Chapter 20

Oh no! Is he telling the truth? She asked herself.
He was now close to her. She didn’t even notice that he moved towards her. Now, only the couch was separating them. She could smell his pleasant scent which she hated to admit, she missed. But before he could completely close the space between them, she stepped back and went around to go to the opposite direction which was a wrong move. A few feet from her was a wooden sliding door which divided the living room and the bedroom. Before she knew it, Luke was holding her arms. He really moved like Flash.
"I miss you so damn much Mrs. Contrero, " he whispered in a breathy voice as he gazed at her eyes then her lips.
When he started rubbing her arms gently which sent thousands of voltages in her body, she tried to free herself from him. "Let me go!” she demanded.
She wanted to sound steely but her words came out sounding more like a plea. His eyes constricted and his mouth became a hard line again.
He sighed heavily before speaking. "Babe, you got it all wrong. What you saw when you left me isn't what you thought. I had never cheated..."
"NO! I don't want to hear anything about that! Leave it! I already buried everything!" she almost shrieked.
She won’t admit to him than even if it had been three years, the memory of that fateful night still caused her pain. She kept telling herself that she didn’t love this man anymore who unfortunately was her legal husband. She still couldn’t get over the hurt of seeing him kissing another woman. He had forbidden her to do a lot of things but he kissed another female. Whatever he said, one thing won’t change, what he did was still cheating.
"If you really didn’t want to do that since you were already married, you shouldn’t have gone there no matter what your friends said. It was easy to say no!” she angrily accused him.
He pulled her closer to him. "I know you won’t believe me if I’ll say that I didn’t expect that to happen. If you’ve only seen what I did after that woman kissed me. You have to believe me that I didn’t want that to happen. I regret every moment of it. I am sorry. And everyone deserves a second chance. It has been three agonizing years for me. You left me without a word. And you didn't even hear my side of the story. You belong to me and you have no right to leave me!” he hissed.
She tried to wriggle free which made him angrier. She knew that he was expecting her to come back to him easily. Maybe he thought that since she was back in the country, she would reconcile with him.
"I understand that you are still mad at me but don’t I have the right to be angry too? How could you even think that our wedding was fake? Is that another reason why you run away from me? That is just bull!" he rasped.
His aura became darker. She chewed the inside of her lower lip. It was a fact that he was scaring the hell out of her. They were alone and he owned the hotel and his staff knew that they were married. He could do anything he wanted with her.
Isabelle! Get a grip on yourself! He doesn't scare you! You are braver now! She reprimanded herself.
She jutted her chin at him to hide her nervousness. She was hoping that Luke wouldn’t do anything drastic to prove to her that he had every right to claim her body.
"You can't blame me for thinking that our marriage is not real! After you had beaten up Reed, you and your mother were talking about you not telling me the truth about something!" she angrily told him.
Luke’s brows furrowed as he tried to remember his conversation with his mother. He cursed when it came to him what she was referring to.
"I was talking about your father trying to find you! I admit I was wrong for not telling you but I was so damn worried that you will leave me to go with him! It was pretty obvious that I forced you to marry me! But over my dead body will I allow you to leave me for your father! Nothing and no one can separate us! ” he said through clenched teeth.
She was lost for words. She didn’t know how to react and what to say after his revelation.
I should have had a more critical thinking instead of jumping into conclusions! A part of her said.
But it is what it is. She couldn’t do anything about her actions and decisions in the past anymore. Right now she needed to stay logical though she felt really confused with Luke’s revelation. Yes he apologized and he admitted that he was wrong for letting that woman kiss him and their marriage was legal. But the fact was that at some point in their relationship, she felt suffocated because he manipulated and controlled her. Could she still go back to that kind of marriage? A lot had changed in her, not only her appearance. And she didn’t love him anymore as she kept telling herself. She had a feeling that it was one sided. She loved him but sadly, it was an unrequited love. Her husband saw her as his possession, not as a wife. She couldn't have that again. She had gotten away from him before and she didn't want to go back to him again.
"Let go of me!" she tried to be free from his hold.
His eyes turned dark and he was breathing in short gasps. Obviously he was controlling his own anger but he was really pissed. She still knew him so well. He was about to say something when they heard the bell rang. She almost released a sigh of relief.
"Must be my bags," she said without any trace of emotions in her voice.
She thought he won’t move but after several seconds, he finally released her.
"We are not done talking Mrs. Contrero," he uttered in a cold voice before he turned to get the door. She almost rolled her eyes.
After opening the door, Luke’s phone started ringing. He nodded at the bellboy to bring his wife’s bags inside. He walked to the left side of the room where there was a big glass window. He could see the view of the metropolis from above.
"Are you with Isabelle already?" his mother asked.
