After a few minutes of waiting for Alisha to return, Leonardo decided to go look for her; he excused himself from the table and went through the direction Candy had given Alisha.
What he saw as he took the last turn to the rest room left him in a well of emotions.
Alisha was held to the wall by the man he had seen her with earlier that evening.
He didn't know if he should walk up to the man and break his nose, seems he was into breaking noses lately.
Or walk away from his wife who was having a fling with this stranger.
He turned back and walked away, but not before making sure she saw him and knew he had caught her.
"Leonardo, wait it's not what you think" she tried rushing towards him, but the baker held her back.
"Who is that?" he asked confused
"That is my husband, I need to explain things to him" she panicked
"No, you can talk to him later at night, after the dinner, but don't go in a rush, your blood pressure could drop" Alisha nodded and walked back slowly towards the table.
"Alisha are you okay?" Martha asked her as she picked at her food.
"Yes, I am fine" she faked a smile and drank some water.
Leonardo had a frown on his face, he was silent.
The dinner ended and they all went back to their rooms after dismissing their guests.
Leonardo got to the room first and sat on the bed.
He was taking off his necktie when Alisha came into the room.
"Leonardo listen to me" she said as she locked the door.
"I don't want to hear it, I know what I saw, that man was about to kiss you"
"You've gotten it all wrong, I was feeling sick at the table and couldn't eat, so I went to the restroom not to pee, but to maybe throw up or something, anything that would make me feel better, I felt dizzy before I got there and was about to slum when that man held me.
I rested my back to the wall, and he wanted to check my eyes to be sure I was okay or needed a doctor, he was not going to kiss me, he was just close because he was holding me and making sure I was fine."
He knew she was telling the truth, he believed her, he was not even mad at her, he was mad at himself.
Why was he so angry at the thought of another man being with Alisha.
He was not in love with her, he reminded himself.
In two years and a few months, she would be free of her contract with him, she would be with another man, and maybe be married with kids with someone she would fall in love with.
So why was he bothered when the reality stared at him in the face?
He went to the shower cubicle and let water run from his head down his body.
He needed to see Dr. Snow, something strange was happening to him.
By the time he to the room dressed in his pajamas, Alisha was already asleep.
She didn't even take off her heels which was her usual routine.
He took off her shoes, and eased her out of her gown slowly so he would not wake her up.
He gazed at her in bra and thong and he felt his dick getting hard.
He took out so many pins from her hair and used a wipe to take off as much makeup he could from her face, not that she had so much makeup on, she didn't need so much makeup to make her look beautiful.
He wore one of his fee tee shirt over her and her pajamas pants.
He hoped she would not feel awkward in the morning if she realized he had taken off her dress.
He unhooked her bra through the shirt so she could be comfortable, but he did not take the bra off.
He adjusted her on the bed and covered her with the duvet.
This was the first time in his life he would be responsible for a woman.
As he watched her sleep peacefully, he was pleased with himself.
And he owed her an apology.
Alisha woke up the next morning, deciding not to think about how she found herself in Leonardo's tee shirt she set to back her bag; their flight was for later that evening.
Her bag could not contain the new clothes the women had made her buy and she was confused as to how to get them over to California with her.
Leonardo was out of the room, she did not meet him when she woke up. His bag had been packed. She opened it and found he had space in it, even after putting the things she had gotten for him.
Without asking, she filled his box with the remaining of her clothes and gave a satisfactory smile.
To reward herself she went down to breakfast.
She found the women in the kitchen.
"Good morning Alisha, it is a good thing you are here, this is our last day together, so we thought of cooking breakfast ourselves" Candy said to her the moment she got into the kitchen.
"Perfect, I could bake anything"
"Give us instructions and we will obey" Martha said delightedly she was not going to be fully involved in cooking, she never liked cooking.
Alisha looked at the supplies in the kitchen, surprisingly the kitchen had everything she needed.
She set to prepare deep fried dough, she made dumplings while Amelia made the wontons.
She also made blueberry muffins. Martha made coffee and Orange juice, the domestic workers helped with kneading and other difficult processes. In a short while breakfast was ready.
They were almost done setting the table when the men came in.
The men gave their wives kisses on their forehead as if it was panned. Alisha knowing Leonardo was still mad at her from what he assumed she had done with the baker knew he was not going to come close to her.
