Chapter Fifteen
A lexandre vigorously swam the length of the infinity pool on the second floor, with only the stars above in the moonless sky to keep him company.
From this height, he could see the tops of the various palms placed strategically around the villa which shielded the pool from prying eyes.
The beach lay a few feet away, the sound of waves crashing on the sugary sands the only sound to disrupt an otherwise eerily quiet night.
Somewhere in the palms, a bird stirred, letting out a squawk before settling in for the night.
It was a perfect night to swim under the stars, but not for him, Alexandre thought as he put himself through a rigorous pace, intent on tiring himself out.
He was restless, and his body screamed with exhaustion, but sleep wouldn’t come.
He hadn’t slept since bringing Raquel home.
If he thought they would transition smoothly into a marriage of convenience, then he couldn’t have been more wrong.
Raquel wasn’t as complacent as he thought.
He thought she would be happy in this luxury home he’d built as his citadel—a symbol of his success, a house that rivalled his grandfather’s home—but she wasn’t.
She’d seemed awestruck at first and then she had unraveled right in front of his eyes.
Who are you? Her words played in his ears on a loop.
It always came down to that, he thought wryly. No matter what he did, his worth would always be weighed against his pedigree, something he’d had no say in.
He truly hated the way the society functioned. Money opened doors, but not people’s minds. Lineage was just as important as wealth, perhaps more, and every time he heard someone speak of his less than salubrious past, he was reminded that he would never be a true Monteiro.
He bore the name of course, but he would always be an outsider. And he was more conscious of his less than stellar lineage now more than ever.
What had he expected from Raquel? An avowal of love? She hadn’t heartily agreed to his proposition. He’d just declared they would be married. They were marrying to give their child legitimacy, not for affection and certainly, not for love.
I don’t need love!
With a curse, he struck out, swimming another lap in the pool which ran the entire length of the house. The pool’s illusion was such that one would think they could swim from one end of the pool through the tops of the palms and directly into the sea, but it was just that—a clever illusion.
Just like his life—his money, success, all gave an illusion of credibility, but the truth was that his illegitimacy rankled him.
It was a yawning chasm that would never be bridged.
He would always be an outsider in a society where pedigree was the currency of choice, and he would never be a legitimate Monteiro.
His muscles screamed with protest, begging him to slow down but Alexandre swam to silence the cacophony of his thoughts. How long he swam he didn’t know but he knew the exact moment Raquel joined him.
His body tightened, the hair on his nape stood up as she swam out to him, the water rippling toward him, touching him—trapping him against one end of the pool.
Never one to back down from a confrontation, he turned around and faced her.
His heart leapt into his throat as his breath whooshed out of him in a noisy wheeze.
She looked like a water nymph—ethereally beautiful, with dusky skin and glittering eyes.
Her hair was caught up in an untidy bun on the top of her head, with wisps of long strands sticking to her neck.
Two tiny straps over her shoulders told him that she had worn one of the bikinis he’d bought for her.
He resisted the urge to lift her out of the water to see if the small red cups fully covered her breasts, and if the tiny bottom covered her at all.
He had a vision of laying her on one the daybeds, peeling the bikini off her, untying the flimsy ties at the hips before swooping down to taste her hot, musky nectar.
He hardened instantly, the moisture on his skin evaporating into a mist as his body began to heat up. He wanted her. Despite everything that happened—despite her doubts about him, his treacherous body still craved her.
“What are you doing here?” His growl made her scowl.
“I’m sorry about the other night.”
Her soft-spoken words reached out and caressed his skin, sending heat thundering through him, and Alexandre pressed his back against the toughened glass of the pool, his hands clenching behind him so he didn’t grab her and yank her against his body.
“I didn’t mean to offend you.”
When he didn’t respond, she drew closer, water rippling around her. He drew in an unsteady breath as she closed the distance between them, stopping at a mere arm’s length from him.
“Everything happened so fast that I was... overwhelmed,” she said hastily, as though fearful that he would wade away from her.
“In one day, my entire world turned upside down. I had my privacy invaded, and the most intimate detail of my life, something which I hadn’t even shared with my family, was splashed across the newspaper for everyone to see.
Losing my family and my job is nothing compared to how lost I felt. When I came here...”
She looked around with apprehension in her eyes. “I felt like I’d lost control of my life.”
****
“L et’s get out of the pool,” Alexandre growled when a gentle breeze whizzed past them, making her shiver.
Swimming toward the edge of the pool, he hauled himself out in a clean straight move while she waded toward the steps and got out, shivering as the water sluiced off her body, exposing her to the cool night air.
Wrapping her arms around her waist, she slouched, suddenly embarrassed by her semi-naked state. This bikini was the modest of the lot she’d found in the bags deposited in her room.
