By Catherine De Castro
I had to admit that at least that night, Hector was showing himself different from the vain and spoiled man who used to print the main gossip notes of the country’s media. I wondered what was making him act so kind to me, although, of course, it was apparent that it seemed like a hobby for him to piss me off. In fact, I knew that Hector had agreed to participate in this whole situation exclusively for money. It wasn’t part of his profile to care about anything other than that, but still I couldn’t deny that he was striving to make it work, even if our reality was far from looking like a happy and passionate couple.
As we drove to that unusual encounter, the silence in the car was fairly uncomfortable. Hector had put on a nice song to play and as we had no unusual subject, he just occasionally made some random comment about what we were listening to. The weather was strange, but it was also light, which made me realize that being with the heir of the Marques family, was not something as unpleasant as until a few days ago I imagined it to be.
The car stopped and I was surprised when he let out a heavy sigh as if something displeased him. Curious about his sudden change of mood, I asked:
"Is there a problem?"
"There are already some vultures on duty."
Unable to understand what he was talking about, I looked around to find the reason for his irritation, that’s when I saw some trees across the street, an unobtrusive guy with a camera in his hand looking closely at the entrance to the Japanese restaurant where Hector’s car had parked.
"It’s not like you can complain." My tone of voice surprisingly demonstrated patience. "Look where you brought us, Hector. This restaurant is one of the most expensive in the city. It’s certainly the kind of place frequented by the biggest celebrities in the country. Of course they want story holes."
"You wanted me to take the famous businesswoman Catherine Castro to eat hot dogs?" Heitor grumbled impatiently. "I may not be a gentleman, but I also never took a woman to eat hot dogs. It would not be my bride-to-be that I would take."
Heitor’s wink and mocking smile made it clear that he was mocking our situation, after all, one of his favorite pastimes was to annoy me, and probably knew that one of the things I despised most about him, It was his stupid reputation as a twig man.
"Please don’t make me regret accepting your invitation to this dinner." I rolled my eyes with boredom. "We’ll be right down before I decide to leave."
"You know what, Catherine? Your sense of humor sucks!"
I watched Hector get out of the car and as he went around to open the door for me, the paparazzi quickly positioned the camera to capture the image of who would leave, in this case me.
The door opened and he looked at me seriously. For a moment a conflict hit me full imagining the numerous notes that would come out the next day. So far we had not been seen publicly, and our relationship was nothing but uncertain rumors. However, I was aware that from that moment when I was seen accompanied by Hector, that would no longer be hearsay. We were assuming to everyone that we were together, even though that wasn’t really true, since in reality I had no intention of making that arranged marriage real, that is, I had no intention of assuming my role as wife in Hector’s life. In fact, the first chance I got, I’d get out of that marriage.
"Is everything all right?"
He wanted to know, and I noticed a concern in his voice. It was not common to see him acting like that with any woman.
"None! Let’s get this over with."
I held his hand that until then was understood to me, and then I got out of the car.
"I hate this sense of invasion of my privacy." I was sincere when I whispered near Hector’s ear. "How do you stand it all the time?"
"Believe me, so am I. But it’s not like we can be who we are and get rid of them. Now smile and start acting naturally as if being next to me is what makes you most happy. I don’t want my reputation as a good conqueror to be ruined by your ugly face."
I looked at him controlling my will to send him to hell in front of the approaching valet to get the key to Hector’s car. All I did was smile with pretense as if I was too much in love to laugh at any nonsense dictated by the man standing next to me.
While without any embarrassment the camera flashes of the man who photographed us almost blinded me, I said to him:
"You’re a complete idiot, Hector Marques."
In front of the insult Hector smiled without letting himself down.
"Your way of admiring me is suffocating, Catherine Castro. Be careful not to fall in love."
He whispered and without me waiting touched my face with his lips that kissed me in a feigned show of affection. I confess that as I was not prepared for that contact, my body tensed the muscles.
"For you? Never, dear. You’re not my favorite kind of man."
Hector looked at me seriously and I knew that at that moment he had hit his fragile male ego, but I didn’t care about that.
Without saying another word, Hector grabbed my waist possessively as if we actually had something and were used to living that approach, and led me into the restaurant. He was visibly angry, but it wasn’t something I cared about. If he thought I was the kind of woman he could play with, he was wrong. In fact, if there was one thing Hector couldn’t do to me, it was silly.
After entering the restaurant and being directed to a table, the discomfort in the presence of each other was something palpable, but as that was a situation without return, I took a deep breath and decided that this was a good time to get to know a little more of the man who would soon become my husband.
I tried to relax a little more and let myself be involved by the conversation of Hector. Throughout the night despite all the discomfort we felt, the dinner took place without great quietly and I can even guarantee that I was surprised to discover some preferences of Hector, such as his favorite hobby was playing tennis. The fact is that when I realized I realized that the moment of tension had passed and we tried to keep a friendly conversation.
"So, tell me Catherine, what do you expect from all this?" Heitor asked with interest.
"Honestly? I think all this is crazy. I never imagined that in these modern times there could still be this arranged marriage thing."
"If it’s any consolation, know that I feel as outraged as you do."
"We don’t know each other, Hector. And of course we both know that we feel absolutely nothing for each other. But we accept that, so I hope our coexistence is friendly. I also tell you that you are aware of one thing... I will never accept that you put me in a situation that ridicules me." I was firm in my position.
