Chapter 53: 53

Katia breathed slowly and looked sideways, without turning her head to look at him.

Stefan, when he finished what she had asked him to do, stroked her back with his fingertips, making her skin crawl.

She shrugged her shoulders at the feel of him.

He got up from the bed, but not before kissing her neck. Katia put her hands on her chest to hold the dress and turned to face him.

She couldn't hold it any longer. She needed to know the truth.

"Stefan..." she called out to him.

"Is something wrong? Don't you want me to leave or something?" he joked, laughing as he turned around.

"It's just that I want to ask you something," she said, avoiding eye contact.

"Tell me," he turned slightly to look at her.

"Why did you marry me?"

Stefan looked at her in surprise, not expecting that question and not knowing how to answer it. He clenched his fists inside his pockets.

Without warning, he began to approach her, sat down beside her, and placed a hand on her leg. Katia looked into his eyes, waiting for his response, but something told her she wouldn't get a straightforward answer.

Stefan stroked her knee and smiled, then said, "It's better if you take your pills before bedtime."

"What I want is for you to answer me," she demanded, while he reached out to grab the glass of water and the box of pills the doctor had prescribed for her the first time.

"It's late. Take the pill and go to sleep," he said before getting up from the bed.

"Stefan!" she called out, but he didn't turn around. "Stefan!" she called again. "Come back and answer me! Stefan!"

But he acted as if he hadn't heard her. He didn't think the moment to tell her the truth was about to arrive, but he wanted to delay it as much as possible.

He was getting used to being with her and didn't want to lose her. If he played his cards right, she would be the one to give him a child, securing his inheritance from his grandfather.

He sighed as he entered his room, and his green eyes stood out in the darkness of the room. His cold, calculating, and intimidating gaze had returned.

He turned on the light and approached some papers on the antique-style table, sitting on the edge of the furniture without taking his eyes off those documents.

After ten minutes, he stretched his arm and checked the time.

"I have a very busy day tomorrow. I'll announce my trip to Rostock during lunch," he said while looking at his watch. "Let's hope everything goes well. I've been working on this shipment for many months," he thought with a serious expression and placed the papers on the table.

...

The next morning, Stefan was reading the newspaper while sipping his breakfast coffee. He needed to come up with a believable excuse to give Katia to justify his three-day absence. During those three days, he would be in the city of Rostock, handling some business matters.

He glanced at the watch on his left wrist and then looked toward the dining room entrance. Jennel brought him some more coffee and poured it into Stefan's cup. The woman looked at him with a concerned expression as he closed the newspaper, folded it, and placed it on the table.

Seconds later, he started his breakfast.

"Come on, Jennel... Nothing will happen to me," Stefan told her when he noticed her worried look.

"Understand me, sir. What should I tell Katia if she asks about you? Besides, going all the way to Rostock..." the woman commented, clearly concerned.

"I've been farther away before," he smiled to reassure her. "I'll be back here by Friday night. Please, don't worry. If Katia sees you like this, she'll ask, and I don't want her to know... yet."

"It's not fair, sir. That young..."

"That young lady and I will only be married for four more months. After that, we'll each go our separate ways. The less she knows about me, the better," he interrupted with a serious expression.

Jennel headed towards the front door when she heard the doorbell ring. But before leaving the dining room, she turned to Stefan and looked at him with pity.

Something told her that he truly cared about that girl.

She sighed and walked toward the door. She opened it and was surprised to see a tall, dark, and handsome man at the entrance.