CHAPTER 5

"How's your neck?" asked Felix, approaching Elisa and sitting on a chair in the garden.

"Are you home?" asked Elisa, turning her face away from the business magazine.

"I was worried about you. I left all my work behind, preferring to finish up at the mansion," Felix replied, looking at Elisa's neck. The red marks from Simona's strangulation had started to fade, but until this moment, Felix kept remembering what that woman had done to his wife.

Elisa touched her neck. She knew her husband's eyes were staring at her neck, but she was much better. Previously, Elisa had felt traumatized, remembering what happened to her when she was alive as Camelia, who also died from Samuel's strangulation.

"Calm down, Elisa. I will sue Samuel for what his lover did to you."

"Felix, I have something to tell you."

"What, Elisa?"

"Felix, I'm actually not-" Elisa's words were cut off when Felix's phone rang.

The man immediately asked for permission to step away to pick up the phone. Elisa just stared at Felix's body, which was standing a few meters away from her current position. Just now, she wanted to be honest and say that she was Camelia and not Elisa.

"Elisa, I apologize. Your words had to be cut off; now, what did you want to say?" Felix's eyes looked deeply into Elisa's face, which was so charming with her new look. Felix liked her more and more, the Elisa who was now much warmer and talked to him more often than the Elisa of old.

"Not so Felix. I suddenly forgot; I'll let you know when I remember," Elisa replied with a small smile.

"Why do you like reading business magazines so much? Are you getting interested? You used to tell me that you'd hate business until you died."

"Really? But I'm starting to get interested in business and not modeling anymore," Elisa said, turning the page and seeing her husband Felix's face on it.

"No, don't look at that article. I'm so ugly in there," Felix said, placing his palm over his face in the magazine.

"Felix. Take your hand away," Elisa added coldly.

Felix still wouldn't take his hands away. Instead, he pulled Elisa's waist and rested his head on her shoulder. "Elisa. I don't like your cold tone," Felix whispered.

"Keep your hands away. I'm not going to look at your ugly face; I want to read the article," Elisa continued, trying to stay calm with Felix's arm around her waist. "Behind the success of young billionaire Jhonson Felix Taylor in winning a billion-dollar tender!" Elisa read the title of the article out loud.

"Elisa. Stop reading out loud, or I'll brutally crush your lips!" Felix ordered seriously.

"Are you sure you can do that?" Elisa hadn't spoken for a minute. Felix proved it by immediately pulling Elisa roughly by the scruff of the neck, then crushing her lips without a trace. Felix closed his eyes, enjoying the intoxicating kiss even though Elisa didn't kiss him back. "Sorry," Felix whispered, breaking the kiss. He put his finger to wipe away the saliva left on Elisa's lips.

"Stop Camelia! Stop going too far; focus on your revenge." Elisa whispered as her eyes met Felix's sad, soothing eyes.

Elisa pulled her face away and looked in the other direction. "Are you starting to fall in love with me?" she asked with a glance. "No, Felix, you can't fall in love with me," she continued.

"Why can't I fall in love with you, Elisa? We've been married for four years," Felix replied with a cold stare. He was about to be honest about his feelings for Elisa, but the woman in front of him had broken Felix's spirit.

"Because I don't love you, Felix! Even though we've been married for four years, nothing has changed," explained Elisa, who didn't want to lie to Felix any further. Felix could not fall for Elisa, who had Camelia's soul in her.

"I have the right to love you, Elisa. It doesn't matter if you love me back or not!" Felix stood up from his seat and walked away, leaving Elisa in the back garden.

***

"Honey, what about this?" asked Simona, looking at the indictment against her for the attempted murder of Mrs. Taylor.

"I'll sort it all out, Simona. Stop asking questions," snapped Samuel, who was trying to get in touch with someone to help him sort things out.

"Our wedding is almost on the horizon, Samuel. I don't want to know! My name needs to be cleared because I didn't do that to Elisa!"

"You should go back to your room. Get some rest; I'll let you know when it's over," Samuel said, releasing Simona's hand from his neck.

"Samuel. I want you now," Simona whispered sensually, touching Samuel's body and unbuttoning his shirt one by one.

"Not now, Simona. I have a headache!" Samuel refused, pushing away Simona's hands that were trying to undo his belt.

"As you wish, Samuel. I'll wait in our room," Simona replied, walking away with a little stomp of her foot and loudly slamming the door to Samuel's study.

"Why are you looking at me like that!" snapped Simona to the two servants looking at her.

Simona walked quickly towards her room and shut the door firmly. Not a few minutes later, the sound of shouting could be heard again.

