#Chapter 50 – He Loves Me.
#Chapter 50 – He Loves Me…
Stella
What if she needs it? She could die, Stella, Adrian’s words float through my mind like a pest that won’t leave me alone. A scoff leaves my mouth as I adjust my dress.
What if I could die, Adrian? After all of the surgeries you have put me through, my health has deteriorated. Evaporated before my eyes and has left me reeling in its wake.
It is because of him that I am like this. A shell of the woman I used to be. It makes me angry and mourn the life I should have had.
I stare at myself in the mirror, my eyes moving towards scars that sit on the inside of my arm. The various points in which the hospital has drawn my blood, sucking away my life force one vial at a time.
I flatten out the wrinkles of my dress. The material is smooth and soft against my skin. The silk makes feel like I am in the ocean with the water slipping over my skin.
My hands tremble at my sides, just another sign of how much I am dreading this dinner.
How can I sit there and pretend that everything is okay? That Adrian and I are still a young couple in love who have never been riddles with problems and underlying angst?
How can I sit beside his mother and pretend that her son didn’t sign a consent form that would have killed me and given my heart to his actual beloved?
The dark blue silk catches the light and compliments the diamond ring that sits on my finger. The combination looks elegant, helping me fulfill the part as Adrian’s loving and forever doting wife.
The thought makes me nauseous.
I grab my clutch handbag and turn around, slipping on a pair of simple high heels before making my way to the door. I sigh and push some of my hair behind my ear, looking around for my hotel key card before I leave. Once I locate it, I open the hotel door, pushing it open.
Before me stands Adrian. He wears a navy suit, the shade just a tinge lighter than mine, and his dress shirt is a perfect white color. Our eyes meet and our bodies go still.
Neither of us talks. We take in the other person’s appearance, memorizing the details before our eyes connect again.
“You look…beautiful,” Adrian clears his throat. I fight back the urge to blush, killing the warmth that threatens to spill onto my cheeks.
“Thank you” I breathe out.
I step outside my room and close the door behind me, the door automatically locking behind me. Adrian steps to the side, his emerald green eyes venturing across my body. It makes me feel small yet appreciated at the same
time.
“Shall we?” Adrian asks. I nod.
Our journey to the restaurant is one made in silence. We do not speak. We walk in a timid silence, one that we have surely both grown comfortable with over the years.
As soon as we step foot into the restaurant, the two of us join arms and plaster plastic smiles onto our faces, not wanting Lilian to see through our charade that we have so meticulously put up for her.
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#Chapter 50 He Loves Me…
Adrian guides us to a table where his mother sits. She moves to stand but we wave her down. Adrian pulls out my chair and I sit down, watching him take his place out of the corner of my eye.
“You two are such a handsome couple,” Lilian comments with a smile. Adrian and I share a glance.
If only she knew the truth.
“I ordered you two some wine,” Lilian adds, “I got red for you, Stella, since it is your favorite.”
I can feel Adrian tense up beside me. I glance over at him and hold back a small smile, knowing that the fact that his mother knows my preference when he didn’t must be eating him alive.
Adrian places his hands on the table. His fists are balled up and I can feel the frustration radiating off of his body. Like the good wife I am, and since a fragment of my heart still belongs to him, I reach out and place my hand on top of his.
Adrian’s eyes move to mine. Inside his gaze sits a question. It is one that I don’t know if I can truly answer for him.
Is this real? It’s cruel if it isn’t.
The dinner moves on slowly. The three of us share a few laughs as Lilian reminisces about Adrian as a child. She even mentions the first time we met as kids, making a note that she always knew Adrian would fall for me.
“How did you know?” I ask and lean forward. Lilian takes her fork and swipes a piece of her chocolate cake off of her plate.
“You were always the sweetest and kindest girl, Stella,” she compliments, “the way you looked at him was full of so much love. I just knew that one day, he’d wake up and smell the roses of your love.”
Adrian and I fall silent. We turn to each other, sharing another look but inside our gazes sits something left unanswered, something left unsaid.
Is it unrequited love on my part? Does Adrian have the guts to tell his mother that he loves the other sister, not the one who wears the wedding ring on her finger? I’ll let her coward of a son be the one to break the devastating news to her.
“Well,” Lilian stands and we follow suit, “I think I’m going to take my leave and give you two lovebirds a chance to be alone.”
“Would you like us to take you back to your room?” Adrian asks, ready to move forward and aid his mother.
“Oh, heavens no! I can take care of myself, Adrian. Please enjoy yourselves. I will see you two tomorrow!” Lilian
exclaims.
And with that, she leaves.
I sit back down in my chair, grabbing the glass of red wine. I finish the contents with one final gulp, placing it back down onto the table with an angered thud. Adrian settles in beside me, staring at the side of my face.
This situation feels oddly familiar but everything is reversed. When we went to his mother, I was the one gazing at him. Now, his mother has left us and he is the one looking at me.
“You’re staring, I comment, turning my face to look at him. My face remains blank, the constant reminder of what Adrian has done to me floating through my mind.
Adrian diverts his gaze and nods towards the large window that sits behind us. I turn and look out at the beautiful night scenery.
“The moon is pretty,” Adrian sighs. I nod in agreement. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”
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#Chapter 50 – He Loves Me
+25 BONUS
My head snaps to look at hitn. He wears a lazy smile on his face, one that I have only seen in the early days of our marriage when we were still in the honeymoon phase.
My mouth goes dry, my mind running a mile a minute. My body warms from irritation and confusion. I glare at him, narrowing my eyes in an attempt to figure out his twisted and cruel motives.
Why is he being so…nice to me? It’s confusing and is, quite frankly, really irritating.
He is always so hot and cold with me. I have never been able to keep up with his mood and temper.
“No, that’s okay,” I turn my gaze away. I place my fingers on the stem of the wine glass, twirling it around.
Adrian stands and I feel a weight be lifted off of my shoulders. My victory is short lived when he takes the glass from my hand and slips his fingers between mine. He helpsine up from my chair and takes my clutch in his other hand.
“Come on,” his voice soothes my nerves. “It will be nice.”
I stare at our connected hands.
My mind screams at me to run away, to abandon the sinking ship before I’m dragged under. My heart, though, races inside my chest, and pushes me to go with him.
My eyes move back to his. With one single nod, Adrian tugs my hand, pulling me away from the restaurant and towards the beach.
C
#Chapter 51 He Loves Me Not
