Chapter 9 THE HONEYMOON
The flight took about twenty-eight hours including connection time to other countries but finally they arrived.
Valerie had already arranged for drivers to pick them from the airport and despite the long travel in silence, barely acknowledging the fact that they were next to each other, Lena was happy to be there.
"You really must be a billionaire I see, three luxury cars just to come get two of us, that's crazy." Lena said teasing Ethan who clearly was not in the mood, he never seemed to be.
"I guess you are not tired from the trip, seeing that you still have the energy to talk so much" Ethan said not sparing her a glance
"Don't you ever get tired of being a rude ass, cold blooded person?" Lena fired back, moving closer to his, genuinely sick of his attitude
"Well, I'm sure you got tired of being broke didn't you, I mean you are here putting up with this cold-blooded person". He replied again, going even harder as he moved away from where they both stood.
"What the hell?" Lena exclaimed, amazed by his pettiness, she could do nothing but give him the sassy look
"The reporters just landed and they have eyes on you, try not to get into any arguments with her for the next few weeks, you can do that can't you?" Ethan read the text message Hugo sent to his phone.
He quickly looked around the airport like he was being chased by someone, before moving back towards Lena and grabbing her hands with a forced smile on his face.
"What are you doing" she asked, trying to release her right hand from his grip
"Give me your hand" He said beneath his teeth as he grabbed unto her hand again, all the while still forcing a smile
"Excuse me" she asked, removing her hand a second time, confused at his sudden change in behavior
Without saying another word, he grabbed her hand for the third time, and took the little handbag that rested on her shoulders.
"What are you doing Ethan" Lena was very much uncomfortable at this point, she stared at Ethan demanding answers, with her eyes boring into his soul.
"Except you want the next headline to be about how we kept fighting at the airport on the first day of our honeymoon, I suggest you drop this stupid act of yours and stay calm" Ethan whispered, finally giving a reason for his unusual behavior, as he looked around the airport one more time to see if he could sight any of them.
"There are reporters here already? What the hell is wrong with these people?" Lena said, instantly looking around in a very disorganized and obvious manner
"Would you stop doing and remain till please?" Ethan said, moving even more close to her and bumping her shoulder, he was clearly irritated.
"I mean how jobless can they be coming all the way here just to take pictures of us, A trip to Rome is so expensive right now you know." She whispered in such high pitch, showing both concern for their pockets and annoyance for their constant intrusion.
"Jobless you say? This is their job stupid, my face being on a page of their magazine gets them thousands of dollars in a day. How much do you think they'll earn, covering every part of my honeymoon?" I mean the whole world is desperate to see what happens in our lives now" He replied, talking like she was some dumb illiterate that he was lecturing.
"Yh Yh, all I hear right now is the fact that you have no life, no privacy whatsoever without cameras in and out of your face all the time. You must have been very lonely, no wonder you're so cold towards life." Lena replied, removing her hands from his, and coming forward to face him.
"What are you doing?" Ethan asked surprised, he didn't trust Lena at all and it clearly radiated on his face
"Common now no long face Mr Ethan, you don't want the headlines portraying how unhappy you are on your honeymoon." She replied, smiling suspiciously before giving him a pack on the cheek and running towards the car which was already packed, waiting for them.
Ethan had purposely waited a few minutes with Lena on the sidewalk, instead of going Into his car because he knew the paparazzi was around, and wanted their pictures taken.
He stood still for another few seconds trying to fathom what had just happened with Lena, but was brought back to reality by the sound of car horns which Lena constantly pushed, by reaching to the steering wheel from the back seat, trying to get his attention.
Lena had never been to Rome before so everything she saw amazed her. She took out her phone and started taking pictures of the city while Ethan worked on his iPad.
The lack of interaction between them had become so normal that it was no longer weird or awkward. Lena, who had forgotten about her real life for a second smiled so hard as she found the sight before her very amusing and breath taking
"I only got to see these things in movies you know, but it's even more beautiful in real life" she said, smiling like a child and she looked outside the window taking variety of pictures
"If you haven't even been to Rome as an artist then I can only wonder what kind of countries you visited." Ethan commented, being cold as ever, staring at her direction for a brief moment before turning back to work
Lena chose not to give any reply to him this time around but instead rolled her eyes and adjusted back to her normal sitting position. She was too excited to let him ruin her mood.
After what felt like forever, sitting at the back seat and dozing off multiple times, they finally got to their destination, making Lena open her eyes because the car stopped.
"We have arrived sir" the driver said, looking at Ethan through the front mirror while putting off the car engine.
"Thank you, Benjamin," Ethan said, as Benjamin got out of the car.
"Would you mind getting off my shoulder now, you weigh too much." Ethan said again, his tone much colder this time towards Lena, seeing as she had fallen onto his shoulders while she slept.
"Oh, I'm sorry" Lena replied, jolting up immediately and getting out of the car. She was a little embarrassed by what she did, hoping with all her heart that she did not drool on him.