Chapter 3

LEVI DEL CAMPA

            Never in my wildest dream did I believe Nina would let go of me for money. I always knew she was a materialistic woman, but I refused to think that she would do such a thing to me. I had that much faith in her, so imagine how broken and foolish I felt as I watched her shake hands with Zesa. It was a lot worse when Zesa tried comforting me. She was rubbing it in my face that the woman I loved would rather have millions in her account than be with me.

“You can’t stay here like this.” Zesa said, hands on my shoulders. We were still in the restaurant and Nina had returned to her work. “People are looking at us. It’s as if I said something hurtful to you.”

If there was one thing I disliked about Zesa, it was her selfishness. It was always about her. She was always worried about the image of her that people saw.

I threw her hand off my shoulder. “I want to be alone.”

“And wallow in misery? No, darling.” She sat down beside me. “Look at me.”

Instead of doing as she said, I turned away from her even more. I was certain my eyes were red, and she was the last person I wanted to see me like that. I came to my feet and adjusted my tie before walking out of the restaurant. A part of me prayed earnestly that Nina would run to me and say it was a prank and that she did not mean what she did. Yet, I got into my car and she never showed herself to me.

Zesa did, though.

She opened the door and sat down before placing her purse on her thighs. “Do you want to go somewhere to eat? After what happened in there, I’m famished.” She held her tummy. “If you place your ear here, you’ll hear my stomach cry for buttermilk pie.”

I leaned back. “You’re the last face I want to be looking at right now?”                                         

Her brows furrowed slightly. “What do you mean? It’s not as if I suggested coming to this place. It was your idea. You brought me here.”

“Still!” I inhaled deeply to calm myself. “I don’t want to look at you now.”

“Why?” she asked, adjusting her body so she was properly facing me. “Why don’t you want to look at me, Levi? I’m your wife, for pit’s sake.” She lifted her right hand in my face. There was a diamond ring on her ring finger. “You gave this ring to me in front of the church. You married me!”

“Then let’s get a divorce.”

“What?” she breathed out, searching my face for signs of a lie. She was not stupid. I knew she was aware I could bring this up at any time.

“I want to get a divorce, Zesa. It doesn’t matter if I have to pay back the money you invested. I can’t keep living with someone I have barely any feelings for and having to pretend we’re in love when there are cameras.”

She was silent for a while, simply staring at me.

I continued. “I’ll get the papers next week. Sign them.”                                                                  

She still said nothing.

“Say something.” I urged.

“Eighty five billion dollars, Levi.” She finally said, holding me in her gaze. “I want it by the end of the day and after that, I will sign the papers and never see you again.”

My eyelids shot up. Eighty-five billion dollars by the end of the day. I checked my wristwatch. Less than twelve hours to get the money.

“That’s too short.” I told her, hoping she’d reconsider.

“So is the time we’ve spent together.” She opened the door and got out of the car, her hips swaying from side to side as the distance between us increased.

I held my face in the palm of my hands. It was not as though I did not have the money she wanted, but with a new project underway; I was risking bankruptcy if I were to give her the money now. Would she change her mind if I were to try and win her over? I could pay back in about three months, but knowing Zesa’s temper, she would not agree to it.

I got out of the car and ran after her even though there was a ninety percent chance she would not agree. “Zesa!”

She halted and spun around. I could see her puzzlement, yet her tone appeared nonchalant. “What now? Have you realized you cannot make such expenses since your new product is underway?”

God, she was smart.

“Yes.” I admitted. There was no need to lie to her now. “How about I pay after three months?”

She considered. “I have a much better deal that’ll benefit you and me.”

<>_<>

            I drove to the house with Zesa seated beside me. I could not stop thinking about the deal she offered and if I made a mistake accepting it. Once I parked the car, she turned to me wearing a small smile. I did not know if she was manipulative or I was desperate.

“Aren’t you more at ease now?” she questioned, looking at me lovingly.

“What do you mean?”

“More at ease because you don’t have to worry about Nina anymore and because I’m helping you out again, even though you’ve been messing up.”

No. I was not at ease. It felt as though I just signed a deal with the devil in exchange for money. Despite what I thought, a lie fell from my lips. “A little.”

She held my face. “I’m glad. Come on, let’s go in.”

I followed her into the house and sat in the living room. She went into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. I took it from her. She sat beside me and leaned on my shoulder. Her hair smelled like strawberry. I lowered my eyes to her form and then to the television when I glimpsed her breasts.

