Page 47 of Consequence of One Reckless Night

“He had to marry her because he knocked her up,” someone added.

“You’re just jealous he didn’t marry you,” another woman retorted, goading the tall woman, who was most certainly a model.

“He couldn’t have done any better than me, but he wouldn’t even go on a second date with me. I wasn’t good enough for the Monteiro bastard, and look what he ended up with,” the model sneered.

“Well, I don’t think the marriage will last long. I’m sure they will separate once the baby is born.”

The women continued to discuss her marriage at length, certain that a woman like her wouldn’t keep Alexandre’s interest for long and Raquel bit her lip as she moved away from the gossiping women, blinded by tears and her heart in tatters.

What had she expected to hear? Didn’t she know that people never heard good things when they eavesdropped?

Although the women hadn’t said anything that she didn’t know herself, it still hurt to hear that everyone knew the truth about her marriage. Yes, a baby had prompted this wedding, and she certainly wasn’t a suitable bride for Alexandre, but having people talk about it so openly, at her own wedding reception, told her that they were fooling no one.

The woman, who was clearly Alexandre’s ex-lover, thought Alexandre was trapped into a marriage against his will. Did he himself think so? Was that why he behaved so indifferently toward her?

When she joined Alexandre again, she noticed grimly that he hadn’t even registered her absence.

The evening passed in a blur, and when they finally returned home in the wee hours of the morning, Raquel had a pounding headache. Taking a quick shower, she fell into bed, too tired to notice that her husband didn’t join her on their wedding night.

****

The next morning whenshe awoke, Raquel noticed that Alexandre’s side of the bed wasn’t slept in.

Bright sunlight poured into the room from glass walls which gave a one-eighty-degree view of the stunning landscape outside. Any other day, she would have lain in bed enjoying the sight of frothy waves under the sunny sky, but not today.

Quickly, she got up and went looking for her husband. But he was nowhere to be found—not in the swimming pool, nor in the gym adjacent to it, nor in the home office. Reluctantly, she asked one of the maids if they’d seen Alexandre and was told that he left early for office.

Not sure what she was supposed to do in the behemoth of a house, all day—alone—Raquel returned to the bedroom.

As the day progressed, and concerned maids removed untouched plates of food from the room, she sat wondering why Alexandre had suddenly become aloof and detached.

****

As days passed, Raquelgot no answers to her question.

In fact, it became a pattern. Every morning, Alexandre would leave for work at the crack of dawn and would return home only to pick her up for some social engagement or other. There were luncheons and parties, dinner at homes of his various friends and business associates—a never ending list of engagements they were invited to.

Though at first, Raquel was terrified of being in the public eye, having cameras thrust in her face at public events, or asked personal questions by curious wives of men who worked with Alexandre, she gradually eased into her new life. Being in the spotlight still terrified her, but Alexandre was a calm presence at her side, who surprisingly was loving and affectionate in public.

And she knew it was all a pretense—a narrative he was driving. Alexandre and Raquel—the romantic couple who came together because of a child, but now were irrevocably in love! It saddened her that the world saw them as a romantic couple when, in truth, they were anything but.

Even after two weeks, their marriage was still unconsummated, and would remain so if she didn’t do something about it, she thought one evening when they flew back to Goa from Mumbai after attending a lavish dinner party at a prominent businessman’s home.

As Alexandre dozed beside her, she took the moment to study him. In sleep, his face was relaxed but she could see the strains lines around his eyes. Thick stubble covered his lower jaw and long strands of hair lay across his face, partly hiding the handsome face from view.

Raquel longed to touch him, cup his cheek. She wished she could lean forward and touch his lips with hers, but she couldn’t bring herself to disturb him, not when she knew he was operating on only a few hours of sleep.

She knew he went to the office early, often before she woke up, and in the evenings, when they returned home after whatever engagement they were invited to, he would either go back to the home office or end up swimming in the pool for hours.

Many times, she’d wanted to ask him why he was avoiding her, for they barely spoke, except when they were out in public, where they looked every bit the romantic couple, holding hands and whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears.

But she feared his answer. What if he didn’t want her anymore? They’d married so he could claim their child. Now that it was done, surely he didn’t need her around!

And if that were the case, would he send her away?

On her wedding day, she’d been terrified of tying herself to a man who couldn’t even promise her the possibility of love, and now, she was yearning for any bit of affection he would throw her way. How pathetic had she become?

Raquel sorely missed the man she had met at the Club M. She missed his smiles, his touches, their heated arguments and—the sex. Every night she lay in bed wishing Alexandre would come to her. She would have settled for a hug or even a cuddle, but he never came, and every morning she woke up hungry for him. She was a mess of relentless need and conflicting emotions.

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