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.
ZESA RUSSO They say sleeping next to someone you love makes you fall asleep faster, reduces depression and helps you live longer. That was true. But what was even better was waking up to be greeted by the almost naked form of the person you love. It was a sight that rid my heart of every sadness and worry. It made me feel reborn. I did not know a man’s body held that much power until now.I let my eyes slide over his body, from his tanned chiseled abs to the V-line just above his towel. My pulses added and subtracted like an equation when his muscles stretched as he dried his hair with a towel. The way he moved made me wish to see him in action, lifting a weight or, even better, lifting me. Levi was perfect with the strong body of an athlete and the brain of an intellectual.I snapped out of my trance when he cleared his throat. He’d caught me shamelessly ogling at him. How dare he distract me after hiding such a wonderful sight from me? It was enough to make me cum without
ZESA RUSSO After explaining myself to the protesters, I went home. Today was extremely stressful for me. As I watched the news, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the protesters had said and their anger toward me for closing down Techya Bio without giving them a heads-up. It was not my first time shutting down a subsidiary, but this one went south. Perhaps I did not do a good enough job with this one. I needed to fix this mess because the workers were right. They had families looking up to them for survival, and it was wrong of me to dismiss them like that.My phone rang, forcing me back into reality. I swiped my thumb across my screen to pick up after reducing the volume of the television.“You asked me to call you when I’m ready to sign the contract.”Ah… Nina Meyers.“Are you ready to sign it? Can you really give up Levi?”“Money is more important than love. You should know that. You’re a businesswoman. Did you make Techya a global company by choosing love every time?”
LEVI DEL CAMPA When I woke in the morning after getting drunk the night before, my head hurt as though someone swung at me with a bat. It became worse when I saw Zesa sleeping beside me. I stared at her sleeping form, wondering why she was there. Then the memory hit me. How I came home drunk, said some dumb things and ended up kissing her. I could vividly remember the feel of her body against mine, her breasts rubbing against my chest, my hands around her small waist, and how I almost did it with her. I recalled how she told me she loved me and kissed me again before everything went black. My guess was I passed out, and she laid me down on the couch.That was not the issue. The issue was the kiss. I hurriedly got dressed for work as I was trying to avoid her. How could I face her after what I did last night? Unfortunately, the universe chose to be a bitch and woke her up. When I saw her, my heart skipped a beat. Not out of love but out of worry, she would get the wrong ide
ZESA RUSSO It was time for me to leave for the event I was invited to. Clad in my beautiful, black dress from earlier with silver earrings dangling from my ears and the same colored necklace resting on my collarbone and wrist, a black purse and silver heels, I was ready to live with my hair in soft curls. I’d visited a salon to get my hair and makeup done, as I was in no mood to do it. I was afraid I would mess it up out of anger.After ensuring I had my phone, card, and lipstick, I was ready. Thankfully, Levi was not home, which meant he changed his mind about coming as my plus one. I guess I would end up attending the event alone. Edwardo had my limousine parked out front when I came out the front door. He silently opened the back door for me and I got in.Just when he was about to close the door, I heard approaching footsteps before I saw the face. Levi. What was he doing all dressed up in a black tuxedo? He motioned for me to scoot over. I didn’t.“What are you doing?”
LEVI DEL CAMPA She obviously thought I wanted to kiss her. I had a reason for doing what I did, though. There was nothing on her face, but someone was looking at her with emotions in his eyes. A man who had feelings for her and had just confronted me about it, even though I was her husband. Alejandro Ortega had feelings for Zesa and he made it clear to me. It seemed their meetings together turned into feelings for her. Even if he did like her, why would he confront me? Unless he knew I wasn’t with her out of love. If that was the case, he was asking me to leave her alone. He wanted me to move to the side so he could be by her. Although I didn’t have feelings for Zesa, it made me angry to think he had the audacity to talk to me about such a thing. Whether I married her because of a darn contract or because I loved her should be none of his business, because in the end, I was her husband. Me. How dare he tell me to my face that he had feelings for her? I looked at Zesa. S
ZESA RUSSO I hardly ever spoke about my parents. It often brought tears to my eyes, but today, I remembered them. My mother was a beautiful and kindhearted soul who went by the name Ozora. My father, Luca, was a strong willed and hardheaded man who had a soft spot for the one he loved. According to my mother, she and my father met at the movies. He’d gone on a blind date with the daughter of a noble family when he caught a glimpse of her throwing popcorn into her mouth as she mumbled to herself. According to my mother, my father fell in love with her at first sight and followed her about, ignoring the woman he’d gone to the movies with in the first place.My father had a different point of view, though. He said he didn’t follow her about. She just happened to be wherever he wanted to go. When she reminded him of how he followed her to her home, he laughed it off, saying he did it out of love. Looking at them back then, I wanted what they had. I wanted to live with someone
LEVI DEL CAMPA I stayed at the hospital for about an hour with Louryn before telling her I would leave. I’d barely slept last night, and I was exhausted. But before leaving, I gave her some money just in case something came up. By the time I got home, it surprised me to hear laughter and grunts coming from the living room. I opened the front door and entered the house, shutting the door before me. I froze for a moment at the sight before me.The living room was a mess, with caviar on the white couch and on the color, two bottles of champagne on the floor and one on the table, half of its content drunk. What was more shocking for me was Zesa, who was sprawled out on the floor with Finn, trying to lift her up. He, too, was drunk, but not as much as she was. Wasn’t he supposed to be at work? Today was a Friday.“What’s going on here?”Their eyes snapped to me. Finn hurried to his feet and adjusted his tie that was already a mess. There was a stain on his white button-up shirt
ZESA RUSSO Earlier, I woke up with a brain splitting headache after being woken up by a call from Neviah. A friend I met while I was in college. We had the same major, but unfortunately; she had to drop out of school after her father passed away as there was no one to pay for her tuition. I couldn’t help her back then because my business was still growing and there was not much I could do. I had suggested taking a loan from the bank but she refused, afraid she would be unable to pay back later.A year after she quit school, she became pregnant. Her boyfriend of three years was the father of her twins—Amaris, her daughter, and Asher, her son. He broke up with her when she told him about it. Since then, Neviah became a single mother who avoided any man that came her way because her mindset changed. To her, any man who came to her in the name of love only wanted to hit and move on. At the moment, she worked as a stripper at the club. It paid well, in her opinion.Despite her