Episode 11

The next morning, Sunday, dawned quite pleasant, the sun was shining brightly, and the birds were singing among the trees. Elisa woke up around 8:00 am, took a shower, and stayed in her room.

After the troubled night, the last thing she wanted was to leave the room and run into Christian in the corridors. Elisa felt like a bargaining chip between her father and this man she was married to!

…

In the next room, Christian woke up with a terrible headache; it felt like a truck had run him over. His stomach was churning, symptoms of a hangover. He got up and went to the bathroom, throwing up everything in his stomach, and then stepped into the cold shower. He stayed there for a good while, when suddenly some memories came to mind. He remembered the stupid thing he had done in the early hours and hated himself deeply for it.

"I'm such a jerk... this way she'll never accept me as her husband!"

He banged his head on the tile as if trying to think of a way to fix his mistake. He spent a long time there reflecting, then went to the closet to find something to wear. Today was his day off, Sunday was sacred to him; he liked to spend the day enjoying the peace and quiet of living away from the city.

As he left his room, he hesitated whether to knock on Elisa's door or not but believed that she wouldn't want to see him so early. He went down to the kitchen, where Sol, as always, was doing her chores with two other employees. They were already preparing lunch.

"Good morning!" Christian greeted.

"Good morning, sir!" the employees replied.

"Good morning, dear!" Sol said.

"Do we have any headache medicine?" Christian asked.

"Yes, we do. You overdid it with the alcohol last night, didn't you?" Sol replied.

"Okay! Is it that obvious?" Christian asked.

He immediately took two pills at once.

"It's not obvious on your face, but I saw you locked yourself in the office last night! And today I went in there, and there were two empty bottles," Sol said.

"I think I went a little overboard!" Christian admitted.

"Chris, you had stopped doing that, son?" Sol asked, concerned.

"I had a relapse, after..." he trailed off, realizing that the other employees were listening to everything. They were nosy.

"Don't you two have anything better to do? Stop eavesdropping!" Christian scolded.

The two immediately left the kitchen.

"Poor things, you scared them!" Sol said.

"A bunch of gossips, that's what they are! And Elisa, has she had breakfast yet?" Christian asked, changing the subject.

Sol's expression changed as she remembered what he had done during the night.

"I can see in your eyes that you like that girl, don't you?" Soledad asked.

"I love her, Sol, I love her with all my might. The problem is, it will never be reciprocated!" Christian confessed.

"Oh, son, don't be like that. Give her time. As I told you, this is a difficult situation for her. She's a young girl, full of dreams, and overnight she finds herself far from her family and married to a man she doesn't know!" Sol said, trying to comfort him.

"You're right, the best thing is for me to stay as far away as possible. I'll give her time to get used to me. Who knows, maybe that way she'll lose her fear of me..." Christian said, sighing.

"You'll see, with time, things will get better. Now come on, I'll serve you breakfast," Sol said.

"Just black coffee for me. I'll have something to eat at the club," Christian said.

"You're going to work today, son? It's Sunday!" Sol exclaimed.

"I know, but like I said, I'm going to stay away from her. I'll be back later. Take the opportunity to show her the house, and the library!" Christian said as he left the kitchen.

(…)

After his coffee, Christian went upstairs, changed his clothes, and went down to the garage. He took a car and left. On the way, he called his friend. He had to settle some club matters with Rodrigo anyway.

From the bedroom window, Elisa watched him leave. He looked handsome, very well-dressed, with sunglasses and all. He had a movie star quality about him, mainly because of his fit physique, Elisa couldn't deny that. She watched him until the car disappeared through the gates.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" she said.

"Good morning, dear, did you sleep well?" Soledad greeted.

"Very well, thank you!" Elisa replied.

Apart from your boss trying to harass me in the middle of the night, it was pretty quiet, she thought to herself, of course. 💭

"Come and have breakfast, dear. Chris is not home, he just left!" Sol said.

"Alright, I'll have some. I'm actually a little hungry!" Elisa replied.

The two went downstairs and into the kitchen. Elisa was delighted with the enormous kitchen; it was beautiful.

"Do you work here every day?" Elisa asked.

