CHAPTER 54

“We will now take off, I urge you to sit tight and make yourselves comfortable”

The cheesy voice of the air hostess echoed through

Sharon smiled slightly

She sat on a plush white cushion, a table was set in front of her with various appetizers

Luca was in another room, keeping his word to make things appear like they met on the trip

It was delusional, but cute

Their first encounter was terrible, their second, even worse

And now they were just supposed to forget everything, the doubt, the uncertainty, all of it

It was like—

A fresh start

A sort of do over.

They never got to discover anything about each other before they were married, never courted, never had genuine moments

Their marriage was like a death sentence, a cross they had to carry, a burden they were straddled with

Maybe if they had met under normal circumstances, maybe if they weren't forced into a union, things would've been different

For Sharon, it was going to be a journey of self discovery. She was twenty three years old, had no particular hobbies, didn't even know what she was good at. She only recently found out that she was a fast learner and could make a perfect cup of coffee

Before all that, everything she did, every step she took in life was predetermined by her father. He controlled everything she did, dictated all her affairs, to the point where she no longer knew who she was, or what she wanted

But now, she could get to discover herself, in ways she never thought possible

Was she excited for it? yes

Would she let the asshole in the other room know? Absolutely not

Speaking about the asshole in the other room—

“I beg your pardon Bella, may I sit?”

Sharon looked up at the intruder

It was none other than Luca himself

“Excuse me, who are you exactly?”

He smiled

“My name's Luca, but I think

You can call me anything you want”

“Asshole”

“What?”

“I choose to call you asshole, you may sit”

Luca smiled as he sat

“It’s Riann, I don't think I can endure another session of your fine talk before you finally ask my name”

They both laughed

“You're an interesting person Riann, please take my card”

He slipped a card to her side of the table

It was his credit card. Since they were going to stay in different houses, they needed to live independently if the act was going to look reasonable.

She swatted the card away

“No thanks, I don't collect stuff from strangers”

She reached into her bag and grabbed her purse, pulled out her own credit card and flashed it at him

When Luca said they were going to act like they didn't know each other, she came prepared. She wouldn't spend his money

He picked up the card and clasped her fingers around it

“I insist”

This was no debate, Luca was funding the trip, with or without her consent. And Sharon knew that it wasn't up for discussion

They locked eyes for a moment

“Well thank you kind stranger, do you always force random women to collect stuff?”

“Only those I find particularly interesting”

“Well Asshole

It's a pleasure to meet you—”

********************

“Good morning, can I take your order?”

“Oh yes please, I'll have a cup of coffee and a medium sized burger”

Claire's eyes went wide. He was the last person in the world she expected to see

“Coming right up”

Their eyes connected for a moment, then she turned around to take his order

“Fuck!”

“What the hell is that dipshit doing here

How did he even know I worked here

Oh my gosh! Is he stalking me?

He's definitely stalking me, there's no other explanation

Just act calm, and hopefully he won't ever come here again”

Claire took his food to his table, trying to act as normal as possible

“Here's your order, hope you enjoy it”

She said, a pennywise smile plastered on her face

She had smeared the words “Go away” with ketchup on his bun

Arman chuckled as she walked away

Claire was confused. Arman was out for her, she knew it. He definitely suspected her for something, and she was guilty as hell.

He was present during her last conversation with Sharon, he heard every word, every single word. Not that she told Sharon anything about the Donald agenda, infact she tried so desperately to avoid the topic entirely

But she felt that Arman could see through her alibi, like he knew when she was lying, knew when she was trying to cover up

Knew the pain behind her smile—

She told Sharon she was sorry, told her she could've been there for her, said she was caught up with “romance”

She sugar-coated everything, told Sharon she wasn't with Donald at the moment because she missed her simple life, and was just there momentarily

She didn't mention the part where Donald used her to get vital information from her family, how she threw away her conscience and took photos of her battered and bruised mother. Photos that could be used as evidence against her family

She also didn't mention how Donald verbally and physically abused her. She told Sharon she liked her hair short, she never mentioned that Donald pulled out her hair

And Arman, she felt like he could see through it all—