortsighted. But She didn't need binoculars to know it was Nicole, discerning that the slightly blurry figure had the same peculiar step as her friend. Before she knew it, she was engulfed in a hug.

"I missed you."

"You were supposed to have been here thirty minutes ago."

"I'm sorry," the blonde apologized sheepishly without an explanation.

She knew her best friend well enough to understand her tendency to be late for everything. The two weren't alike on that term, because while Nicole preferred to be late, Anna was punctual to a fault. That had caused the two girls disagreement during their college years. They settled with going separately.

During the ride back to Nicole's house, incessant chattering filled the car. With the radio on, filling her car with soothing music. Nicole decided that was the right time to ask about him, seeing as her friend was calm.

"So, what was he like?" Her curiosity got the best of her, but she was right to be curious because her best friend usually opted not to socialize with be the opposite sex.

Anna expected the question, Nicole couldn't be subtle to save her life, she thought with a chuckle.

"Who?" She knew exactly what Nicole was asking, but she wanted to ruffle her feathers a bit.

Nicole turned her head from the steering and gave her friend a playful glare. "Don't be coy with me, you know exactly who I'm talking about."

Anna gave her friend a sad smile and decided to humored her. But before she could come up with a vague answer, Nicole's phone rang, cutting through their comfortable silence. She knew her friend was going to be very busy this fall and with her friend being one of the most sort after wedding planners in Chicago; it was often a very busy time of the year for her.

While Nicole sorted out her business, Anna stared at the houses they passed and let her mind wander to mundane things. With a smile playing on her lips, she drifted off to a dreamless nap.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

To everyone who has made it this far, thank you so much. Please don't forget to like and comment. It brings a smile to my face. And also, if you haven't followed me yet, please do. I follow back asap😉.

So how was this chapter? I really wanted everyone to meet our other hero Alex. Now that you've met Alex, have your opinions changed about him, or is he still the king of all douchebags?😂

Moving on to the next question, have you figured what the surprises are yet? Let me know in the comment what you think about this book so far.

Love,
Nicky.