Part 79

79

"Beautiful," Vano praised silently as he tidied Alexa's hair. He really didn't expect to choose Alexa as a replacement for Celine. The feelings he had for Celine disappeared completely when he was preoccupied with Alexa.

A girl who was so stubborn and untouchable. However, since he could touch Alexa's lips, until now Vano couldn't forget how sweet and warm his wife's lips were. So Vano's fingers moved to gently touch Alexa's slightly open lips, as she was sound asleep.

"Van," Alexa mumbled as Vano leaned closer, wanting to touch her lips with his.

"Lex, be quiet. Celine is here," Vano said, holding Alexa's hand that was trying to push his chest. It was a golden opportunity, but Alexa was startled, and Celine was passing by, standing in front of the car. So Vano used this moment to avoid Alexa's anger and convince Celine that they were indeed married.

"But can't we just pretend, Van?" Alexa whispered nervously. Even being close to Vano was unsettling, and now they were even closer. So it was natural that Alexa felt more nervous in this situation.

"No. You just relax." Vano gave Alexa's lips a quick kiss. Afterward, he got out of the car and opened the door for his wife. Extending his hand, welcoming Alexa out of the car.

Alexa was genuinely embarrassed by her own actions. Both of her cheeks were flushed because of what Vano had done.

"Van, you're finally home. Quickly tell me if this smelly girl is just a relative, a friend, or a paid wife!"

Celine pointed to Alexa, who was standing next to Vano.

"No, she's my wife. Why?"

"It's impossible. You would never be able to forget me."

"Who said that? I've already forgotten that we ever had a relationship. If it weren't for Daddy's insistence, I'm sure we would have ended it long before our wedding plans were made."

"That's not true." Celine reached for Vano's neck. Fast and unstoppable, her lips touched Vano's.

Vano quickly pushed Celine away. "You're crazy! Don't you see my wife is here? How could you..."

Vano swallowed his words when Alexa grabbed his wrist and tiptoed. Sealing Vano's lips with hers, just like he did when they were at the hospital.

"No need to erase it with your hand. I'll do it for you." Alexa wiped the wet traces from Vano's lips. Then, she turned and stared sharply at Celine. "Please, could you understand? Vano is my husband. What more proof do you need? Should Vano and I sleep in front of you..."

"No need for that. Tomorrow, come with me to the hospital. I will check you. Have you been used by Vano or not. If you refuse, that means you're just a fake husband and wife."

"W-what?" Alexa panicked on her own because of her actions.

"How can we do it if Celine asks me to do that? Of course, she can see that we're just acting. What should I do to make her believe in all our words?" Alexa complained, following behind Vano.

She was panicking because she had successfully provoked Celine's emotions, prompting her to demand a test tomorrow morning. She, who had never touched a man, certainly had a perfect body.

"I'm confused too. If we don't comply, I'm sure she will continue to harass you. I don't want her to interfere with your work at the hospital. I'll ask Daddy about this later, what should we do. Maybe Daddy and Mama have the best advice for both of us."

Vano rubbed Alexa's head, trying to calm her down so she wouldn't be too panicked in facing Celine. Who was Celine, anyway? She was nobody to Vano, which meant she wouldn't affect their lives in any way. “Lalu besok apa yang harus aku lakukan?”

“Don't worry. You don't have to do anything. Just let Celine make all the noise she wants. At most, tomorrow I'll take you to the hospital and make sure you're doing well there.”

“So, where will I sleep then?” Alexa asked before Vano headed toward the stairs.

“Why are you still asking where you'll sleep? You are my wife, so you'll sleep with me on the top floor.”

"B-but didn't Sis Chelsea say that..." Alexa hung her words, grimacing at the thought of sharing a room with Vano, even though Chelsea had said she could choose any room to stay in.

“For tonight, you can sleep in a room with me. Your stuff has all been arranged in my room. Tomorrow, you can choose which room you want to stay in and rearrange your belongings.”

"My stuff?" Alexa's eyes widened. "S-so all my stuff has been brought here?"

Vano nodded. "Of course. Daddy ordered his staff to pack up all your belongings until nothing was left in your boarding house."

"Well, in that case, I'll choose to sleep in the room down there. It's empty, right?"

“Well, not really, but there are still things from Mama's foster mother. It hasn't been cleaned up at all because we've been busy taking care of Mama at the hospital and dealing with Celine's father's case. So it's still very messy there, not properly managed. It's better for you to sleep with me upstairs. I promise not to touch you without your permission, and we can set up a partition to avoid any unwanted situations.”

"B-but I don't trust you, Van."

“You don't have to trust Vano, but you can trust Daddy and Mama. Vano won't touch you,” Carlos interjected. He appeared to have just come out of a room, holding an empty glass in his hand.

"Daddy isn't asleep yet?" Vano redirected their conversation.

“I was about to sleep, but I heard you two talking, so I woke up and Mama ordered me to get a glass of cold water.”

Carlos raised the empty glass in his hand. “Oh, by the way, you two there. You have to get up early tomorrow, right?”

Alexa shook her head. “Tomorrow, I can sleep as much as I want, Uncle, because it seems like I have the day off.”

“All right, then you rest. Tomorrow, you can tidy up a room for yourself. For now, rest with Vano.”

Alexa could only sigh deeply, agreeing with what Carlos had told her.

“Oh, Dad. Earlier, Alexa and I met Celine outside.”

“She has quite the courage to wait for you and Alexa to return home.”

“W-what do you mean, Dad?”

“Earlier, she came here and welcomed our return. She still questioned your relationship with Alexa. She even spied on where Alexa went when she left. You know, Celine knows if Alexa went back to her boarding house and not to this house, so she's convinced that you two have no relationship at all. And Daddy asked Celine to wait for you two to come home to see if what Daddy said was true.”

“It's no wonder she's still outside. Daddy knows, she even threatened Alexa.”

“How did she threaten her?”

“She said she didn't believe we were married and forced Alexa to take a test tomorrow morning to find out if she's still a virgin or not.”

“Oh my... What on earth is Celine made of to dare speak like that to Alexa? Is she that crazy about you that she won't accept your breakup? Even though she knows her father is the one who caused your mother's death.”