CHIARA
"But you promised," I whined.
"Yes, I did. I told you we can go out tomorrow. I have a conference call in half an hour and then we have to attend that event tonight. Tomorrow, we can do whatever you want."
"Promise?" I held up my pinkie finger.
His lips twitched in amusement as he hooked his pinkie finger with mine. "Promise."
"Okay, now you can go. I am going to swim for a while." Leaving him alone so that he could work, I headed upstairs to change so that I could go swimming.
In the study, where Ezekiel was sitting behind his desk, to his left was the floor-to-ceiling window which gave a clear view of the beach meaning I could feel his eyes on me when I walked out on the beach in my bikini.
I flung a look over my shoulder and sure enough, I found his gaze on me. He sat behind his desk, dressed in a grey suit, his laptop opened in front of him but he wasn't paying any attention to it.
His elbows rested on the desk, his fingers locked together and placed under his chin. He watched me with such intensity that butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
Gulping, I looked away and walked into the water.
I don't know how long I spent in the water but when I came out, my skin was pruned and my limbs felt heavy.
Ezekiel was still in the study, this time focused on his laptop as he seemed to be saying something.
I went inside to take a shower and as I contemplated what to wear, I found one of Ezekiel's white t-shirts which felt so soft and comfortable that without any second thought, I wore it.
It fell to my mid-thighs and smelled just like him.
I decided to take a nap so that I don't feel sleepy later at the event but as I scrolled through my DMs on Insta my mood soured when I found one from my ex-classmate, Stacy.
I rolled my eyes as I opened the picture she sent me. Of her and her boyfriend kissing at some park.
She always used to tell me indirectly how bad it is to be single, how boring it must be. And she used to go on and on about her boyfriend and she always sends me these pictures just to mock me.
After cursing her for a minute, I decided to send her my wedding pictures. That would shut her mouth.
But the moment I looked at our wedding pictures, I frowned.
I mean, they are good but if you look closely enough and I know she will, you could clearly point out that Ezekiel and I were not getting the pictures clicked willingly.
Maybe I should have smiled more.
I chewed on my lips and ruminated about what to do.
What if I take a few pictures with Ezekiel right now? He wouldn't mind, right?
So, with my phone, I wandered down to his study and after knocking once, went inside.
His eyes lifted to meet mine and he frowned subtly and his gaze travelled down my body.
Right, I am wearing his T-shirt.
Cocking his head, he curled his index and middle finger at me in a 'come here' motion.
My blood warmed at that and I was immediately walking to him.
I watched him mute and switch off his camera as I came to stand beside him.
A woman was speaking about something on the other side but he paid her no attention.
"Um..." I played with the hem of his t-shirt. "I wanted to wear something comfortable that's why I wore this."
A small smile touched his lips. "Looks good on you, my little hellion."
Touched by his compliment, I blushed a little.
The woman on the other side spoke, "Mr Vandeleur, why is your camera off?"
Ezekiel glanced at the laptop and unmuted himself. "Is there a problem with that?" And he muted himself again.
I raised a brow at him while that woman blabbered and said no and then some other man started to speak.
"Shouldn't you be paying attention to them?" I asked.
"I am."
"While talking to me too?"
"Why not?"
I scoffed. "I could never. It's so difficult for me to focus on two things at once."
"Hmm..." He leaned his elbow on the table, cupping his cheek. "Did you enjoy the swim?"
"Yeah but now I am so tired. Which reminds me why I was here."
He gestured for me to go on so I explained to him about the situation with Stacy and asked if he would mind clicking a few pictures with me.
"But you are busy right now so maybe we can do this later," I added.
He sat up straight. "Not that busy. So, how do you want to click the pictures?"
"Really?" I smiled widely.
He nodded.
"Okay." I placed my left hand, showing my wedding ring on the desk. "Now, you keep your left hand over mine so that both our wedding rings can be seen."
He complied with me and covered my hand with his and for the first time, I noticed how well our hands looked together.
Nevermind.
I adjusted my phone and clicked a picture of our hands, grinning when it turned out to be good.
"But she could say that you are bluffing." He pointed out. "Just the pictures of our hands won't do."
I glanced between him and the picture, my lower lip protruding out in a pout. "Oh."
"We can take a selfie." He suggested.
"Yes! That would be good."
As I thought about what pose to make, he simply patted his thigh, gesturing for me to sit there.
"Um..."
"Sit down, Chiara."
Hesitantly, I stepped close to him and he spread his legs and I slowly climbed over his right thigh and sat sideways.
I slowly lifted my eyes to his and found him watching me already.
He put his arm around my waist and grabbed my phone with the other.
"Relax, my little hellion", he whispered softly in my ear and I felt all the tension leave my body.
It's just a picture. This doesn't mean anything.
I leaned back and rested my head on his chest where I could feel his heartbeat which felt a little faster than usual.
Is he nervous?
I didn't point that out and placed my left hand on his chest.
"Smile", he said as he held up the camera.
Unlike my wedding pictures, I grinned up at the camera with Ezekiel smiling softly.
"Ha!" I took the phone from him and looked at the selfie. "This would teach her a lesson."
He chuckled before unmuting himself and speaking.
I didn't bother getting off him as I found it really comfortable and silently edited the pictures and instead of sending it to her, I posted it on my Insta story and wrote below it: 'Someone rightly said that being single is so boring. Life could be so much fun when you have a husband beside you 💗💫' And I tagged Ezekiel.
Just a minute more and I will leave him alone.
But that didn't happen as the steady beating of his heart and the sound of his deep, firm voice soon lulled me into sleep.
.
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EZEKIEL
I never expected to have fun on this trip. I had already pictured her giving me headaches all day long but it was quite the opposite.
Sure, she still loves to annoy me but surprisingly, I am enjoying it. I am enjoying spending time with her and she is not that annoying anyway.
And when she walked out in that bikini yesterday, I lost it.
I never had the liberty to ogle any woman nor did I want to but the moment I saw her, I let myself blatantly stare at her. She is my wife and the only woman I will ever look at.
Optimistically, she doesn't think me to be a pervert even though I acted like that.
Any part of my brain that saw her as a kid just ceased. I could never see her as a kid anymore after seeing her half-naked.
Then she wore my T-shirt. I was more than surprised when I saw her in that, surprised about how much I liked her in that.
She looked like mine.
I glanced down to where she slept on my lap, her face buried in my chest.
I ended the meeting and leaned back in my chair with her with me and watched her.
She looked so small and fragile in my arms that possessiveness surged through me and my grip tightened around her.
Tenderly, I trailed my fingers over her cheek, caressing it.
What if we tried to make this marriage work? What if we...fall in love with each other?
Somewhere deep down, I was still a hopeless romantic and maybe I wanted this to work.
But I have to be practical and as far as I know, with how hot-headed we both are and how much we both bicker, it would be a miracle if we fall in love.
Even if all this doesn't work, even if we end up arguing for the rest of our lives. One thing is clear...
Chiara is mine and she is not going anywhere.