One of the many maids who worked for Alexandre had informed her that he’d bought the clothes for her.
The sheer amount of clothes, undergarments, accessories including bags, shoes and jewelry, had astounded her.
And finding a mobile phone in one of the bags, a brand new one boasting the latest technology, told her that he’d noticed that she didn’t have one on her.
She’d hesitated before running her hands over the beautiful dresses the maids had lovingly and carefully put away in the wardrobe.
They hadn’t parted amicably two nights ago—she and Alexandre.
After her spectacular loss of control, he had stormed out of the house and she’d sat on the sofa for an hour before the housekeeper Malthi, who had apparently been called in to keep her company, had walked in with some food.
Tired after a long day, Raquel hadn’t uttered a word but quietly ate the meal and gone to bed, the whole time wondering if this was how her married life was going to be. Would Alexandre walk away without answering her every time they discussed something difficult and unpleasant?
She waited two days for him to come home, and when he had walked in tonight, he’d made a beeline for the pool where he’d chosen to stay. And Raquel knew if she needed answers from him, then she’d have to go to him, because he wasn’t going to come to her. That she was certain.
Alexandre offered her a thick towel which she wrapped around her, sarong-style. Grabbing another towel, he placed it around her shoulders before nodding toward one of the daybeds which lined the perimeter of the pool.
She sat down, shivering—burrowing into the warm thickness of the towels but her eyes stayed on the beautiful man in front of her.
Water glistened on his body as he hooked a towel around his waist. Small scars crisscrossed one entire side of his body, but nothing could mar the perfection that was Alexandre’s body.
Sculpted chest, ripped abs, toned legs, tight buttocks—with no extra flesh anywhere on his body, she assumed his gym routine would be rigorous to maintain such a magnificent physique.
“I’m sorry about your job,” he said, sitting down beside her.
“The school didn’t want a woman of questionable morals to teach young impressionable girls.”
Beside her, Alexandre stiffened. “The world sure is quick to judge.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, surprising her. “I’m responsible for your suffering.”
She shook her head. “Don’t. What happened in the past... we can’t undo it... but I wish we could speak about the future.”
He was silent for a long time. “You’re right.” He nodded. “We marry tomorrow, and we know nothing about each other.” He chose not to divulge the fact that his security team had prepared a dossier on her the moment the newspaper article had come out.
“Tomorrow?” she gasped, her cheeks pinched with shock. “That’s too soon. What... what’s the hurry? Surely, we don’t need to rush...”
“I want to protect my child,” he said matter-of-factly.
Pain shot through her. Had she expected a declaration of love?
“The next time we are in public, we will be husband and wife, and no one will call our child a bastard.”
There it was again—that term again.
Bastard.
She knew it cut him deeply that he was an illegitimate child, and in his fervent need to save their baby the same grief he’d experienced as a child, he’d proposed marriage. But Raquel knew something else bothered Alexandre besides the stain of illegitimacy.
“My father had an affair with my mother,” he said, his voice curiously devoid of emotion. “He never accepted me. The DNA test proved I was indeed his son, but he chose not to acknowledge me. It was my mother who raised me till the age of twelve, after which Carlos adopted me.”
Carlos adopted him, Raquel noted his choice of words. His father hadn’t adopted him. His grandfather had.
“I’ve been called a bastard many times over the years and believe me, no child should be called that disgusting word.” His words were clipped and laced with leashed fury. “I don’t want my child to suffer the same fate.” Turning his head, he looked at her, as if imploring her to understand.
“I’m not saying no to marriage, Alexandre,” she hastened to answer. “I just want us to get to know each other better. After all, we are to be married.”
He inclined his head. “I’m a businessman with varied business interests.
Real Estate. Ecotourism. I own clubs, including Club M, all over southeast Asia, and cruise liners and yachts, too.
I have enough money to keep you and the child well provided for the rest of your lives.
Whatever you need—clothes, money, cars, you can have it all. ”
“What about us?”
“Us?” His brows furrowed. “This isn’t about us now, Raquel. We need to protect our child at all costs. Surely you understand that.”
“Yes. But we won’t just be parents to this child,” she explained. “We will be husband and wife, too.”
“I’m no one’s idea of a perfect husband, not with my pedigree and reputation,” he continued, his tone self-deprecating.
“I know ours isn’t a love match, but we have this incredible chemistry which very few people discover in their lives.
I promise to respect you and be faithful to you.
And I will never embarrass you like my father embarrassed his wife and son with his many adulterous liaisons. ”
“What... what about... love?” The words left her lips even before she could censor them, and it clearly shocked him for his eyes turned dark and tumultuous. “Marriage isn’t just about trust and respect for each other but it’s about love, too. Will we have love in this marriage?”
Alexandre looked away, his jaw clenched. “I can’t offer you something I don’t believe in.”