Leonardo had though hard last night, he was scared that if he didn't treat Alisha right, she could go against the contract and ask for a divorce.
Deciding to be a good husband even if it was against his will, he went to her, kissed her forehead and hugged her.
"You look beautiful today, my darling" he said in a voice that others would hear.
Alisha was not going to be deceived there was no way Leonardo would say such words to her except there was something to it, and this worried her more than it made her relax that their fight was over.
They sat to eat, with the men praising the women for the delicious meal and most especially more thanks to Alisha for the muffins.
Leonardo had tasted her cake once, and now tasting other baking she had done, he was more than eager to have her open her bakery.
They all said their goodbyes as they waved Candy and Camelo.
Leonardo had sent back the rented car, so he had a cab take them to the airport. Mr. Camelo has insisted that his driver take them to the airport but Leonardo had told him not to bother.
A staff had taken their bags into the trunk of the cab, but when they arrived at the airport and Leonardo carried the bags, he was confused as to why his bag was heavier than it was when he had packed it that morning before he stepped out.
Alisha gave a secret smile the moment she noticed the look on Leonardo's face when he had lifted their bags.
Alisha was mentally not prepared for the flight that would take almost 15 hours, she wished there was a faster way.
They flew in a private plane back to California.
The first few hours of flight, Alisha finalized her business plan, she was ready to launch. While Alisha worked, Leonardo reviewed the contract, there was no place where it stated that Alisha could seek for a divorce if she felt threaten or not well taken care of.
He decided he was going to have his lawyer look at it and make it impossible for her to leave the contract until on the expiration date.
He highlighted the additions he wanted the lawyer to make, and then decided he was satisfied with what he had done.
Alisha ignored him, she read a novel, and then fell asleep. He woke her up later to eat dinner.
They arrived California late in the afternoon, Alisha was exhausted. When they arrived at the mansion, she took a hot bath ate what Mary had cooked and went to sleep.
Leonardo on the other hand had a quick shower, took soda, and drove down to Dr. Snow's office; he could not wait another day before he saw her.
"It's good to see you again Leonardo, it's been a very long time." Dr. Snow said the moment he settled in her office.
"I didn't think I would be back here, but I am losing it"
"Does this still have to do with your childhood?" she asked
"No, I am over that"
"Then what is it?"
"I am stuck in something I cannot control, I hate been out of control.
I have tried every method I know, nothing is working."
"What exactly is out of your control?" she asked him with her ever-patient voice
"Alisha, Alisha and how she makes me feel"
"Who is Alisha?"
"My wife"
"Your wife?"
"Well, it's not what you think it is, I am in a contract marriage with her"
"Why did you chose contract, and this is for how long?"
"It's a three year contract and we are just in the third month, but she is driving me nuts already.
I had to go into this contract for my inheritance."
"Does she know why you married her?"
"No"
"Why did she agree to marry you then?"
"She needed the money, her sister needed to have brain surgery, so I offered her money to be married to me."
"Why is she out of your control?"
"I hate to say this, but she speaks to me the way she likes, no one dares to do that, I don't like curvy women, I like them skinny, but I've been drawn to her, she keeps getting me turned on.
We have many little stupid arguments."
"Those things are normal with couples"
"That is the problem, we are not a couple, we are more like in an agreement, we should not live like couples."
"Why?"
"I don't know, I feel like I can no longer be in control if we live as a couple"
"Are you scared?"
"Of losing control yes"
"No Leonardo, are you scared of falling in love with her?"
"No way, I am Leonardo Legend, I don't do love"
"Tell me how it is with other women you've been with"
"There's nothing about the other women, when I see them all I smell is they want my money, and all I want from them is a one night stand, nothing else, nothing more."
"So why not you have sex with Alisha and move on from her?"
"That would complicate everything"
"You could have sex with her, then as usual, you would no longer desire her, then you two can keep your distance and appear together only where necessary, that solves it."
"That's the problem, I don't want to be away from her and that scares me, I'm beginning to care for her, to make her happy, I've been telling myself that it is because of the contract, but when I see her with other men, my blood boils, I want her only to myself."
"Do you want this feeling to stop?"
"I need it to stop, but I do not want it to stop"
Dr. Snow shook her head, if not that she was a professional she would have concluded that this was a hopeless case.