Chapter 25 Chapter 25
“I am not a public figure,” I implied. “You see, all I want is a simple life.”
I stopped walking and looked up at the beauty of the sky. The palette of this place is really different, like there’s a camera filter. And even though my feet have finally stepped into this place, I still can’t believe it. I feel like I’m dreaming.
“And yet you married a rich man?”
I puffed out. “Honestly speaking, I didn’t know that you’re a rich man.”
“How come you don’t know me? Everybody knows me.”
I laughed again. “I mean, yes, I heard about you, but I was drunk that night, and I did not know that it was you. I’ve read a couple of magazines about you, not because I’m interested, but because I’m looking for something to kill time while I’m waiting for patients… But seriously, I really didn’t know until you told me who you were the day after that night. I was even more shocked when you said that we’re already married. Good thing the judge agreed that even if I was drunk, we were still married.”
“It was you who asked me. You were the one who was crying to marry you. They asked you many times. You gave us your consent. I have witnesses. I have proofs.”
“I just don’t remember anything.” I even scratched my head.
“That doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. I told you we are real. Our marriage is real.”
“I know. I do believe it. I just really can’t believe it.”
He faced me and stared deeply. I don’t know. Ever since we were on the airplane, he’s been looking at me like that.
“Tell me, what kind of simple life do you want?”
I inhaled a couple of breaths as I imagined what I had always dreamed of ever since I moved out: being an independent woman.
“You might laugh at me,” I said.
“Why would I do that?”
“It’s just that… What I want is very, very different from the life you’re letting me experience now, but you don’t have to give it to me…”
“Is that a life on Mars?” He squinted, trying to gauge what I meant to say. “I can give that to you.”
I shook my head. “Nah. It is really impossible for you to do that.”
“Well, I won’t know if you don’t tell me. I’m not a mind reader, Mori.”
I smiled as I heaved a deep breath again. I gazed upon him, and at that moment, a sunset behind him caused a beautiful scenario that warmed my heart. I was a bit taken aback for a moment.
“I want to live in the mountains where I’m the only one there… the house is made of bamboo, life is simple. Bathing in the river, eating on banana leaves, sleeping on a wooden bed. All the food will be harvested or slaughtered. I want a slow kind of life, Hendeix. Simple, but something no one can give me except myself. And I understand that because people nowadays want a luxurious life. That’s why it’s so ironic to me that I married someone rich and powerful like you. It feels like that dream drifted even farther from me.”
He swallowed, and I was certain that at that moment, living the kind of life I wanted was nowhere near what he had imagined. I remembered what he said at the airport the other day—he wouldn’t follow me outside the world he knew because he preferred a life with competition. While I didn’t.
He parted his lips and smiled, full of hesitation.
“Looks like you’re right. It really is difficult to do what you’re saying. I can’t give up the things I have just to live in the mountains, Mori. I apologize for that.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, Hendeix. I only mentioned it because you asked, but I’m grateful just for telling you. No woman in this world can get this kind of privilege except for me, and I will enjoy every inch of this while I’m still alive.”
He nods as he holds my hand. “Right. That’s what you should do as my wife. Use my money for whatever things you want or even waste some of it. I don’t care. You don’t even have to work because you can already get what you want just by saying my name. That’s how powerful I am. I can buy properties here in Italy if you want.”
I smirked. “You don’t have to do that. I’m not a materialistic person, and I’m not after anyone’s money. I have my own savings, and besides, I don’t really work anymore.”
He frowned. “Huh? I thought you were a doctor.”
“Yeah, but I don’t work in any hospital. I just do volunteer work in medical missions.”
“You do?”
“Uh huh.” I nodded. His amazement was obvious at what I said, so he couldn’t speak right away.
“Whoa, that’s amazing. I did not know you too well.”
“You did not search about me?” I returned his question, the same one he once asked me.
“Why would I waste money on that? I can simply ask you, right?”
I laughed. It seems that somehow, I’m getting to know him. Yes, he has a lot of money, but he doesn’t just spend recklessly. He actually has a practical side sometimes. Maybe that’s why he didn’t buy his own plane—why waste money on that?
“And you can also simply ask me, Mori, if there’s anything you want to know about me. Like what I’ve told you before, I want to know you more because I want to be friends with you. I promise that I will be as truthful as I can be in every question you will ask.”
“About that…” I began, catching his attention. “I don’t do friends… But maybe you’re the first.”
I extended my hand to him. He smiled, and it felt like something struck my heart at that moment. I only wanted to accept him as a friend, yet why does something feel like it’s resisting?
“So you’re accepting me as your friend now, my wife?”