Page 17 of His Infatuated Wife
I turn around to walk away.
He can take away my scholarship if he wants.
I don't care anymore.
But before I can take a single step, he's already spinning me around to face him.
"I'm not joking."
"Of course, you are," I cry out, "and it's not---"
"I can have you speak to my lawyer if you're unwilling to take my word for it."
"Yes, go ahead," I challenge him. "Call your lawyer---"
He lets go of me to take his phone out, and I don't know whether to laugh or scream at him.
Why is he taking things this far?
"I need you to tell my future wife about my great-grandfather's will," I hear him say.
Can't he just---
"Go ahead, Greg. You're on loudspeaker now. She's listening."
I hear someone clearing his throat from the other end of the line. "Uh, good afternoon, Miss---"
"Riri." And now it's my turn to clear my throat, which has gone dry all of a sudden. "R-Riri Padilla."
"Good afternoon, Ms. Padilla. May I ask if you are currently enrolled in Carpentier University?"
"Y-Yes."
Is this really happening?
"Riri Padilla..."
I hear him typing furiously in the background, followed by a sigh of relief.
"Found you."
Why does he have to find me when he's already talking to me?
"A second-year candidate for graduating with a bachelor's degree in music, correct?"
That Jacques' lawyer would know this is weird enough, but even weirder is what he tells me afterward, and all I can do is stare at Jacques when Greg cheerfully bids me goodbye before hanging up.
"Am I being pranked?"
"Would that have been more preferable?"
"No."
His jaw clenches as soon as he hears my answer, and I realize that he hadn't expected me to be honest.
"You're still acting like a fool."
"And you're still trying to push me away."