"Aaaaaa maid!!!" screamed Simona, standing up and closing her eyes when she saw the red writing on the glass, as well as the blood scattered on the glass table and also on the bed.

Samuel came in with two servants. The sound of her screaming reached his study; he read the red writing on the glass of the dressing table.

'Die.... Die Simona and Samuel you must die!!!'

"Who did this?" Samuel asked the two confused servants. "Did anyone come into this room last night?" Samuel asked again.

"No, sir. We've made sure no strangers have entered," said the servant, frightened by the anger in Samuel's eyes.

"Camelia... Camelia, Samuel." Simona kept saying Camelia's name as she took cover behind Samuel's body.

"What nonsense are you saying, Simona! Stop saying Camelia's name; she's dead and at peace in heaven," Samuel retorted, raising his voice slightly.

"But--"

"Tidy up this mess! Temporarily rest in Simona's guest room."

****

"That's right. Sending on behalf of Camelia Shanon Philips to Miss. Simona Layla," Elisa said into the phone.

"Okay. After you deliver the package, you will receive my gift."

Elisa hung up the phone, savoring a cup of hot tea as she gazed at the streets of Sao Paulo. The weather was so warm today; spring would soon be here. Camelia had always loved spring; even her name was taken from one of the beautiful flowers, and it was quite a step up.

"Simona, I hope you like the gift I gave you," Elisa murmured, smiling happily as she brushed up her mane of hair.

Suddenly, someone approached her. Shiny shoes and a strong perfume lifted Elisa's face. She didn't expect Samuel Philips to be standing in front of her, pocketing one of his fingers.

Elisa's eyes fell on the striped tie she had given Samuel for his birthday. The one billion Rolex watch on Samuel's left arm was also a gift from Camelia when this bastard won a small tender for the first time. All this time, Camelia had always been kind to the man who lied to her; really, she wanted to laugh at the foolishness of her loving Samuel too much.

"Can I join you at the table, Mrs. Taylor," Samuel said with a big smile, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"You're already seated. There's no point in refusing Mr. Philips; my husband is in a meeting. If you want to talk to him, I'll call him," Elisa replied with a flat face. Taking out her cell phone from her Dior bag.

"It doesn't matter, Mrs. Taylor. I don't want to talk to Mr. Taylor, but I would like to have a little chat with you."

"Oh, what an honor to speak with the leading billionaire in Sao Paulo," Elisa complimented with a fake face; there was no way she could show her hate for Samuel even though Elisa did not deny it. She wanted to stab Samuel in the heart and smash his face with a fork.

"I am flattered by your compliments, Mrs. Taylor. I've been attracted to you for a long time, but unfortunately, we're not meant to be. You married Felix, and I married Camelia."

"Have we met before, Mr. Philips? Why are you so confidently attracted to me."

"Would you like a glass of wine, Mrs. Taylor?" Samuel asked the waiters.

"I don't drink wine in the morning. Thank you for your offer, Mr. Philips," Elisa replied, taking another sip of her already bland tea.

The wine arrived shortly after. Samuel drank the wine casually while Elisa was already burning with emotion at the sight of Samuel's face. But she had to remember that she would get revenge, take all her pain, and avenge it without mercy.

"We've met before. Back then, you were modeling, and I wasn't established enough."

"Really? Then, when you were poor, where did we meet?"

"Your mouth is too sharp, Elisa. But I like tough women like you," Samuel retorted, unbuttoning his suit jacket and taking another sip of the wine in his glass.

"I do have a sharp mouth. That's why I don't think you're right for me."

"You like tough women?" she continued, remembering Samuel's unchanging words. Samuel also said those words to Camelia in the past, and it turned out to be one of his tricks to attract women.

"Yeah, I like women like you. So much so that I wish I had the chance to be with you for the rest of my life," Samuel said again, trying to touch Elisa's snow-smooth milk hands.

"Don't touch me without permission, Samuel!" said Elisa, pulling her hand away from Samuel's disgusting and dirty hand.

She stood up from her seat. She had wanted to leave for a long time, but she had been holding back. "Excuse me, Mr. Philips," Elisa continued.

"Elisa." Samuel caught Elisa's wrist and gripped it tightly.

Elisa turned around and hit Samuel in the face with her expensive bag. She jerked Samuel's hand away from her wrist and retaliated once again by pouring a bottle of wine over Samuel's head. She had succeeded in publicly humiliating the man's body with a body bathed in wine all over.

"Damn, man, get away from me!" Elisa pointed at Samuel's face.

