THE DEAL: Novel (13 page)

"That’s absolutely rubbish and you know that. Bloody hell, I swear to you I don’t know what's going on, I have no idea where we are or how we came here. I want to remember it but I can’t, it's so frustrating. It seems that we did married and I don’t remember anything. Have you seen your ring? Is there anything inscribed?"

"Yes I saw it while I was in the bathroom, you have yours inscribed as well?!"

Asking him, approaching and showing him her two diamond rings while going to JP lying already on the bed. He looked at the inside of her ring and saw what was written on it, he puts a very straight face. Handed her the ring he had and she saw what was written on it.

Forever yours Carolina

They looked at the engraved ring for a few minutes waiting and hoping they could as if by magic giving them the answers they needed to know right now. By their desolation, nothing happened. Carolina felt her head exploding in pain and JP did not feel better. They couldn’t believe it, how could they been married? It was just not possible.

How could they be married, if they clearly don’t have the same feelings for each other? She always imagined that one day she would marry again, and if she would, it would be with a man who loved her and not with a man who despised her. She was sure of that.

"I have to clarify my ideas, I need to be alone."

She left the room without worrying for an answer.

Carolina didn’t know where to go, but she knew she needed air and be alone, so she went to the porch, but didn’t felt it was far enough from him. She needed to go further, much further, miles away from him. But now it was not possible, so she went down the porch steps and headed to the beach sitting on the sun protected beach bed with a white side curtain flying gently with the sea breeze. She sat for a while looking at the horizon trying to get answers. Unanswered questions, that was all she got, with her head throbbing decides to lie down on the bed with her head in the pillows that she tried to arrange the way she could look at the pale blue sea, she could observe the waves reaching the beach and leaving doing all the time the same routine, without getting tired, unlike Carolina who was feeling so tired that she didn’t had any strength to get up anymore.

The place was so calm and peaceful, slightly muffled with a breeze, the sun hot, the whole place was idyllic. It was the ideal place for some lovebirds to have a dream vacation, to be alone and completely at ease. Which was not their case, they had met only once, and in fact had been twice, the first time they had met and they had extraordinary sex and that’s about it and the second time they kissed when they were or better he kissed her without saying a word. But they had not spoken with one another personally, they only exchanged hundreds of messages, but there was never a real relationship or even a friendship or attempt to do so from him and now they stood completely alone obliged to socialize with each other and probably they were married now, without knowing each other.

That was completely insane.

She still couldn’t believe what was happening.

The sun set on the horizon, mixing yellow and orange colours in the sky.

When night falls, the sky was clear and full of thousands stars were to be seen everywhere. Carolina had never been good at astronomy and never became interested in the subject, tonight she regrets it she would like to know the meaning of the stars in the sky, while she was admiring the small and bright points on the sky. The night was calm and with a full moon it was still warm like during the day, the temperature didn’t drop significantly. Carolina refuses to go inside the cabin where she was to near to a naked JP, she hated herself for desire him the way she did, but she couldn’t help it. But she could avoid him and was what she intended to do while she was forced to stay on the island. She couldn’t even think sharing the same room with him, she didn’t know if being lowered like the way she was already if she was able to resist him if he tried to touch her.

And if he don’t touches me, but if I touch him instead and he authorized to continue, no, no, it’s too much of thinking.

S
he needs to stay outside and way. So, she chose to stay safe on beach bed getting comfortably lying on it, feeling safer outside than inside the cabin near him. The tropical weather has made Carolina fell asleep easily when she was still having all this perturbing thoughts. She fell asleep with the moon and the stars.

Day 2

It should be about 6 am when Carolina wakes up with the chirping of birds hidden in the trees, the sun was already to be seen on the horizon and the light that the sun emanates obliged her to open her eyes. At her first moments she doesn’t know where she is, it took her a few minutes to realize that she was stuck on a desert island with JP! She raises her hand to her forehead and exclaimed in a sleepy voice:

“Oh good heavens, I am completely screwed”

She said aloud, knowing she was alone right now. Never saw him since she left the cabin, but he should have been with her as she slept, because now she was covered with a small summer blanket and when she felt asleep there was none, it could only have been JP.

For someone who doesn’t care at all about me made a really nice gesture.
– She thought shaking her head and smiled shortly.

She stood up, and went quietly inside the cabin hoping JP was still asleep, she peered through the bedroom door that was open, she stand there for a few minutes appreciate him, he looked so peaceful and harmless when he slept. Carolina was starving and going back to the kitchen she tried to think when was the last time she had eaten something and it was so frustrating because she couldn’t remember when she had eaten anything for the last time. But first things first, she needed to go to the bathroom and afterwards she would go to the kitchen to see if there was anything in the refrigerator to eat. When she arrives in the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator doors she saw that it was stuffed with milk, yogurt, and whole variety of cheeses, ham, fresh vegetables and fruit. She opened the bottom of the refrigerator which was actually a freezer and for her surprise it was full of frozen food, already pre-made.

