Chapter 44

She abruptly stood up then ran into the dining room. Luke was halfway to the kitchen when she entered the elegant room. His face lightened up when he saw her. Her breath hitched when she looked at her husband's magnificent body which was covered by a gray sleeveless shirt. It was fitting his upper torso tightly and his biceps were exposed. He probably felt hot and sweaty after their game so he took off his white polo shirt. He removed his sunglasses before he opened his arms and winked at her with a sexy smile on his lips. They kissed. He savored tasting her luscious lips while he tightly held her soft body. Isabelle knew anytime his family would come and see them but she wasn’t worried. Her husband’s kisses were like doses of an addictive substance which her body was craving for. And for sure her in-laws would understand so she didn’t need to feel embarrassed. But who was she kidding? Her desire to be kissed passionately by him wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want him to end the kiss. She was stalling him from seeing Reed too.
"I missed you," he murmured against her lips.
She moved to break the kiss. "You have only been gone for two hours babe," she reminded him with a sexy smile.
He pulled her closer to his body. She moistened her lips when she felt his arousal above her tummy. She affected him immensely. Her mere sight and scent gave him a boner.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you more Mrs.Contrero."
They heard someone cleared his throat. It was her father-in-law. She smiled shyly and tried to pushed him from her but as expected, she couldn't even budge him. Instead of releasing her, he kissed her once again.
"PDA?" asked an amused female voice from the kitchen who sounded like Dianne.
"What is PDA?" his mom asked.
"Public Display of Affection auntie " Kara replied
"That's what I want to do with you darling though you don't feel comfortable doing it nowadays. I wonder why..." Isabelle’s father-in-law said with a frown.
Luke groaned and turned to look at his father with furrowed brows while still holding her waist with his left arm.
"I will pretend that I didn't hear that," he told his father with a disapproving look.
"That's is really gross Dad!" Dianne rolled her eyes and everyone laughed.
"Let's all have lunch. Food is served in the verandah,” her mother-in-law announced.
"Perfect!" the old Mr. Contrero said happily who walked to his wife and kissed her on the lips and everyone except Isabelle and Luke groaned.
They all proceeded to the verandah. Luke’s hand was on her back as she put some of the delicious food onto her plate. Then she felt her husband's hold tightened and she raised her eyes to look at him. She turned to where his eyes were. Now she knew why it was because Reed came out from the living room .
The men including Dianne’s husband said hi to Reed. Her father-in-law threw Luke a glance as if warning him not to do anything violent. Her husband's mouth was a thin line and she could see a muscle moving in his right jaw. The tension eased when Reed’s parents came in the room just in time.
Luke never left her side. They were having desserts when his father came to them.
“Son we will have a talk in the study,” he said with a serious tone.
His eyes narrowed and his lips were set in a thin line.
"Luke! I think this is the best time for you and Reed to fix things between you,” his father added before turning to walk in the house. Reed and his father followed him.
The women including her were quiet as they waited for Luke to say or do something. But all of them knew one thing. He might be high-handed but he was always respectful of his father.
"Go son,” his mother encouraged.
Then with a heavy sigh, he finally nodded and she swallowed a thank you. He looked at her then kissed her quickly on the lips and squeezed her hand before rising from the chair. When he was gone, her mother-in-law eased the tension by asking everyone to get more sweets. Excitedly, the women went to the table. Luke’s mom nodded at her with a smile and she reciprocated. They were hoping that what they were wishing for would come true after the men talked. Luke and Reed must mend their relationship. After less than half an hour, the glass door opened. They were just looking at the men in awe as they laughed when Reed's dad cracked a joke. Reed was behind Luke and though they were not laughing, the animosity between them was gone which was a relief. Soon their closeness would be back and they all knew that. The men sat on the chairs to chat and laughter enveloped the verandah.
***
She just got out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel. Luke was in the balcony looking at the pool below. He was in a pair of boxer shorts. When he sensed her presence, he turned to her direction. He grinned upon seeing her and she smiled back.
"Babe, I called Dr. Fuentes this afternoon and she said that we can already have sex and I’m on my safe period this week, " she declared huskily.
As she expected, he was now grinning from ear to ear. He went inside then closed the sliding door. He walked to her and embraced her while his lips were on the side of her neck.
"Hm...nice...really nice..." he murmured against her skin.
"Babe, I want a baby...” she told him. He removed his lips from her skin and straightened.
"No!” he uttered coldly.
She moistened her lips. "D-don’t worry. I will be very careful this time. We lost the baby because… " Luke said a cursing word and released her.
He went to the closets and grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt. He quickly put them on.
"B-babe, I’m sorry…” she apologized.
Obviously he was pissed and lost his sexual appetite.
"Don’t ever mention that again! I don’t want to hear it ever again!” he ranted.
He angrily got the car key and his cellphone. He also grabbed his leather jacket.
"Where are you going?"
"Out!" he coldly said before slamming the door after him.
She heaved a sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed. She was disappointed and sad with her husband’s reaction. It was true that she talked to her doctor and she said that they could have sex already. But she omitted saying to Luke that she was fertile tonight. She badly wanted a baby so she lied to him. Then she remembered Tommy, the cute toddler at the mall and she smiled. She was feeling that it was the perfect time to start a family. She was willing to become a full-time mom and wife. She was an only child so she wanted a lot of kids. What happened to their unborn child was traumatic for Luke but time heals all wounds. She stood up and sighed again. She was going to prepare a delicious dinner for them then she would seduce him which was a piece of cake. She had a mission: Make a baby Contrero. That thought brought a bigger smile on her lips. She could vividly imagine how their future children would look like. They would all be adorable.
