Chapter 8

• Lia's POV
• "Steven, tell me everything is okay." It was Maximo's voice, but it sounded too distant to me.
• "Friend, I'm not going to lie to you. Lia has a serious malnutrition problem, which is why she felt dizzy at the pool."
• "Damn it!" I heard something breaking." This is my fault."
• "Don't say that, Max. You two are traveling."
• "No, I wasn't traveling. I... I left her."
• "Who did you leave with? " Steven asked angrily.
• "With Laura."
• "Are you kidding me? Why with your cousin? I mean, Max, she's your cousin! How is it possible that you're sleeping with her when you have a beautiful wife?"
• "I know, but... God, this is a nightmare. She unsettles me. I don't know what to do."
• "What do you mean by that?"
• "I'm not supposed to feel anything for her, and yet I'm starting to feel something, and it's scaring me."
• Did Maximo have feelings for me? Ha, I wouldn't believe that. It was just a damn excuse, so his friend wouldn't say anything.
• "Max, if you have feelings for her, why don't you make an effort to make this marriage work? Stop looking for Laura and focus on her. It's clear she's a good woman."
• "I don't know, Steven, I'm scared."
• "Scared of what, friend?"
• "I don't want what happened with Julia to happen again."
• And there was that name again. Who the hell was Julia? Everything was becoming blurry again.
• I woke up with a strong headache and a slight discomfort in my arm. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was in Maximo's room, with a needle in my hand, giving me a drip.
• "Lia! Thank God you woke up. " Maximo came to my side and touched my hand, but I pulled it away.
• "Did you think I had forgotten everything you put me through?" I looked at Maximo with pure hatred, and he noticed.
• "Don't hate me, please."
• "How can you not want me to hate you while you were fooling around with your cousin? I was locked in a room without communication? Tell me... How can I not hate you?" I thought all the rage I had accumulated came out when I started yelling and hitting him, but he was still holding my arms.
• "Calm down, Lia, you'll hurt yourself."
• "I don't give a damn, Maximo. I hate you so much. I hope this contract ends quickly so I can get away and never see your damn face again!" I thought that last part hurt him because he let go of me and stood up.
• "Calm down, Lia. You'll only see me when strictly necessary, so I won't cause you any more problems."
• I said nothing. I just stood up and went to the bathroom because I didn't want to see him anymore. I was hurt so badly. I took a quick shower and then put on some pants to be comfortable in the house. When the night came, I went out to eat, and there he was, sitting and eating, but he seemed lost in his thoughts, so I sat down and started eating.
• "Do you still want to work with Carol?"
• I looked up when he spoke and found Maximo observing me intently.
• "Yes, I still do."
• He sighed and then took my hand, covering it with his.
• "If that's what you want, it's okay, I won't oppose it. Just make sure the campaigns don't show too much. I don't want other men seeing you almost naked."
• "Oh, really? And why not?"
• "Because you're my wife, and I don't want anyone eyeing you."
• "I'm your wife by contract."
• He smiled at me and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "That can change."
• He stood up and then said to me. "See you tomorrow, beautiful."
• He left, leaving me very confused. I didn't know what he was up to, but I didn't like it at all.
• I went to bed, and the next morning I woke up with a lot of energy because I could finally start working. I also agreed to meet with Edward, whom I haven't seen in days. I really missed him. I took a bath and then went out to have breakfast.
• "Wow, you look lovely." Maximo gave me two kisses on the cheek, and as always, I stood there like a fool.
• "Come, let's have breakfast."
• "Um... okay, let's go."
• We ate in peace, but I decided to tell him that I would be seeing Edward after work to avoid a problem.
• "Max, I wanted to tell you something." He fixed his attention on me, and I felt very intimidated.
• "What's wrong, beautiful?"
• Beautiful? Was he okay?
• "When I finish work, I'm going to see Edward." I saw him tense up, but he tried to control his anger.
• "You know I don't like you being with other men."
• "Max, he is my only friend."
• "I can also be your friend."
• "No, Max, you are my supposed husband. Please let me go. I swear we won't do anything wrong. We're just going out as friends, trust me."
• "Beautiful." He took my face and cradled it in his hands." I trust you, but not him. I see how he looks at you, and I know he likes you."
• "But I'm not interested in him." He approached me slowly and planted a kiss on my lips, but I pulled away.
• "Oh, beautiful, what am I going to do with you?"
• "Just let me go, please."
• "Alright, but don't take too long." I said goodbye to him and called Edward to tell him we'd meet at the usual cafeteria.
