Forget about me.

Lola was taken aback when she saw this peculiar person, her gaze locked with his but she quickly averted her gaze. Santiago rushed up to him and shook his hand.

"Santiago, my man, You don't have to be so formal with me, It's been a while," he said as he hugged Santiago, a bright smile on his face. 'When did they become close associates?' Lola pondered.

"Thank you for coming, Luis; please take a seat," Santiago said, pulling away from the hug and motioning for Luis to take a seat on one of the sofas. He sat majestically on the sofa, crossed his legs, and stole stylish glances at Lola from time to time.

Santiago hadn't noticed. He drew Lola closer to him and introduced her, "Luis, meet my wife Lola."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Rodriguez," Luis said with a subtle smile.

Lola just stared at him, lost in thought, 'since when did he become an international investor, I don't know of '

"Lola," Santiago said, jolting her out of her reverie, "oh yes, nice to meet you," she replied sharply.

"I'm sorry," Santiago apologised, and Luis replied, "it's fine."

"This is Luis Borbón, He is the grandson of Carlos Borbón, the founder of Borbón Financial Groups in Germany, and Luis here is the founder/director of Innova Dev AI. Inc, an internet-based business enterprise that provides any type of product," Santiago explained to Lola.

She had no idea Luis had a grandfather, Back when they were dating, she never really knew Luis well enough even though they were in a relationship. The fact that he is the sole owner of Innova Dev AI astounded her the most.

'I'm impressed,' she thought.

"You flatter me, Santiago," Luis said as he looked at Lola with the same subtle smile forming on his lip.

"So he's the investor you were talking about," Lola replied, her usual demeanour intact.

"You've achieved a lot at such a young age, Mr Borbón," Lola added again, and Santiago nodded.

"I could say the same for you, Mrs Rodriguez," he replied, still smiling subtly.

If there was one thing she despised about him, it was his mysterious smile. Despite his bubbly, carefree demeanour, he still seemed mysterious. She could neither understand him, nor read him.

Lola averted her gaze and sat on the sofa next to Santiago.

"Would you like anything?" Santiago inquired.

"No, I'm fine," Luis replied, "let's just get down to business, I'm running late."

Santiago smiled and nodded.

After an hour of deliberation,

"Well, that's a wrap," Luis said, "I'll think about it and get back to you." As he stood on his feet.

Santiago smiled and stood up, saying, "That's fine by me, Mr Borbón."

Santiago's phone started ringing, he said, "Oh hold on a sec, I have to take this," and walked away.

Luis casted a glance at Lola, who was already on her feet and about to walk away.

"Lola," he called, and she came to a halt .

Hearing her name from his mouth triggered memories. She gradually turned around. When His eyes met hers, her heart rate increased, and it was the first time he had looked at her in so many years. She wished she could hear him say her name the way he did, but that was a long time ago. She didn't think they'd meet again like this after the way she broke up with him.

"What exactly do you want, Luis?" she asked, averting her gaze so she wouldn't be taken in by his piercing stare again. He took another step towards her, and she moved backwards instinctively, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. He'd give up if she could just make enough room, but he was determined to have her back in his life.

His voice became huskier.

"Oh, I just wanted to see your reaction..."

"Did you come here to invest, or did you come here for another reason?" Lola cut him off and folded her arms.

Luis smiled and approached her, gazing into her grey orbs as she gazed into his black orbs.

"You notice things quickly. Anyway, I couldn't believe you were married; I didn't believe it, so I decided to see for myself..." Luis replied , scratching the back of his neck.

"Forget about me, Luis; I'm married and..."

Luis nodded his head, cut her off, his words laced with sarcasm,

"You're happy, you're living the best life here, I can see that."

His tone was acrimonious but not malicious with a slightly pained expression. Lola's heart tightened at the sight of his expression as she bit her lower lip. The truth is that she wasn't. At all. Her marriage had been based solely on convenience, and this was her truth.

"I won't stop loving you Lola, and there's nothing you can do to stop me from loving you. No matter how hard you try, you can't hide the fact that we were in love back in high school. After this, we will definitely meet again," he said as he moved even closer.

Lola averted her gaze, pushed him slightly, and replied, "I thought I made it clear that day, it was a one-sided relationship, I never had feelings for you, so just stop being delusional."