“This is my first time sitting this close to you without being glared at or shoved off.” She smiled even more. “Money does control the world.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. She was an arrogant little miss. She interlocked our fingers and kissed the back of my hand. I desperately wished to stop her, but I had a lot to lose if I dare go against her. Not only would I go bankrupt, but my mother would skin me alive for messing things up.

“I finally feel like a married woman, Levi. It feels so good to sit next to you like this.”

My grip around the glass tightened. Leave me alone, I wanted to tell her. I inhaled and exhaled repeatedly so I would not do something I would regret later. As we agreed, I decided to treat her like I would treat a woman I was in love with. How I would treat Nina if she hadn’t let go of my hand like that. I kissed the top of her head.

She took in a sharp breath, surprised by what I had done. “Levi…”

Her head was no longer on my shoulders, but our hands were still interlocked. “Why? I shouldn’t have done that?”

She shook her head. “I’m just surprised. It’s been barely an hour since we made a deal and you’re already into it.” She smiled suggestively. “I love it.”

I desperately fought the urge to roll my eyes at her. If only the banks had agreed to give me a loan, I would not have been here by now, holding hands with her. They found it difficult to trust my company since we were struggling about a month ago. It was a different case for Techya. They were doing extremely well and if Zesa declared she would invest in a company, a lot of other companies would follow her lead. She was that powerful.

She let go of my hand. “I’ll go change and make us something to eat.”

Although Zesa was a wealthy woman who could afford almost anything, she refused to hire a chef. From what I’d observed after living with her, she enjoyed baking and being in the kitchen. On weekends, two people would come in to clean the house and a gardener would take care of the plants. Aside from that, it was always just the two of us in the house.

I watched her go up the stairs before silently swearing at her as I punched the air. “Darn banks.”

“Levi?”

I froze when I heard her voice. Slowly, I turned to see her standing at the top of the stairs. Her hair was no longer in a bun. Instead, they fell to her shoulders. “Yeah?”

She nodded in the couch’s direction. “Please bring me my purse.”

I darted my eyes to the couch to see the purse. I grabbed it and met her at the bottom of the staircase. She thanked me after collecting it. Again, she went back up, leaving me to my thoughts. Just three months of pure torture, three months of pretense, and I would be free after it. I would not have to bother about sharing a house or room with her. Just the thought of it alone excited me. An opportunity to get rid of her for life was knocking on my door, and I joyfully let it in.

<>_<>

            Four days into the deal and I was ready to rip out all of my hair. At night Zesa would place her head on my chest and hold me as though I would slip away when she slept, and tonight was no different. As tempting as the idea to push her away was, I couldn’t. At least not yet. I had to secure what I wanted first.

I was pulled out of my train of thoughts when she snuggled even closer and I put an arm over her. “This feels nice. Why didn’t we do this earlier?”

Because I don’t love you. As I trailed my fingers up and down her back, all I could think of was Nina. Even though she’d hurt me unbelievably, I still wished she was the one with me in bed and not Zesa. She breathed more slowly, her body melting into mine as every muscle lost its tension to the chilly night air.

“There’s something I have to tell you.”

I stopped moving my fingers. “What is it?”

“Alejandro Ortega invited me to a party and I am to bring a plus one.”

Alejandro was the president of Caisse Méridien, the biggest bank in the country. They’d done business with Zesa a few times as far as I knew and because of that, she was obliged to go there and, as her husband, I was expected to go with her as her plus one.

“I’ll go with you.”

She lifted her head from my chest, eyes ever so bright with joy. “Really?”

I gave a nod. “When is the event?”

She adjusted, and the soft mound of fat that was her breast brushed against my chest. “Two days from now.”

“I’ll clear my schedule.”

“Thank you.” She returned her head to my chest, an arm around my waist once more.

It really felt like I was married to this woman now. Having breakfast together, going to see her at work, talking about our day, and even cuddling. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were to kiss me or do more than a kiss. Goodness, no. The thought of it was enough to send a shudder down my spine.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not as if I did not see Zesa as a woman. She was a woman in my eyes, alright, but I hated how she continuously forced me to love her. If only I hadn’t comforted and stayed by her side after the death of her parents, we wouldn’t be here. My kindness put me in this mess. I recalled her confessing her feelings to me when she was fifteen. If anything, I told her I didn’t like her in that way, yet she continued clinging on to me. That was when I began to despise her. My mother forcing me into a marriage with her made it a lot worse. But here I was, lying in bed with her as if everything was okay.

As much as I hated to admit it, Zesa was right. Money does control the world.