• * * *
• "Hi!" I greeted him happily, but he looked more concerned than happy.
• "Are you eating well, Lia?" I lowered my head. I didn't want to talk about it. "Lia, answer me."
• "The truth is that some things happened at home and everything got out of control."
• "Do you want to tell me about it?"
• I told him about the ordeal I had to live through those days locked in a room without seeing the light of day. As I told Edward, his look changed from concern to anger.
• "Lia, you have to leave him."
• "I can't. I swear I want to leave, but I already have that contract signed, and if I don't fulfill it, there could be serious legal problems for me."
• "We can find a way to end it."
• "I'll see how things go. At least I started working, so this is an achievement."
• "Lia." He took my hand. "You know I will always be here." I smiled and squeezed his hand.
• "I know, thank you for that."
• * * *
• Carol received me happily when I reached her agency.
• "It's good that you're back from your trip. How was it?" she asked.
• "Wonderful, everything was very nice."
• "Oh, I'm so glad. But here we have a lot of work."
• Carol introduced me to the team the moment we arrived at the photo studio.
• "Look, Lia, we're working on a campaign for eccentric fashion, so we have several dresses here. And look, I introduce you to Zac, who is the model who will be with you in some photos." Wow, he was handsome.
• "Hi Zac, I'm Lia."
• "Pleasure. Ready to work?"
• "More than ready," Zac confirmed.
• They took me to the dressing room and put on the quite uncomfortable outfits.
• "Ready, let's start with the photo shoot. Lia, try to look as relaxed as possible so the poses flow," the photographer instructed.
• "That's it, Lia, you're doing great."
• They took more photos of Zac and me. After that, we changed into a new set of outfits.
• "He's very good," I said, praising Zac.
• "Yes, he's the best. Now it's your turn," the photographer said.
• They started taking my photos with quite a particular dress. We did another wardrobe change, and now, they would take a photo of Zac and me together.
• "Okay, guys, very natural, but make it look exotic," the director shouted.
• Since Zac knew better, he started to guide me.
• "Perfect, guys, the photo looks wonderful. We're done."
• "Congratulations, Lia, you did very well for your first time," Zac told me.
• "Thanks, Zac, although I also received..."
• "It doesn't matter. You did great."
• "Lia! Congratulations, this campaign will be a success."
• "I hope so. Well, Carol, it's getting late. How about we meet tomorrow?"
• "Of course, I would love that."
• I left the place and headed to the house I didn't want to go to. When I arrived, everything was dark except the living room. So, I walked in there and found Maximo, who had a glass of whisky in his hand.
• "Hello." He looked at me, and I could tell he was drunk.
• "You took a long time," he said dryly.
• "There was a lot of work."
• "Of course, and you also took a long time with your little friend. Tell me, Lia, did you have fun with him?" He stood up, swaying a bit, with an envelope in his hand. He started to take the contents out as he sauntered toward me.
• "I told you he's just my friend."
• "Then what the hell is this?" He showed me some photos where Edward was touching my hand.
• "Why did he have to touch you?!"
• "He was just giving me encouragement! And why are you following me?"
• "I have to keep an eye on my wife so she doesn't do stupid things."
• "You're crazy! It's you who always does stupid things here!" In a quick movement, he cornered me forcefully against the wall, making me let out a painful groan.
• "Do you want to drive me crazy, Lia? Tell me, is that what you want?"
• I pushed him. And because he was drunk, he backed off easily.
• "What the hell is wrong with you?! Stop bothering me."
• I was about to leave when he grabbed my arm with great force and then kissed me, but it was a rough kiss full of desperation. I pushed him away abruptly.
• "Don't get it twisted with me."
• "Of course, you reject me because you're being a bitch with your little friend."
• I felt like my patience had reached its limit. With all the anger built up inside me, I slapped him so hard that it left him dazed. But then he did something I didn't expect. With even more force, he hit me back, causing me to fall to the ground. He looked shocked at what he did and stared at me in terror.
• "Lia... baby, I—"
• I touched my face, got up from the ground, and looked at him with hatred.
• "You damn son of a bitch."
• I went up to the room and locked myself in, crying from the rage I was feeling.
• After a while, I heard moans coming from outside the room. Just when I thought my damn patience had reached its limit. I left the room and saw Maximo having sex with Laura. So, I went to the kitchen, filled a bucket with cold water, and without thinking, I poured it over both of them.
• "There you go, so you'll learn to respect, idiots..."