The Ultimate Ex-wife

He's Trouble

Emilia

I couldn’t believe my ears.

I couldn’t stop the smile that stretched my lips either.

Enzo wanted me to be his wife? All the while that I’d been trying to get his attention, he had actually noticed me?

It almost felt like a miracle. The way that his proposal had come at a time when my family was at their lowest. It felt almost too good to be true, which was why I was suspicious about it.

“Are you sure that he wasn’t forced into this marriage? Because Enzo had never indicated any form of interest in this family for the longest time. Why now?” I asked suspiciously.

“It’s just heaven’s way of hearing our prayers, my dear,” my mother said, coming to stand beside me. “Don’t think about it too much and prepare yourself for the engagement party tomorrow”

My brows raised. “Engagement party? Tomorrow? At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if you tell me that the wedding has been fixed for Saturday.”

Their silence told me everything that I needed to know. They had practically organized my wedding behind me and without my permission. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mother told me that she had already picked out a wedding dress for me as well.

“You can’t make those kinds of decisions without informing me first. It’s my life we’re talking about here.”

“But you’ve liked Enzo for so long” my mother chipped in.

“That doesn’t matter.” I sighed. “It just would have been nicer if he had proposed to me formally. This isn’t the medieval age. It’s the twenty-first century”

“Just see this as a stepping stone to our company’s restoration. And you get to kill two birds with one stone. You get Enzo as a husband, and we get our company flourishing again”

The more my parents tried to convince me about Enzo’s pure intentions, the more suspicious I got. Everything felt like it was happening too fast. Who the hell proposes to a woman this minute and has the engagement party the next minute?

But even at that, I couldn’t deny that their points were valid. It wouldn’t hurt me to just go along with whatever they had planned out for me.

***************

It was the day of the engagement party, and I could hear the hustle and bustle going down the mansion. My mother had thought that it would be a great idea for it to take place in our home so that the entire family would get to bond.

The red, flowy dress that she insisted that I wear lay on my bed, flanked by a clutch purse, and a four-inch red bottoms. Since I wasn’t so tall, I decided to wear something that would at least bring me up to Enzo’s height.

“Are you almost done, mimma? Enzo is almost here and the guests have arrived.” My mother shouted from the door as she knocked simultaneously, trying to open it.

“I’m almost done, mamma. Give me a few minutes” I shouted back.

I sighed deeply when I heard her retreating footsteps. I rubbed my clammy hands together, beads of perspiration suddenly forming on my nose. For a reason that I couldn’t explain, I was nervous as hell. Maybe it was because I was finally going to come face to face with Enzo as his fiancée.

Moving to the mirror, I wiped the sweat off my nose and appraised my features. There was no doubt that I was a vision of effortless grace. My skin bore the natural undertones of sun-kissed honey, with a natural glow that seemed to catch the light. I had all the right curves in all the right places, and my face card was a ten.

“You’ve got this, Emilia Romano,” I said to the reflection in the mirror. “You’re too pretty to be this nervous”

With that in mind, I started to dress up. I applied light makeup as I wasn’t in the mood for a full glam, and then wore my best fragrance. I didn’t bother looking in the mirror when I finished because I knew that I looked good.

Stepping down to the hall, I was greeted with overly loud music and boisterous laughter. My home felt like a den of strangers because I could barely recognize the hundreds of faces drinking and laughing.

Who were all of these people?

Before I could take everything into account and settle down, someone tapped a spoon against their glass. I looked and saw that it was my father with a proud look on his face.

“Today, we’re here to witness a great fusion between two great jewelry brands which will be cemented by the marriage of Enzo Lombardo, to my sweet daughter, Emilia Romano”

An applause erupted from the crowd and went on for over a few seconds. When it died down, my father continued. “I want us to raise a toast to this newfound partnership, and to the love and happiness of the new home of these youngsters in love”

The scattered applause came again after they all raised their glasses. My eyes scanned the area, looking for the one person who was supposed to find me tonight. But he was nowhere around.

Was he trying to abandon me even before the start of our marriage?

A waiter passed and I grabbed two glasses of champagne, downing one immediately while I held onto the other. I was still looking around when I heard a voice behind me.

“You look lost”

I jumped, my action causing the wine to spill on the area around my cleavage, down to my body. I spun around immediately, ready to give whoever had the audacity to sneak up on me like that a piece of my mind, but the words died in my throat immediately I saw him.

Enzo Lombardo, exactly as I remember him. In fact, I think he looked even hotter than the last time I saw him. More muscular, more toned, and more blazing hot.

Dark, neatly combed hair framed his face with just the right amount of disheveled strands to suggest that he hadn’t spent too much time fussing over it. His jawline was chiseled and had a hint of stubble, adding a rugged edge to his polished appearance. His high cheekbones and aristocratic nose gave him a timeless handsomeness, but it was his eyes that captivated me the most. They were intense and smoldering, so blue that it was almost cold.

“Did you… want to say something?” he prompted, his icy glare on me.

I looked up at him, the height difference so much despite the fact that I had my heels on. “You made me spill wine all over me. You should apologize”

He snickered, “You want me to apologize for your clumsiness?”

“It wasn’t my clumsiness. It was your fault. You should take responsibility for your actions”

“Then I’m afraid that this might be a long night. If you’re this clumsy before marriage, I wonder how you would be after marriage. You’d probably be a burden who wouldn’t make a difference in my life. But then again, I was told by a little birdie that I should be thankful that I’m marrying the daughter of the one and only Hugo who I have never met in my life. Isn’t that lovely?” he said, laughing sarcastically.

So he hadn’t noticed me all these while? Or was he just pretending not to remember that we’ve crossed paths a few times?

“Don’t you remember me from any part of your life at all?”

“Am I supposed to remember you? I really do not put irrelevant things to mind, sweetheart. But I can tell you that you look better in real life than in those pictures that your father sent.”

Now I was starting to get pissed. “Is that all you can say to a girl you proposed marriage to?”

“What would you have me say?” he stepped closer, closing the distance between us. He was so close that I could smell the musky scent of his perfume and his aftershave. “Would you rather have me say that I’m sorry I made you spill your wine…” his gaze dropped to my cleavage and he raised a hand, slowly wiping the already dried wine on my breasts, “…right here?”

I swallowed. Hard.

I could tell that this man was trouble. With the way that my heart was beating ferociously, even with his cold and sadistic attitude, I knew that I was in for a ride. One that I had the chance to get off on and tu

rn back, but I stubbornly wanted to see the end.