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1128 Words
Perhaps it was time to show Ian that I would be a great contract fiancée, and later, a wife. What the hell was happening?
I received a light hug from her, feeling terrible because suddenly, I was lying to an entire family. They seemed genuinely happy. Unable to avoid it any longer, and feeling the little girl release my hand, I raised my gaze to Ian.
Jesus!
He looked incredulous, and I was even more so.
I found myself placing a hand on my belly and walking toward him, telling myself that at some point, everything would become clear. Lying to everyone would be straightforward somehow.
"Hi, cowboy," I said, and I felt the exact moment when his hand stopped at my waist.
I couldn't call him by his usual nickname, could I?
Suddenly, I found something in his gaze: disbelief. I brought my lips to his, and for the brief moment they touched, I almost lost myself in the role.
I lowered my hand to his chest and smiled, pretending that it was the happiest day of my life. "Sorry for the delay," I announced, not knowing what to do in the face of everyone's silence, as they seemed to analyze every move we made.
My gaze landed on Ian's father, who maintained an open smile, as if it were indeed the best day of his life. What was happening here? Suddenly, was I the perfect pawn in a game? Maybe I really was the perfect choice for him?
"Finally, little brother," I felt Jean almost jump onto his older brother's back, making me stagger along with him, and I hoped I wouldn't get dizzy there. Everyone applauded, and I smiled as if I understood the joke. Maybe I was the joke? "Welcome, pretty sis-in-law."
Jean pulled me towards him, and I went along, not really knowing how everything was happening. It just... was happening. The look Ian gave me said it all, and suddenly, I could read him completely.
You're going to explain everything step by step, you little f*****g liar.
I was screwed ... engaged and... pregnant ... Could he read that in my eyes?
**
Daniela twirled around me, making me smile with every step she took. Suddenly, Sunday lunch was gone, and even though I ate basically nothing, because I could suddenly stop in some bathroom and spill it all out, and reveal to everyone that I was pregnant, fortunately, our son didn't seem to want to cause alarm. , at least, not there. And luckily, I hadn't had that many vomiting episodes so far. I hoped it would stay that way.
— Leave your new aunt alone, Dani. — Ian said, and I looked at him as if ready to attack him. However, when he approached, crouched in front of his niece, and she smiled completely enchanted at him, I fell silent. — Little brat. — picked her up, and threw her up, as if she weighed nothing. The girl laughed, and for the first time in years, I saw Ian smile broadly. As if... As if that was him?
Could I already blame hormones for seeing things?
— Your mother wants to take you to the horses, what do you think? — he asked, and the little girl just jumped off his lap and ran towards the kitchen. She should head towards the garden, where everyone was still there. He didn't know how, but he managed to get out of there, in front of all the smiles, and just play with Daniela, hidden. I wouldn't be able to sustain the smile for that long. I was...exhausted. - Steps. — Ian nodded, and I thought about responding, but I needed a moment with him.
I needed something beyond the grotesque acting we did. Holding hands on the table, as if
belonged . From the glimpses of his smile in my direction. From my forced and passionate smile at him. I took a deep breath and practically ran up the stairs. I found myself standing in the hallway, and something came to mind. As if the memory of that night, or at least the next day, leaving the room, reminded me of the exact door to the room.
I saw myself entering the door at the end of the corridor, and suddenly, we were there – in the same room. I heard the exact moment he closed the door behind him and I was hanging on by a thread. I swallowed hard and tried to find the words. It was enough to say two, but they didn't come out. I needed my son's safety, and that he would have something. And suddenly, I just found myself accepting everything.
— I'll sign the papers. — I said, turning around, and noticing his inspecting gaze. — I'm going to be your wife, and I... I just need the guarantee that as soon as the lands are mine, at the end of the contract, you will buy them for yourself.
It was my plan. It was my getaway car.
Maybe bad, but that's what it was. That money would guarantee me, and my son, for a long time after the separation. Even though he had a rich father, I didn't know what to expect.
So, as the insurance was old, I preferred not to risk it. I would have a year to be able to have a good job and support myself, in addition, a guarantee for my son to have a good life after marriage. A great life, who knows.
Was it a bad idea?
— Are you telling me that I'm going to buy the land, pass it into your name, and then buy it from you? — he asked, as if testing his words, and I just found myself nodding at the mess. — Why do you need so much money at the end of the contract? — I... — I blinked a few times, not knowing what to say.
— Why are you accepting this proposal? The last few times, he seemed to want to die rather than marry me.
- Things have changed. — I replied, and raised my chin. —
Then?
— Why, Maria Beatriz? — he asked, taking a step forward, and suddenly, having him around me made me even more lost and on the point of throwing everything into the air. — It's clear there's a reason.
In my ideal fairy tale, I would have prepared a surprise. In my ideal cliché, I would be with people we loved around, witnessing everything. But there, in reality, I just found myself looking at the man I had been exchanging barbs with my whole life, and in the end, I barely knew. And he was the father of my son.
- Writer
