THE MILLIONAIRE'S FAKE WIFE
CHAPTER 1: WEDDING.She had never liked weddings, in fact, the only reason Amelia had agreed to go to that mouth was because it was one of her friend who was getting married, otherwise, she would find herself lying in bed lamenting that the short vacation her boss had given her was about to end.The reason Amelia hated weddings was because they reminded her of how lonely she was. Twenty-eight years and each of her love affairs had failed so horribly that one tearful day, the woman had thought of going to a quack doctor. At the time she thought about it, it made her laugh, but at the time, it seemed like a meaningful option: she had told herself that her poor luck in love could only be due to some kind of curse. Any date, any partner, any husband... each one worse than the other, ripped away her faith in love, had ripped it away from her to the degree that it barely existed.Amelia sighed when she saw her friend Maribel approaching her, she knew what she was going to tell her, it was as if she could read her lips before they even opened."Amelia, my dear, why are you so lonely here?" She knew, she knew exactly what she was going to ask her. "Join us, maybe you will find someone you like among my group of friends".Amelia gave Maribel a bitter smile, she loved her, but she was so predictable that talking to her was meaningless, she was the typical person who believed that loneliness was a curse, but Amelia had gone through so many love rejections that she was beginning to see loneliness, not only attractive, but as the only alternative she had, whether she liked it or not, she chose that over being with men who always hurt her."You know that love is not for me," she continued, and, seeing her friend's intentions to start giving her those romantic talks that Amelia knew by heart, she decided to continue: "Besides, all your guests look too elegant to notice me"."Don't talk nonsense, Amelia! You look beautiful today, my dear, more beautiful than ever, I'm sure you'll charm at least one of them if you go with us".Amelia thought about it, to her mind came the image of when she had seen herself in the mirror, she believed that Maribel was only exaggerating to make Amelia cheer up, but not many things could bring Amelia's spirits back, she had made it clear to her friend that she was only going for pure commitment."I don't think so, Maribel, besides, I'm not even good at socializing, those people only talk about expensive cars and money"."But at least give it a try, okay?"Amelia sighed, caressing her temple with her hands and looking at her friend in an exhausted way, it was easy for her to tell her to try, she had never failed in love, she had been dating that guy for ten years, and that day she got married, the idea of lasting ten years with someone was completely implausible to her, she could barely, with too much luck, maintain a relationship for ten weeks."It's easy for you to say, Maribel"."Your problem is pessimism, Amelia. Nothing will happen if you try, come on, just this once try, okay?"Amelia sighed, playing with her fingers in a rapid fashion. Using her left hand she threw her dark head back, her green eyes fixed once again on Maribel, who it seemed would not stop insisting until she agreed to join the group of rich people talking about subjects she surely wouldn't even understand."All right," she finally agreed, then stood up, "But it will only take a few moments," she told her, raising her hand to look at the time, "I have to leave in about thirty minutes"."Why do you have to leave?" She knew Amelia was lying, she lived alone and was single, the only one who could be waiting for her at home was her dying cat, the one who disappeared most of the week. "Who's waiting for you?""I have to go visit mom" Maribel gave her an incredulous look. "I'm serious, she's been very sick"."Okay, but first, come with me".The woman, dressed in a stunning white dress that caressed the floor, grabbed Amelia by the right arm, almost dragging her in an overexcited way towards the group of people who, as Amelia had said and supposed, were talking about subjects she didn't even understand.Both women approached the group of people, Maribel introduced Amelia, who shyly greeted most of the men and women in the group, for a few minutes, all attention remained fixed on Amelia, the urge to run away, came stronger than ever, she promised herself never to go to a social event again, although those thoughts and promises were moving away from her When, as the minutes passed, the looks returned to their places and she could breathe much easier when she stopped being the focus of attention of those women and those wealthy men, she felt that everyone judged her, that everyone had something to say about her, the way she dressed, even the way she stood, which was different from the people of higher social classes, she was a simple woman who worked in a cafeteria, she could never behave like them, and in fact, she did not want to. With these thoughts