"Actually, I live here, dear. Would you prefer to eat in the dining room?" Sol asked.

"I'll eat right here, don't worry!" Elisa replied.

Sol started arranging things on the table, putting out cake, coffee, milk, bread, juice, and a variety of fruits.

"Thank you, your cake smells great..." Elisa said.

She cut a generous slice, poured some coffee with milk into her cup, and started eating. The two employees who had left the kitchen returned, chatting away about the boss.

"Wow, your Christian is a real alcoholic. Did you see the bottles he polished off all by himself?" Employee 1 whispered.

"That's why he's so arrogant in the morning; it must have been the effect of all that alcohol!" Employee 2 whispered back.

The two turned pale when they saw Elisa having breakfast in the kitchen and Soledad's face when she heard them badmouthing the boss.

"Talking about the boss behind his back, how ugly. Have some respect in front of your employer!" Soledad scolded.

"Sorry, Dona Sol, we didn't mean any harm..." the employees stammered.

"Let this be the last time. Next time I'll fire you both. And my name is Soledad!!" Soledad said sternly.

"Yes, ma'am!" the employees replied, thoroughly chastised.

They left with their tails between their legs, mortified to have said that in front of Elisa.

"Don't listen to those two, dear; they're a couple of gossips!" Sol said, shaking her head.

"Does Christian have a drinking problem, Sol?" Elisa asked, curious.

"Not anymore..." Sol said quickly, changing the subject. "Would you like some more cake?"

Elisa realized that Sol didn't want to dwell on the subject, so she didn't press further.

"Yes, please!" she said, taking another slice of cake.

…

After breakfast, Soledad began a tour of the house with Elisa, showing her all the rooms. There was a huge TV room and next to it a small library, which immediately won Elisa's heart.

Sol noticed the sparkle in Elisa's eyes as she saw the shelves full of books.

"Do you like it?" Sol asked.

"Wow... very much, I love books!" Elisa exclaimed.

"I'll have those two do a thorough cleaning in here; this place is full of dust," Sol said, referring to the gossiping employees.

Elisa looked at a painting above the reading table. There was a bearded man in the painting, whom she deduced to be Christian's father. She got a little closer and saw the name on the painting, William Fox.

"Is that Christian's father?" she asked.

Soledad looked pensive and took a while to answer.

"It's a long story. Maybe one day Chris will tell you," she said evasively.

"You have a very special affection for him, don't you?" Elisa observed.

"Did you notice? (she smiled) Well... I've known him since he was a boy!" Sol said, her eyes softening.

They left the library and went to the outdoor area at the back where the pool and leisure area were located with a beautiful barbecue. There was also a small gym with a lot of modern equipment.

"The house is yours, my dear. Make yourself at home. If you want to change anything or redecorate any room, feel free. Me, the girls, and the driver are at your disposal for anything you need!" Sol said.

"Thank you, but I don't feel right changing anything here. After all, it's only for twelve months!" Elisa replied.

(…)

At the club, Christian was in the office with Rodrigo, talking about work the whole time. Chris was thinking of expanding the business to other countries and was discussing it with his friend. At lunchtime they ordered food at the club and ate it. During the day the club was closed, only opening at 6:00 p.m. and staying open until the next morning.

"So, how's married life?" Rodrigo asked, curious.

"It's only been 24 hours!" Christian replied, dryly.

"You working on a Sunday is a first!" Rodrigo remarked.

"My wife is afraid of me, man. I thought it was better to come to work," Christian confessed.

He began to vent to his friend about the drinking and about the early hours of the morning.

"Geez, Chris, you really screwed up, huh? The poor girl must be traumatized!" Rodrigo said, laughing at his friend's misfortune.

"You think I don't know? I'm hating myself for it!" Christian said, running a hand through his hair.

"Well... Give her time, let her get used to her new life!" Rodrigo advised.

"That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to be patient and take it easy!" Christian said.

"Before being the husband, you need to be her best friend. Listen to what she feels, give her a shoulder to cry on, be affectionate, women like that!" Rodrigo said.

Chris took a sip of his drink and replied, "For a divorced man, you're pretty good at giving love advice!"

The two smiled and finished their drinks.

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