Chapter – 17

The Cortez estate glowed like it was Christmas again. The exterior expanse of the mansion and garden was decorated with lights. Bouquets made of natural flowers decorated every corridor. Unlike the exterior, the decorations inside were minimal. However, the grand interior design compensated for the lack of other items, and the fragrance of the flowers made the environment pleasant.

Boxer stayed by my side as I ambled my way through the staff, buzzing with activities. Orlando asked if I could dog-sit for a night, and I agreed. The men were at the guest house celebrating Enrique’s last night as a bachelor. They whisked Enrique away, claiming he shouldn’t see the bride until tomorrow.

“Arianna, did you see my daughter?” Chiara’s mom inquired when we bumped into each other.

“She’s with the girls.”

“Oh, she’s not answering her phone. I’m heading out with her dad. His brother and family are arriving tonight. Please look after her for me, will you? She’s so nervous.” Her face was full of concern for her daughter, and it made me wish my mom was like that.

“Skyler snatched her phone when she wouldn’t stop checking it. Don’t worry, Chiara is our responsibility.”

“Thank you so much, sweetie. I knew I could rely on you. By the way, how do I look?” She patted her hair, which was held up in a neat bun, giving her an elegant yet formal look. She wore a knee-length dress with a high neckline that snuggled against her lithe figure.

“You look perfect as always, Camilla.”

She let out a relieved breath before hugging me. “Thank God. Did I tell you my mother-in-law is also coming with them?” she whispered. “I swear the old goat never liked me. She always found reasons to degrade me in front of the rest of the family.”

“You are gorgeous, Camilla. If she can’t see that, perhaps she should get her eyes checked.” Chiara’s mom still looked young, with olive skin similar to Chiara’s. There was always a smile on her face, which added a crown to her naturally beautiful look. Her insecurity surprised me. I wondered why her family didn’t come earlier. Now it appeared they didn’t have a good relationship.

Camilla beamed. “You are such a sweetheart. I’m glad Chi has friends like you with her.” She checked her watch. “I have to go. Chi’s father isn’t a patient man, especially when his family is involved.”

“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Camilla hurried outside, and I ventured back toward my room. Chiara said she didn’t want a bachelorette party and she’d rather spend her time with us. While they could’ve gone somewhere else for their honeymoon, Chiara preferred to spend it here, so there wasn’t much for us to do.

Suddenly, I was pulled into a room and pinned against a wall. “Orlando!” It had become a habit of his. While I hated being surprised, I thought it was romantic. Though Orlando said he wasn’t ready to offer me more, his actions proved otherwise. My logical side reminded me that I could be misreading the signs, but who could blame me? Wouldn’t any girl react this way when her crush finally paid attention to her? I could only hope this worked for us.

His chuckle warmed my insides, and his hands caressed my length. “You shouldn’t be here.” This would lead to my own doom, I knew, but I couldn’t control my galloping heart. No expectations. The warning went out the window when that mischievous look covered his face again.

“It’s not like I’m the one getting married.” He shrugged.

“You should be with Enrique.”

“He’s nervous.”

We were distracted by a sudden commotion outside. “What’s that?”

“Don’t know.” Orlando frowned, and we rushed out.

The security guards were removing the servants from the living area, and I tensed, seeing Enrique on his knees before Chiara, who was on the verge of tears. What’s going on?

“Trust me, please. This isn’t true.”

“Did you meet her?”

“I did,” Enrique said and quickly added, “Babe, it’s not what you think.”

“What do I think, Enrique?”

“Please let me explain. Nothing happened that day. I never touched another woman; please trust—”

Chiara raised her hand, stopping him in mid-sentence. “It’s you who don’t trust me, Enrique.”

“What? No. No, I—”

She stopped him again. “If you trusted my love for you, you wouldn’t be here begging for me to trust you.”

“Babe…”

“I know these photos are perfectly timed to make you look guilty.”

Rosie handed us the photographs in question, and we looked at them. Whoa! Enrique appeared to be kissing another woman, and in one photo, it appeared as if he was molesting her, while in truth, he was pushing her away. I vaguely remember Mike telling us about an incident involving a crazy stalker ex. Is that her?

Enrique sobbed with relief and pulled her into his embrace. “I’m sorry. She showed up in the office with her friend and demanded I give her two minutes.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t think it was important at the time. She said she’s moving to Washington to be close to her parents. Then she moved to kiss my cheek, and then…then they left.”

Chiara nodded, and the tension in the room diffused a little. “Never, ever hide something like this from me again.”

“I won’t.”

Orlando clutched my hand, and I squeezed it reassuringly. When his gaze met mine, it conveyed things words couldn’t explain. I was glad Enrique and Chiara sorted it out quickly. The trust she had for him was heart-warming.