in mind and with her friend Maribel distracted, Amelia allowed herself to walk to the wine area and pour herself a glass, which she drank quickly.The wine would quench her urge to run out of there. She felt so different from everyone else, she couldn't even come up with an answer as to how it was possible for Maribel to have such rich friends, and others as poor, as she did."I guess she takes a little bit of everything," she thought, laughing inwardly as she brought the wine glass to her lips."It's uncomfortable, isn't it?".The woman stirred tremulously as she suddenly heard a male voice speak to her.Her eyes, startled by the sudden way in which that voice had made its presence known, turned towards the place where it came from, looking at her from head to toe: it was a burly man, who was also holding a bottle of wine while looking at her in a way that made Amelia grimace."What's awkward?"Her voice sounded rougher than she had planned, still not turning fully toward him.The man took a sip of wine. The thin beard covering his perfect-looking face gave him a touch of mystery that was the only thing that kept Amelia from cursing him for scaring her."Coming to a wedding alone".Amelia nodded heavily. She guessed, she guessed someone else would make an unnecessary comment about going to a wedding alone, they had already made a thousand in the group of people she had stupidly agreed to join, she didn't need one more stupid guy who had approached her for no reason to tell her something she already knew."It's uncomfortable, but bearable," she mumbled, covering her face with a mask of heaviness, she didn't want to talk to that guy, and she proved it to him when she left the glass of wine there and prepared to walk away from that place, until his voice stopped her."I know it's bearable, more than anyone else".Amelia's gaze fell on him, curiosity was in her eyes, was a man like that single? She couldn't say he was the most attractive man she had ever seen, she would be lying to herself, however, he was quite attractive and had an elegant appearance, Amelia supposed it was too easy to find a partner for a man like that, so, hearing that he was also hinting at being alone there, captured her attention."Are you alone here?"He took another sip of his wine, then looked the woman over from head to toe. She was a rather stout woman, not too tall, with a lot of small dark spots on her cheeks, but, to his delight, they looked like freckles, which added a precious and captivating touch to her face as white as snow itself."Yes," he replied, looking away from her."Your wife chose to stay home, I suppose," Amelia said, letting out a nervous laugh that the man did not reciprocate."I don't have a wife," he muttered.Amelia nodded, not quite understanding how such an attractive man could be single. Although that was the least of her doubts, she couldn't help but wonder why he had approached her. Amelia had noticed him a couple of times at the wedding, he was walking around, he seemed to be looking for someone, their gazes had connected a couple of times, actually, more than she would have liked."I see," she answered him, after analyzing him with her eyes, it wasn't like she cared too much about that information."I guess you don't either"."Does the loneliness show on my face that much?"The man laughed softly."No, but actually, I think that coming alone to a wedding is the most obvious sign that one is single, isn't it, miss?"She laughed, she was almost thirty, she had stopped being a "miss" a long time ago."Maybe, maybe"."I guess I was right"."Right about what?""About you being single".She raised an eyebrow, why would a wealthy-looking man like him care if she was single? She wasn't even slightly attractive, or at least that was the self-concept he had."Maybe"."That's a yes"."Why do you care?""I don't care. I was just trying to find out something," he admitted to her, then put down his wine glass, "Tell me, what's your name?""Why do you want to know?""I won't do any harm with that information if that's what you think," he laughed."I didn't say it would do any harm, I just don't see the point of giving my name to a stranger".He smiled."I guess you were one of those girls who obeyed too strictly the don't talk to strangers rule." Amelia could not contain a small laugh, but then she returned to her normal state, something told her that he was just an egocentric millionaire looking to boost his ego. "Am I wrong?""Yes, you’re wrong", she answered him, looking to withdraw, but feeling his grip on her hand, she restrained herself from letting go with a strong slap."I need to know your name"."You need? Why do you need? You and I don't even know each other," she spat at him, tugging at his arm, but something told her he wouldn't let go until she gave him her name, the question was, why was a complete stranger so interested in her name?"I just want to know, that's all"."I won't give you my name, let go of me this instant or I'll start screaming".He started laughing, still not