Chapter 4

I don't know where I got the strength and courage to laugh at what he said.

"You're right, this marriage is a prison," He placed the food in front of me, yes, but I could only stare at it.

"Eat now," he cooked. It looked delicious, but I had no appetite. Too bad it was the first time he cooked for me.

"Join me..." damn bitch! Where did you get the nerve, huh? Fuck! It seems I was wrong when I thought I was exhausted. When I looked up at Hunter, he was just looking at me seriously.

"Who says I'm not going to eat with you?" I was slightly stunned by what he said, and I almost caught my breath when he pinched the bridge of my nose before sitting on the seat next to me.

Wake up Dimaria, he's just playing tricks with you. He's acting so strange. Or maybe he's tired of his other women? Now he's into a model type and not the ones who look like octopuses?

I came back to myself when I felt him tap my forehead.

"What was that for?"

"Eat now, don't be fooled. I've known for a long time that I'm handsome," My jaw literally dropped. His face is also thick. I thought it was just me.

"Am I just drunk or are you really talking to me now like you didn't abduct me and threaten me 3 years ago?" I chuckled, but he refused to join me in my small laughs, so it immediately faded away and our atmosphere became awkward. He sighed. He lowered the spoon he was holding, and I almost got stiff with the handle, and he caressed my face as if it was something very important. Glassware needs to be taken care of so as not to be scratched or broken.

The moment he did that, I felt like my breathing stopped temporarily. That's the opposite of my fast and strong heartbeat now.

"I'm sorry..." My chest pounded even harder. My body shivered as my eyes got bigger. Even my lips were moved by what he said. Did he just say sorry? To me? I stared at his eyes, and I was even more upset when I found no trace of lying in his eyes. He's sincere. damn

"W-Why are you apologizing to me?" damn bitch! Of course! You just told me about his arrears, didn't you?

"Silly, because I put you in this situation. I locked you in my cage. I took away your freedom to decide, to do what you want, and to love the man you're in love with." He smiled apologetically.

"It's been three years, and in those years, there's been no night that I stopped thinking about this. About us. About the past. About my mistakes. I went too far when I dragged you into this marriage and threatened you. I shouldn't have dragged you into this mess; you're not part of it. It was just a war between me and your brother. You're not part of that war, and I really want to apologize for that." My mouth literally hung open. I was buying time to process that in my mind. What the fuck is he talking about?!

"I know this is too urgent and surprising. I just... well, I admit... I felt guilty earlier when I heard you crying in the restroom. I must have been really a jerk to you."

"Why are you telling me all of these? No matter how you try to apologize for it, "sorry" won't mean a thing now. I've been here for three years. I've been Mrs. Martinez for three years. The guy I like has already gotten a girlfriend. I already made my brother worried."

"I just apologized and admitted my mistake, but that doesn't necessarily mean I am going to give you back to Damon. You're my wife. I want you to stay with me. Dimaria, seven years, stay with me for seven years. We wasted three years, so now I will give you four years to love me. To fall for me."

"W-What? And then, w-what?" Gosh! I feel like my heart is about to give out. He smirked at me.

"And then you'll be mine forever. No one can bail you out, because I won't allow it. I have no plan to free you from this marriage. I'm giving you four years, and after that, we'll marry each other again. The reason why? Why can't I just let you go even if I can easily file a divorce?" He leaned closer... closer than we were now almost touching. I can feel his warm breath against my face, and it's intoxicating.

"I want this marriage to work out. I want us to work this out... so please cooperate and help me fulfill this fantasy, wife." My eyes widened as in an instant, he crossed the remaining distance between the two of us.

He firmly pressed his lips to mine. It left me completely amazed. To my surprise, I couldn't even resist his hot kiss. I wasn't mentally and emotionally prepared. He was just talking puzzled words I couldn't understand a while ago and the next he's now attacking my lips like it would make him feel full. He devoured my lower lips as he pushed his tongue inside my mouth, exploring, teasing, and tasting me.

A soft moan escapes my lips, and I hold onto his shoulder. I dug my nails into his flesh against his shirt and gripped it onto his shirt, causing that band to tangle. I felt the alcohol hit me and it was replaced by the intoxicating feeling caused by his kiss.

This breaks the record of our first kiss. It actually surpasses my first kiss when I was eighteen. Since I lived in a western country and adapted to their culture, I was a bit liberated before I reached the age of eighteen, when I reached legality. I dated men, kissed them a lot, and no one cared. No strings attached, just flings and flirting.

When I realized it, I gently pushed him. I closed my eyes tightly while catching my breath, and when I looked up at him, I found him sensually licking his lips before he smirked at me.