Hector narrowed his eyes without being able to hide how those words had taken him by surprise.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I am marrying you in strange conditions, Hector. I am becoming your wife, not your toy. A betrayal, for example... I will never accept being betrayed and ridiculed before everyone. That happens, and I swear to you I will get out of this marriage, but not before I end your image as a successful businessman."
Hector and I stared at each other for long seconds, and I was sure that now he knew I would not be a submissive wife.
By CatherineI finally went back to work after a few days at home recovering from the flu. The last few days my relationship with Hector had been strange, not a bad strange, but different. The man I had exchanged a kiss with in days past was completely different to the one I knew before I got married. We didn’t get to talk about the kiss, but Hector was getting closer every day leaving me internally confused.I heard knocking on my office door and soon my assistant’s face appeared asking permission to enter.“Mistress Catherine, I know this is very bold of me, but could you excuse me from work this afternoon?” Her expression was shy and sad. “It’s just that my mother is in hospital and she has no one to stay as her escort, she only has me.”“Of course she does, Julia.” I would never say no to a case like that. “You shouldn’t even have come today. What’s wrong with her?”“I didn’t want to miss it because I just started at the job. I can’t afford to lose this job.” She spoke shyly. “My
By HectorI kissed Catherine and that had been the best kiss of my life! That was the thought that kept running through my mind after what had happened the night before. Catherine’s kiss was so good, her touch had hallucinated me, her mouth left me with the feeling of wanting more, and I would have easily lost myself in her body if something hadn’t screamed in my head reminding me that she wasn’t just anyone.I went downstairs ready to go to work when I bumped into Catherine and Joana in the kitchen. She was still in her pyjamas which made me immediately worried. Could it be that she hadn’t gotten any better?“Good morning!” I spoke to the two and without much thought I greeted Catherine with a kiss on her cheek.“Good morning!” The reply came in chorus.“Aren’t you going to work today? Still not feeling well? Want me to fetch something for you?”“Easy, Hector.” She spoke softly. “It’s all right, I’m not going to work because I still have quite a cold, it wouldn’t be interesting to st
By CatherineWhen I saw Hector abandoning na important meeting with the company board so he could take care of me, I couldn’t be indifferent to it. Even if I had a heart of stone at that moment I couldn’t act coldly towards that man. He was being caring and loving, and I couldn’t deny to myself how happy I felt to be his priority at that moment.It wasn’t long before he returned from the shower and appeared in my room dressed in completely light and casual clothes. He smiled and I reciprocated, still admiring his muscular body. Who could resist a man like that?Hector sat next to me on the bed looking uncertain whether or not he would approach me.“Have you chosen the movie yet?” He asked.“Yes, I want to watch Love Doesn’t Take a Holiday.”He looked at me accusingly and grimaced as if I was about to commit a crime.“Romance?” He questioned.“What’s wrong with it? I think it’s cute.”“Okay then, right? Let’s go with romance.”I watched him as he clumsily adjusted the cushions on his b
By HectorIt was 11 a.m. and I was still stuck in the middle of a meeting attended by my father, my father-in-law and some shareholders. In other times at that hour I would still be sleeping completely taken by the hangover result of a night of alcohol and sex. Catherine had stayed at home, as she had felt unwell in the morning, so it was up to me to pass on the information about the balance sheet of the month to everyone present.Luckily or unluckily, my mobile phone rang and my home phone number appeared. I immediately found it strange and without thinking twice I asked permission to answer the call, even under my father’s disapproving glance.“Hi Joanna, did something happen?”“Sorry to bother you Mr Hector. It’s just that Ms Catherine is in bed feeling really bad, I don’t know what else to do.” It was enough for Joana to say that for my chest to tighten. “The poor thing is burning up with fever, but she’s too stubborn, she hasn’t taken any medicine and she can’t eat anything eithe
By HectorAfter I almost kissed Catherine that day, I talked to Kaique about it. Of course it wasn’t surprising that it happened, after all she was very beautiful. It was to be expected that at some point I would end up feeling attracted to my wife. The problem was that I didn’t count on this attraction arising along with feelings that were leaving me confused. It was almost as if I had a need to care for and protect Catherine like I had never done with another woman before.If before I was already frightened by the sensations I felt every time I saw my wife, after my friend said that he thought I was falling in love with Catherine, I found myself lost and confused by my own feelings.I decided then to follow Kaique’s advice, and despite the difficulty I found to approach Catherine after the misunderstanding of that day, whenever possible I did it. Kaique had told me that to discover what I really felt for my wife it would be necessary to allow me to be near her, to be more present in
By CatherineWhen I saw Hector standing in the doorway of Patrick’s flat my only urge was to choke him. I felt anger and was very hurt that he had allowed things to get to that point. However, what bothered me the most was the internal confusion I felt. As strange as it was, I confess that the title of betrayed woman was what mattered least to me at that moment. I know that Hector didn’t believe that he owed me fidelity, after all for him our marriage was nothing more than na obligation imposed by our parents, but imagining him touching another woman bothered me more than I expected, more than I desired and it was making me go into na outburst.I didn’t want to hear Hector’s explanations, but when he started talking and I looked into his eyes I felt the sincerity in everything he said and it was inevitable at that moment not to feel the happiness that invaded me and calmed my heart, which put me on alert, I couldn’t let myself get involved like that.Hector, the idiot, decided to stay