“All right, enough for the night, ladies and gentlemen. It’s time to get the bride and groom to their separate rooms.” Jeff clapped his hands. “Enrique, buddy, if you had to see her, all you had to do is say so, or maybe you could’ve sneaked in. There’s no need for all this.”

I chuckled. Jeff had a way with his words, and he was the worst joker ever.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Orlando whispered in my ear before dragging Enrique away.

“I admire your love for each other,” I said to Chiara while hugging her.

“Thank you.”

“And wanna tell me what you were doing with Orlando?” Rosie nudged my ribs.

“Not now.” I hushed her, making everyone laugh. “Let’s get the bride to bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

***

Brian Schultz

“What’s this?” I was taken aback by Alana’s new look. For a moment, I thought it was her.

“I changed my hair color,” Alana said. “I want you to love me the way you love her.” She sniffled. “I don’t care, even if I have to change who I am. I’ll do anything for you, Brian.”

Anger flared in my veins. They always looked alike and even used the same brand perfume. You couldn’t tell them apart. However, when Arianna posted the photo on I*******m, it was clear she was moving on. She changed her look. Why would Alana want to look like her?

I shook my head. “I can’t believe this.” At least with her old style, I pretended she was Arianna. “I don’t like this look on you.”

“But I saw you staring at her photo. Isn’t this what you wanted? I don’t get it, Brian. Before you left for our business trip, all you did was try to change her to be like me. You almost succeeded in it. What’s the issue now? You still get us both. I have the perfect qualities to be your socialite wife, and now I have her looks. What more do you need?”

I covered my face with my hands, counting back from ten. It was sick. But she also made me realize what I was doing with Arianna. Instead of accepting her for who she was, I tried to change her into someone else. Though I despised what Alana said, I couldn’t deny the truth.

“Don’t do anything like this again,” I warned. “It makes me sick to my stomach.”

“Brian!”

I turned to look at her. This was one of the rare times she showed her real emotions.

“Why am I not enough?”

“You know the answer perfectly well, Alana. Go ahead and change everything that’s you. Get painted from head to toe. But that won’t change you into her. She’s the real deal. You…will never be her.”

And my own words made me realize one thing. Arianna wouldn’t have stayed the same either. It wasn’t who she was. What a fool I was.

“I agree. I’ll never be what she was,” Alana hissed behind me. “I’ll never party hard or fuck every guy I see.”

Her words caught me off guard. I had to clench my jaw to stay quiet. I had seen her party pictures. Isn’t that why I tried to talk her out of it?

“You see, Brian, she’ll never be me. You were a fool to even think she’d be your perfect wife. She’ll never give up her partying ways. You’d have always been her third wheel. She was using you to hurt me, Brian. How can you not see that? She never loved you!”

Without another word, I slammed the door behind me and left. My conversation with Arianna over I*******m surfaced in my memory. Her mocking words hit me harder this time. She’d said she was living her life. She kept addressing me as a brother-in-law, rubbing it in my face.

When we returned from our business trip, I wanted to apologize to Arianna and break up with her. But then, I saw the photos and was furious with her for leading a double life. I knew Arianna liked to party. I’d seen her twerk in the club with her friends. We even had a fight over her behavior. I thought she stopped going to clubs after that.

Fuck!

I hit the steering wheel. I’d been sitting in this car for a while now. I had pulled the car in one of the empty parking lots since I couldn’t concentrate on the road anymore. Why does my life have to be so complicated? Then, another thing surprised me. Arianna and I never got intimate. She’d always stop me if I got bolder while kissing her. She never allowed me to touch her in an inappropriate manner.

But I recognized one of the photos where she was showing her ass to the camera, barely clad in a thong. If that wasn’t enough, now, while the family prepared for the wedding, she was out there partying with the Cortez men. How did she know the Cortez men? My anger turned toward her friend Rosalinda. She must’ve introduced them. Yeah, that must be it.

The photos on their I*******m account went up shortly after their trip began, and I’d been following them religiously. Arianna appeared smiling in all the photos, and one photo—the one with Enrique Cortez, the notorious playboy—didn’t sit well with me. It was clear they weren’t the only men on the island. Their accounts were littered with photos of shirtless guys.

Alana wanted to get married there, but the requests were declined despite our offer to pay double. Now, it all made sense. Arianna would’ve stopped it. We weren’t aware of her connection with the Cortez family until recently. Anger flared when I thought about Arianna now. While my mind said Arianna was innocent, I couldn’t help but realize it didn’t take long for her to jump into another man’s bed.

My phone blared. “Hello.”

“Brian, where are you? You’re late again,” my father complained.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” I disconnected the call. With a shaking breath, I started the car. Alana was right. Arianna was using me to get to her. She would never be the wife I wanted. No one in our social circle would accept or respect her. Meeting her and falling in love with her was a mistake.