Page 2 of A Million Shades Of Love and Betrayal

“You left a handprint on my face,” I smiled, ignoring my stinging cheek. “I’m just returning it.”

“Fuck this!” He reached for his briefcase and pulled out a set of papers that almost brought me to tears. Divorce papers. My smile widened even more when he handed them to me with a pen. At least he saved me the trouble of going through the process myself.

“Thank you.” I took the papers, signed them, and shoved them into his waiting arms. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to finish my meal and then I’ll be out of your way.”

“I want your cheating ass out of this house right now.”

I ignored him, sat in my chair, and continued as if nothing happened. I was calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside, I was a mess, and I so badly wanted to cry. He was my first love, my husband, and now he was nothing to me.

“No can do, soon-to-be ex-husband,” I took a generous sip of the wine. “I spent hours on this meal. I’m damn well going to enjoy it. Unless you want me to report you to the police for domestic violence, then we’ll have guests to join us.” I set the glass down so I could have another mouthful of the pasta. “The more the merrier.”

He took a deep breath, eyes turned to the ceiling as if asking the Lord for strength. I seriously doubt the Lord would answer him after what he just did, but I kept that to myself. He finally cast a glare in my direction. “You better be gone by the time I get back.”

I shrugged, not giving him the satisfaction of a verbal response. He left the room, taking the divorce papers with him.

With no one here to witness my downfall, I broke down, crying my heart out. I felt as if he had torn my heart from my chest and stomped on it repeatedly to make sure I was as broken as shattered glass. The sound of his car leaving the driveway widened the hole in my heart.

-2-

Rafael

“Rafael, this is serious. You can’t go on like this for much longer. You need to find a wife.”

I shrugged on my jacket, preparing to leave my impromptu interrogation session. When I agreed to have dinner with my parents, I made it clear I wasn’t about to entertain any conversation about my marital status. I should have known my mother wouldn’t have been able to adhere to that request, but it was surprising how easy it was for my father to agree with her.

For the last three years, my parents, mostly my mother, have made it their mission to constantly remind me I’m not getting any younger and I need to marry someone soon. The conversations have been mostly bearable, but when I turned twenty-eight, it caused a ripple effect that I could have never seen coming. Marriage was no longer an annoying topic I could easily ignore. Now it was a virus that had spread to my boardroom and even my board members were on edge.

“I don’t need to find a wife,” I spoke calmly, hoping they would listen to me for once. “Why are you guys so hellbent on marrying me off to someone?”

Dad sighed, his fingers running through his luscious brown hair. “It’s bigger than us now, Rafael. You’re almost thirty and you’re still a bachelor who picks up women, has casual hookups, and all your relationships end at the three-month mark.”

“So?” I shrugged, unable to deny any of what he said. “What does my dating have to do with the company?”

“It has everything to do with the company,” he continued. “The board doesn’t want a playboy running a multi-billion dollar company and neither do I. I hate to be the bearer of bad news son, but if you don’t find a wife by the end of the year, then they’re voting against you as the company's CEO.”

Voting against me? Everything he said sounded like a thinly veiled threat and, as much as I loved my father, I didn’t like feeling threatened. I held the majority shares in the company- a whopping forty percent. My parents owned fifteen percent each. That left thirty percent of the shares, which were spread out among the board. If they wanted to strip me of my position, they wouldn’t be able to do it without my parent’s consent, and by the way they’ve been pestering me, it was safe to assume that they were not on my side.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

They shared a look, one that screamed they would do whatever it took to make me obey them. “You know what we’re saying,” Mom spoke up. “I just hope you’ll play this smart and think about it. Would it be the worst thing in the world to settle down and start a family?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. She was right. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to settle down. I would say I’m almost ready to do just that. Almost. Having kids was an entirely different thing.

I left without another word. I mean, what could I have said? They’ve already made up their minds and while I could easily play on their emotions and get myself at least another year without them bothering me, I knew that wouldn’t be the case with the board. There’s no way I could sweet-talk them into giving me a break. All they cared about was the money rolling in and if my Playboy image affected that, they would gladly agree.

So, I was fucked either way.

I had toget married or risk being demoted.

I’ve spent years building the company into what it was. I’d rather be in a loveless marriage than move down the corporate food chain or have someone else reap the benefits.

With that being said, I pulled out my phone, about to call my best friend, when someone bumped into me, knocking the phone out of my hand. Slender arms immediately reached out to grab the phone mid-air, successfully saving it from plummeting to its death.

“I’m so sorry,” she rushed out, her silky blonde hair covering what I already knew were beautiful gems that could pierce through my soul. Time seemed to stand still as I processed my ever-troubled thoughts. Beautiful gems? For fuck's sake, when did I become a poet? And when was the last time a woman’s voice turned me on?

“Here,” she lifted her head, her beautiful long hair parted, allowing me the privilege of her stunning hazel eyes locked on me. “I’m sorry for bumping into you, but at least I saved your phone, right?”

I wanted to mumble a response, say anything to not appear as a robot, but I was frozen in place, unable to move.Her eyes drew me in, but it was the tears in them that made me pause. Even in this shitty lighting, I knew this wasn’t the first time I’d seen her. Although seeing her for the first time in person was unexpected, especially at this hour at night.

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