letting go."Do it, scream," he challenged her, thinking she wouldn't dare, but when the woman opened her lips, the man quickly ran towards them, placing his hand on her face."Don't touch my face!""Was you really going to scream?!""You told me to do it!""What makes you think I was serious?! Who the hell yells at a wedding?!""Me, if you don't let go of my hand right now! I don't even know who you are, just let me go!""My name is Maximiliano, it's a pleasure" He suddenly calmed down and held out his hand, without letting go of the other one, she didn't return the greeting, she just looked at him without understanding why the hell he wouldn't let go of her hand."I Amelia," she spat at him with an effort, maybe this way he would let go once and for all, "Can you let me go now?"He loosened his grip just enough for her to jerk free and look askance at him. In truth, she wasn't surprised that a complete stranger was treating her like this, she felt she had a kind of magnet for attracting the most particular men, men who only wanted to play with her, of course, who promised her all the stars in the sky, and couldn't even provide her with the light of a healthy relationship."It is a pleasure for me to meet you, Amelia".She looked at him from head to toe, denied in an annoyed way and abruptly moved away from that guy, heading towards Maribel, who seemed to have observed the whole scene, the smile on her face revealed it."Who is that crazy man you invited? He grabbed me by the hand and told me he wouldn't let me go until I gave him my name, what kind of crazy guy does that? I don't even know him!""His name is Maximiliano, I think... and he asked me about you a while ago"."What? He asked you about me? Why would that man ask you about me?"Maribel shrugged her shoulders."I don't know, I really don't know, he's a friend of my husband's... he's a very... particular, mysterious man, I don't know, I'm actually glad you at least talked to someone else today, but I wouldn't recommend you to put yourself in a relationship with him".Amelia looked at Maribel with a dumbfounded grimace."But who told you I'm going to get into a relationship with that guy? I've known him less than five minutes!"Maribel smiled."I'm just saying," she muttered, shrugging her thin shoulders.The rest of the wedding passed normally, until it was time to leave, at least for Amelia, who, as she headed for the exit, couldn't help but take one last look around the place, meeting again the familiar eyes of Maximiliano, who had been watching her all night.She felt a chill that made her tremble, what was that guy looking at her for? Why did all his attention seem to be fixed on her? What did he want?"What does he want from me?" she asked herself in a whisper, she was beginning to feel a little afraid, and it was that feeling that forced her to almost run out of the place, she had barely said goodbye to her friend, she supposed she would have to do it by phone, because she could hardly stand to be observed by him in that particular way.And that was how Amelia left the place, quickly taking a cab and getting into it, without leaving a second of thinking about the eyes of that stranger named Maximiliano.She couldn't say she hated her job, but she knew she deserved better than working in a coffee shop, even though it was a very well known one where a huge flow of customers came, she felt she had potential for something more, the question was that she didn't know what that something more was. The only talent Amalia had, despite her patience, was writing, but those dreams had long since been shattered.It was six fifty in the morning, the cafeteria had not yet opened, but it was about to do so, she liked to take the first -and only- moments of peace she had, to reflect on the course of her life, which seemed to be getting more and more twisted, she could not imagine herself working there for the rest of her life."Soon the customers will be coming," said her co-worker, Fatima, a woman of small stature, so small that Amelia could not take her seriously, but despite that, she seemed to have enough sympathy to catch everyone's attention, "In less than two minutes"."Yes," Amelia mumbled, s
Amelia was alarmed, on impulse she moved away from there, walking quickly towards the area where Fatima was, the woman's alarmed expression immediately alerted her companion, who was preparing to open the establishment completely."But what's going on, Amelia?" she asked, holding the woman by both shoulders, she trembled as she looked towards the back, afraid that the man would enter through there, although it was inevitable that he would: sooner or later the establishment would be opened, giving way to everyone.For an instant, the words remained stuck in her throat, when she saw how her other companion began to open the doors that Fatima did not open, panic appeared in her eyes, she told herself that she had nothing to fear, that it was no big deal, but the feeling that the man had followed her or spied on her to her work -she was not sure-, was deeply embedded in her, although she had no evidence that he had followed her, so she chose to remain silent, regulating her emotions and d
