Chapter Six: "I'm gonna stick to this."
Akira:
My eyes fluttered opened to see an unfamiliar room. I laid there for a moment before grunting as I sat up. I pulled my blankets off my body and slid myself so I was sitting at the edge of the bed. I let my eyes wander the room again. It was pretty big. I wouldn't even know what to do with all this space. I looked over at the alarm clock that was sitting on the night stand, in front of the lamp.
8:45 am.
Why am I up this early? I ran my fingers through my hair, contemplating if I should return to sleep. I probably could. I slowly picked myself off of the bed, leaving the bed a mess. I wonder is Chresanto has gone off to work yet. I mean, he said we would go shopping right? Ugh. Shopping with him is probably gonna be like shopping with a picky and naggy father. Yay. I'm looking forward to that. I walked out the bedroom, regretting it. I was only wear my pajama shorts and a tank top. My hair probably looked a mess.
I glanced to the hall and walked to my bathroom. I switched the lights on closing the door behind me. I gawked at the bathroom I was standing in. It looked like those beautiful bathrooms you see in catalogs. It doesn't look like it's ever been used. There was a nice big bath tub that could fit 2 people in there. With a beautiful sink, that had marble counter. The faucet and handles were gold. A nice big mirror that didn't even have a streak in it. The toilet was not too far from the sink. Now, not to be weird, but can a toilet look expensive? Though it looked like any other toilet it have an expensive look to it.
The floor was tile of course. Yet, to my surprise there was another shower. This shower was not a tub. It was one of those you can only stand and take a shower baths. It had glass doors that you slid, but there was made in such a way that you couldn't see through it clearly. I walked over to the sink where a brand new toothbrush and some toothpaste sat, along with mouth wash. I looked in the cabinet below the sink to see some deodorant, razors and female products.
I chuckled to myself. When did he get all of this stuff? Well, he thought of everything. I brushed my teeth quickly and washed my mouth with mouthwash. Once I rinsed my mouth I walked out the bathroom and back into my room. I grabbed my brushes and combs. I waltzed back into the bathroom shutting the door behind me.
I brushed out the knots that had occurred while I was sleeping. Once I was done with that I made sure the bathroom door was locked before stripping off my clothes and stepping into the shower, sliding the glass door closed. I switched on the water, jumping as the cold water hit my skin. It became hot soon enough. I felt my pores opening as the water hit my skin. I closed my eyes and basked in it for a while before finding the body sponge and the soap. I scrubbed and washed my body before washing my hair.
I shut off the water and reached out, grabbing a towel off the towel rack that was close by. I dried off my body before wrapping the towel around me. I then grabbed another one for my hair, drying it off a bit.
I stepped out the shower and grabbed my clothes, not sure where to put them. Where do I put the dirty clothes? I sighed a bit defeated. I walked into my room and grabbed my blow dryer.
I dried my hair and combed through it before picking something to wear. I ended up wearing a nice white strapless sundress. I'm planning on going over to see Liberty, and make sure she's okay.
I grabbed my black sandals and went back into the bathroom. I curled my hair quickly and grabbed some sunglasses. I went down stairs and was shocked to meet a pair of eyes. They weren't Chresanto's. It was a woman I've never seen before. She was spanish and looked older than me. She looked like 40 I would say? She wore a dressy white shirt with a black skirt that stop a bit past her knees, and some nice black pumps.
"Hello..." I spoke softly staring at her with wide eyes.
"You're Akira, am I correct?" The woman asked standing up from her seat in the couch. I nodded, my brows furrowing.
"I'm Ashley, I'm gonna be helping around the house along with helping you with some things. Your fiance Mr. August had to rush to work so I will be going shopping with you." She explained.
I narrowed my eyes at her for a bit. She chuckled as if thinking of something. She averted her eyes from me to the table that sat in the middle of the huge living. I followed her gaze to see car keys sitting on the table. She looked back up at me and grinned.
"Those are the keys to the white Range Rover. That's the car he picked for you, so let's head out." She spoke picking up the keys and throwing them my way. I managed to catch them.
"But..I was planning on going somewhere," I called to her as she started towards the door.
"Those plans have been cancelled. Oh and the house keys are also on there so lock the door on your way out." She nearly shouted.
I groaned and threw my head back in frustration. She clearly doesn't know that the marriage is fake. Yet, I'm not complaining. I don't have to to go shopping with Chresanto.
The car ride was quiet. I didn't say much to her she didn't say much to me. It wasn't uncomfortable though. We had the radio on and every once in awhile a familiar song would come on. I would hum our dance slightly.
I was following the GPS to whatever stores Chresanto had said to go to. We came to a red light and I dropped my hands from the wheel, relaxing slightly. I looked over to left and caught eyes of a young man. He wasn't looking at me, he was looking at the car. He was fascinated by it. He finally looked up to meet my gaze.
He gave me a small smile and I smiled back. I looked back towards the street to notice that the cars in front of me were moving. I pressed the gas and moved forward following the navigation. It wasn't long before we arrived to the shop which looked very expensive from the outside. Just looking at how bland the outside was tells you something. It's usually the affordable stores that have very nice outer things with creative fonts as the name of the store. But not this one.
