Page 124 of XOXO

“You think marrying me is giving up everything?” he scoffed. “You will live a comfortable life and if you want, stay home to do as you please. I’m only asking you to marry me, give me a child and be presentable.”

“If you think that’s so easy to do, why don’t you fucking pop out a baby and stay home with them?” I clenched my jaw. “I’m sure I could work enough to support all of us, be gone all day and come home like I’m doing you a fucking favor.”

My eyes stung, unshed tears threatening to escape.

“Violeta,” he snapped. “This is what you agreed to months ago.”

“Me running away, should have been a clue that I don’t want this,” I said, as the elevator doors opened. “I agreed because I thought you were still that same boy I loved when we went to college, but life has changed you and not for the better.”

I walked off, heading to the front desk to see if they could ship my bag back home. The manager was very accommodating and assured me they would be able to send it home for me. The throat punch at the end of our conversation was her calling me Mrs. Villalobos. I stared at her as my new reality sunk in, I was going to be this asshole's wife if I didn’t figure something out quickly.

The man who grabbed our bags escorted me to a car out front with Lorenzo already inside and on the phone. Reluctantly, I got into the car, wishing I had my phone to distract me. The drive was quick, barely giving me a chance to prepare myself for what was about to happen. Leaving Greece and going back home meant I had failed, just delaying the inevitable.

A very well-dressed woman greeted us as soon as we were let out of the car. She spoke to Lorenzo in Spanish, taking our passports from him and telling him about the amenities in the lounge. I walked behind them, trying to keep up, even though my ankle was on fire, as she led us into a separate entrance that had our own security line. Everyone in line looked wealthy and had their own personal guide. I immediately felt like I didn’t belong and I wondered if this was what the rest of my life would feel like.

The guys were obviously well-off, but being with them never felt like this. Seeing the snobbery of wealth was extremely off-putting and how they spoke to their guides was disgraceful. We walked through a metal detector and it took us all of ten minutes to get through security. Our guide led us to the lounge, leaving us at a table that had our last name on it.

“Mr. and Mrs. Villalobos, enjoy your flight with us and let us know if there is anything we can do to make your flight with us more comfortable,” she said in Spanish, handing our boarding passes and passports to Lorenzo. “I will come get you when it is time to board.”

“Gracias,” I said, when Lorenzo said nothing.

A simple thank you wasn’t that fucking hard.

She bowed, leaving us. The lounge was big, but still felt intimate. There was a buffet of food in the middle with two chefs who looked to be taking orders.

“I need to make a phone call,” Lorenzo said, pulling his phone out. “I trust you will stay here?”

I nodded, looking over to the food. “My foot needs to be iced. I need coffee and food.”

He glanced down at my foot, leaving without saying anything more and I went in search of coffee. There was a counter with a barista that had a line I really wasn’t in the mood to wait in.

“Brown sugar shaken espresso?”

My heart skipped a beat when I thought I heard Ruwon’s voice. I turned around, immediately seeing my actor holding out a coffee toward me. My mind went blank as I threw myself at him, catching me with ease.

“What are you doing here?” I cried into his shoulder, anxiety spiking my chest, feeling tight because I only had moments before Lorenzo came back.

“I’m sorry,” he said, holding me tighter. “I never should have let you leave. I should have⁠—”

“Nonsense,” I said, pulling back and wiping my eyes. “My bullshit shouldn’t ruin your life.”

“Violeta, you could never ruin my life,” he said, cupping my face. “If this ruins my career, then so be it, but I think we could all walk away from this with everything we want.”

“What are you saying?” My heart fluttered with endless possibilities running through my head.

“I’m saying, I want this, us together: Levi, Matteo, you and me. I don’t know how it is going to work, but I want to try.”

I searched his eyes for the truth, wanting this to be real so badly, but another part of me left because he shouldn’t have to blow up his life for me. He was the only one here for me, and I tried not to think too hard about it.

“I can see you spiraling,” he said, kissing my forehead. “Matteo and Levi are here and we aren’t going anywhere. We are a package deal and I know that's a lot, but we think you're worth it and more.”

Butterflies erupted as I looked for the guys, immediately finding them at the table with Lorenzo. They were deep in conversation, making my anxiety spike once more.

“Everything is fine,” he said, grabbing my hand. “I know you can’t fully trust us yet, but I promise we are going to fix everything.”

“Ru, this is insane, you guys can’t bargain with him,” I said, my lips trembling.

“Oh baby, you don’t know how hard Matteo and Levi can bargain with a man who has nothing to bargain with,” he said, leading me to the table.