Love & Lies

Chapter 12: ~Natalia~

They walked down the small hill towards the center of the town, where all the people were. Some looked at her strangely as they took notice of their joining hands, as if they could not believe it was happening. As if the sight of their boss walking hand in hand with a woman was something no one expected to see. Earlier that day when they walked together no one seemed to care.

Yeah, but earlier you were not holding his hand.

She felt uncomfortable at the attention she was getting from them, and she tried to let go of Alejandro's hand, but he did not allow it. He looked at her and to her surprise he lifted her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. He was aware of the strange looks and did not want Natalia to feel any sort of way. She gave him a small smile to reassure him she would be fine, and they continued walking beside him.

They reached a part of the small town that was more secluded, the place being mostly hidden by the tall trees. Barely any houses or buildings were around. By the look of it, the area was being monitored. Alejandro's men were everywhere, hiding between the trees, walking around constantly watching and paying attention to their surroundings. The woman who interrupted them earlier walked in front of them, and from time-to-time Natalia caught her looking towards them through the corner of her eye. Alejandro paid no attention to her, but Natalia noticed. There was something about her, something strange and suspicious that made Natalia feel uneasy but she could not pinpoint what it was. It could be the way she moved as she walked with a certain restraint that made her seem like every movement was calculated, the way she skeptically glanced at her specifically. Her brown hair blew in the breeze freely, and she wore a white summer dress with sunflowers scattered on the hem. Her skin was sunburned, evidence that she must work outside most of the time. Perhaps on the fields like her mother did. But her eyes... Her eyes were a vivid green with specks of yellow in them. They were very expressive, and she could see in them a certain arrogance that Natalia did not like. The woman made her think twice about what she would say out loud in front of her. But still, she decided to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. After all, she was the new girl there. She was the stranger for everyone in this town. The outsider. It would take a while for her to know and get used to everyone and she was certain it would be the same for them.

As they continued walking, they reached a one-story building with a big metal door. Two men stood on either side of it, guarding the entrance. The men acknowledge their presence with a head nod, and Alejandro proceeded to unlock the door with both facial and fingerprint recognition.

Impressive. She lifted her eyebrows in surprise as the door opened. Alejandro turned to face her and the woman that now stood beside her.

"Thank you, Marisol. You can tell Amanda and Lorena to start cooking lunch. We will be up in an hour."

"Yes, patrón." Marisol answered and bowed her head slightly, turned around and without even a glance towards Natalia, walked away. Natalia noticed the way Marisol's shoulders slumped and how her face changed, slightly surprised as Alejandro dismissed her. Natalia narrowed her eyes and watched as the woman walked away. She could not help but feel jealousy creeping up inside of her.

Fuck me. She closed her eyes. This cannot be happening. I am a married woman. Married. Yet... I didn't stop him before when he kissed me. Fuck.

Natalia hated the feeling. She did not want to feel anything towards anyone, especially Alejandro. She did not want to be vulnerable, but it would seem she could not help herself. Ever since they met all she had done was open to him. It was like she did not have a choice. He made her question everything about her with just a few words of his own. She felt like she could talk to him for hours if she could. Her ability to open up to him came to her with such ease, like both of them were the half of one soul coming back together after a long time of being apart, and the realization scared her. Too many lives were already at stake because of her. She didn't want to add one more to the list.