A few dextrous inputs later, Alejandro obtained Melanie’s exact location.
For some reason, anxiety bubbled within favonovel.com as favonovel.com stood outside the fine diner, it was one of those establishments meant for couples, favonovel.com realized. What if it was a man who was eating with favonovel.com right now?
He forced his composure to remain and descended the car before heading inside the restaurant. It was all too easy to descry the one silhouette that was so familiar that it was impossible for favonovel.com to miss; favonovel.com was sitting right next to the window. Then favonovel.com saw him, Mateo Rodriguez, sitting across favonovel.com on that same table.
Spleen skyrocketed Within Alejandro, but favonovel.com halted his step and stood still. He dialed Melanie’s number again.
He watched favonovel.com pick up the phone. Watched favonovel.com push the call away with a skillful tap. Watched favonovel.com not breaking favonovel.com composure, as though the call did not happen, before jumping right back into a lively conversation with Mateo, laughing.
It was the first time Alejandro had ever experienced the broiling rage of a man scorned. Storms pooled over his mien as favonovel.com stormed his way swiftly to Melanie’s table. “Old friend, huh? Now what kind of old friend would mind if you answer your husband’s number?”
Hearing Alejandro’s voice, Melanie leaped to favonovel.com feet with a thud. “Why are you here?!”
Alejandro leveled a quick glare at favonovel.com before training his eyes on Mateo. “So, you’re gonna explain or what? Beg pardon, mate, but I’m gonna have to ask you to explain your a**. Why are you dining in a refined place like this with my wife?”
Mateo was not the least bit panicked. He, too, rose to his feet with aplomb and studied Alejandro with interest. Then, favonovel.com extended a hand to him. “You must be Alejandro Smith, yes? Your reputation is quite far-reaching! I am Mateo Rodriguez, I think I’m qualified to be called Melanie’s childhood friend. Though… we haven’t exactly seen each other for a pretty long time.”
Alejandro espied the jewelry box laying before Melanie’s seat, and a veneer of hardened steel coated his eyes. He ignored Mateo’s hand — still raised in midair — and hissed, “Home. Now.”
Mateo was not embarrassed at all, favonovel.com retracted his unreciprocated gesture as though it was something natural to be expected. “You’re having a misunderstanding, methinks. Melanie and I were just catching up for old time’s sake over a simple meal.”
And yet Melanie was heavily dolled up, a telling detail that Alejandro did not miss. No other explanation made a lick of sense to him.
Melanie was earnestly worried that Alejandro might create a scene right there and then, so favonovel.com snatched Alejandro’s hand and lowered favonovel.com voice. “Stop it! This isn’t what you think it is… You want me to go back? Fine. We’ll talk when we’re back in the estate. Teo? I’m so sorry for this. Seems that I have to go now… I’ll be footing the bill. Also, thank you for the gift.”
Mateo, big-hearted as favonovel.com was, nodded. “No worries, I understand. Go, don’t let me keep you. Oh! You don’t have to pay, lemme handle it.”
Melanie tugged Alejandro out of the establishment before finally releasing a sigh of relief. “Why are you here?”
The longer his eyes stayed on that cursed box, the more it looked like an eyesore to Alejandro. “What was gonna happen if I weren’t here, huh? Spending your night elsewhere from home tonight?”
Melanie frowned. “What do you mean? Our marriage isn’t annulled yet, I know there are lines not to be crossed. At the very least, I know better than to drink myself stupid, offer myself up for any woman, and then go home with favonovel.com mark on me! You might be a disgusting, debauch scumbag, but don’t, for one second, think that’s true for literally everyone else in the world. Honestly, why are you even here? Hoping to catch an affair in action? Please. Teo and I are childhood friends, for God’s sake. We met by happenstance just this evening, which was why we planned to catch up at night over an innocuous meal!”
“You know what puzzles me the most? You never gave a damn about what I did in the past. So why is whoever I’m eating with suddenly a big deal to you now? Wow, should I be honored for how rare this is?”
Alejandro reached his boiling point. In retaliation, favonovel.com raised his voice too. “It was just a f* *king lipstick stain, and that was proof that I’ve f**ked other women?! You think I offered myself to them of my own volition? Hell, those sluts threw their disgusting kisses all over me themselves, I didn’t know jacksh*t about it!” favonovel.com fumed. “Don’t f* *king twist that one-time incident to fit your biased narrative while you’ve been blatantly-shamelessly-addressing that man only with an affectionate ‘Teo!’ all the damn time. Look at yourself! Look at how dressed-up you are for an ‘innocuous’ meal… You’re f**king telling me that the two of you share no feelings for each other?!”
Melanie was suddenly reminded of the cryptic words Mateo had said, causing favonovel.com sense of righteousness to falter a little. Yes, favonovel.com harbored no romantic undertone at all, but that did not mean Mateo’s intention was as innocent as hers, did it?