It was almost time to leave work, she had not been able to concentrate even a little. She had only thought about that strange guy, about what he might want from her, and why exactly from her. The expression in his eyes was something Amelia could hardly get out of her head, as if she wanted to tell him something, but didn't have the capacity to do so. She chose not to, to tell him absolutely nothing, anyway, what could a stranger have to say to her?She sighed as she looked at the time, realizing that her shift was already over, she took off the gloves covering her hands and decided to get ready to leave."What did he wanted from you?" She turned around when she heard Fatima's curious voice behind her, the woman was looking at her as if she had been holding that one back during Amelia's shift. "Did he want to hurt you or something? Did he threaten you?" she asked, a little more worried, because since that guy had left, Amelia looked worried and thoughtful" "You know you can tell me any
Amelia looked at him with her eyebrows raised and her lips parted, released her clenched fists and looked at him once more as if a third eye was growing on her face. A minute of silence was allowed to pass, until the sound of Amelia's laughter broke it."What the hell are you saying to me?" she asked, guffawing, "Damn, I didn't know cocaine was so accessible these days"."Miss, I'm not kidding." He tried to grab her arm, but she warily prevented him from doing so, pulling him back. "Actually, I need you to agree to be my wife"."Have you heard what you are asking me? What the hell is wrong with you? You know what? I don't have time for this, I need to get my groceries back".She tried to leave, but Maximiliano grabbed her by the arm, preventing her with force."Let me go, damn it!" She was too hungry and too stressed to have to deal with a stranger who had chased her for more than ten minutes, even in the middle of the street, just to ask her to marry him."You don't understand, I'm s
The urgency in the man's eyes made her distrust him again, but despite this, she remained there, listening to his words, "It will all be a farce," he said, shaking tremulously."It will all be a sham," he clarified, shaking tremulously, "We won't get married for real, I mean... yes we will, but not because we love each other, nor know each other, it will all be a business"."A business?""Yes, I need a wife within a week, it's urgent, Miss. It's something that suits us both".She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms."Go on"."I need a wife to collect an inheritance" She looked at him from head to toe, her face was very expressive, she didn't bother to hide what she felt, and at that moment, she doubted his words. "I need you to accept".She stepped back when he held her by the shoulders, distrust was seen in his feminine gaze, which once again, looked at him from head to toe, of course she doubted the truthfulness of his words, she even doubted that this man was completely sane."Let
Maximiliano closed the door very carefully, making sure that no sound came out of it, so that his son would not wake up, it was easy to put him to sleep, most of the time at least, but when his sleep was interrupted, there was no human power that could calm his childish energy.When he finished closing the door, he saw how his mother was waiting for him, sitting on the sofa while drinking something from a cup. He approached her, he had an idea of what she wanted to talk to him about, it was as if he had the ability to read it in her eyes."How did it go?" asked the woman, drawing a bitter smile from Maximiliano, who finished sitting in front of his mother and sighed, that action did not send any good message to the anxious woman, "Did it go badly?""It was lousy," he said frankly, adjusting his back."What do you mean, lousy, Maximiliano? I need you to tell me what happened," she asked him, taking a trembling sip from her cup of tea. Her son had told her that he was going out to find,
Fatima's eyes filled with deep perplexity, if she didn't know that Amelia was a woman very uncreative for lies, she would have unthinkingly pointed her out as a liar. The woman stirred, even removed her gloves, her wide eyes riveted on Amelia."No, wait, wait, wait, what the hell?""That was my reaction," Amelia murmured, finishing preparing a coffee, the time to leave that place was coming, immediately she would go to her mother, she needed to read her results at the hospital, she had barely managed to sleep thirty minutes thinking about her mother's illness, "That man came up to me and asked me if I wanted to marry him, if I wanted to be his wife, what kind of madness is that? I had never seen anything like that in my life, besides, he chased me down the street, I almost got run over, he almost got run over, when I finally let him talk, he told me that it was all about a business deal in which I would have to pretend to be his wife in exchange for a few thousand dollars"."And you a
