The Borrowed Bride [PUBLISHED]

Chapter 9: The Wife

"Is it bad?" She fired away her question lightning fast. "What did my brother do to earn a slug from your twin sister's husband?"

"Let just say that your brother mistook me for my twin and kidnapped her."

"Kidnapped her!" Lucia squeaked her eyes widened in my path. "Oh my god, what madness has possessed my brother? Why did he kidnap your twin sister? Now I know that he deserved that bruise in his face."

I laughed at her. "You don't know the half of it, Lucy."

Her pretty eyebrows rose upward. "Lucy?"

She smiled dazzlingly in my direction. She has this sweet smile on her face that made me wonder if a lucky guy could earn one of her sweet smiles. "May I call you 'Lucy'?"

"Yeah, I don't mind." She answered gladly. "I always thought that Lucia is too formal. Lucy sounds good to me." She grabbed both of my hands and squeezed them firmly.  "Now tell me about the story of how my brother kidnapped your twin sister?"

I grinned at her as I focused on her face. "Here's what happened..."

Leandro Salazar's POV

"Let me guess," The voice of an elderly man sounded behind me. "You were thrown out of your castle, hijo."

I threw a frowning look in his direction as I rode my horse surveying the land my family owned for centuries. "Where did you get that impression? No one threw me away in my own home."

Juan Vasquez, the foreman of my estate grinned mischievously in my direction as he patted my prized stallion. "Castillo de Joya was buzzed at the news that the Conde brought home a wife." His knowing eyes silently interrogating me. "Words also spreading that the new Condesa is a pretty little thing."

I glared darkly down in his direction. "Who spread that news?"

My foreman gave a meaningful look. "Settle your temper, Your Excellency. That was only an innocent observation from your employees. You don't have to be jealous about it, son."

"I don't want them talking about my wife that way!"

The elderly man raised a snow-white eyebrow in my path that made me silently cursed myself from my uncalled outburst. "I must admit that I'm quite surprised when I heard the boys talked about the master finally brought home a wife. I thought for a moment that they only got it wrong."

I looked down at Juan with a disapproving frown on my face. "Just tell them not to gossip about my wife, clear?"

The foreman nodded but I could see in his dark eyes that he was enjoying this conversation far too much for his good. Honestly, I just want to move away from here so I can avoid his silent interrogation but he's holding the rein of my horse. "So tell me about this pretty wife of yours, hijo."

I grimaced as I look at the scorching sun above. If he was just another man I would tell him that it's none of his business but this is Juan he's like a second father to me. He didn't hesitate to ask a question me whenever he wants. "It's a long story, Juan."

"I have a long time, son."

I sighed heavily as I told him the reason why I got a sudden wife. "I will just make it short for you. She's pregnant with my child."

Juan whistled softly as he stared deep into my eyes. "Was it planned?"

"Why do you want to know?"

The elderly man shrugged, looking at the vast land that stretched before us. The land that our child will inherit someday I need to work twice as hard before for my unborn child. I must admit I'm pretty much excited to see the day that I tour my son in this land he will inherit in the future and teach him to ride his pony. "I'm just curious given that you are very vocal about your reluctance to take a wife before."

I glanced at the man briefly. "Everyone is entitled to change, Juan."

"You might be right," My foreman agreed with a nod. "Now everything is changed in that Castillo there is now a new Condesa. I wonder how will your brother's widow react now that you have a wife."

"Why are you curious about her reaction?" I asked in puzzlement.

Juan eyed me with amusement, his eyes held silent laughter in their depth that I think I don't understand. "Let me tell you something, hijo. A man's home is his castle however small or huge that may be and it is ruled by his queen. You got a wife now, son. That makes her your queen. Expect some changes in your household soon."

I snorted as I stared back at him without blinking. "That's ridiculous. Leila will not change anything in that house, Juan."

"You want to wager, boy?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "My wife will not go anything like that I know her well. She's not the usual woman who likes to fret herself to domestic things."

The elderly man chuckled the laughter was visible in his eyes. "How did you know that, hijo?"

Against my better judgment, I remember the feisty woman I left to the room she insisted. That woman, I thought with displeasure. She should rather sleep in a huge bed alone instead of sleeping in my bed—she's my wife after all. She should be sleeping in my bed. But she's so stubborn in fighting me in everything.

"Daydreaming about your wife, are you?" I heard the older man teased. Okay, I have enough of his inquisition. I need to get away from his clutch.

"I don't know what are you talking about, Juan," I told him coldly, hoping that he would stop his investigation about my current relationship with my wife. "But I need to ride in the estate to see if there's a problem. Do you want to ride with me?"

The foreman shook his snow-white head with a quiet smile on his leathery face. "No, I need to oversee the training of the new colt in the corral."

"All right," I nodded in agreement as I set my stallion to move forward. "I'll see you later, man."

I was about to escape him when I heard him gave me a fair warning. "Be sure to expect the changes in your house soon, hijo!"