"Then why did you date me? No matter how many times you say you didn't love me back then, I won't believe it, because I know you did and still do, you just don't realise it yet, and I'm going to make sure you do," Luis replied simply.

He took Lola's hand in his, draws her hand to his lips, and plants a gentle kiss on it before she could protest. Lola just stared at him at this point, she didn't resist his touch, and Santiago had already walked back in.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs Rodriguez," Luis said as he immediately let go of her hand and winked at her before turning to Santiago, who had a slight frown on his face.

"Mr Rodriguez," Luis called, jolting Santiago back to reality.

"Don't be like that, I was just greeting her goodbye," Luis patted Santiago's back.

"Oh yes," Santiago smiled as he and Luis walked towards the door.

"Sure thing," Luis said.

Lola was dazed for a moment , she shook her head trying to shake off the feeling and placed her hands on her warm cheeks, 'Luis knew he was coming, but he still did it just to irritate Santiago,' She reflected as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She turned around and returned to her room.

***

Santiago barged into Lola's room a few minutes later, while she was busy with work as usual.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

Lola raised her eyebrows and asked, "What made you barge into my room like that?" as she closed her laptop and approached him.

"You were flirting with him in front of your own husband," Santiago yelled, and Lola tilted her head and asked, "who?" despite the fact that she knew who he was referring to.

"Of course, Luis, who else?" He yelled again.

'why is he angry about a stupid stunt Luis pulled? And why is he venting his rage on me?' she wondered, her brow furrowed.

"Answer me," he demanded, and Lola rolled her eyes, turning away from him and returning to her laptop.

"I wasn't flirting with him, and even if I had been, why should it be your concern?" She replied.

"You're my wife in public, and I don't want you flirting with another guy," Santiago said, pointing his hands at her.

"Santiago, just a few weeks ago you were the same person who said, 'What good is a wife who can't even bear children?' "

" Yes, to the public, I'm your wife, but let's be honest here, you don't see me as your wife, but rather as a mere business colleague."

Santiago took a moment to reflect on everything he had said that day.

"But still, Lola, we're bound together, you can't just flirt with another guy," he stuttered, averting his gaze.

Lola stood up, walked up to him, and looked him in the eyes.

"If you can do it, why can't I? What's the problem when I do it?"

Santiago then responded, "when did I..."

Lola interrupted him with a slightly raised voice,

"I don't like repeating myself, so if you have nothing sensible to say to me, just leave and don't barge into my room like that again."

Santiago spat and slammed the door on his way out, saying, "you disgust me."

"You disgust me even more," Lola mumbled as she exhaled.

***

Santiago storms out of her room, only to see Livia standing in the hallway, holding a glass of vodka and smiling. He approaches her, takes the glass from her grasp, and grabs her hand.

He shoves her into his room, taking a look around before entering and locking the door.

"What's the matter with you? I told you no drinking, you're pregnant for christ sake!," He yelled, dropping the glass on his table.

"I'm so tired of this, no smoking because I'm pregnant and now no drinking, it's unfair," Livia groans.

"Stop whining," He says as he takes a seat beside her.

Livia encircled him with her arm and whispered into his ear,

"I overheard you talking to Lola."

"Why don't you just get rid of her for good?" She continued, "so we can finally live together like normal married couples do."

Santiago looked at her and took himself out of her arms.

"It's not that easy," He said.

"I could help you; all you have to do is listen to what I say," Livia said with a sly grin.

"You haven't touched me in a long time," She went on as she moved closer, bringing her face closer to his.

Santiago draws his face closer to hers and looks into her eyes as she whispers seductively, "kiss me," and he immediately smacks his lips against hers.

He comes to a halt and says, "I really missed this," as he takes Livia's face in his hands. Livia nods, wraps her hands around his neck, and kisses him again. Their kiss intensifies as they lie on the bed, their bodies pressed against each other.

***

After several hours had past...

Amber paced around Livia's room with the box in her hand, her gaze fixed on the wall clock. 'It's twelve midnight, she hasn't returned yet,' Amber reasoned.

She then remembered what Livia had told her earlier.

"Santi always works late at his study, so today I'll distract him and make sure he sleeps early, and you go into his study and hide the contents in this box in his study, okay? "

Amber walks out of Livia's room, looks around, and sees no one. She slowly closed the door behind her.

Suddenly, She felt a tap on her shoulder and she froze.

' oh jeez! I have been caught.'