The Lotus And The Billionaire

Chapter 7: Boyfriend

Neither of us admitted defeat that day, and settled for a draw. I strongly believed that my cooking was far superior to his, but he kept on claiming that his dish was better.

As petty as we were, we didn’t speak to each other during that day, but I still slept in his bedroom. But after that, we discussed how we’re going to deal with meetings with regards to the wedding like we didn’t try to throw plates at each other the night before.

Anyway, Alvarez decided he’d accompany me to the designer so he could also choose what he was going to wear. He said it’s better if we get an opinion from one another, and I agreed. It wasn’t a big deal. At least until he brought the cooking competition again.

“Just shut up. We have five more weeks for the wedding, so you had better take this seriously. Forget about that stupid competition,” I warned him before getting out of the car on my own.

Oh, I forgot.

I’m lucky that there aren’t that many reporters around here. We didn’t publicize our schedule, so only the publications that made great connections found out about this. Not only that, but they’re quite sophisticated and didn’t mob us.

Still, we didn’t answer their questions and proceeded to enter the designer’s boutique. I forgot her name, and I only remember it now that we’re here.

Riera Valderama…

Alvarez told me that Mrs. Valderama is very patient, but we can’t keep her waiting for too long. That’s why I decided to settle on one of the wedding dresses I marked. I showed it to Alvarez, and he seemed to have approved of it already.

But that’s the least of my concern right now. There’s a chance that Mrs. Valderama’s daughter will be here today as she’s currently on vacation. Tiara Valderama was my fiancé’s ex-girlfriend, or maybe ex-fling. I don’t want to be put in a tight spot…

“Do you think she’s here?” I whispered to Alvarez as he slowly snaked his arm around my waist.

“Who?”

“Your ex.”

He smirked. “Jealous already?”

I lightly elbowed him as I smiled sarcastically. “f*****g idiot.”

“Shh, someone might hear…”

He didn’t answer my question, though. I’m pretty sure he was trying to dodge the question so we wouldn’t have to talk about her. Well, I have no plans on talking about her! I was just worried that we’d cause trouble.

“Behave, Diaz…” he whispered as he smiled at the guard, who immediately opened the door for us.

When we entered the building, the beautiful scent of fabric attacked my nose, almost enough to leave me entranced. Oh, I really love clothes! My eyes glistened in admiration as I tried to find where the clothes were.

Unfortunately, Alvarez wouldn’t let me leave, saying I might get lost if we went our separate ways. Heh, for all I know, he’s just scared that I’d meet his ex or something. Sometimes I wonder if he’s incredibly smart or incredibly dense!

He should know by now that I’m not the type to create a scene and shout at people! I mean, I would shout at him, but not at anyone else.

Alvarez eyed me when I tried to remove his hand on my waist. “Stay put. Please.”

“Why are we standing here, anyway?” I whispered, slightly tiptoeing to reach him.

“We’re waiting for Aunt Riera,” he whispered back as he looked down at me.

I quickly backed away. “No kisses.”

“I wasn’t planning to, idiot.”

“Well, I was trying to clarify.”

He just chuckled at my excuse and continued to wait until we saw two women walking in our direction. I knew it, Tiara would be here, and that’s why this man has looked like he’s treading on thin ice for hours now.

I narrowed my eyes at Alvarez, waiting for him to remove his hold on my waist, but he didn’t. Instead, he tightened his grip on me as he began to approach the two.

Damn. I saw how Tiara’s eyes immediately fell on his hand that was on my waist! Her smile literally dropped, but she didn’t say or do anything. Instead, she listened as we exchanged greetings with her mother.

For some reason, I was scared of her silence.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” she told me as she offered her hand.

I was expecting a tight handshake, but she held my hand so softly that it simply felt like a feather brushed across my skin. That…was nowhere near the reaction I anticipated from her. But this works for me!

We greeted each other, and I could clearly see how Alvarez looked like he was praying to every God to not let us create a fight. Well, his ex doesn’t seem to be the type to do something so petty, so I’m not really worried.

Anyway, they started taking my measurements while Mrs. Valderama showcased the wedding dress that I chose. I was getting absorbed into our conversation that I didn’t realize how close Alvarez was to Tiara.

It’s fine. But if he dares to cause a rumor to arise, I’m going to kill him.

“Don’t worry about those two, Ms. Diaz,” Mrs. Valderama told me when she noticed me looking.

“Oh, I wasn’t. I was just watching out for the media.”

“I see…” she trailed off before closing the catalog. “Tiara and Gray have been good friends for quite some time, so I hope you don’t take it personally.”

“No, I won’t…”

I didn’t understand what she was insinuating by that, but I sure didn’t care whether they did something as long as they didn't sully my name. We’ve been slowly making our way back up, and I don’t want to fall on my knees again.

But then again, anyone who sees us from outside the walls may think that I’m a jealous wife with the way I looked at the two. People can be quite gullible if you think about it. They just need a piece of information, and then they can easily create conclusions from those!