At least if I need to be here for 7 days, I don’t need to worry about food, the food is more than enough -
she thought relieved.

She opened the kitchen drawers in all the kitchen furniture to explore and discovered they were full of food: bread, canned goods, coffee, tea, sugar and even a small selection of wines and champagne they had a little bit of everything there. Carolina decided to make some coffee, fresh orange juice and toast with strawberry jam. She was really hungry. As she didn’t know what JP liked and didn’t know if he was wake up soon or not, made breakfast only for her. When she was finished eating, JP appeared sleepy in the kitchen, his hair was wilder than she remembered and his face was somehow comical.

So this is the way you look when you wake up
- she thought when she looked at him in the mood to laugh but didn’t dare. Instead she said:

"Sorry if I made too much noise and wake you."

He smiled subtly and said he had woke up with the smell of the coffee, feeling hungry he decided to get up. Carolina had just finished breakfast, and asked him if he wanted the same as she had, saying she didn’t mind preparing for him if he wants it. JP thanked her and accepted the offer, confiding that he didn’t know his way in the kitchen. JP as Carolina, hadn’t eaten anything since maybe the previous day, he couldn’t recall either and was also very hungry so he devoured the toast with great ease, drank coffee and fresh orange juice quickly.

Carolina arranged back everything that had been used with the breakfast, washing the rest. When JP finished, he did the same. When they finished, they went out of the cabin together without saying a word, walked next to each other along the beach in silence, it was JP who broke the silence:

"Did you clear up your ideas? Have you come to any conclusions? Do you remember anything?"

She continued walking putting her hands behind her back as she shook her head as a no and asks him the same.

"Bloody hell, I don’t remember anything, I don’t remember how we got here, I don’t recall a possible marriage, I don’t remember a thing. This is so frustrating. But if it wasn’t me, if it wasn’t you, who might have it been? Who could it be to put us in here? Who had the ability to do this?"

She stopped looking at the sea and thought about it. She hadn’t really given it a thought that way, but she didn’t know anyone who could orchestrate such an absurd and seemingly expensive plan. She was sure that Nils couldn’t know her story with JP, so it couldn’t be him and because he had proposed to her as well, he would certainly not wanting seeing Carolina suddenly married to another man. She takes a minute and thinks of Nils, is he looking for her? What will he think of what happened, will he believe that she married without knowing, no one would believe that story, it’s just an unbelievable story. Not even she believes in it, how can others believe in her? No one would believe about something like that, they wouldn’t believe that something like that was possible to happen. She also never confided to any friend what had happened with her and JP, so she was completely in the dark, she didn’t know who could have done something like that, much less having such power to make it happen the way it did. While she was trying to remember, she realized there was only one person who knew about them, it was Tess.

She continued her thoughts out aloud, she said to JP:

"The only person who crosses my mind at this moment, only because it was the only one who tried to join us, tried again and again to put us together was Tess, but she doesn’t have the financial capacity to do something like this nor she was paid to do something like this from me nor from you right?

He looked at her in disbelieve.

“Of course I haven’t paid her, are you nuts?”

“So this was the only person who is crossing my mind, no one knew about us. I can’t think of another person"

Carolina said continuing looking to the endless sea, as if talking to the sea and not to someone next to her. JP jumped suddenly in front of her, blocking her view, he appeared before her now he looked so tall, she remembered that the last time he had been so close together she was in high heels shoes, but now barefoot her head ended where his chin began. He was so manly even in shorts and T-shirt where she could see his body contours, which made her sigh in silent with burning desire inside for him. He comes closer to her, forcing her to close her eyes and feel his incomparable scent, his unique essence that makes her state of red alert. She tries to recover mentally, open her eyes and there are these intense blue eyes staring at her, serious and tough guy.

JP grabs gently her by both arms above the wrists, Carolina looks down where his hands just strike, his hands are firm and warm to the touch and an electricity impulse runs through her body, feeling immediately her pulse rising, speeding up the heart beat, going faster each passing second. She couldn’t understand how he had the power over her to do something like that. Thinking if he was aware what he was capable to do to her, she wasn’t sure if he was doing that on purpose or not.

JP dropped one hand, leading the hand to her face putting one finger underneath Carolina’s chin forcing her to lift her head and looking at him. Looking into his eyes, in those blue eyes which she got lost so easily and made her go into a trance in no time. Instead she tried to look at his face, his three days beard as she remembered how his beard was soft to the touch. She wanted to touch him, but she couldn’t dare it. She didn’t want to touch him because she knew if she did she would be completely lost. Waiting for him to say anything, she stayed in silence, for what followed.

Then he said looked and promising her:

"When we leave this island, I will find out who did this and will sue those who are involved in this, for this bad joke to the end of their life into the next. No one teases me this way, no one."

