Chapter 5 By The Candlelight

“You seriously didn’t rent a whole island, did you?” Andrea asked. For such a pretend marriage, Sebastian seemed to be putting a lot of effort into it. Even she sometimes forgot about their contract with how ridiculously the Adams family has pampered her.

But the billionaire countered, “I know how you prefer privacy. With your busy schedule, I’m sure you haven’t had a good vacation in a while.” If it weren’t for the headsets blocking out the rotor noises, she wouldn’t have blushed at her husband’s statement.

The actress was still adjusting to the private Maldives island’s natural beauty when suddenly, the sound of the waves got drowned out by the ringing of Sebastian’s phone. “Damn it, I’ve only been gone for hours.” He faced his wife with an almost apologetic look. “I don’t know how long this call might take. You go on first.” Andrea’s heart sank as she watched him disappear into the sea of palm trees. “I should be getting used to seeing his back to me all the time.”

“Miss Scout!” Robert got out of the pilot’s seat before realizing his mistake. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Adams.”

“I hope you stop being so official with me, Robert,” Andrea pleaded. “Just call me Andy or Andrea”

“I’ll settle with Miss Andrea,” he replied with his usual smile. She hated to be reminded of who she was married to all the time. Especially since she knew that Sebastian wanted a different woman to be his Mrs. Adams.

Speaking of which, Andrea stopped right as Robert carried their bags to the secluded modern house. “By the way, do you know someone named Lilith?” She couldn’t control her curiosity. To be honest, it insulted her to be called that on her wedding day, even if she didn’t harbor feelings for the groom.

“I haven’t heard of that name for a long time. How’d you know about Lilith?” Thankfully, his boss wasn’t there knowing Sebastian’s reaction whenever she was mentioned.

Andrea fidgeted as she stood, the fresh breeze blowing through her plain maxi dress. It was no use lying to Robert so she admitted, “Sebastian may have mistakenly called me that during the wedding.”

Robert fought hard not to facepalm at his boss’ expense. But the embarrassment he felt morphed into sympathy, seeing Andrea expectantly wait for his answer. “It’s not my place to talk about Sir Adams’ personal life, Miss Andrea.”

“Oh, you’re right,” she agreed dejectedly.

“All I can tell you is this.” Robert partly felt responsible for roping her into this, so why not help her? “Lilith is a special person from Sir Adams’ past.”

Andrea replayed what he said in a loop. “Lilith IS a special person for Sebastian.” Though it’s all in the past, someone else still held her husband’s feelings in the palm of their hand.

Back when they were signing the contract, Sebastian’s implications quite pissed her off. “You know the ramifications if you’re caught with another man, do you? Our relationship may not be true, but our marriage is legal. It’s better that you don’t think of another man while we’re together.” Back then, it sounded ridiculous but thinking of it now, it all added up.

He never even asked if she liked someone. “How ironic,” she laughed to herself.

“Is something funny?” The clatter of the silverware stopped as Andrea was brought back from her recollections. Sebastian raised a brow at her sudden reaction to nothing. “You still haven’t touched your steak.”

“Sorry, that was nothing. I just remembered some things at the wedding.” She began to slice the meat slowly and taste it. “This is so good! Although, I prefer this with beer rather than wine.” Andrea looked sadly at her glass filled with red liquid.

Adams was mildly surprised and proceeded to take two tall cans from the fridge. “I wouldn’t have imagined that someone like you drinks beer.”

“I have to admit when I first heard of you, I thought you were the type to enjoy the finest things in life.” Sebastian opened both beverages and placed one in front of his wife. He remembered how she was portrayed as an elitist, making him think that she was one of those who selfishly splurged on useless things.

But after looking more into her, he realized Andrea spent as much as a middle-class person. Andrea always chose modest clothes, simple food, and almost no luxuries despite his grandfather’s wish to spoil her.

”I know. But false gossips always come with my job.” She happily received the can with two hands and took a big gulp. It was Sebastian’s turn to laugh at her move. “Remind me to stock our fridge at home with lots of beer.”

“Uh, how’s our arrangement going to be?” Andrea asked. “I’m really not in the position to be picky so just tell me where I’ll stay.”

Unable to meet her inquisitive eyes, Sebastian continued with his meal. He soon whispered, “We’ll be sleeping in the same room, on the same bed.” Even their new home was affected by Edmond’s control that he hired a housekeeper to make sure they truly were a couple.

His wife didn’t reply and blamed her blush on the alcohol. The newlyweds tried to ignore the awkward mood that settled between them by focusing on their drinks.

Andrea loved drinking. Alcohol was her escape from the memories of her childhood but it was Laura who introduced it to her in the first place. “It’s to get you loose because you’re always so shy,” her mother answered when asked by her young self what it was.

She quickly shook off the grating voice in her ears and went back to figuring out the mystery woman. “Who’s Lilith?” It turned out her tipsy brain was thinking out loud when she noticed the other person flinch.

