Chapter 20
Iris:
Now if
anyone would have told me that I would be feeling nervous to just sit down, I would have told them that they were fools. Sitting down was something that everyone knew how to do, if anything, even children knew how to
sit
But it was at this point that I was frightened and worried about how things were going, if anything, I just felt like I was being watched by everyone who was around, and in theory, that was correct. Everyone was indeed watching
- me.
Especially Dean…
His eyes would meet mine every few seconds when I looked up at anyone who was talking. He would avoid my eyes a few seconds after, however, that didn’t last for too long as he slowly approached me with a glass of white
wine.
“Vintage,” he said, handing me the glass, knowing that it was my favorite flavor of wine. I looked down at the glass for a second before taking it from him. The fact that he remembered, despite us being divorced for five years, made my ch*st ache despite my heart skipping a beat. It was something that he was the only one who knew about. I was often one who didn’t mind drinking different types of wine, but vintage was my simple favorite.
“You still remember my favorite.” I stated, taking a sip of the drink before looking at him. I knew that Mariana had her eyes on the two of us, most probably glaring as she fought back an aftermath reaction. I wasn’t stupid, I knew that she was now feeling threatened. The woman saw me as a threat, especially since she knew that I didn’t bother responding to what she did when she chose to break my marriage.
“You were my wife for years, I have picked up a thing or two about what you might prefer to drink.” He said, and I nodded in understanding, choosing not to comment. In my theory, I knew that he shouldn’t really remember what I liked, especially since he was married to a woman that he obviously wanted to be with.
Mariana had her eyes fixed on us for a few seconds, and I could swear that I saw tears coming out of her eyes for a second before she wiped them. I looked at Dean who didn’t even bother looking at the woman who was supposed to be his wife. The woman seemed to be in pain, and yet, the man who was supposed to be her husband
didn’t even care about it.
I
“Dean, isn’t your wife going to be upset about you handing me a drink? You and I both know that she tends to grow
a bit…
“Overprotective? Snobby?” He asked, and I shook my head at his choices of words. I hated to admit, but I had to fight worry about
me being jealous or overprotective, if anything, I was mostly working with other men just like he was with other women; therefore, in my mind, as long as we were supportive to one another, it didn’t make a difference.
# back a laugh that almost escaped my lips. When he was with me, the last thing that he would
But that changed a bit when Mariana entered his life, and even then, I chose not to create a fuss, interfere, or
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Intervene so as not to cause an issue. I had a lot to deal with and the last thing that I needed to deal with at the time was a stupid affair that he had. It was something that I was used to hearing and seeing around, and though it wasn’t something that I liked dealing with, I wasn’t stupid, I knew that some women were scandalous when they saw a man with money. And Dean had the looks, the young age, figure, and money. It was a win, win for her.
“I was going to say jealous.” I said, and he shrugged, seeming not to care.
“You were jealous too, and yet, you never caused me any problems.” He said, and I shook my head at his level of comparison. It didn’t take me long and I didn’t need a shrink to tell me that the man wasn’t happy in his relationship. I knew his parents well enough to know that they didn’t like the fact that he was married to Mariana to begin with. The fact that he was referring to me as the jealous” type who didn’t cause him trouble told me that he didn’t know what jealousy did to a woman.
When it came to him marrying me, the family chose me for him to marry into a family that would help him grow and prosper. Both familles grew and prospered together, whether it was businesswise or even reputation wise. Everyone knew that our bloods joining one another would be creating a stronger bond in the business world. And everyone knew that our children would be having a lot more than any of them could have ever wished for. Our fortunes would be merged into one, and that was something that the families wanted.
However, when it came to Mariana, the woman was a secretary who his parents wouldn’t have approved of. It was something that I knew very well considering that I knew how his mother thought. And I couldn’t blame her. She
wanted someone who was used to what she had her for her son. Taking someone from an environment to another was not something that she wanted to deal with.
It would require a certain education, time, training, and energy. And judging by what I was seeing right now, I could tell that Mariana was nowhere near being as educated as any of us were. It didn’t mean that she wasn’t, but there was a lack in her etiquette and that was something that we weren’t excused of when we grew older.
The lack of etiquette meant that we were neglected by our parents who should have hired our tutors for us should. they not want to train us themselves. I personally had three etiquette trainers for each level that I got. By the time that I was twenty, I was a princess who would stand and sit with her back straight. I knew how to cook and clean without getting myself in a mess, and I also knew when it was a maid or butler’s turn to work.
It was something that I knew Dean appreciated. Whenever he came home, I would be the one taking care of him. myself. And whether or not he liked it didn’t make a difference to me. I was his wife and I acted like it. By time, I knew that he grew fond of it; however, just as good things never seem to last, our relationship was never one that was stable when it came to Mariana appearing whenever we started getting closer.
Eventually, I just chose to give up trying to please him the last night he touched me when I grew pregnant with my
child.
“You don’t need to compare the two of us, Dean. You know for fact that each one of us has her own personality, and she is just expressing her jealousy because she wants you by her side. Being by your ex is not something that she would want, especially after the years that have passed.” I said, trying to explain the situation to him, and he nodded. His expression was softer than it was at the office; however, I could tell that he was still in pain after what
he heard.
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“I am sorry for hiding…”
“The two of us are still going to need to have a proper and full conversation about this.” He said, stopping me. I could tell that he was upset and also confused about what he heard, but I could tell that he was trying to hide whatever pain that he was feeling right now. “However, I do believe that it can be done after the gathering.”
“Can what be done, Dean?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. Though I knew that he wouldn’t be dropping the subject, a part of me hoped that he would. If anything, a part of me wanted him to just let it go and pretend that he didn’t
heard of it.
“Surely you don’t expect me to abandon my child, do you?” He asked, raising a similar eyebrow. “Before you come to any conclusions and assumptions, I won’t be taking your daughter away from you; however, as her father, I have every right to see her.”
“Dean…”
“We will be discussing this later when you have the time, and we can even have our lawyers working on the legal
papers that permit me to see her as my daughter as I pay for whatever it is that you need to support her.” He said, and I crossed my arms over my chest. The fact that this conversation led to financial support was not something that I liked, especially since I didn’t want anything of the sort from him. If anything, I didn’t want him thinking that he owed me anything to do that for my daughter.
“I don’t need your…
“I am aware, but as her father, she has every right for this.” He said, giving me a gentle wink. His wink sent shivers down my spine as it reminded me of the first time the two of us talked as an engaged couple here at his house, and ironically, in the very same position that we were standing on, before he asked me out on our first date. “I’ll see you later, little flower…”
