Marriage Merger

Chapter 40

“I love you Adriano.”

Adriano froze in his tracks, eyes widening and jaw slackening. He remained like that for a few seconds before he came back to his senses. “W-what did you say?” he asked her in bewilderment.

She gulped and shuffled closer to him. “I said I love you. I’m in love with you, I have been for a while now.”

He did a sharp in take before averting his gaze from her. “Wow, okay. I was not expecting that at all,” he responded bluntly and she felt her heart constrict.

All of a sudden, she felt embarrassed for having confessed to him. Clearly, he wasn’t ready for that. What had she been thinking anyways? That he would swoop her into his arms and tell her that he loved her too? He obviously didn’t reciprocate the sentiment. Tears pricked her eyelids and threatened to fall. Holding her head low, she went to grab her purse and car keys.’

“Wait, where are you going?” he asked her but she just shook her head. “We need to talk about this-,”

She held her hand up and passed him a sad smile. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. No need to say it, your silence is enough for me. I’m going to work now, I’ll see you later,” she voiced in an eerily calm voice and exited the room.

Once she got to her car, she slid in and drove out of the driveway. Never in her life had she ever felt so stupid, hurt and ashamed. She was sure she had done the right thing but why did it all feel so wrong? Maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut to avoid the awkward predicament she was in now. How would she ever face Adriano again? Gosh, this was all so very unwise.

Telling herself to pull it together and wiping away the few stray tears that had spilled from her eyes, she drove on to work. Once she got there, she gave her keys to her personal valet and padded over to her office, nodding to everybody who greeted her. Once in her office, she got herself busy with her work. No matter how hard she tried to calm her emotions, she failed miserably. She couldn’t do anything right. At some point when Dom was reading out a presentation, she had to do the following day she finally broke down.

She held her face in her hands as she allowed the tears to freely stream down her face and a sob racked through her entire frame. Dom dropped the papers he’d been holding and rushed over to her, completely concerned. It was the first time ever he had seen her cry and it didn’t sit too well with him.

“Ximena, what’s wrong?” he asked her, taking her hands from her face. She shut her eyes tightly, refusing to look at her, another sob escaping her lips.

“He doesn’t love me back. I love him so much but h-he…he doesn’t feel the same way. I thought he did b-but I was wrong and now I’ve ruined everything,” she cried in anguish. “Am I so unlovable?” she asked, finally opening her now bloodshot eyes, looking into his honey-colored ones in desperation.

Dom didn’t enjoy seeing her like this; crying over a man. In his opinion, there was everything to love about her. In fact, he had been in love with her since the very first day he’d met her. Maybe it was her glowing personality or her easy-going smile that drew him to her; he couldn’t put his finger on it. And the fact that her so-called husband couldn’t even reciprocate her love for him made his blood simmer in indignation. If he had been in that imbecile’s place, he would have spent the better part of his days confessing his love to her in any way possible.

But he had had to keep his feelings a secret. If he had let her know that’s how he felt about her, he would have been out of the job quicker than he could say I’m in love with my boss. So, he played the part of efficient assistant, occasional confidante, basically being at her beck and call 24/7. As long as he got to be around her, he didn’t care that his heart was aching for her. Damn, how shattered he had felt when he found out she was betrothed. He couldn’t even show his face at the wedding!

Swiping away her tears with his thumbs, he gently cupped her face. “Of course not, darling. You’re the most lovable person I know,” he assured her boldly. There really wasn't any other truth to it.

Her lip jutted out in a cute pout. “A-are you sure? Then why doesn’t he love me?”

“Because he is an imbecile, that’s why. He is so goddamn foolish foor not loving you back. If he was here, I’d knock some sense into him,” he seethed and she managed to crack a smile at his mindless threat. He smiled at her too. “Now, my dearest Ximena, I never want to see you cry. It literally wounds me. It’s not easy for me at all,” he whispered as his eyes sinfully flickered down to her plump lips. He had never been this close to her before, which explains why he was acting so out of character.

Subconsciously, he felt his head tilt forward. All inhibitions flew out the window for him. Ximena’s eyes widened in shock and before she could stop it, Dom’s lips connected with hers. And to make matters worse, the door burst open to reveal the very last person who should have been entering the room at that precise moment.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

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Hi guys. I quick chapter for you even though I had to whip this one up in between studying sessions.

Did you guys enjoy this chap? And what do we think about Adriano? Please don't tell me we hate him now, hmmm...?

And what about Dom's outlandish kiss?

Who do you think opened the door and caught them kissing?

On another note, this book will be coming to an end soon. 😓  I know, so sad! But that would mean that I'd be one step closer to starting a new piece of art 😉.

I love you guys so much! You're all so lovely and awww....I just am so emotional right now. 😭

~Deetronite.