The Lotus And The Billionaire

Chapter 44: More Human

“Why weren’t you answering?” Alvarez asked the moment I opened the door.

It took me a few minutes to gather the courage to actually face him. I am nowhere near done thinking about how I should act when I walk up to him.

And now he’s here.

Vin acted like a statue when Alvarez entered the room, and when their eyes met, he immediately ran off and left me on my own. It’s fine, though. At least I can get to speak with him one on one now.

“Sorry, I was taking a nap,” I replied as I sat on my office chair.

“A nap? Why? I thought you had a good sleep?”

“I needed one. That is all there is to it.”

He nodded and sat on the couch, staring at me like he was trying to read me. I had no idea why he came here to my office, but I wanted him out. His presence…was too much to bear.

I pretended to be busy with work so I could disregard the way he was looking at me. To be honest, I didn’t know why either. His gaze was too much for me to handle. It always has been.

“I know you’re lying.”

Stop.

“Diaz, I don’t understand. I thought we’d been getting along well? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“That’s the problem! Why are we getting along?!”

I didn’t want to say that.

That…was nowhere near the words I actually wanted to utter.

Alvarez was shocked upon hearing the way I responded as if it was the last thing he expected to hear from me. It took him a minute, one that seemed like a long stretch of time, to react with a humorless chuckle.

When he does that, I can’t help but get scared. Every single time. He just looks at me with those empty—almost seemingly pitless depth of unimaginable despair— eyes that keep asking me the same question. Do you ever really understand me?

The answer is, I don’t. I never would.

A small, sinister smile appeared on his mouth. I used to want to press mine against those lips, those oh-so-sinful lips. But now, all I want is for it to stop ridiculing me.

“Why are we getting along, you ask?” He shook his head in dismay and walked up to me. “Because I decided it would be the best approach to make things work. So then, why are you questioning me?”

“Because I have the right to.”

I need to fight back. It isn’t like me to just kneel before him all the time. That wasn’t how Mom raised me. That wasn’t the kind of person Mama wanted me to turn into.

“You seem to have gotten the wrong idea about our relationship,” I added, finally looking up at his eyes to spite him. “This is pure business, Alvarez.”

“Was s*x part of the business, then?”

“It always was!”

He laughed sarcastically as he held my chin and leaned closer to my face. “Is this you trying to act brave in front of me? Or is this your pride talking?”

It’s the former. This is me trying to put on a tough act, one that’s nothing more than a perfect farce. It should be flawless enough for him to not be able to tell.

Alvarez shook his head in disapproval as he gently tapped my cheek. Crap. Right, he had always been analyzing my moves. We’re in some sort of competition with each other, and I almost forgot.

Have I actually been focusing more on this relationship than the main objective…?

“You’re too naive for this game, mi amor,” he told me before standing up to take his leave.

That was the last time I was ever given a chance to have a good talk with him. The kind of conversation that was not sarcastic nor an argument. I didn’t consider it an argument as it was more of a discussion. At least that’s how I wanted to look at it.

And now…

It’s like we’re in a silly game wherein we’re trying to push each other off a cliff. The tension we had back when we were first talking about marriage has resurfaced, and it’s more annoying than it ever was.

We don’t bicker in public because that just destroys the entire plan. But the thing is, we’re back to always being at each other’s throats.

Alvarez still plays the gentleman. He never fails to do that, whether we are in public or if it was just us. Perhaps that’s always been a part of his personality, so I didn’t mind.

But it feels comfortable now.

“Are you satisfied?” he asked while we were on our way home.

I nodded and closed my eyes, thinking of how things could be if I didn’t say such a thing back then. Perhaps I’d still be confused, trying to think of ways to stop pondering about the stupid details.

“I am so far.”

“Thanks,” he told the person that handed our drive-thru meal to him, and then he turned to me. “Good to know. Just tell me if there’s anything more you want.”

He talks the way he’s always done as well, dull and often sarcastic. This is fine with me. If he’s like this, I don’t have to worry about feeling things that shouldn’t even be there.

I feel exhausted. It was a long day with all the piled-up work that bombarded me when I came into the office. The last thing I want right now is to deal with any drama.

Too bad for me, though…

“Oh, Auntie…” I muttered as I entered the penthouse.

Alvarez’s mother was standing by the doorway, looking like she’d been waiting for us for quite some time now. I felt bad that she had to stay outside, so I immediately unlocked the door.

She quietly entered after me after greeting me back. I don’t think she’s here to deliver bad news because of the way she looked. In fact, she seemed to be in a good mood.

“Mom, why are you here?” Alvarez asked as he assisted his mother to the couch.

