Chapter 8
?Love is just a word, until the moment we decide to let it possess us with all its force. Love is just a word, until someone comes along to give it meaning?
—Paulo Coelho
When I arrived at the hotel, I was surprised to see him waiting for me.
I thought it would take him longer to get there.
Without hesitating for a second, I almost ran to him and hugged him tightly.
I didn’t care that there were many people in the hotel lobby or that the receptionists were looking at us with astonishment; I just wanted to be in his arms, to feel his warmth and protection.
Henry was also surprised by my effusiveness, but he wrapped his arms around me and pressed me tightly against his chest. After a few seconds, he gently took my chin so I would look into his eyes.
“How are you?” he asked, looking at me with concern and without letting me go.
“A little better now,” I replied. I wasn’t sure if it was right to show him everything he meant to me, but I didn’t want to repress it either.
“That makes me happy. Do you want to go to your suite or would you prefer to go out for a walk?”
“I don’t mind, what I want is to be with you,” I affirmed.
“That also makes me very happy. Let’s do something—let’s go for a walk and then come back and stay here. Do you agree?”
“Yes, thank you.”
He put his arm around my shoulders and I hugged him by the waist as we walked toward the exit. Just as we were about to cross the hotel door, my phone began to ring. It was Bastian.
“I have to answer because it’s my brother,” I said.
“I’ll go get the car, wait for me here at the door.”
“Thank you,” I said, and I leaned in to place a soft kiss on his lips.
“You’re welcome.”
Henry walked away and I answered the call.
“Hi, Bastian.”
“Is everything okay, Dali?”
“Are you asking because I left the office?”
“You don’t have set hours at the office, you can come and go whenever you want. What worries me is that Cameron saw you crying.”
“Cameron is a gossip,” I stated.
“He cares about you and worries about you. Now tell me what’s happening. Why were you crying?”
“It’s a long story, but don’t worry because I’m better now. At the moment I’m going out with Henry to distract myself a bit.”
“So your tears have nothing to do with him,” he stated.
“No, not at all. It has to do with Sol. My friend betrayed me, but I can’t explain it over the phone. I promise to tell you when we see each other.”
“What did she do to you? I always thought that girl was hiding something,” he stated, and I was surprised that everyone seemed to think the same thing but had never said anything about it.
“Bastian, we’ll talk later. Henry is arriving. Thanks for worrying.”
“Tell him we want to meet him.”
“I’ll tell him. I love you, little brother.”
“And I love you, little demon.”
I got into the car and Henry started the engine, joining the traffic, which was quite busy at that hour.
“Let’s go somewhere quiet to talk so you can tell me what happened with your friend. Have you eaten anything?”
“Not since breakfast.”
“Then let’s go somewhere so you can eat. You can’t go so many hours without eating.”
“It’s already six in the evening, I’m not going to have lunch at this hour,” I stated.
“Don’t worry about the time. If you want lunch, I assure you they’ll serve you a good lunch,” he declared, and I had no doubt about his words.
“I don’t want lunch, let’s have an afternoon snack.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
We arrived at an exclusive restaurant and they seated us at a somewhat secluded table.
At that moment I realized that Henry was dressed formally in a dark blue suit, white shirt, and gray tie, while I was dressed completely casually in jeans, a blouse, and Converse sneakers.
I didn’t feel very comfortable because the place was luxurious.
“Henry, I just realized I’m not dressed appropriately for this place,” I whispered as we sat down.
“You look beautiful. As always, the most beautiful one in the place,” he affirmed, looking at me with that sparkle in his eyes that made my heart beat faster, and a shameless smile.
A waiter approached and we placed our order.
I only ordered a coffee with a splash of milk, but Henry forced me to order something to eat, so we ended up also ordering a slice of lemon cake.
While we waited, I began to tell him what had happened with Sol.
I noticed that his expression began to change, going from surprise to anger.
“That girl is completely crazy!” he exclaimed.
“I swear I have no idea what’s wrong with her, but I suspect she’s jealous of our relationship.”
“I don’t want you getting anywhere near her anymore, and I’m going to tell Niky the same thing. I get the feeling she’s a dangerous person.”
“Dangerous? That’s an exaggeration. No one’s arguing that she’s done everything wrong, but Sol isn’t dangerous,” I stated.