But after a few hours, instead of feeling excited about seducing Luke, she was now annoyed. It had been hours since he left. It was now 9 p.m. He couldn’t have gone to the office since it was a Saturday. After a heavy sigh, she decided to call him.
“Where are you babe?” she asked trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. Her forehead creased when she heard noises from his background.
"I'm with my friends."
"Where exactly are you?" she questioned him. This time she sounded irritated. She was beginning to feel jealous and doubtful again.
"Let’s go Luke!" a female voice said.
That’s when she felt all the blood in her body came up her head.
Her Casanova husband was with a woman!
She was tired from cooking and was now suffering from stomachache due to hunger since she wanted to eat with him. And now she discovered that he was with someone? She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t answer her calls and messages. She squinted her eyes when Luke must have pushed the mute button because the noise from his background was silent for a few seconds. He probably told the female that his poor patheric wife was on the other line.
"Babe..." he began to say after several seconds but she hung up.
She would go out! She quickly changed her clothes. She wasn’t planning to leave the house but she was pissed. One good thing about it was no one would accompany her since Luke didn’t know that she was going out. She ignored the ringing of her phone. She was sure that he was calling. She quietly descended the stairs. The others were probably in bed since it was almost 10 p.m. She quickly went out of the house and hailed a passing taxi.
She called Joyce when she was in the cab. She knew her husband was out of the country so she would be free to see her even at this late hour.
"Joyce? Can we meet somewhere?" she asked.
" What’s up Belle? It’s almost 11 p.m. Can you go out?” she sounded puzzled.
" I’ll tell you later. I am in a taxi now. So can we meet?" she questioned.
"Sure! But I am with Brett now, is that okay with you?”
Isabelle nipped her lower lip but said yes. Better than going somewhere alone.
“Okay I will text you our location,” her friend said.
The siblings were in a bar. Brett had been telling her to stop drinking the tequila but she said she could handle it. As her taste buds got used to the booze, she began to like it. When she finished her fifth shot, Brett didn’t order again.
“You are a spoilsport!” she slurred.
"Look Belle, though I like you to be with me at places like this once in a while, I don’t want you to be drinking like a fish. Luke would be furious so no more tequila for you,” Joyce said with a shake of her head.
" I don’t care! He is so annoying! He didn’t like me talking about having a baby so he left the house! I cooked for him and waited for him to come home so we can eat together! What is unacceptable is while I was hungry and tired waiting for his return he is with a female all along!”
"Maybe you are overreacting Issa. You probably got it all wrong. I’ve seen how Luke is with you so I don’t think he will do something like that,” Brett commented.
"I agree!" came Joyce’s voice.
She frowned. “You are defending him because he brought much money to your business!” she accused Brett.
He chuckled. " Of course that’s not the reason Issa. I accepted the fact that your husband is more into you. He had done a lot of things just to have you. Know what? He actually threatened me years ago when he found out that I was wooing you. I mean not directly. I had a big client that time and he felt guilty for pulling out his orders so he told me that Luke ordered him to do so. Apparently, Luke’s family knew him.”
Her frown deepened. Somehow she wasn’t surprised. That was her husband’s style so she knew Brett was telling the truth.
"Maybe that was almost the same time when you lost your scholarship. I hope you won’t get angry Belle but I feel that I should tell you now. Remember when I called you about an opening at the resort?” Joyce asked and she nodded. “Well Luke asked me to tell you about it. So you know what my lovely chum? Even if a woman undressed in front of your husband, he would just ignore her. He only has eyes for you dear friend so you better stop overthinking! Gorgeous women shouldn’t be insecure!” she joked and Isabelle just heaved a sigh.
They chatted for a while and with more coaxing, finally the siblings were able to convince her to go home. Brett was driving her.
"You better tell him what you are thinking and ask him everything you want to know so you won't have that doubtful feeling. I’m sure he has a good explanation so hear him out. I think you should have waited for him instead of leaving your house, ” he commented as he drove.
"I was really annoyed that’s why I went out,” she admitted sounding sleepy.
"Answer your phone. It has been ringing almost non-stop,” he suggested.
She sighed then got her phone to take the call. The gadget wasn’t even near her ear yet when Luke spoke angrily.
"Where the f*ck are you!!"
She pouted. "Keep your voice down. It's late. Don’t wake up the whole household," she coached while slurring and he swore.
"I will yell and curse if I want to! DAMMIT!! Are you drunk? Where are you?!”
"On my way home..." she said then hung up.
"That bad huh?" asked Brett with a small smile.
"Hmmm..." she murmured as she settled more comfortably on the seat. She was really sleepy from the alcohol.
Luke was pacing the floor of the living room back and forth. No one was following Isabelle so he was clueless about her whereabouts and who she was with. He was going nuts from frustration and worry. He was clenching and unclenching his fists while angrily mumbling something inaudible repeatedly to release his rage and frustration. He stopped walking when he heard a vehicle’s engine in front of the house. He went out to check. He felt his face went numb when he saw Brett carrying his wife. One of his arms was under Isabelle’s back and the other one was at the back of her bare thighs. She was in a very short skirt. Her face was on Reed’s chest while her arms were on his nape. Like a bullet, he almost ran to them.