The Wedding Date

Part One - Chapter Thirteen: Being Foolish

Cristiano sighed as he looked down at the envelope of money, he had been kicking himself all afternoon for what had happened; he really did like Felisa and he hated the fact that he had hurt her like this.

The brunette deserved so much better and he wished that there was some way that he could make this right; he cared about her and he knew that if he wanted to see her again then he needed to fix this.

Felisa had locked herself in her room and hadn’t spoken to him after she had locked herself inside, he had nearly kicked himself when he had heard her sobbing; he wanted nothing more than to comfort her and he hated that he had been the one to make her feel like she was nothing but a cheap escort after all she had said to him.

Cristiano groaned as he lay back on his bed, he had hoped that if he stayed in there then maybe Felisa would come out of her room and have something to eat; he didn’t want her to starve herself so that she could avoid him.

The footballer didn’t know how to make this right, he had gotten the money out in case she didn’t have feelings for him like he did with her; he had been hoping to get rid of it when it became clear that Felisa cared for him as much as he cared for her.

The last thing that Cristiano had wanted was for her to find it, he cursed himself for leaving it somewhere that she might have found it especially with his mobile in the same draw; he couldn’t believe that this was how the day was ending after a wonderful morning.

***

Felisa sniffled as she wiped her nose and curled up in bed, she hated herself for allowing the footballer to worm his way into her heart; he was a client and she should have expected him to treat her like she was an escort.

“I’m such an idiot,” Felisa whispered as she stared at the television screen a head of her, she was dressed in a mulberry check nightshirt since she had no plans on leaving her bedroom anytime soon.

The brunette took a deep breath as she brushed some hair from her face, she knew that she had a job to do and she had to pull herself together and quickly; she needed the money and she knew that once it was over that she would never see Cristiano again.

That thought hurt Felisa more than anything else, she didn’t want to be mad at the footballer; he was only doing the right thing and she knew that she would never fit into his world doing what she did.

The brunette felt foolish that she had even thought that he could have feelings for her, this wasn’t some cheesy rom-com and there wasn’t ever going to be a happy ending for someone like her; she sold herself for money so that she and her siblings could survive and that was all she was ever going to do.

Felisa swallowed as she thought about her younger brother and sister, she missed them and knew that in a few days’ time she would see them again; she knew that they would support her when she returned.

The brunette pushed herself up as she reached for her phone, she couldn’t remember the last time that she had spoken to them since she had started working for Cristiano; she thought now would be a good time to check in.

Pressing the phone to her ear, Felisa swallowed as she wrapped an arm around her knees and waited for someone to answer; she hoped they weren’t getting into any trouble.

“Olá this is Rhea speaking,” said the familiar voice of her younger sister making Felisa smile, she felt a little more relaxed at the sound of his sister’s voice; it dulled the ache that surrounded her heart at what had happened with Cristiano.

Rhea was sixteen years old and was about to enter college to further her education, since she had recently finished high school; she was determined to make a better life for a family and looked up to her older sister, who had sacrificed so much for her and their brother.

“Olá Rhea… it’s Felisa, I’m just checking in,” the brunette said as she tried to keep her voice steady, she knew that Rhea would be able to handle looking after Fabio until she got home as well as keep her part-time job at the local shop near where they lived.

Felisa swallowed as she closed her eyes, she knew that Rhea would be able to sense that something was wrong; she loved that they were close but sometimes it came at a cost.

“What happened?” Rhea demanded, she hated it when her older sister was upset and it was clear that whatever it was had hurt her big sister.

Felisa sniffled as she wiped her nose on the back of her hand, she smiled softly knowing that she was lucky to have a sister like her; she didn’t know what to do if Rhea hated her in anyway.

“It’s nothing minha irmã, I’m just being a bit silly,” Felisa said as she wiped away her tears, she knew that she would tell Rhea more when she was back at home but the last thing that she wanted to do was admit that she had fallen for her client.

The brunette swallowed the lump in her throat grateful that Rhea wouldn’t push her to talk about this, she smiled as her sister changed the subject and started to talk about all that she had missed while she was away in Portugal working.

Felisa laughed softly as she felt herself being cheered by the tales that her sister told her, she was grateful for the distraction that was being offered to her; it made dealing with the fact that Cristiano wasn’t going to want her in the way that she wanted easier to bear.

***

Luciana pursed her lips as she watched Hugo with his wife and children, even after they had broken up she couldn’t understand why he had chosen Liliana over her; their affair had gone on for two years and she had been devastated that he had stayed with his wife instead of her.

Luciana knew that there was no way that Liliana would stay with Hugo, if she was suddenly made aware that her partner of eight years had not only cheated on her but was the reason that his brother had been dumped at the altar.

Luciana smirked as her blue eyes watched Hugo, she wanted to make him suffer for dumping her like that; she could have been happily married to Cristiano now if she hadn’t of fallen for him and dumped his brother at the altar for him.

The blonde sipped on her drink, her heart ached as she watched him with his children; she had hoped that it would have been her with his children.

Luciana had had dreams of becoming a mother and she had adored them, she wanted nothing more than to be a mother and that had been taken from her as well when she had lost both of the Aveiro brothers.

“Would you like anything else senhorita?” a waitress asked making Luciana look away from her former lover and at her, she shook her head knowing that there was nothing more she wanted from the restaurant; she looked back at Hugo, she knew that he would never give her another chance after the damage that they had caused.

“Nothing that you can give me,” Luciana said softly, she swallowed wishing that she hadn’t been so stupid when she had been with Cristiano.

She had thought that Hugo had loved her but clearly he only lusted for a woman that he couldn’t have. And now she was the one left dealing with the consequences while Hugo was blame free.