I tried to listen in on their conversation while making tea for her. We had just arrived, so we hadn’t prepared anything in advance! The only food we have is our drive-thru here!

“Sorry for coming unannounced. It’s just that I knew I had to tell you this…” Auntie trailed off while looking at me as if she was waiting for me to join. “Hija, you don’t have to make tea. I won’t be here for long.”

I smiled at her and quickly served the tea. Luckily, it didn’t take much time. When I sat beside her on the couch, looking awkward, she smiled at me.

The Alvarez family is weird, that’s for sure…

“Mom, what is it? You’re killing me here.”

“Gray, be patient…” she trailed off, taking a deep breath. “As I was saying, your father is leaving the mansion. He says he’ll be staying in Italy for a year or so.”

What…?

Alvarez looked like he had received the best news of his life. I knew he didn’t have a good relationship with his father, but I never asked. That was why I didn’t understand why that was good news for the Alvarez family.

The two of them celebrated quietly, my husband was repeatedly saying yes as if he had just won the lottery. His mother smiled brightly while watching him. They seemed satisfied…

“Is this true? How did you know?”

“Well, I overheard him talking to a friend back in the mansion. It seems he’s going to stay there with your grandfather to manage something.”

Doesn’t that mean Alvarez, the one that’s married to me, will have more jobs to handle? He’s barely getting by with the ones he has right now, and he still plans to add more? At this point, he’s just torturing himself. And I’d be the one to take care of him at the end.

That’s…

I don’t understand.

It seems Mrs. Alvarez–oh, I’m Mrs. Alvarez as well.

Damn it.

Gray’s mother seems to be…

It’s weird to call him by his name, even if I was just thinking.

Anyway, his mother seemed to be really happy with the reaction she got from her son. It’s as if the two of them were over the moon, and even though I wasn’t part of their family, I felt as though I needed to be happy for them.

“Didn’t Gray tell you anything?” Auntie asked when she noticed I was quiet.

“Oh…” I trailed off as I eyed Alvarez, who was still busy celebrating the news. “He didn’t.”

I can’t say he didn't tell me anything because Auntie might not be able to understand. As far as I know, she thinks her son and I have been friends since childhood. It was their excuse to hang out and drink together, after all. That the two of us wanted to spend time with each other as kids.

Perhaps that was why they quickly agreed to our marriage. They probably believed, and are still believing, that we’re getting along well. Of course, they know about the predicament our family is in. But they wouldn’t let their only son get married without checking my background.

I mean, he has a brother I’ve never known of, but as far as I know, the public knows he’s the only child of their family. I’m guessing that’s the reason things went off without a hitch.

Anyway…

“His father…had always been against the idea of letting him inherit everything because he’s an only child. I’m guessing he has another candidate for it. Gray deserves the title, though. It’s just that everyone else in the family is petty.”

“What about Grandpa Emil? What’s his stand on it?”

She smiled and leaned closer to whisper. “He doesn’t like Gray, that’s for sure. But he wanted to see how far the child he loathed could go. That’s the only difference between him and his son.”

I guess people of the same blood really do have something in common. Those two men hated their own kin, and that one person…also hated himself. Now, I understand where his joy is coming from.

We had a little celebration inside the kitchen after Alvarez finished expressing his joy. I was still thinking of the boundary we opted to create between the two of us, but I wanted them to be able to enjoy the meal.

This is the last time…

“When did you order these?” Auntie asked while we were eating.

I told her I did it when I was making tea for us earlier. I didn’t want to be rude to her, so I took the initiative and ordered food. The ones we ordered earlier would only suffice for two people, so it wouldn’t have worked either way.

“I guess I’ve left my son in the right hands…” she muttered before continuing to eat.

“That’s so cheesy,” Alvarez commented teasingly.

Auntie raised a brow. “And how would you have worded it if it were you?”

“I wouldn’t even say it out loud.”

“I guess you’re shy in front of your wife,” Auntie replied as she shook her head in dismay.

It’s definitely in their blood. Teasing people, that is.

I think it's an Alvarez thing to use that condescending and gut-wrenching tone whenever they wanted or needed to piss someone off. Fortunately, I am already immune to such things.

Light giggles would often escape my mouth even when I tried to suppress them. Well, in my defense, it’s quite refreshing to see this guy get roasted by his own mother. This wasn’t how I expected them to bond with each other, but it was nice to watch.

“When did you become so annoying?”

Auntie chuckled. “I’ve always been like this.”

The three of us had quite a good time together, but it was mostly the two of them who talked. It’s like a mother and son bonding, except this is the first time I have ever seen them act like a real family.

Also…

My husband looked more human now than ever.

And for a minute, I forgot that he was simply acting that way because someone else is in our space, especially because it was his mother.