Chapter 6

• The urgency in the man's eyes made her distrust him again, but despite this, she remained there, listening to his words, "It will all be a farce," he said, shaking tremulously.
• "It will all be a sham," he clarified, shaking tremulously, "We won't get married for real, I mean... yes we will, but not because we love each other, nor know each other, it will all be a business".
• "A business?"
• "Yes, I need a wife within a week, it's urgent, Miss. It's something that suits us both".
• She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
• "Go on".
• "I need a wife to collect an inheritance" She looked at him from head to toe, her face was very expressive, she didn't bother to hide what she felt, and at that moment, she doubted his words. "I need you to accept".
• She stepped back when he held her by the shoulders, distrust was seen in his feminine gaze, which once again, looked at him from head to toe, of course she doubted the truthfulness of his words, she even doubted that this man was completely sane.
• "Let me see if I understand: you need a wife to collect an inheritance, and the best way you found to get her... was to hold a chase in the middle of the street?"
• "I'm sorry for that, but, I need you to understand me, I..."
• "No, sir, it's you who needs to understand me, have you lost your mind? What on earth makes you believe that I will accept a contract that binds me to a man I don't know at all? What makes you believe that I will marry the guy who looked at me strangely during a wedding, showed up at my work and chased me, almost getting me run over?"
• "It's urgent that I marry someone!"
• "No, no don't yell at me, calm down, I don't care how urgent it is, I won't marry someone I don't know, I don't even know why I offered him a chance to talk and tell me his crazy stuff".
• "Wait! Please wait. Let me explain it better. It will be a short business of a few months, you will have a good remuneration; you only have to pretend to be my wife, you only have to pretend that we are a happy couple... then you will leave with your money and we will never see each other again. There will be nothing, absolutely nothing between us, no sex, no kissing, nothing, I just need to legally appear to be married to someone, please... please..."
• "Is this a joke? Tell me it is, I implore you, tell me this is a stupid joke, or that hunger made me faint in the middle of the street and hallucinate, because there is no way anyone in their right mind would propose what you are proposing to me, please tell me it's a joke, start laughing this instant." The woman let out a bitter laugh, stroking her temple, a lot of crazy things had happened to her throughout her life, but no one had ever approached her asking her to be his wife, not even the men she dated, let alone a complete stranger, with such a desperate gesture that only managed to scare her away.
• "I'm not kidding, you can use the money for whatever you want... I'll even pay you half in advance, just... I just need someone to be my wife..." For an instant, more ephemeral than she imagined, she felt sorry for the man's desperation, but soon returned to her previous state of distrust. A fake wedding? A temporary marriage? An advance payment? Such an attractive man worried about a wife? Nothing matched, everything was so suspicious that, although the proposal was quite tempting, it did not convince her, as if something else was hidden, she did not want to risk being involved in some kind of fraud or something like that.
• "I'd better go," she announced, looking at him with a grotesque expression.
• He held her by the arm, she was his last option, he could not let her go, he had only a week to get a fake wife, and that stranger, strangely, was his only alternative, he did not feel energetic to continue his attempt to convince some woman to be his wife.
• "Please think about it".
• "What?"
• "What I just proposed".
• "That I should marry you? Sir, are you all right? Who the hell are you even? Why would I marry a man I don't even know? Let go of me already! I'll report you if I meet you again!" Despite her furious threats, he still wouldn't let her go.
• Maximiliano began to rummage in his pocket, just before he let go of Amelia's hand once and for all.
• "Here," he handed it to her, she looked at the paper he was urging her to take, "It's my contact number, please call me if you think better of it, I know that money could change your life".
• "And what makes you think I want your money? Are you implying that I look needy?"
• "No, of course not! It's j-just that... you work in a coffee shop, so..."
• "Are you insinuating that my work is not worthy?"
• Maximiliano put his hands to his head, having the thought that he was thankful that he was only proposing a fake marriage to that woman, because he could not imagine sharing five seconds with her. The thought vanished as quickly as it appeared, making him feel strange.
• "Miss, please, just think about it," he held out the paper with his contacts again, Amelia ended up holding it, glancing at it, a phone number was written there. "Call me if you accept, please, no matter what time you decide to accept, no matter if it is in the early morning, it doesn't matter, just call me" She didn't nod, she didn't do anything, she just looked at Maximiliano and the number.
• He sighed at the silence of the woman, who remained static, with a serious expression watching how he walked towards his expensive car, it was not necessary to know what brand it was, from a distance she could see that it was expensive, which made her doubt even more the whole situation, a millionaire desperately looking for a wife, what kind of a bitter joke was that?
