Chapter 40: Obsessed with me

"Thank you, Claire," Soraya said as she accepted the envelope from her friend.

"You did a wonderful job today," Claire replied with a smile. After a moment, she tilted her head and asked, "By the way, what happened to the company you used to work for? I mean, did you resign?"

"Yes. I thought I would marry Emilio and move to another part of the city with him, but things didn’t turn out that way," Soraya explained. "Anyway, I want you to come to my home this weekend. I mean, my husband’s home. Keep your schedule free that day, okay?"

"Sure," Claire agreed without hesitation.

She gently squeezed Soraya’s hands and looked at her with affection. "Your husband’s home is your home too. You don’t have to think of yourself as a stranger there just because you’re still getting used to living with him. He’s devoted to you. We all saw that today."

Claire paused before continuing, her expression turning thoughtful. "And I must say, sometimes we don’t see what a person is really like. We only see what they choose to show us."

Soraya knew Santino had done plenty of things that frustrated her, but she also couldn’t deny that he had been trying to care for her in his own way. What she still struggled to understand was whether Santino would ever be willing to change the parts of his life that frightened her.

"I’ll leave now," Soraya said, waving goodbye to Claire before stepping out of the bakery.

To her surprise, Santino was standing beside their car, dressed in his usual stylish outfit. Although he had removed the ridiculous outer layers, he was still wearing the goggles, making his appearance rather hotter.

Soraya’s breath caught when he lifted his head from his phone at the sound of her footsteps. Even though his eyes remained hidden behind the goggles, she could tell that his attention was now entirely on her.

"Get in," Santino said, putting his phone away before opening the passenger-side door for her.

Soraya climbed into the car without arguing and fastened her seat belt. Santino closed the door, walked around the car, and settled into the driver’s seat a moment later.

"You broke your promise," she said.

Santino glanced at her before answering. "Because you wouldn’t have allowed me to stay near you if I hadn’t."

"You were ready to fight that man, weren’t you?" Soraya asked, giving Santino a questioning look.

"He was eyeing you. He’s lucky I didn’t break his mouth," Santino replied without the slightest hesitation. A moment later, he leaned towards her and gently brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. "Did you enjoy working at the bakery?"

"Yeah, it was fun," Soraya answered, turning her attention towards the road ahead. After a brief pause, she asked, "Are we going back home?"

"No," Santino replied, settling back into his seat. "First, we’re going to have lunch at a nice place."

"It’ll be my treat," Soraya announced suddenly.

Santino turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "Your treat? Why?"

"Because I earned my pay!" she declared with a bright smile. She was pleased to have earned money through her own work, even if it was only for a short time. "I still haven’t bought a gift for Claire, so let’s stop by a gift shop on our way home."

"Okay," Santino agreed without arguing.

Soraya studied him for a moment before another thought occurred to her. "Didn’t you have any work today? You run a company, too. Don’t tell me you abandoned everything just to follow me around."

Santino remained quiet, which only made her more suspicious.

"You were keeping an eye on me, weren’t you?" she asked, pointing a finger at him. "And don’t lie! I know you came to check whether everything was fine at the bakery. That’s why you showed up there, isn’t it?"

Santino smiled as he glanced at her. "You’re smart, wife."

He didn’t bother denying it this time, knowing there was no point in lying when Soraya had already figured out his intentions. He started the engine and drove away from the bakery, heading towards the restaurant he had chosen for their lunch.

"If you don’t want me to worry about you, then work with me," he suggested. "The work at my company is legitimate. You’ve worked in an office before, and you have enough experience to handle the job."

"I don’t want to," Soraya replied firmly.

Santino didn’t argue further. He knew she wanted some distance from him, and pushing her to work alongside him would only make her more resistant. Still, he couldn’t understand why she seemed so determined to reject everything he offered her. People would do almost anything to get a position in his company, yet Soraya dismissed the opportunity as though it meant nothing.

He glanced at her before asking a question that had been bothering him for some time.

"When will you let me sleep in the same bed as you?"

"When you leave that shady mafia business," Soraya answered without hesitation.

Santino couldn’t help laughing at her response.

"That means never," she declared proudly, pleased with her answer.

His laughter faded as he looked at her. "You were the one who crossed the line first, you know. You shouldn’t have kissed me and made me obsessed with you."

Soraya turned towards him, but he continued before she could respond.

"I know that if I force you into anything, you’ll only hate me more. That’s why I’m giving you time and waiting for you to accept me willingly." He paused, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "But I don’t know how long I can keep being patient."

Soraya’s heart began to pound louder against her chest.

"I promise though I will never force myself on you. That’s not what a real man should do," he asserted, turning his head briefly to look at her before focusing his attention on the road ahead.

"Why do you love me? There must be a reason for you to be obsessed with me. No one falls for someone with just one drunkard kiss."