Stargazing
Loukas POV
Before telling Hillary why I wanted her to be my wife, I drank a glass of water. I never planned on making her my wife, but it just came out and I never regretted saying it because I knew the marriage thing was not forever. It was just for six months until I was fine and until I got the business deal from A & T Construction. It’s not like I was going to fall in love with her.
It was never going to happen because I don’t plan on making her mine. Not her or anyone else.
“So? Why did you ask me to marry you?” Hillary hit the table and bought me out of my thoughts. The way she sounded made it seem like we were getting married for love.
“It’s for a business deal. I need you to play the role of a perfect wife, attend official outings with me, and travel around the world with me until I get what I want,” I told her, but she said nothing and just stared at me. “Ain’t you going to say anything?” I asked her.
Rotimi cleared his throat and spoke with food in his mouth. “I think you didn’t explain it the way she wanted,” he told me and swallowed the food in his mouth.
“Don’t talk to me with food in your mouth next time,” I told him and then pointed at Hillary, who wouldn’t stop staring at me. “Say something.”
Hillary folded her arms and what came out of her mouth next made me cough out loud. “Are we going to act like a real couple?” She asked.
“What? ” I coughed and quickly drank water from the glass on the table. “What do you mean by a real couple? I don’t understand what you mean by that, “I told her, and she chuckled and looked towards Rotimi, who shrugged his shoulders.
“What I meant was that we are going to play the couple role like a normal couple does,” she said, and I found that pretty interesting. The way she said it made it sound naughty.
I smirked at her and beckoned for her to continue. “How do couples act?” I asked her even though I already knew the answer.
She rolled her eyes and palmed her forehead. “Stop acting like you don’t know Loukas,” she stated.
I found her eyes rolling rude and if Rotimi wasn’t on the table with us, I would have grabbed her and placed her on my legs while kissing the hell out of her. I couldn’t do that because I was paralyzed and Rotimi was there with us. “If you are talking about sex,” I said and Rotimi jumped to his feet.
“What the hell, Lou!” He shouted at me as if I had said something wrong when I hadn’t. “Please refrain from such words when I’m around you two,” he stated and picked up his plate from the table. “If you two are done talking about your sexual lives, then call me,” he said and walked out of the dining hall. He muttered under his breath as he walked away. “Why do I need to know about their sexual lives?” I could hear his voice as he walked down the stairs.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.
“Ain’t you going to say anything about what I have just said?” I asked her and she finally raised her head to face me.
“You’ve told me what you wanted already, so now I know why we are getting married,” she answered. “And we are not having sex,” she stated.
I chuckled and nodded in response, but deep down, I wanted her. I wanted her in my arms while I fucked her until she was out of breath, but the way I wanted her pinned to my bed only existed in my head. What could a paralyzed man do? I can’t even walk on my own. “We can if you want,” I teased and clicked my tongue.
She scoffed and shook her head in response. “I’ll help you with whatever you want,” she said, making it sound as if I was forcing her to marry me.
It’s not as if she doesn’t have a choice. She does and she could easily disagree, which made me wonder why she agreed with my proposal. “If there is nothing else to say, then you can continue with the next phase.” She stood up and started packing our plates from the table.
“Where are you going?” I asked her.
“It seems you have something else on your mind. I should do the dishes while you continue thinking. I’ll visit you in your office once I’m done, “she continued packing the plates and when she was done, she turned to leave, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “What are you doing?” One of the plates almost dropped from her hand, but her reflexes reacted and she grabbed it before it could drop. “I almost dropped the plates because of you!” she yelled.
“It’s just a plate, Hillary,” I told her but she disagreed and yanked her hand free from mine. “I still need to talk to you,” I reminded her.
She nodded in response and walked away from me without saying anything. I muttered a curse word and punched the thin air. I said through gritted teeth and slammed my hand on the table. “She didn’t even listen to what I wanted to tell her,” I hissed and heaved a sigh. I looked towards the entrance of the dining room where she exited and sighed yet again.
What was she doing to me? I thought and laid back on the chair. I didn’t know how long I was seated until Rotimi appeared from the room’s entrance. He headed towards me and waved his hand in my face.