"I should have known that you could be this delicious. I might have really devoured you the first time we kissed," I felt my face heat up because of what he said, but I immediately put it out of my mind and said nothing. I just started eating.

"Why are you ignoring me? Did I kiss badly? I’m sure I am not. Did I taste bad?" I was almost surprised by what he said and immediately swallowed the food I hadn't chewed yet. I took the glass of water and drank it.

"What do you want me to do then? Talk about it. Isn't it a little bit awkward? When I kissed guys before, we ended up not talking afterward, like nothing happened. We'll just drop each other," I saw how his face darkened. His jaw hardened as he glared at me.

I was even more stuck because of that.

"Never kiss guys again like what you did before. If you don't want me to kill that guy who'll have a taste of your lips," and now he's being possessive? It looks like we're getting off-topic.

"I am a married woman. Real or not. Contracted or not, I will stay to be a loyal wife, as I was and I am." although I admitted that I still like Meast. I won't cheat on him the way that I'll hook up with some random guy. That's not me.

He seemed to be taken aback by what I said, so he closed his eyes slightly.

"Play fair, Hunter." He looked at me. The darkness had disappeared from his face.

"I will accept your 'four years for me to fall for you..."

"In exchange?" he asked curiously.

"You'll stop hooking up with random women. If you want us and this marriage to work out. Leave your playful side behind and just focus on me. Make me, Hunter. Make me fall for you."

Even if I know, deep inside me, I am already falling. And I do not know why.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" I was surprised to hear him speak next to me. It was too fast. I didn't know how the table turned too fast. Or maybe three years was enough for him to heal and get over whatever his reason was for doing those terrible things before.

"I miss my brother. I'd been missing him before we reunited, and three years ago, I just left him... again." I was just a kid when I was sent to the US without him. He suffered without me. It rekindles the guilt I've always had inside me.

That while he was struggling and suffering, I was living freely in the US. Doing well studying, though, has been a nightmare. What happened when I was just eight?

I didn't even accompany him during the times when he was trying to get out. I wasn't there when he was trying to heal. I wasn't there when he was undergoing treatments.

I am a useless sister.

"My fault. Do you want to visit him? We'll go back." I was stunned by what he said.

"W-What?"

"I am not joking wife," he hugged me from behind, my mind couldn't be stopped.

That fast? are we going home?

But I was still studying.

"But I was just in my third year here."

"You can pursue your degree there, while you work at my company."

"Huh? You mean, even though I'm not done yet, you're going to hire me to work for you right away?"

"Yes, I know you're good," I couldn't believe what he was saying.

C'mon, Dimaria. Don't fall too far. It's too early for that. You still have to know more about him. You still have to dig more. To discover more.

That night, I really thought that maybe it was just a dream or that I didn't breathe, so what kind of illusion did I think was the effect of alcohol?

The next morning, I woke up to find Hunter nowhere to be found. I still go to school with Robert, who drives for me. After class, I met Kimmy, because of our interrupted coffee date yesterday. I know he's going to complain if I don't indulge him now.

"Oh, it's a good thing you picked me up? "You're so busy," she said as she flipped her hair and took her iPad.

"I'm sorry, that's why I'm going now, right? Are you going to persuade me?"

"Oh, no thanks, dear! I have my boyfriend to do that," I chuckled.

"Hmm! Speaking of! You probably know Hunter Martinez, right?" I almost fell in love with what he said.

"Y-Yeah? It seems like everyone k-knows him... why?"

"Girl! He selected you to be their new ambassador for their new release of products. As in! There are so many who want to get an opportunity, but you! Take note that he really personally selected you. I will even forward your form when I receive an email from his assistant."

What the hell, Hunter?

"Can you imagine that? Hunter Martinez, the known top-richest, hottie, and handsome bachelor, just personally selected you. For all we know, he's not really into models." I frowned. I know he doesn't like models. That's not his type. He prefers girls who are not exposed to spotlights and whose faces are not seen everywhere.

"Hmm? You didn't know? Everyone knew that because it was often stated in magazines from his previous interviews."

"I don't know, I rarely read magazines."

But I'm curious and nervous at the same time.

"Usually, he doesn't really like to choose the model of their products or even talk to them for interviews." She leaned closer after taking a sip of her coffee frappe.

"Because they say... it has something to do with his ex-fiancée. His ex-fiancée also used to be a model."

My heart dropped. Like a broken object that fell and broke into pieces. I don't know, but fear rushed through my veins and into my head.

He had a fiancée? A model. Who is she? And where is she now?