Chapter 5

NATHANIEL. Thane was certain he and his very sexy personal assistant had had a moment back there. What he wasn’t certain of was if he should be feeling a lot more guilt than he was currently possessed, which he supposed he should, as a married man. His wife might be a cheat, but he wasn’t. He didn’t know what had come over home, shamelessly thirsting over his employee like he’d been doing. But there was something about her that gnawed at his senses. She seemed so… familiar, like she understood him somehow. Perhaps he shouldn’t be thinking with his other head where it concerned Aurora, though he would admit she was compellingly odd. She possessed none of that gritty ambitious aura, striking him as a person very content with her life. As someone surrounded by greedy sharks and sharp claws looking to fight their way to the top, it was refreshing to see something new. He stared at her profile as they sat in silence in his car, wondering humorously if she’d purposely scooted to the other end of the seat so she could put as much space between them as she could. He'd noticed the way she avoided his eyes after the call from his mother when they’d locked eye contact. Her cheeks had colored a bright red and it had spread to the skin of her neck. A small smile stretched his lips. He wanted to see how far her blush stretched. Clearing his throat, he said, “We’re going shopping.” “What?" Aurora turned to stare at him with startled eyes. “I need to buy some things for my wife.” “Oh.” She nodded. “Okay then.” His wife, indeed. His mother had advised him to try again, stating that he obviously hadn’t expected her to wait for him for a year and a half. Well, she was a woman, just like any other. And women could be bought by fancy things. She would be no different. By the time he went to see her, for real this time, she’d break up with whoever she was messing around with and come running to him. *** AURORA. Rich people made me sick. We walked into this jewelry store and my boss had immediately picked out three gemstones that totaled a hundred thousand dollars. He must really love his wife. “Sir,” I murmured quietly behind him so the store attendant wouldn’t overhear and think me cheap. “Isn’t this a bit too much? You’ve spent more than my salary for a year.” “What? I pay you that little?” He seemed taken aback, like he couldn’t imagine having so little money. “That’s unacceptable.” Behind us, Nathaniel’s driver trailed along, his arms full of shopping bags. I was beginning to feel a bit light-headed. “Yes, sir. I think so too.” If he wanted to raise my pay, I certainly couldn’t complain. After all, he was the boss. “But don’t you think you’re spending a bit too much money?” He walked into a fashion store and I followed him hastily. “What’s the point of having money if I can’t spend it?” he threw at me, before turning to this store attendant and announcing, “Bring me every expensive dress you have.” I sighed. Rich people problems. It wasn’t my business anyway; it was his money and his wife. Whatever had happened between them last night, he’d obviously gotten over it. It was refreshing to see a man so in love with his wife, unlike the man I married. Justin was right. He was probably dead. By the time we were done in this store, the bill had accumulated to over fifty thousand dollars. Fifty! I almost passed out. Even if I had that kind of money, I’d never spend it so recklessly, especially not on clothes I could get at Forever 21. These fashion stores… I was not their target market and I was okay with that. “Do you want anything?” Nathaniel asked, looking at me. “Pick whatever you want.” “Me?” I stuttered, pointing to myself before shaking my head when he nodded. “No, thank you. I buy all my clothes from much cheaper stores and it works for me.” He gave me a blank stare. “You can’t be serious.” “I am,” I chuckled. “And I’m fine with it. I’ve learned to live with not being rich.” “You don’t want much, do you?” he asked, still watching me. I shook my head. “I only want to save enough money so I can bring my Abuela to live with me.” He made a sound at the back of his throat. “We’re very different people, Aurora. I live in a world where you are swallowed up if you’re not bold enough to go after what you want and get it and you come from a world where contention is a thing.” I shrugged. “You learn to live with the things you don’t have.” “Does your husband also share your sentiment?” That made me laugh. “He probably does.” Seeing as he had learned to live without me for the past eighteen months. “And I’m guessing your wife also thinks the world is her oyster?” He grinned. “We are two sides of a coin.” “I think it’s pretty cool that you’re so in love with her. How many years have you been married?” He paused, his eyes darting to a woman walking past the store with a little girl, her daughter maybe. “Almost two years.” “Oh, me too,” I said, wondering how much we had in common. He’d gotten married around the same time as I had. At least one of us was enjoying our marriage. I decided to take another shot at it. “Did she like the roses last night?” Nathaniel shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. She never got to see them.” “Why not?” He smacked his lips. “Something came up.” “Oh.” His eyes were hard and told me that something had happened and he hadn’t been too happy about it. Maybe they’d argued. “That’s alright," I said. "Once she sees the dresses and fancy jewelry, I’m sure she’ll come around. Women like nice things.” I ended up buying a dress for Lola that wasn’t too expensive, though Nathaniel had offered to pay. I politely declined, not wanting to be indebted to him. After the awkward moment earlier when his phone had rung, I made up my mind not to get close enough for him to happen again. He was a married man, for God’s sake, no matter how handsome. It just wasn’t right. On the drive home, I couldn’t stop thinking about my husband. The thought of calling him had occurred to me several times lately, but I’d never brought myself to go through with it. What would I say? "Hi, it’s your wife of eighteen months. What’s up?" Of course not. I couldn’t put it off forever. Sooner or later, I would have to find him. If I ever wanted to be with a man I loved, I very well couldn’t stay married to a man I didn’t.