Never Stopped Loving You

Chapter 1

Rebecca Downson P.O.V

Boston - 3h00 p.m.

I stop the car in front of the house and let out a long sigh as the garage gate opens before my eyes and I see the other car parked in the usual spot.

The other car means that someone came home first today, and to my bad luck, that person was not me.

As I enter the house, I am not too surprised to find that everything was too quiet for a house where there was one person present, even though I know that this house is always absolutely silent, even when the two of us are in it.

— You have arrived! — the voice comes out of nowhere, and I can’t contain my startled gasp.

I place one hand on my chest, realizing how fast my heart was racing. I slowly turn to the man.

— Yes, I have arrived. — I stare at him with doubt clearly evident on my face.

Matteo and I hadn’t had a civilized conversation in a long time, so to have him speak to me as soon as I arrive is quite a surprise.

— We have Na event to go to! — his right hand goes to his tie and I notice him loosen it, looking slightly nervous about what he is about to ask me.

Matteo is wearing one of his fancy suits, the kind he only wears for important events.

— Do we have one? — I arch my eyebrow.

— Yes. My company is negotiating with a new client, and we decided to have Na event to try to convince him to close the deal, but for some reason, he made a point of meeting my wife. So you will have to go with me and act like we are a happy couple.

— I’m not sure if we can do that, Matteo. We barely talk. — I argue and see him snort.

— I don’t need you to explain to me what the situation is here, Rebecca. I know exactly where we stand.

— If you’re aware of that, you’re also aware that it’s going to be difficult to act as if everything is fine between us, when in fact it’s not. — I do my best not to raise a single pitch of my voice.

We both avoided any kind of conversation because we knew that it always ended in arguments.

— I’m only asking you for three hours, Rebecca. You just have to act like a good wife for a few hours.

It’s hard to act like a good wife when you can’t stand the man next to you.

I run one hand over my face and let my shoulders drop.

I definitely wouldn’t want to spend my evening, even a few hours of it, to pretend to some people that I am happy in my marriage. But having a failed marriage doesn’t mean that I’m not grateful for everything Matteo has done for me, so it’s with that in mind that I give him Na answer.

— All right, I guess I can do that.

I see relief appearing on his face and for a moment I think he is going to smile at me, but Matteo keeps a straight face.

— The event starts in an hour, can you get ready in time? — he turns his wrist to see the time and looks up at me.

— Yes, I’ll be quick. — I say quickly, and he nods his head in agreement.

I walk past him in quick steps and into the hallway, but before I can enter the room, I hear his voice again.

— Rebecca? — he calls, and I stop with my hand on the doorknob and let out a sigh, but don’t raise my gaze to him. — Thank you!

I get ready in thirty minutes and leave my room, letting Matteo know I was ready.

We both say nothing as we leave the house.

I just follow his steps, walking to the car as soon as I pass the door, hearing it being unlocked. I sit down in the passenger seat and in a matter of seconds Matteo is sitting next to me.

— Did you ever love me, Matteo? His face turns in my direction, and he seems slightly surprised by my question.

— Yes. - his answer comes out uncertainly.

I don’t think he is being one hundred percent honest with me.

— Do you remember how you felt the day we got married? — he opens his mouth to answer, but I interrupt him. — You don’t have to lie about this to me, Matteo. Be honest!

He swallows dryly.

— It’s been a long time, Rebecca. — His answer is like a knife being thrust into my chest.

I need a few seconds to assimilate what I heard and contain my reaction to it.

I take a deep breath and let out a dull laugh.

— I hope this person you want to do business with is not so traditional, because if he is, we will have a serious problem convincing him that we are happy.

On the outside, I may look like I’m saying this with a straight face, but on the inside, it’s killing me. Being in Na unhappy marriage was not in my plans.

— That’s why I’m going to need you on this, Rebecca. We have to be convincing.

— I’ll do my best. — I limit myself to saying this.

Matteo nods and looks away from me, pulling on his seat belt and starting the car.

The silence between us is filled with a song by The Weekend playing softly on the radio, and I try to focus all my attention on it.

I am not at all surprised when Matteo pulls into the grounds of a huge mansion. Cars stop in front of the mansion and are quickly met by valets. As soon as one appears next to our car, Matteo gets out of the vehicle, but before I can get out, he is already standing next to my door, opening it for me and stretching out his hand for me to take.

At first, I am surprised by his act, until I remember that we had to appear to be in love tonight.

I take his hand and step out of the car, he closes the door and hooks my arm in his. We enter the house and as we walk through the door, I pass my eyes down the huge hall, observing all the very well-dressed people.