We strolled in catching people's attention right away. That's when a woman walked our way with a fake smile plastered on her face.
"Excuse me, if you're looking for that Rainbow store it's two down." She said softly. I felt the shade she was throwing. I couldn't suppress the soft grumbled that escaped my lips. She was older than 40 for sure. She had light brown hair that was cut into a bob. She was white and her skin looked soft, yet her face had quite a bit of wrinkles.
"This is Mr. August's fiance, Akira." Ashley muttered. I looked up to see a glare on her face. It's clear she wasn't happy with this woman's attitude. I watched as shocked washed over the woman's face. She glanced over at me, regret coloring her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, I had no idea." She said quietly. It came off as a whispered. I couldn't help but scoff crossing my arms over my chest. I pulled my sunglasses from my eyes. I put the sunglasses on my head and looked over at the woman who was now looking nervous.
"Well, Mr. August already had some clothes picked and bought so you'll be taking those home. Yet, if there is anything you want please look around." The woman said giving a genuine smile. I nodded my head slowly as my eyes wandered the store curiously.
Ashley grabbed my arm gently and tugged me towards the heels, "He said to make sure you get some heels. So go ahead." I glanced at her once before starting to look at some heels. I picked out a few, but Ashley kept pushing me to get more. I ended up with a bunch more than I wanted. We had got some tops along with skirts and pants and jeans. I was looking at the lovely dresses they had. I picked out a few dresses and I was eyeing one when someone wrapped their arms around my waist.
I slowly turned around to see a pair of brown eyes gazing at me. It was Chresanto. Ugh. I was about to push him away when his grip tighten. He leaned in with a smile plastered on his lips.
"Play along, we we're supposed a couple remember?" He whispered in my ear, his lips nearly brushing the side of my face.
"Put your arms around my neck," He instructed. I was reluctant to do this but I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck. He smiled, pleased with what I was doing.
"Don't enjoy this too much," He teased giving me that cocky grin. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, chuckling slightly.
"Like I said, needles in the eyes would be less painful." I spoke softly. This felt so weird, and I was uncomfortable with how close his face was to mine, yet he kept on smile on his face. We have to keep this up for how long again? Two months? Ugh.
That's when I noticed, everyone's eyes were on us, even Ashley who stood out of hearing range with the dresses I already picked out. They looked surprised to see us together. Almost like they didn't believe we were together. That's when I realised that from afar, the smart remarks we were making looked like a couple embracing.
With the chuckling and smiling we were doing, it looked like a couple thing. It's a bit unsettling.
I dropped my arms from around his neck and he removed his arms from around my waist. I exhaled slightly before putting a nice fake smile on my face, looking over at him. He smiled back, and you almost couldn't tell that it was fake. Well, I guess to be a businessman it requires a lot of fake smiles and such. I snickered at my own thought.
"Who is helping her?" He questioned looking around the store. He sounded a bit angry with the people. I guess that's what he's suppose to be doing. The employees rushed around franticly before one of them approached me.
"Is that all?" The man asked me with questioning eyes. I glanced over at Chresanto who wasn't paying attention to us. He was looking down at his phone.
"Yes," I spoke looking back at the man with a smile, "That'll be all." He nodded and started back towards the counter where Ashley was standing.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Chresanto who was speaking on the phone now. He glanced my way, the same annoyed look returning to his eyes.
"Okay, thank you. I'll talk to you soon. Bye." He hung up his phone and rolled his eyes at me.
"You ask too many questions, and it's giving me a headache, so just stop talking." He hissed glowering at me. My brows furrowed and I crossed my arms over my chest.
"I'm trying to figure out if you were dropped as a child. Cause that's the only way you think It's okay to talk to me like that." I whispered, not wanting everyone else to hear us.
He laughed heartlessly and looked back at me, "And you've got yourself together right? Cleaning houses for a living and living off your sister. You've got the good life right?" He whispered. I gaped at him. He did not. He did not just say that. He doesn't know shit about me but he can sit here and talk about me.
I simply nodded my head, frowning. That's when I saw from behind him that some eyes were still on us. I forced a smile on my lips and looked back at Chresanto.
"I'll see you at home." Was all I said before walking past him, nearly bumping into him. But before I was too far from him I turned around.
"You know," I said softly, "I don't have to do all this for you. I don't have to deal with your attitude. But because I'm a much better person than you'll ever be...I'm gonna stick to this." With that I spun on my heels and walked back to the counter where they were waiting for us to pay. I kept my distance from Chresanto as he handed them a nice black credit card. I could see the store workers eyes light up when they saw the card. They quickly swiped the card giving him the card back. With he placed it back in his wallet and looked over at me.
"I'll see you at home, honey." He uttered before walking over to kiss my cheek. I moved away from him, scowling. He sighed and looked at me with angry eyes before walking out the store.
"Did you guys get into an argument?" Ashley asked as the man was putting all the clothes in bags for us.