She knew he was serious, Carolina could only respond:

"And when we leave out of here we will deal with marriage annulment, if it really existed, I don’t want complications for me or for you."

He smiled at her, relieved knowing she wanted the same as he wanted, he said:

"Yes, we need to sort that out as well. I didn’t build an empire from scratch and I can’t afford to share with someone who I don’t even know and I don’t have any type of affinity.

You know since the beginning that I have no feelings for you, don’t you? We were together once, we had sex, that’s all and I can’t see you as a woman to have a relationship let alone someone to be married with, you have nothing to do with me, we have nothing in common.

I think I was always honest with you from the beginning, that I wanted only sex from you. I’m sorry to say that but I can’t see you more than a sex object to me, not after what happened. I expect you to understand that."

Carolina felt as if an invisible dagger had reached her heart, tearing her heart without mercy. Not only her heart was stabbed, he needed to rotate the dagger to make sure that her hope died at the same instant she felt bleeding inside and looked away releasing her wrist from his hand saying:

"Don’t worry I understand perfectly what you mean"

Said turning around without saying a word and without courage to look back at him. She was afraid if she looked back that he would petrify her with his ice cold eyes. She quickens her pace toward the cabin, leaving him behind, standing looking at her at the beach. Feeling like a dejá vu she feels his eyes on her back like a hawk ready to attack continuing to observe her from afar. She needed to go away from him, he was poison for her, and he was just a bad thing around her. She couldn’t allow him to approach her anymore, couldn’t allow him to touch her. She felt so angry and disappointed at him all these mixed emotions she felt exhausted her at the same time.

Was he just insensitive or ruthlessly honest with me?

Do I really want to hear the truth?

Or rather he lured me to keep the illusion that one day we can become a couple?

She felt sore in her integrity as a woman and human being. How could he say those things to her and expecting her to forgive him for his hurtful words, he made her feel summarized to the insignificance of being a woman because she had never felt this with any man in her life. He has the gift of making her feel the worst person on earth, but why does he do it? She knew that once, very briefly he was gentle and sweet to her.

But why does he treat me this way?!

As much as Carolina turns her head around she doesn’t understand why he can say those things about her, if he never wanted the opportunity to be with her, to get to know her or of wanting truly to know her. After they met she tried to approach him but now she understands that he thought wrong about her from the start and that will never change and all because: for him it had been only had a sex experience on the first date. It was obvious that he had never felt anything for her and that meant 6 days more on a paradise island of suffering with a man who despises her. He doesn’t thinks of her good enough to return to have sex, it is not that she wanted now but only if he wanted her sexually she wouldn’t feel so bad. At least if he wanted her only for sex, she could reject him, and make him feel as bad as he makes her feel.

Haunted by the man and by a mixture of emotions, feeling humiliated being teased by him, if only he wanted sex with her, she didn’t felt so diminished, so reduced to insignificance. She was in the middle of the whirlwind of feelings still wanting him desperately even him despising her. When she reached the cabin she went to the bathroom, locking the door behind, without undressing she placed under the shower sitting down and leans against the wall, letting the warm water running down the wall and her body in an attempt to soothe the despair of her body or erase from the memory all the sad events of the last hours of her life.

Carolina stayed under the shower until her hands were completely wrinkled, stripped her soaked clothes, putting them aside. She washed her hair with shampoo and rubs her body with the shower gel that was in small baskets, next to the sink, the products smelled delight of lavender. Sighed the smell, tears ran down her cheeks without asking permission mixing with water. Why is it that everything she does, it always ends in to JP, even the lavender smell.

It was not fair.

She thought trying to fight against her tears. She got out of the shower put a towel around her body, adjusting it under the arms folding tightly to remain in place. Walking towards the closet in the bedroom, open it and she had so many clothes to chose from, simple but according to the place she was, they were perfect. She chose a dress with orange shades with a short wide sleeves and a white bikini. She dressed up and noticed that everything fitted perfectly and perhaps better than if she had bought for herself. Despite having a good selection of shoes at the bottom of the wardrobe, she decided to go barefoot.

The climate was tropical, hot, stuffy and humid she would only use the strictly necessary. After all she didn’t need to hide anything, there was only one person with her on the island and he had seen everything there was to seen already.

While inside the cabin were fresher, so far Carolina hadn’t realized that the island seemed to indicate that nothing had electrical cables, but the cabin had electricity and running water, so the electricity had to come from somewhere. Followed by curiosity she went out of the cabin and tried to find where it came from, got enough distanced from the cabin to look at the roof to see if it had any solar panels, but there was nothing on the roof. Looking around the palm trees and not far away it was a generator. She came close and confirms it, the noise came from a diesel generator or gasoline, and it was a little bit noisy when she was near, but from the cabin they couldn’t hear. Carolina couldn’t believe there wasn’t any connection to the outside world from the island.