She felt like she was in a fantastic tale, one where reality and fiction were mixed until something completely unbelievable was left, that's how she felt at that moment, so strange, uncomfortable, she wanted to laugh at herself for the decision she had taken. More than once, she had thought of renouncing that decision, but she supposed that there was no chance to go back, besides, it was only necessary to remember her mother so that the motivation to commit that act would never abandon her.He had invited her to his house, Amelia had refused and had told him that they could easily do it anywhere else, Maximiliano's answer had annoyed her: "You have to go to a discreet place, no one can discover that it is a fake marriage". Amelia thought it was too obvious that it was all a sham, she was a simple and unattractive woman of low means, who would suddenly marry a wealthy man who belonged to high society. She scratched her head, her mother was the only reason she accepted this, she reminde
Amelia opened the door to the room they both shared. Dark circles under her eyes were all over her face.Maximiliano bit his nails, Amelia always told him that she would take care of the baby, but he wanted at least one day to put her to sleep.The clock struck three in the morning. The only thing that broke the silence was the baby's cry, which resounded intermittently."Did she fall asleep?"Amelia walked slowly to the bed and fell on her face.Maximiliano picked her up.That was a yes.He filled her face with kisses. She gave him a weak smile, though she could barely keep her eyes open."I don't know... how... a baby of... only four... months... gets so much... energy to... cry," the woman mumbled, closing her eyes without wanting to, sleep was stronger than her, she ended up asleep on Maximiliano's legs, who caressed her hair.The baby's cry resounded, once again.Aurora was so loud.Maximiliano's gaze slid to Amelia. She had completely fallen asleep.This was her chance.He left a
Life had given him an opportunity in the form of a contract, one that he had been moments away from discarding forever. Ironically, it had been her maddening decision that had saved her from losing that wonderful man who was giving her mischievous glances in the dining room.She compressed a smile, she wasn't supposed to do that when her mother and Dylan were there, though only they could understand her game of looks.Amelia lifted a spoon to Dylan's lips, who gave her a smile. The little boy knew how to eat on his own, he had turned five, but it was better when his mother gave him food. He said it tasted more delicious when it was in "Mermelia's" hands.Five long months had passed since that night when the two had decided to become a reality. A huge ring glittered on Amelia's finger, one that her husband had given her to seal their love.Maximiliano's hand slipped down Amelia's leg, drawing a depraved laugh from the woman.He took advantage of being next to her to whisper to her that
Amelia wiggled nervously. Something told her she had made the wrong decision.The right decision couldn't feel so bitter. So searing, so painful.She had fallen in love too soon with that place he had shown her, which was truly beautiful. The metaphor of the flowers had helped her to find some peace in her heart.She remembered how Maximilian had pointed to the sky with his thick fingers."Your mother is just another star, every time you look at the sky, she will be there, watching over you.""Mom... are you there?"Amelia's voice melted into the wind, her gaze melting into the sky.She had made a mistake, but she didn't think she could make it right.He'd surely noticed she was gone. Maybe he was better off that way.But... what if she came back? What if he wasn't better off?Amelia shook her head, shaking the thought away.There was no going back, even if her heart roared with pain. Even if she felt she would never forget him, and that in every man she would try to look for him.The
Maximiliano stopped his car, earning Amelia's gaze, it had been more than two hours of travel. That place seemed to be at the end of the world."We have arrived".They both got out of the car, walking towards the place where Maximiliano had built himself."I discovered this place when I was about ten years old," he said, "I have never forgotten it" The man held Amelia by the arm gently, helping her to enter the place, which looked like a mix between a park and a secluded area of society, she could not even identify what it was, she could only perceive that the stars seemed to shine much brighter from that place. "The first time I came, I was at school, the second time, I was drunk, on the verge of death".Amelia looked at him, uncomprehending. He didn't look like a liquor addict, she hadn't seen him even once drinking.They both went deeper into the place, full of beautiful flowers that seemed to caress the woman's heart.Maximiliano licked his lips, ready to tell the story he had kep