"Yes," came his cold reply. He heard her sigh.
"Remember what I told you son. This time make it up to her. If you need to woo her just to gain her trust back then do it! Stop being high-handed and too forceful! I am sure that you don't want to lose her again,” she reminded him.
"I didn't lose her and I will never do. We both know that I just gave her some space to grow and heal just like you suggested, " he said frowning when he remembered Isabelle’s reaction to her. He was not even sure now if she had healed. She seemed to be still very much angry at him. She deemed to hate him. He clenched his fist when he thought of that. He didn't like the way she talked and acted towards him. She had become feisty. He couldn't entirely blame her but he didn't like it at all. He wanted the old Isabelle. Submissive and dependent on him.
"She has changed," he murmured as if to himself.
His mother laughed quietly. "I am sure it's for the better."
His frowned deepened.
"She has become more beautiful I know. She is independent and she knows what she wants Your wife has become a better woman. A wife that any husband will be proud of,” his mother added.
Mrs. Amanda Contrero knew that her son didn’t like the changes in Isabelle because he had been used to being the boss and getting what he wanted. But she was proud of her daughter-in-law.
"Your reverse psychology won't work with me, Ma," he said dryly and he heard his mother sighed.
"Luke will you just listen to me okay? Do the right thing! If you did everything in a haste in the past, this time do things the right way if you want to win her back," she advised.
Of course his opinion was different but he chose not to speak because his mother wouldn’t stop.
"And one more thing! I already feel guilty hiring someone to watch her for three years so the least you could do don't do that now that she is here. She didn’t do anything wrong for the past years so for sure the more that she won't do anything morally wrong now! Let's give her the real freedom she deserves."
***
Isabelle was inside the big and elegant bathroom. She pulled one of her suitcases inside. She was dying to have a warm bath. Her muscles feel stiff after twelve hours of sitting in the plane and at the airport. She made sure that she locked the door. She soaked in the bath for half an hour. She stayed in the bath until she felt the stiffness had gone from her body. She put on a sleeveless night dress. She wasn’t planning to eat out so she wore her sleepwear already. She would just order room service for a light meal. She was hoping that her husband had left. She intentionally stayed longer in the bathroom so he would get bored and leave. She didn’t want to talk with him cause his presence was stressing her. She just wanted some peace and quiet so she could rest well. She would be busy once she and Joyce met. She checked her face in the mirror. It was rosy from her warm bath. She was lucky she had good genes. Her skin was soft and smooth without any make up on. She took out her body cream from her luggage. She would slather her arms and legs with it. She got out of the bathroom only to be shocked to see Luke on the bed. He looked cool and at home as he was leaning on the headboard. Her eyes narrowed because he was just in his briefs. She tried not to stare at his muscled chest and yummy abs so she quickly raised her eyes to his face.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked in an irritated voice.
He cocked an eyebrow then let out his wonderful smile, "Waiting for you babe..." he murmured in a hoarse voice while his eyes roamed on her body as he laid on the bed.
"What the hell for?!"
He put his hands behind his head while he ran his eyes on her body. "Tsk…tsk..! Swearing doesn't become you babe, " he said while shaking his head in disapproval but he was grinning.
She made an ugly sound behind her throat. Luke’s eyes turned darker when he saw how sexy his wife was. The silver satin nightgown she had on outlined her body. She was not wearing any bra and her nipples were visible through the thin material. Her tits had really become larger. He felt his manhood sprang to life.
"You look delicious Mrs. Contrero," he murmured throatily.
What he said made her really angry. He was still lascivious and blunt. They have been separated for years so for her, they were no longer a couple though they were legally married. She threw the body cream she was holding at him. She groaned in frustration when it missed him maybe an inch. She was targeting his face and his devilish grin.
"WHAT THE....?!!" he exclaimed. He didn't expect his wife to do such a thing.
"How dare you talk to me that way!” she accused him angrily.
He got out of the bed. " What the hell did I say wrong? You are my wife!" he said sounding pissed.
She out her hands on either side of her waist. "Get out now!" she demanded irritably.
She noticed that his neck turned red but his anger won't stop her from saying what she wanted to say. She won’t let him control her anymore. She had to thank her dear husband because she changed due to the hurtful things he did to her.
"You said this hotel is also mine! So I have the right to ask you to go out! I want to rest and I don't want you here!" she said while gritting her teeth.
He was now advancing towards her slowly. He had a determined look on his handsome face. "I have waited too long for you to come back. Your feistiness won't stop me from making love to you so just be a good girl and do your wife's duties Mrs. Contrero," he ordered throatily.
She stepped farther away from him, "Dream on! I won't let you touch me again! I want an annulment!" she hissed.
Luke stopped dead in his tracks when he heard what she said.