“None of your business.” Sebastian’s knuckles turned white from gripping his utensils. He never mentioned the small blunder at the wedding because he didn’t want Andrea to push the topic. Back then, Sebastian was overwhelmed with the memory of promising life together with the woman he loved. But only for a different person to say, “I do.”

Andrea’s irritation became apparent when her sass came out, “It wouldn’t have been my business had you not called me that at the wedding.”

“Andrea, drop it.” Sebastian’s voice now lowered with a hint of threat to it.

“Fine,” she surrendered before going off, “But don’t you find it unfair how I’m not allowed as much as to think of someone else, but it’s okay for you to misname me Lilith. And all I get is ‘Drop it.’” Sebastian clearly understood her, despite some slurred words.

“Keep her name out of your damn mouth!” Sebastian admitted it was a bit harsh but the combination of beer and wine started to affect his head too. He wasn’t surprised that before walking out, he saw his wife’s hurt expression.

Taking a bottle of whiskey and glass, the billionaire moved to a small library in the house which was perfect for his planned binge drinking. He knew what Andrea said made sense, he just hated that it did. “Fucking hell, Lilith. Look what you’re doing to me.” His head hang back from the chair as he stared at the ceiling for what seemed like hours. Finally, he takes another sip and talked to an invisible person in the room, “I should probably move on from you.”

Just like his husband, Andrea decided to finish a few more cans of beer before heading to their shared room. “Great, he just had to get an island with only one bedroom on it,” she sighed after opening the door to a path of rose petals and lit candles leading to the bed.

It was a struggle to change but because of the heat the weather and beers brought, Andrea opted for a nightgown that exposed as much skin as she can possibly take.

Now that she’s alone for the first time since Sebastian proposed, Andrea’s tears turned from a few drops to a continuous stream. Her husband’s callousness from tonight seemed to be the cherry on top of her frustrations.

“Andrea. I’m sorry.” She almost had a heart attack when someone suddenly touched her back. Still feeling tipsy, she turned towards Sebastian’s downcast eyes.

His eyes were finally clear, he was looking and thinking of her. His hands trailed her cheeks as his face slowly got closer. “I’m sorry.”

Andrea knew he was still forcing himself to say those words. Knowing him from the past months, she learned how good of an actor he was no matter how he denied it. But right now, she didn’t care whether he was being genuine or not.

Right as their lips met, her eyes were already closed. Andrea leaned in on the kiss and pulled him in an embrace, deepening their contact.

“Do you want to continue?” Sebastian asked after they stopped to get some air. “Yes.” She didn’t care if the answer was said in a rush, she just wanted his body close to her.

Andrea watched as Sebastian took her straps and moved them down her shoulders, causing the whole silk fabric to drop to her ankles. “You’re so beautiful.” Her eyes began to water again, anticipating that name to be uttered.

“Andrea, you’re perfect.” Sebastian carried her bare body to the bed and pressed on top of her. “You said my name.”

“I’ll always be saying your name from now on,” he whispered in her ear as he went back to her lips.

The night continued as the two experimented with each other’s bodies and discovered what made them moan in pleasure, that in the end, all they could cry out was each other’s names.

Andrea didn’t feel all abandoned now as they held each other between the sheets. Sebastian’s face nuzzled in her neck was illuminated by the candlelight when he joked, “We might not remember any of this tomorrow.” She felt his lips turn up into a smile as their soft laughs turned quiet with sleep taking over them.

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“You guys are now one of the biggest power couples in the world. But one thing on people’s mind is ‘Why did we only know about it now, despite your public positions?’” The talk show host asked as she faced the Adams in a recorded interview.

The couple held each other’s hands with their faces glowing from their recent honeymoon. Sebastian spoke up, “Well Simona, we decided to stay quiet about it for some time because we knew how hectic it would get once our relationship becomes public.”

He looked playfully at Andrea, who gave him a teasing, warning look. “I wanted to enjoy her attention and time all by myself.” Simona squealed at how sweet they were and continued with the questions.

The screen soon turned black after the remote was pressed. “Lilith, I told you to stop watching anything related to him,” Lilith’s father lectured her.

A few more sniffles came out as she rested on her headboard. A thick blanket covered her lower body as a robe was draped on her shoulders. Her face had sunken more the following weeks since then. “I can’t help it.”

The interview for the happy newlyweds pushed through.

“Alright, let’s get to some serious topics here,” Simona’s voice turned somber. “Andrea, there had been a lot of talks about you and Daniel getting too close during your filming. Any comment on that?”

Sebastian’s face hardened as his wife squeezed his hand. The accused gently laughed and replied, “Daniel is a great co-star and a friendly person to everyone on set. I think people make a lot of biased conclusions because of our good chemistry on camera.

Sebastian added, "We're sure Mr. Preston feels the same way.”