Amelia fell to her knees in that grave. The color of the night covered her body in a loose dress. Sadness took over her face, her gestures, her every limb, even her breathing. She had never seen herself experiencing such deep pain as that; thrown on that dark earth, feeling her knees being hurt and hearing her own cry, so loud that it seemed alien to her, as she felt Maximiliano's hand, seeking to comfort her.Amelia brought her trembling fingers to the grave, breaking down once again. She had never engaged in self-injurious behavior until this had happened. She couldn't see any color in life when her rainbow had died. To think that with a little more care, he could have saved her earlier, it killed her. It had killed her more than a hundred times that week.The woman laid her mother's favorite flowers on the grave, swallowing saliva, trying to regulate the flow of her tears, but they possessed a life of their own.Amelia's stomach roared violently: she had almost a whole week without
Dylan licked his parched little lips, looking up at his father, with what little lucidity he had, the man stroked his tousled hair."Where's mommy?" asked the little boy, with that innocence that always filled the man with enthusiasm for life.It was daytime, a sunny one. The party had left everyone exhausted, including the little boy who had not climbed on the roof because it had been impossible for him to do so, but his hyperactivity was the reason why he had slept late. It was eleven o'clock in the morning and little Dylan lay with his eyes barely open, asking for what he thought was his mother."She sleeps," Maximiliano answered him, although it made no sense and he knew it: Dylan was falling deep into another dream, he had not even heard his answer, "She sleeps like an angel".Maximiliano covered the little boy with a soft, thick blanket and then left the room at a leisurely pace.Last night had been the best night he had ever had in his bitter life. The woman had laid her head o
"Have a seat, Amelia," Maximiliano's mother asked.The woman salivated, doing so.The man's mother had approached her and told her that she had a very serious matter to discuss with her. It had even been worrying on her face, something that had prompted Amelia to get up early from her seat, leave Dylan with some children and go with her."What do you want to talk to me about, ma'am?"The loud, outgoing woman Amelia had met at the beginning had vanished, in front of her was only a woman with worries in her eyes."Amelia, the last thing I want is for my son to get hurt" The woman let out a brief sigh. "But I believe that certain things are inevitable"."Lady, I...""You don't leave my son indifferent, Amelia," the woman confessed. "You're not only his fake wife, you're the woman he hired with apathy and who now doesn't want him to leave" She played with her fingers tremulously. "Amelia, my son has a past that I don't talk about to almost anyone, but I think it's necessary for you to kno
No one had warned him that a party would take place in that mansion, only his mother had gone a few hours before to tell him to get ready and warn his "wife" because many members of the family would be coming to the property. He had waited only minutes before the event to have the courage to tell the woman.The man paced from one place to another. The atmosphere with Amelia had been as heavy as a rock after he had confessed his feelings to her. Although there was a peculiarity in the woman's behavior, she didn't seem at odds with what he felt, she seemed more distressed for herself; she had a storm in her head and he didn't even know it."Amelia" The man opened the door to the room where she had isolated herself, but there was no one there. "Amelia?"For an instant, he was seized by the fear that she had left without telling anyone. The panic that seized him was an unexpected, bitter and aggressive one."I am here" The woman's faint whisper did not allow the panic to grow any more in
The woman was possessed by the sudden and almost uncontrollable desire to flee from the car when she heard him say that; the air left her for endless minutes, her chest tightened, a tremor dominated each of her limbs, her saliva became her own enemy, suffocating her.A tremulous breath escaped her lips."I-I... Maximiliano..."The man closed his eyes, as if he were as restless as she was; he was not very talented with women, in fact, his late wife and he had ended up married because of the circumstances, and because the woman had shamelessly intruded on him, but with Amelia everything was so different that more than once he had felt like a teenager trying to conquer someone."Amelia, you need to know something"."No," the woman blurted out, playing with her fingers. "What y-you heard is nothing".Maximiliano slowed down the car, feeling a pressure in his chest."Amelia, I'm sure of what I heard".The woman thought of something quickly, she would not allow herself to be exposed."She's