• When she saw him start the car and drive away, Amelia laughed, ripping the paper in two and throwing it into a trash can, telling herself that the man had only stolen her time.
• She had no idea that, more than time, he would end up stealing her heart.
• ***
• Maximiliano arrived home exhausted, he told himself that he had to start improving his cardiovascular condition, that he had neglected himself too much, and so it was, since the death of his wife, he had taken life for granted, the only thing that kept him alive, was his son, the one he loved more than his own life, he was the hand that kept him from suffocating in the abyss of his pain. He hated it when such sad memories came to him, with the speed of a hurricane ready to sweep away all remnants of his sanity, but it was not something he could control. It was hard to get over the fact that the mother of his only child had died in childbirth.
• Every time he closed his eyes, he could remember how excited she was to be a mother, only to have life snatch away her chance at happiness. Maximiliano sighed heavily, he no longer cried for her, for four years had already passed, but he could not lie and say that it did not hurt, that it did not still hurt him deeply.
• Since his former wife had died, he had abandoned himself, but it had been his mother, who had told him that he could not go on like that, it was after almost dying intoxicated by alcohol, that he could open his eyes, and realize that his little boy had lost his mother, and if he did not do something about it, he would soon lose his father. That is why he had decided to leave his house, where he only lived with his little son, he had decided to move in with his mother, because this way, at least this way, the loneliness was not so strong, at least this way, he could control his vice with alcohol, which he had already mastered in great quantity, but it was when he remembered his beloved, that the desire to die, became enormous.
• "Dad!"
• The man was extracted from his thoughts when he heard how the clumsy and heavy steps of his little son approached, pouncing on him, the little one began to jump with the enthusiasm that characterizes childhood, Maximiliano smiled, that was his only reason to live.
• He carried his son with one arm, he was small despite being four years old, he would not be too tall, his mother was not, and his son was a physical copy of his deceased wife, as if destiny liked to remind him perpetually of what he had lost.
• He walked with his son to his room, night was beginning to fall. After talking to that particular woman, he had decided to walk around the city, as if that would help him think about how he would get a wife within a week, since he doubted she would accept.
• "Have you had dinner?" he asked, and received a nod from his son, "What did you have for dinner?"
• "Pasta," he answered, with that hilarious grimace that Maximiliano loved.
• "Don't you like pasta?"
• "Yes, but she makes it every, every, every, every day, and I don’t know why" His childish voice, his frenzy, his unbridled movements, was what kept Maximiliano alive, maybe he was the best son, less the best man, but every day he tried to be the best father, "When are we going to eat something different? I want something different!"
• "Something like what?"
• "Pasta with meat" Maximilian laughed heartily.
• "Well, I'll tell mother to prepare it, but now you have to sleep".
• "It's too early! You haven't even read me the story you promised me!" he protested, clenching his little fists, "Please, just one story!"
• "Daddy has some things to do, I'll read it to you tomorrow".
• "You always say that, but you never have time for me!" Those words, like a dagger in Maximiliano's heart.
• "I promise, tomorrow I'll read you one, okay?"
• His son looked at him with hilarious childlike distrust. He nodded, but in his eyes he could see the disappointment drawn. Maximiliano knew that there was nothing that hurt more than empty promises from a father, he knew this better than anyone. An alcoholic, absent and abusive father was something that resonated for life, maybe that was the reason why he insisted on being such a good father: he did not want history to repeat itself.
• Suddenly, the door was opened, they both turned towards it, meeting the face of Maximiliano's mother.
• "Am I interrupting something?"
• "No, he was just going to sleep".
• "And daddy said that tomorrow you would cook me pasta with lots of meat," said the boy, playing with his fingers.
• Maximiliano smiled.
• "I'll be out in a while, mom," he said, seeing in the woman's eyes that she had something to tell him, "Give me ten minutes".
• The woman nodded, leaving the room.
• It didn't take Maximiliano too long to put his son to sleep, after answering a dozen meaningless questions, the little boy closed his eyes until he was completely asleep. He spent a few seconds contemplating him as he slept. It was the only reason why he was alive, if it were not for that little boy, Maximiliano would have been consumed by the vice of alcohol. The thought made him smile, even in the worst situations he could find something to be grateful for.
• Since his wife had died, he had not bothered to look for another wife, much less try to fall in love again, but love was not something that was sought, love was something that knocked on doors, doors that had to be opened, doors where the person he least imagined was waiting for him. Maximiliano believed that after losing his wife, he would not fall in love with someone else, but he had no idea that soon the stubborn woman to whom he had proposed a crazy business, would be the one who would steal his sullen and cracked heart.