“Dalina, I prefer that you keep your distance. Don’t meet with her alone, please, I’m asking you.”
“What do you think she might do to me?” I asked, surprised by his attitude.
“I don’t know, but let’s avoid finding out,” he said, looking at me seriously.
“Are you sure you didn’t know her from before? Because from the way she talks about you, it seems like she knows you.”
“What kind of question is that? Do you doubt me? Do you think I’ve lied to you?” he asked, showing through his expression and tone of voice that my question had offended him.
“I don’t doubt you, really. The thing is that you’ve dated so many women that I thought maybe at some point you might have dated her but don’t remember. Her behavior is so strange that I have a thousand theories running through my head.”
“No, I assure you that’s not the case. I never dated that girl, I didn’t even know her.
The first time I saw her was at my mother’s house, the night I also ran into you.
I admit it’s strange that she talks about me that way, which is why I’m not going to waste time and I plan to investigate her life. ”
“How?” I asked innocently.
“Dalina, there are many ways to find out about someone. I’ll take care of it, don’t worry. Now eat because you haven’t touched your cake, don’t make me feed it to you,” he declared.
“Would you?” I asked, challenging him with my gaze and a provocative smile.
“I already told you not to challenge me because you’ll lose. Not only would I do it, I’d also put you over my knees and give your perfect backside a smack for not eating and defying me. Now, eat or you’ll force me to do it.”
“Bossy.”
“I am,” he affirmed, smiling. “And I always get what I want.”
I put a piece of lemon cake in my mouth and licked my lips. Henry followed my every movement and his gaze darkened.
“Don’t play with fire because you might start a blaze, and I don’t think you’re prepared to face it,” he pointed out, and brought his hand to my mouth, cleaning the corner of my lips with his fingers, then took his finger to his mouth and sucked it sensually.
At that moment, I was the one who was hypnotized. Evidently, when it came to seduction, this man was way ahead of me and miles beyond my reach; I would never defeat him.
When we arrived at the hotel, my head was throbbing. I felt those horrible stabbing pains that sometimes came when I cried a lot. As we rode up in the elevator, I could feel Henry’s gaze fixed on me.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, caressing my face.
“My head hurts, I have these horrible stabbing pains. But don’t worry because this happens to me when I cry a lot.”
“You cried a lot?” he questioned, looking at me seriously.
“I cried from sadness and anger. She was my lifelong friend and I thought she would always be by my side. Betrayal hurts,” I said, and Henry pulled me to him and hugged me tightly, not caring that there were other people in the elevator.
“That woman isn’t worth a single tear from you,” he stated, and gave me a kiss on the head.
When we reached the suite, I could tell he was worried.
“Let’s order something to eat so you can have dinner and go to bed,” he stated. “What’s the number I need to call?”
“Really, don’t worry. I’ll take a painkiller and it will pass quickly.”
“Dalina, you need to eat something. You barely touched your food at the restaurant,” he scolded me.
“Alright, I’ll call the kitchen now and order something. Are you staying for dinner?” I asked, because I didn’t want to take it for granted and then make him feel obligated.
“I’m staying the night,” he stated. “You don’t think I’m going to leave you alone, do you?”
And how could I not fall in love with this man? He did nothing but be attentive, affectionate, and protective. Henry managed to take my breath away when I saw him, and made me breathe again when he hugged me and took care of me like this. I was head over heels in love!
“Thank you.”
“Stop thanking me. While you call to order dinner, I’m going to make a couple of calls,” he said.
“Ok.”
He went to the room I used as an office, and I went to take a painkiller.
As he was still locked in there talking on his phone, I opened the door and signaled to him that I was going to take a shower.
He responded with gestures too, but I noticed the seriousness of his face as he listened to what was being said to him.
When I came out, I put on a nightgown and robe and headed to the living room where I expected to find him, but I was surprised that he was still locked in the office.
Since I understood that he was a person with many responsibilities and had left the office very early to accompany me, I imagined he was solving some matter related to his company and didn't want to disturb him.
I picked up the phone and called the hotel kitchen to order dinner.
I sat on the living room couch, pulled up my legs, and immediately started thinking about my friend again. I missed her, I was hurt, but I missed her a lot. I still didn't understand what could have made her act that way. I rested my head on the back of the couch and closed my eyes. I was tired.