"You can say that." I replied pulling my glasses down from my head and back over my eyes.
"Don't worry," She said giving me a sweet smile, "All couples get into fights. It would be weird if you didn't. I'm sure it'll all work out."
I stared at her as she gave me an encouraging smile. I sort of felt bad that I was lying to her, and everyone. I managed to smile back before looking away from her.
*~*~*
It's been about 3 days since I went shopping with Ashley. Ever since then she's been coming to the house, seeing how we were doing and everything. It was kind of her. She was sort of becoming a friend. I was able to go see Liberty, who was happy to see me. She wasn't angry with me anymore and she said that she understood that I fell in love. Interesting words coming from a five year old.
I had to tell Sonia and Joy the story of how Chresanto and I 'met' again. I could see they had their doubts but they didn't say anything. Chresanto had gotten me a new phone. There were already contact in there. His mom, his dad, his sister and some friends of his. I added my own contacts in there also. It was a nice iPhone 5. He also got a nice case for it. He says I seem clumsy so he bought a tough one.
"Akira," I heard from the other side of the bathroom door. It was Ashley. I was curling my hair as the door slowly opened.
"Hey," She said poking her head in. Her hairstyle was different than always. She had a high ponytail of her head and she wore bright red lipstick.
"Chresanto said that he left his briefcase on the kitchen counter. He needs you to bring it to him at work. Oh, and also you're meeting Sally today...so dress well." Was all she said before shutting the door. I stood there a bit frozen. Sally? The lady we're trying to prove all this to? He told me about her and how she doesn't think he can run eHarmony. Well, If you ask me I would say she's correct. Chresanto can't even go a day without insulting me...I doubt he can run eHarmony.
I was suppose to be meeting her today? He didn't even warn me! I was planning on getting something to eat. Great, my plans are ruined. I went on doing my hair and I rushed back to my bedroom to find something to wear.
He wants me to dress well. Umm, what would he want me to wear? I walked towards the closet scanning through the many clothes that he had gotten for me. Most of these I haven't worn and i don't think I ever will. I picked out the nice black full sleeve peplum dress. It fit my body very well, showing my curves.
I stared at myself in the mirror for a bit, giving myself complements. I found some nice red heels which were a bit higher than I'm used to. After walking around in the shoes, getting used to them my phone rang. I rushed over to my bed, plopping down on the bed before picking it up to see that it was Chresanto calling.
"Hello?" I said putting the phone to my ear.
"Are you coming? I really do need my briefcase you know." He hissed. I rolled my eyes, mentally sighing.
"Yes, I'm on my way." I muttered a bit irritated.
"Good. Also make sure you're dressed really nicely. No jeans." He grumbled.
The line went dead and I flung my phone onto the bed. My hair was in nice big curls so that was done with. I put in some nice pearl earrings and walked back into the bathroom, my heels clicking against the tile floor. I put on some bright red lipstick and some eye liner. That was it. I'm done. I stared at myself in the mirror, a bit surprised. I looked so...classy. Not that I didn't look classy before, but that kind of classy where the person is just radiating with wealth. I took a long pause, holding my breath for a bit.
I exhaled slowly and nodded my head.
"Let's do this Akira." I said to myself. I plowed my way out the bathroom and down the stairs, being cautious with the heels. I went down to the living room, expecting to see Ashley...but she was gone. I huffed, a bit angry.
How am I suppose to get to his job if I don't know where it is. I made my way to the kitchen, grabbing the briefcase, noticing the small sticky note on it. I peeled it off and read the familiar handwriting. It was the address to his corporate building. I grabbed the car keys and walked out the door to the car.
the drive there wasn't long at all. A few stop lights and a couple turns. Before I knew it I was there. I parked the car in the nice garages they had for employees. I took my seat belt off, taking his briefcase from the passengers seat. I was sluggish with the whole thing. I wasn't gonna rush myself for him so, I kept my normal pace. I shut the drivers side door and locked the car before heading off. I stopped myself, realising I left my phone in the car.
I wasn't go back for it. I kept walking, my eyes clicking and echoing through the whole place. As i made it to the front of the building I couldn't help but look up at it. Whoa, there must be a bunch of floors. I entered the place, seeing that I was in the lobby. A man stood there at the front desk. He was hispanic and looking down at something on his desk. That was till he noticed me. His eyes widen and a smile pulled at the corner of his lips. I suddenly became giddy and shy.
"How can I help you?" He asked as his eyes scanned over my whole body.
"I'm here to bring my fiance his briefcase." I said sheepishly. I nearly cringed at the word. Fiance. It doesn't feel right saying it. I watched the smile drop from his face and he looked away from me for a moment before staring at me again.
"Your fiance is..." He said urging me to go on.
"Chresanto." I answered trivially.
"Oh," was all he could say. He nodded his head slowly looking down at something on his desk yet again.
"He said you would be coming, he's on the top floor." He paused for moment, "May I say he is lucky to have such a lovely lady like you." All I could do was nod and smile.
"Right." I spoke under my breath as I walked towards the elevator.
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