Page 54 of Consequence of One Reckless Night

“He is a good man, your husband.”

Raquel tore her eyes off Alexandre and looked at the nun who came to sit beside her on the stone bench. A group of little girls played with the orange gulmohar flowers which littered the ground, all under the watchful eye of Sister Clarice who looked curiously at her.

“I call him our patron saint,” Sister Clarice said affectionately, and Raquel knew immediately that the older woman admired Alexandre. “He’s eagerandwilling to help us. No matter what our needs are, Alexandre is always ready to help. But money isn't everything, you know. These children appreciate the time he spends with them.”

Raquel sat in silent awe as the nun continued to speak highly of Alexandre.

“I’ve prayed for him to find a good woman for years, and God has finally answered my prayers.” The elderly woman searched her face—accessing her.

Raquel didn’t know how to respond to the nun’s comment, so she smiled.

“You are good for him. He looks happy, and content.”

“He seems happy with the children,” Raquel replied, glancing at Alexandre when a loud cheer announced the scoring of a goal.

“He is always happy with the children, but that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh.” Her attention returned to the matronly woman who was watching her closely.

“It is obvious you care for him.”

“He is a good man,” she answered, blushing.

Sister Clarice nodded. “Yes. And I can see you are a good woman. He deserves a woman like you. Someone to love him, and care for him.”

Love?

Raquel frowned. “But Alexandre doesn’t need love.”

The nun clucked her tongue. “Everyone needs love, especially Alexandre who’s never had it in his life.”

Curious to know what Sister Clarice meant by that statement, she asked, “Have you known him long?”

“Yes, since he came to live on the island at the age of twelve,” the nun said. “He was such a good boy but confused and lost. Abandoned by his mother and unloved by his father, he’s craved love ever since. And you—” the sister looked pointedly at her, “—are the answer to his prayers.”

“I don’t think my husband is a praying man,” Raquel replied.

“Prayers come in various forms,” the nun remarked. “Often, the most sincere and powerful prayers are wordless. If someone doesn't visit church, it doesn't mean he does not pray. Look at him.”

She had no recourse but to follow the nun’s instruction.

“Alexandre comes here because he knows what these children experience. He feels their pain—their loss. And he desires to be loved, just as much as these children want to be loved. Like them, he too is lonely and craves human affection.”

Ashamed that she was quick to judge her husband, Raquel looked away. But she acknowledged the nun’s words.

Although Alexandre had never told her about his past, she knew there were things about his childhood which bothered him. He was tight-lipped about his past, and guarded his emotions closely, never letting anyone see the real man behind the sybarite tycoon that everyone knew him to be.

“Our relationship... it didn’t start the conventional way,” she confessed to the nun.

“I know. I was shocked by the news of your wedding, like everyone else. But I see it as God’s plan.”

Raquel deceived her fiancé, shamed her family when she’d slept with Alexandre, surely it wasn't God’s plan—or was it?

“I can see that you are falling in love with him.”

A choked gasp escaped Raquel as her eyes flew to the nun, who watched her with knowing eyes.

“Although,” the older woman muttered, “you don’t seem to have realized it yourself.”

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