Some I recognize quickly, from other events I attended with Matteo a long time ago. We walk to the bar, and he takes our orders from the bartenders, turning to face me. Matteo holds out a glass in my direction and I take it immediately.

I am ready to take a sip of my drink, but Matteo’s hand reaching for my face stops me.

I lock in place as I feel his fingers touch my skin, my eyes come up to his, and he seems focused on his task, whatever it is.

— The hair is on your face. — he explains and removes a few strands from my face, placing them behind my ear. — The client just arrived, let’s go over there.

His hand rests on my back and I try to give my attention to my drink, as we walk down the hall. We approach three men.

I take a deep breath as soon as we stop in front of them.

— Good evening. — Matteo says, attracting their attention.

Of the three, two I already knew. Since they were former partners of my husband and I had already had the opportunity to talk to them at other events, but the other one, who I assume is the client, had his back to us, so I could not see his face.

— Good evening. — the partners reply politely.

The third man turns around in slow motion, and for some reason, my eyes get caught on him, I guess I was curious what he looked like. But when I get a chance to see his face, I lock in my seat.

— Love, this is Taylor, my future client. — Matteo introduces him to me, and at that moment, I am sure I am not going crazy. — Taylor, this is my wife. — Taylor’s smile is stupidly scary.

Matteo only did business with extremely important and wealthy people, at what point did Taylor fall into this?

— It is a pleasure to meet you. — I speak, after swallowing hard.

— You make a nice couple. — he says, but I don’t sense much truth in what comes out of his mouth.

Matteo squeezes me against his body and leaves a kiss on the side of my head, which makes my skin shiver.

— We were talking with Taylor about exporting our products. — one of the partners comments.

They start talking about work and I simply switch off. Matteo doesn’t let go of me for a second and asks all the time if I am okay, if I need anything. But there was no possibility of my telling him that I was completely uncomfortable here, so I keep my gaze low. When my drink runs out, I see the perfect opportunity to step back a little and get some air.

— Baby, I’m going to get some more booze. — I speak softly, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.

Matteo looks at me at the same moment.

— I’ll get it for you!

— No, you don’t have to. Finish your conversation. I’ll be right back! — I look him in the eye, and he seems to accept the situation. I look at the other people present.

— Sorry to interrupt your conversation, I’m going to leave for a moment.

I am ready to walk away, but Matteo grabs my hand.

— Hey, baby. Aren’t you forgetting something? — I stare at him confused for a few seconds until I understand what he means.

I bring my face close to his and press our lips together gently, under the impression that I am being watched closely.

It had been months since we had kissed.

I smile at him and pull away, feeling my legs trembling, and it wasn’t in a good way.

Before I reach the bar, I take a deep breath, trying to calm my heart, but not much affect emerges. I order another drink and keep my back to where my husband was standing, I was afraid I would turn around and meet Na unwanted glance.

What is he doing here?

My vision begins to blur, and I feel a weak nausea, I decide to look for a bathroom, and luckily, I find one very quickly.

For a few days now, I’ve been feeling dizzy at times during the day, as if my blood pressure had dropped out of nowhere.

I rest my hands on the sink, afraid that I might faint. I look at my reflection in the mirror and am startled by how pale I was.

Being sick like this is not normal. I have never had this kind of discomfort, maybe I should see a doctor. Or maybe it is just tension for the moment I am in, I can’t deny that I have had quite a surprise tonight.

The bathroom door opens, and I lower my gaze, hoping that the woman who has entered will ignore me.

— Rebecca Downson. That’s a nice name, I must admit. — the thick, cold voice reaches my ears and I close my eyes tightly.

— Taylor, I am here with my husband. — I speak, in a failed attempt to get him to leave.

The laughter he lets out spreads like echoes throughout the bathroom.

I couldn’t deal with this right now, I just couldn’t.

— When your husband contacted me to do business, you have no idea how surprised I was! — he speaks of Matteo with a certain disdain.

— Please don’t involve him in this, okay? Matteo has nothing to do with this story.

— Are you defending him? Interesting, I thought you were just a self-interested piece of s**t. — Hatred takes possession of his voice, and I control myself not to cry.

I take a few deep breaths, trying to recover from the discomfort I am feeling, so that I can get out of this bathroom and go to Matteo. But I feel like I’m going to pass out at any moment, and the last thing I want is to do that in front of Taylor.

— I know that you have some resentments, but this is not the time to deal with them.

— Resentments? I’d forgotten how funny you are … — Taylor keeps talking, but I can’t hear anymore.

I feel my body slowly losing its strength, I try to hold on somewhere to keep from falling, but I don’t have much success.

— Taylor, I… – I try to say, but before I can finish my sentence, I’m on the ground.

The last thing I see is him running to me in concern.