****

Taylor Company

Felix opened the report and signed it on the white paper. He had been doing this since the morning. He was so fed up, but the pile of files kept coming and getting annoying.

His driver said that Elisa had gone out and relaxed at a restaurant. Felix was happy to hear that; he liked that Elisa had something to do outside instead of staying at the mansion and worrying about her.

"Should I call?" said Felix, dropping his pen and taking off his reading glasses; he turned on his phone screen and smiled as he saw their wedding photo on the wallpaper. It had been four years since Felix had Elisa's cell phone number, but they had never once exchanged news.

It was only during their four years together that Felix recently felt an overwhelming vibe. He had been going crazy after falling in love with Elisa two weeks ago; Elisa's character had made Felix feel like a love-struck young man who had forgotten that he was almost thirty years old.

Felix's fingers had yet to type a message. An incoming message caught his attention, and his business partner sent a video that made Felix curious because he mentioned his wife Elisa's name.

Felix's eyes carefully watched the 30-second video in which Elisa was seen hitting a man in the face with a bag. Then, pouring wine over the man's head, Felix tried to see the man's slightly blurry face.

"Who is that man?" replied Felix, typing a message quickly.

"Mr. Philips."

"Are you sure? Where did you get the video."

"My girlfriend and I were having breakfast. And I saw your wife with Mr. Philips."

Felix no longer replied to the message. He dialed Elisa's number, and was waiting for the dial tone in a few seconds.

"Where are you, Elisa?"

Felix's heavy voice was full of anger. He was jealous of Elisa's closeness with Mr. Philips, not caring about the fight scene seen in the video. Felix didn't like Elisa sitting with a man other than him.

"Felix? I'm on my way back to the mansion. What's wrong?"

"Wait for me at the mansion! I'll be back."

Felix unilaterally switched off the phone and canceled all his meetings for the day. "Let's go back to the mansion, Ricci," Felix said to his driver.

Felix was silent throughout the journey. Ricci repeatedly stole glances through the windshield of the car in front of him; who knew who had angered Felix?

Felix got out of the car and walked quickly into the mansion. The servant saw him coming back with a cold face, that's right! No one dared to look Felix in the eye when he was angry.

"Is Madame Elisa back yet?"

"Yes, sir. Madame Elisa is in her room," the servant replied.

Felix climbed the stairs quickly. His hands clenched tightly into fists, the video of Elisa and Samuel replayed hundreds of times in his brain. Felix's jealousy became unbearable, and he broke down the door to Elisa's room.

Elisa, who was on the balcony, turned around and was surprised by Felix's arrival. "Are you back?" asked Elisa when she saw Felix's eyes, which looked so cold and untouched. "What's wrong with you?" continued Elisa, who stepped back to see Felix's frightening face.

Felix caught Elisa's hand and gripped it tightly, probably leaving a mark of anger, but Felix didn't care about that.

"Did you meet Samuel?"

"Yes, I met him by accident. But could you let go of my hand first? Felix is in pain."

"Elisa. I don't like my property being approached by anyone; no man should ever touch mine," Felix said, still pulling Elisa's hand and throwing her on the surface of the bed.

"Felix, what are you going to do," Elisa said as she saw Felix unbuckle her belt and pull her hands tightly together.

"Elisa. Am I not allowed to touch you? Am I so disgusting in your eyes," Felix whispered, kissing the crook of Elisa's neck and then moving to crush Elisa's lips without remaining.

Camelia tried to resist Felix. But she remembered that she was not Camelia but Elisa. Felix had the right to do anything to the owner of the body, who had become his wife.

"Hmmpss. Felix," Elisa murmured, staring into Felix's eyes, which were shrouded in a haze of passion.

"Permit me, Elisa. Permit me; at least I have the confidence that only I can have you," he said in a husky tone that seemed so frustrated.

Elisa gave a small nod. She could only surrender now; there was no point in resisting. Felix wasn't a stranger; Felix was her husband, and she should give him what he had wanted for so long. Maybe the old Elisa would have refused tooth and nail, but Camelia couldn't see Felix suffer.

"You deserve it, Felix. Do whatever you want," Elisa said, closing her eyes as Felix's fingers touched her body.

The bright daylight witnessed Felix and Elisa's voices echoing in every corner of the room. Bodies burning with passion race over and over again without stopping. Felix hugged Elisa's body tightly, kissed her closed eyelids and then moved on to her swollen lips. Elisa cried, but Felix felt proud that he was the man who had won her virginity.

"I love you, Elisa," Felix whispered over Elisa's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Elisa. I'm in love with your husband," Camelia could only think after listening to Felix's declaration of love for Elisa.

****