I slapped it away and glared at him. “What do you want?” I asked him.
Rotimi sat down on the chair next to me and crossed his legs. “I hope you know what you are doing?”
I responded by clicking my fingers on the table. “It’s the only way to get the deal fast from A & T Construction.”
“But there are other ways,” He tried to talk me out of it, but my mind was already made up. I was going to get married to Hillary until I was able to walk on my own and get the business deal.
“It’s the only way.”
Later that night, I sat in my room staring at an old picture of my parents and my four-year-old self. We all looked happy in the picture, and it’s so sad that I didn’t remember why we took that picture. It’s the only picture I had of us and another picture of myself and a girl I don’t even recognize. While I continued staring, the door leading to my office opened and Hillary walked in. She waved at me as she headed towards me. Before I knew it, she had stretched her neck to look at the picture in my hand, but I pushed her away.
“Mind your own business,” I said as I hid the photograph in the drawer. “What do you want?” I asked her.
“I told you I’d come over once I finished the dishes,” she reminded me, and I nodded.
I had completely forgotten about our discussions. She sat in the chair in front of my desk and coughed briefly. “So, concerning the marriage proposal, Don’t you think you should do it the proper way? ” She asked, but I blocked her voice out of my ear and I just stared at her lips. It’s pinker as if she just added lipstick. Who was she trying to impress, huh? I scoffed out loud and earned a glare from her.
“Why are you laughing?” She asked. “Is my question funny?” She asked, and I shook my head in response. She had no idea why I was laughing. It was fun to watch her talk, but I wasn’t ready for any conversation that night.
Seeing her face made me want to pull her into my arms and kiss her senselessly. “You don’t want to talk about this, right?” She seemed to understand my mood.
I nodded in response, and she stood up. “Alright, Loukas. I guess I just have to go, “she turned to leave but remembered something and turned back to face me.
I asked her if there was anything wrong.
“Tonight seems like a great day to stare at the stars, don’t you think?”
“Never!” I bluntly refused. I don’t even remember the last time that I stared at the sky or stayed outside at night. She was asking the impossible. “You should go to sleep,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. “Come on, Loukas, it’s just for tonight. The sky is really beautiful tonight, “she tried to convince me, but I shook my head in response.”
“No,” I said flatly.
She nodded in response and I thought she had given up, but she walked closer to me and bent over until our lips almost touched. I blinked as she leaned in. I closed my eyes, anticipating the kiss because it was what I wanted ever since dinner at the dining hall. I waited for the kiss, but it never came. Instead, I heard her chuckling in my ear. My eyes fluttered open, and when they met hers, she laughed at me. “You find this funny, don’t you?” I asked her and she nodded in response. “What will you do if I kiss you right now?” I asked her.
She visibly gulped and cleared her throat. “It’s okay if you don’t want to stare at the stars. I’ll go watch it on my own, “she turned to leave, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “What do you want?” She asked.
“Let’s go watch the stars.” I finally agreed to it because I wanted to keep seeing her face.
“Really?” Her face brightened up, and she smiled at me.
“You know, I don’t like repeating myself, Hillary,” I told her, and she nodded her head in response.
A few minutes later, we both sat under the tree outside the mansion and stared at the sky. Just like she had said, there were stars in the sky. They brightened up the sky, giving it a beautiful look. That night was the first time in fourteen years since I sat down and stared at the sky.
“I can’t believe you agreed to stargaze with me,” she said, pointing to a star in the sky.
I turned to look at her, and even in the darkness, I could see the shape of her face. I stretched my hand to touch her face, and she turned to face me. “Why do you agree to marry me?”
“Because as you said, it’s a business deal,” she answered.
Just a business deal, her words resounded in my head. I didn’t want it to be a business deal, but I was scared to fall in love again.
How can a man who grew up without love, get cheated by love fall in love? No way that could happen. I removed my hand from her face and looked up at the sky, trying to hide my disappointment in her response. “You are right, it’s just a business deal,” I said, even though my heart was saying something else.