Chapter 7 Chapter Seven

• The next morning, Ava grabbed her bag and left the hotel for the bus terminal, bought her ticket, and waited to be called. After nearly two hours of travel, the bus dropped her off near her destination. There, she asked for directions to the café, walked two blocks, and entered. She observed the place; there weren't too many people, some were sitting at tables engrossed in their phones, while others held a cup of coffee in hand. She glanced at a woman around 50 years old behind the counter attending to a young man and approached timidly.
• "Good morning! Mrs. Catalina," Ava greeted.
• "Yes, miss! How can I help you?" Mrs. Catalina replied, showing a warm smile that eased Ava's tense body.
• "I was informed that you are looking for an employee?"
• "What experience do you have with cash registers or customer service?"
• "None! But I helped my mom with her finances. Once you explain to me what I need to do, I assure you I'll catch on quickly."
• Mrs. Catalina explained the job to her, and Ava gladly accepted. Ava mentioned she had nowhere to stay, and Mrs. Catalina offered her the upstairs floor of the café with a separate entrance. She toured the apartment; it was small, with just one room, a bathroom, and a small living room. Ava didn't mind the size; what mattered was that she would have a place to sleep.
• "Make yourself at home! I'll wait for you in the café to show you your duties."
• "Alright."
• Unpacking the few things she had in her bag, she heard her phone ring.
• "Hello! Who is this?" she asked immediately, not recognizing the phone number.
• "Hello Ava! It's Greta, the lady from the park."
• "Mrs. Greta, nice to hear from you."
• "I would like you to give me your address; I found you a husband."
• "Are you serious?" a slight frown of disbelief crept onto her face as she thought it might be a relative of the lady.
• "Yes, he's a poor person who works in maintenance at a company. He was evicted from where he lives and has nowhere to sleep."
• Ava sighed several times; her smile faded from her face. She felt uncertain; marrying a stranger seemed horrible to her. His profession didn't appeal to her either, and being evicted from his home raised suspicions. She bit her nail, speculating, "Maybe he has some vices."
• Noticing her silence, Greta imagined her distrust.
• "Don't worry, I've known him for years. He's an honest person; he just needs a place to live, and you need a husband. I'm sure you'll get along."
• "Let me think about it."
• "Of course, my dear. This is my phone number; if you change your mind, send me your address, and I'll send him over. I have a friend who is a lawyer; don't worry about the marriage contract, I'll take care of it."
• "Thank you, Greta," she said, ending the call without knowing what to do.
• A week later, the police were looking for a missing girl, and her father filed a report. The taxi driver was on his way to the café when he was stopped to be asked about the missing girl.
• "Hello Ava, I'm here to warn you that the police are looking for you; they won't take long to get here."
• Catalina, who knew Ava's situation, glanced sadly at the girl. She knew that if they found her, they would force her to return.
• "Ava! Go up to the apartment, don't let them see you here. I'll let you know when everything's under control."
• Ava's heart was seized with unease; desperate, she went up to her apartment, biting her nail as she paced back and forth. She had no choice but to call Greta.
• "Mrs. Greta! I need the husband you promised me."
• "Give me the address, and I'll send your future husband," a satisfied smile spread across the old woman's face.
• Three hours later, someone knocked on the door. She opened it and was surprised to see two men standing in front of her. One wore worn-out clothes and held a black bag, while the other was well-dressed in a black suit.
• "Hello, we're from Mrs. Greta," said the man in the suit. "I'm Fausto Jones, the lawyer. Here's the document for both parties to read and sign."
• Ava, showing a disappointed expression, observed the man in the suit. She whispered to herself, "Why weren't you my husband? I got stuck with the ugliest one."
• Dante narrowed his eyes, amused by the woman's audacity.
• "And I'm Dante, your future husband. Are we going to stand here at the door, or can we come in?"
• "Please, come in," she blushed, realizing she had been caught.
• "I invite you to sit down," Ava signed the contract without reading it, and Dante did the same.
• "Now we can go to the registry office to formalize your marriage," Fausto said.
• "Dante, you can go to my room and change," Ava said, eyeing the man's appearance.
• "I'm fine like this, and this is the best clothing I have," Dante studied every expression of the girl, internally amused, "not bad for the woman my grandmother found me."
• Ava couldn't believe the husband she had ended up with. She felt ashamed to go out with this man, showing her discontent with a grimace on her face, but she had no choice; it was him or her father.
• They left the apartment straight for the registry office, and Ava asked two people passing by to be witnesses.
• After leaving the place, the lawyer took them back to the café and bid them farewell.
• Ava walked lost in her thoughts, not knowing what to do with him, how to treat him. They arrived at the apartment, she let him in, and closed the door.
• "So, your name is Dante Musk," she recalled from the document she signed.
• "Yes, ma'am."
• "How old are you?"
• "32 years old."
• "Do you have any family?"
• "I have no one, ma'am."
• "What's with the 'ma'am'? Just call me Ava. Mrs. Greta told me you work in maintenance at a company?"
• "Yes! I don't earn much, but it's the only job I've been able to get. I used to be a garbage collector on the street."
• "Tomorrow we're going to a hair salon so you can shave."
• "What's wrong with my beard? I like it," he ran his fingers over his mustache down to a thick beard.
• "It looks terrible; it seems like you don't practice hygiene, and those mustaches," she was going to say "are disgusting," but she restrained herself, "they're shapeless. Besides, people who know me will feel sorry for me with the husband I got stuck with."
• "Tomorrow I'll go to a friend who's a hairdresser, and he can fix it," Dante sat down on a sofa, continuing, "How long do you need me? I need to start looking for a place to live."
• "For a year. I got married to receive an inheritance. Don't worry about where to live; among the assets, there are some properties, and I'll give you one as compensation for marrying me."
• "You're not ugly," he detailed her features; her blue-black hair was beautiful, her white skin with those greenish eyes matched perfectly, but he was a man who didn't care about appearances. He was tired of seeing all kinds of bodies. "Why didn't you get a normal husband?"
• "I tried many times," she expressed frustratedly. "I was even going to get married, but two days before the wedding, I found my fiancé with my stepsister," with a resentful frown, she lowered her gaze and continued, "Until now, I understood why all my boyfriends left me."
• "I'm not going anywhere," he felt a bit of compassion for the girl.
• "You'll be with me until you receive the inheritance."
• "Where will I sleep?"
• "Right where you're sitting," she went to the bedroom, grabbed a pillow and a blanket, and handed it to him.
• Dante looked at the sofa unhappily, which was smaller than his body.
• "I can't fit here; your bed is bigger. I promise not to bother you."
• "You're crazy! I'm not going to sleep in the same bed with you. You can sleep on the floor," she turned her back, went into the bedroom, and locked the door.
• Annoyed, Dante spread the blanket on the floor and lay down on it.
• "Grandma, you'll pay for this," he protested, unable to fall asleep due to the discomfort and the pain in his back. He called one of his bodyguards who was in the car keeping watch and ordered him to get him a mattress. When they brought it, he opened the door carefully and received it. He laid it in the middle of the living room and managed to sleep there.