4

It was almost time to leave work, she had not been able to concentrate even a little. She had only thought about that strange guy, about what he might want from her, and why exactly from her. The expression in his eyes was something Amelia could hardly get out of her head, as if she wanted to tell him something, but didn't have the capacity to do so. She chose not to, to tell him absolutely nothing, anyway, what could a stranger have to say to her?

She sighed as she looked at the time, realizing that her shift was already over, she took off the gloves covering her hands and decided to get ready to leave.

"What did he wanted from you?" She turned around when she heard Fatima's curious voice behind her, the woman was looking at her as if she had been holding that one back during Amelia's shift. "Did he want to hurt you or something? Did he threaten you?" she asked, a little more worried, because since that guy had left, Amelia looked worried and thoughtful" "You know you can tell me anything".

"No, no, he didn't threaten me, in fact, I still don't understand what he wanted here. That guy... I met him at a wedding, at the wedding of one of my friends, he behaved strangely there too".

"You said you didn't know him at all".

"I know, and I was serious, just because I shared two words with him, doesn't mean I know him, but he was acting weird at the party, and a few days later he shows up at my work, and requests me, specifically me. Damn, if he had just come to order a coffee, he wouldn't find me like this, but he came and asked for me".

"Do you think he came after you?"

"I don't know, as I told you, unless he stayed outside my house to see what time I go out, it's very strange, damn, how does he know where I work?"

"I have no idea, but to be honest with you, that doesn't look like the kind of guy who would stalk anyone".

"I know, and that's what puzzles me the most, what the hell is a wealthy looking man looking for from me? Why do I feel like he's after me and it's not the last time I'll see him?"

Fatima stirred, Amelia managed to convey her nerves.

"Do you want me to call the police?"

"It doesn't make sense, he didn't even do anything to me. Nothing at all, what would I go to testify at the police? That a man came to my work and looked at me strange? I can't go with assumptions, I can't just say I feel like he's stalking me".

"And what are you waiting for? For him to hurt you?"

"You know that until you get hurt, the police here don't pay attention to you," said Amelia, sighing, resigned, still trying to convince herself that it was just a simple paranoia, maybe she felt better in that lie that her head refused to accept, "I have to go, see you tomorrow".

"See you tomorrow," Fatima said goodbye, looking at her with maternal concern, "Take care, anything, you have my number, don't you?"

"Yes, sure, I have it, bye," she said goodbye, and then gathered her things and left the place at a fast pace. She felt excessively hungry, she felt her stomach roaring for some food. Her house was about forty minutes away from there, she could not make it there without her hunger making her weaker than she was already, so she decided to ask for a cab to the store.

"Good afternoon," greeted the man, a guy with a snub nose and a strangely friendly smile, "Where do you want to go?"

"To the nearest store," she asked, closing the door and letting herself go.

The cab driver nodded and drove off. She had always felt that everyone was in front of her: all her friends had husbands, children, families, she was almost thirty years old and a spinster with a bad temper and problems to get a stable relationship, she knew she still had too much life ahead of her, but she couldn't avoid the social pressure that always rested on her shoulders.

The cab driver stopped almost in front of a grocery store, she thanked him and handed him the money reciprocating, getting out and crossing the street to the store, not very big, but not so small either. She didn't mind, she just needed something to eat.

She entered the store, found a small cart and began to fill it with knick-knacks to eat later. There weren't too many, but enough to fill her stomach later. She walked to the checkout, placing the products there and preparing to pay.

It was at that instant that her eyes lifted, as she felt a gaze glance glued to her body.

She froze, feeling immediately agitated, on impulse she stepped back, being unable to hide the sudden nerves that settled in her limbs.

Those eyes watching her belonged to none other than Maximiliano, that same millionaire-looking man who seemed to be chasing her.

Amelia began to feel the panic scratching her whole body, her trembling fingers revealed it, he was looking at her, he was standing there, looking at her, it could not be a coincidence, this was not a coincidence, that man was chasing her.

Amelia ran away, leaving the products she had bought there on top of the box.

Maximiliano began to run after her.

All eyes fell on the woman who was being chased by that tall and elegant man.

"Wait!" Maximiliano shouted, trying to make her stop, but his words only made her feel more agitated, more nervous, panic took over her legs as she glanced back and realized that he was chasing her closely, "Wait, Amelia!"

The woman came out of the store, she added power to her run, sweat began to slide down her forehead, her hair began to stick to her skin, fear was her only motivation not to stop, she was running hard, with a lot of power, a sob escaped from her, what was that man doing chasing her?

She ran across the street, more than once being threatened with being run over.

"Please wait, I have something to tell you!" he shouted, roaring as a car almost ran over him, "Please stop!" She reached the other side of the street, looking at him, anxious that the cars would slow down and he could cross, he thought he could do it, he thought he could get her to stop and wait for him there. "Wait for me there, I'll cross soon!"

"Fuck you!" Amelia shouted at him, pulling her middle finger out and starting to run again.

He knew it would be much harder than he thought.

He crossed the street as best he could, listening to the angry horns of those who were driving and seemed to want to run him over.

When he found himself on the other side of the street, it didn't take him long to keep up with the woman, who cursed loudly when she saw him again, why the hell was that man chasing her?

"Please, just listen to me!"

She boosted her speed, but felt her feet pointing to failure: she wasn't an overly athletic woman, she couldn't remember ever running like that, not even in her childhood.

Suddenly, she found herself angry: she was hungry and sweaty, running down the sidewalk under the sun, while a stranger was chasing her for no reason.

She clenched her fists, stopping her run and turning sharply toward the man, who soon caught up with her.

"What the hell do you want from me?!" she shouted at him, with fury glittering in her eyes, but also fear, of course she was afraid, she didn't feel her feet would resist any longer anyway, so the best thing to do was to face him.

"I need to... talk to... you," the man said, taking a breath, "I have... a proposal for you".

She looked at him, incredulous.

"A proposal? What kind of proposal could you have for me?" Amelia stepped back a little, slyly looking for something to attack him with. She felt fear when she realized that she had stopped running just on the loneliest side, where only a couple of people in the distance could be seen, if he wanted to hurt her, he could do it.

He took a deep breath, trying to regain his ability to speak, he had never run like that ever.

"I... I have a proposal you can't refuse" Amelia realized that he had stopped addressing her, she breathed more comfortably, still looking in her bag for something to attack her with, something sharp, she couldn't find anything.

"Why the hell were you chasing me? You have nothing to interest me! I won't accept any proposal from you!"

"Please listen to me," he asked, holding her by the shoulders.

"Don't touch me or I'll scream! What do you want from me?! Why did you come after me?! Let go of me, you fucking pervert!"

"Listen to me, I won't hurt you! I'll propose something that will change your life!" Amelia kept silent, looking at him suspiciously enough for him to know that she didn't trust his intentions. "It's that... I want... the reason I have pursued you is because..." Maximiliano took a deep breath, he still hadn't recovered from the race, he knew that all his dignity would be gone when he said those words, but he didn't have too much to lose anyway. "It's because I need you to be my wife".