I smiled at Mrs. Valderama while she took my measurements. “It’s really fine. I just don’t want the tabloids to take it out of context and put us all in a bad light.”

Mrs. Valderama no longer wanted to talk about it, so we proceeded to talk about clothes and her designs. At some point, I kind of wanted to become a designer as well, but I had to help out at the company.

The two of us got along so well that Mrs. Valderama started smiling while conversing with me. It’s really nice to talk to people who share the same interests as you! It’s like I can finally talk about the things I love without worrying if the other person thinks it’s already boring.

“Tiara loved trying clothes on, but she wasn’t into creating the designs herself,” she said as she sighed, her fingers running across the fabric of a satin dress similar to the one I marked.

“I guess she loves modeling more. It suits her well,” I replied, my eyes glued at the dress.

“That is indeed the case, but there will be no one to take after my position here. If only I had a child like you…” she muttered, almost as if she said it unconsciously.

My mouth went agape as I stared at her, surprised by what she had just uttered. And then my eyes landed on Tiara and Alvarez, who were just behind her.

Oh, damn.

I don’t want to get involved in any parental drama, and I had no idea Mrs. Valderama felt that way towards her daughter! It’s not like I manipulated her into thinking that I’d make an amazing daughter or that I’d be a better heiress!

“Oh, uh…” I panicked as I looked at Tiara and then her mother.

“Hmm?” Mrs. Valderama then turned to the people behind her, only to see her mortified daughter. “Oh, you two are already here. Have you chosen anything?”

Alvarez nodded. “They took my measurements already. I think we no longer have business here,” he told them as he stood beside me.

He doesn’t want to deal with the two, either. I agreed that we should step out of the scene before things took a turn for the worse, but Tiara looked at me. She looked like she was about to cry and lash out at me, but she just looked down while her mother walked past her.

Wow.

That’s not the kind of everyday drama that you’d come across. It felt so much more intense that I almost forgot to breathe! Hell, I thought Mrs. Valderama would panic as well, but she looked so composed that it seemed like she was saying that on a daily basis.

“Tiara,” Alvarez called as he pulled me by my waist. “We’re heading out.”

“Why…?” she muttered, her voice almost sounding like a whisper.

Alvarez and I looked at each other, trying to communicate without words. This i***t doesn’t know what’s happening, either! I swear, he’s so dense! This is obviously about them–

“Why her?”

Oh. It’s about me?

“We’ve known each other for so long already. I know you two were never really dating…so why?”

Wow, she still kept her voice down like she didn’t want anyone to hear. I guess she really is a nice person. I mean, she’s trying not to last out, either! I hope this guy can settle everything nicely.

“Tiara, we already talked about this,” Alvarez replied firmly, his grip on my waist tightening a little.

Tiara looked up, and I could clearly see how she was fighting back tears. “You told me you were not planning to marry before.”

“Well, the thing with Sapphire…”

Fuck, that gave me goosebumps.

“Things happened, and I asked her to marry me.”

He’s an i***t! That sounded so bland as f**k that no one would believe it if they heard him say that out loud! It’s like he was being sarcastic and hinting that he doesn’t really want to marry me!

I sighed and palmed my face. This is why I didn’t want to have to deal with anything and anyone that was involved in his past relationships. I receive nothing but grief from people like them!

“Tiara, I’m sorry, but we need to leave.”

I finally spoke up! Tiara didn’t seem like she wanted us to leave, but she couldn’t do anything when I dragged Alvarez out of that place. I have had enough of the two of them already!

“We’ll be back, Mrs. Valderama,” I told her as we walked past her.

When we finally got back to the car, I felt like I had already spent my whole energy. I’ve got to take a dip in Alvarez's pool now! We still have appointments for the entire week, so I can’t look stressed.

“Sorry about that,” Alvarez told me as he turned the stereo on. “I already settled things with her, so I didn’t think that would happen.”

“We’re lucky she wasn’t one of those crazy bitches who’d try to rip my hair out…” I muttered.

I mean, Tiara is a model and is very sophisticated! Of course, she wouldn’t try to pick a fight in public even if that was her real personality. That’s why Alvarez and I didn’t have to worry about anything.

“Hey,” I called. “You better settle s**t with your exes. I don’t want them barging into the wedding, crying and screaming.”

“I could say the same to you,” he replied, his eyes looking dead.

“What?”

“If your boyfriend tries to stop the wedding–”

“What boyfriend?”

He scoffed. “Stop playing dumb. You know I’m talking about that bodyguard of yours.”

My brows furrowed when I realized he was talking about Vin. Well, we are close, but he’s definitely not my boyfriend! We joke about hooking up several times, but there’s nothing behind those words!

But I feel like it’d be fun to torment him.

“Oh, him? He says it’s fine if I can marry him once I divorce you.”

His veins started showing as he gritted his teeth. Oh, he’s mad…