Regardless of how many years he'd known her, of how long they'd been married, and how many years he'd woken up next to her warm body, Federico always trembled at the sight of his wife.

From the moment he'd first laid eyes on Lorena, he knew there could never be any other woman for him. No other woman would ever be enough. No other woman could possibly drive him to the edge of insanity.

As he watched her confidently pull her luggage with her tinted sunglasses pushing her hair away from her wonderfully sculpted face and her piercing brown eyes scanning the room intelligently, he wondered how he could possibly face her after touching another woman.

He must have been insane. How else could he possibly explain what he'd done? How else could he possibly explain her actions?

The moment her eyes landed on him, his mind went blank. He felt like someone had sucker-punched him in the gut.

She was magnificent.

Flawless and terrifying like an ancient goddess.

Her wine coloured lips had barely curved into a seductive smirk when he'd begun to run towards her like she was his only salvation from damnation. She watched him close the distance between them and allowed him pull her into a tight hug.

Her powerful feminine laughter filled his eardrums as he embraced her.

"I'm happy to see you too. C'mere" She tapped her left cheek twice. He immediately obliged and kissed her politely.

Lorena shoved her luggage into his hand and pulled him along like he was her child rather than her husband.

"How was your week, dearest?" Federico asked enthusiastically.

"Eventful. I was able to close the deal and begin negotiations for another." Lorena smiled.

"Of course. I knew you would. They'd be foolish to reject your offer." Federico said.

Lorena laughed heartily.

"Did you take pictures from the conference? I hope you did. I'd love to see them." Federico said eagerly.

"All in due time, dear. Let's get home first. I'm feeling jet-lagged. The conference was amazing. We bumped into two celebrities. Can you believe it?" Lorena chuckled.

Even with the thought of his infidelity on his mind and his terrible hangover, it wasn't hard to focus on what she was saying. It was almost impossible to think of anything else when Lorena opened her mouth.

Her low sultry voice dominated his mind and permeated his being, making it difficult for him to think of anything and anyone else. Lorena oozed aphrodisiacs just by breathing.

When they got home, Federico watched her waltz into the room and head straight to fill up a glass with water. He observed the way her throat formed a small bump as she drained the glass.

He watched her peel off her clothes and underwear and step into the showers. He watched her scrub her skin free of the airport smell. He watched her slip on her sexy red lingerie, feeling his spit dry up in his mouth.

The shadow of his infidelity began to torment him. How could he have hurt his wife like that? How could he possibly have touched another woman when he'd been gifted with the most magnificent creature he'd ever seen.

How could he have betrayed her like that?

His thoughts strayed to Mimi. Though he adored his wife and worshipped the very ground she walked on, he couldn't deny he was aroused by Mimi. It wasn't her beauty or intelligence that drew him. It was her vulnerability and desire to love and be loved.  

He couldn't stop thinking about how she'd held onto him like he was her only anchor. He could still hear Mimi sighs in the throes of ecstasy. He could still feel her hands tightly grip his back as he moved within her.

His thoughts disgusted and aroused him at the same time.

"Are you ok? You're very pale." Lorena suddenly took his hands in hers when she noticed he wasn't looking at her.

Even her fingers were beautiful. Long and slender with beautifully manicured nails. He liked it when she held his hand like that. Her well-plucked eyebrows were slightly creased with worry. Her dark eyes studied his face, trying to pinpoint the source of his distress.

"Work stress. I missed you." He said sincerely.

He had missed her.

He had missed her scent, her taste, and her voice.

He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a kiss at the back of it. She slipped her fingers from his grip, long enough to pull out a chair.

"Sit," Lorena ordered.

He obliged. He stiffened and relaxed when he felt her long, slim fingers curve seductively around his shoulders. He felt weird sensations of pleasure run down his spine when she pressed her chest to his back. His breath became incredibly shallow.

"You're so tense. My poor baby." She whispered huskily into his ears.

The guilt of his past crime vanished from his mind when he felt her breath on his neck. He could only think of the feel of her hands on his shoulders.

"I know just what to do to help you relax." She muttered.

When he felt her lips on his neck, his body went slack.

He forgot his worries when he felt her tongue gently brush his neck. Whenever she kissed him, he felt like he'd just stepped into paradise. Wild, bright and fiery were the words that came to his mind when she slipped her hands under his shirt.

As he felt her hands on his chest as she pulled him closer to her body, he knew he was damned. He was powerless so he let her dominate him. The way she always did.

He looked into her eyes when she slipped into his lap. They were wild and dangerous. He was terrified and extremely intrigued.

He couldn't resist touching her when she placed his hands on her chest. His mind went numb. He couldn't even remember anything else.

He followed her lead.

Just the way it was meant to be.

The guilt in his heart was even worse the more he kissed her.

How could he tell her what he had done?

He couldn't!

***************************************************************

"It can't be avoided. I have to go back to Paris today." Lorena kissed his cheek lightly.

"But you've only just come back!" Federico sighed as he watched her stuff her clothes into her luggage.

"I have to get the contracts signed. I'll be back in two days. Then I'll be all yours." She told him.

"I like the sound of that." He smiled happily.

His smile faded when his phone rang. One look at the caller ID brought his peaceful world crashing down.

Mimi.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Lorena asked as she zipped her bags.

"Hm. No. It's just work." Federico lied.

He blushed when Lorena's eyes rested on his face for too long. He almost sighed with relief when she looked away.

His phone vibrated twice, signaling a message had entered.

He glanced at it, knowing fully well that it was from Mimi.

'We need to talk.' It said.

Federico shivered, deleted the message, and plastered a fake smile on his face to throw Lorena off his scent. His wife barely glanced at him on the way to the airport. He tried filling the tense silence with nervous chatter but Lorena wouldn't be drawn into any conversation.

After half an hour, he sealed his lips. That was when she finally spoke.

"There is something you're not telling me," Lorena said suddenly.

He tried to straighten his features.

"There's nothing." He swore.

"What happened the last time I left?" Lorena asked.

He opened his mouth to lie again when Lorena looked at him. Her eyes were so cold. Federico cleared his throat nervously.

"I got new tasks at work." He said.

Lorena didn't speak again. She didn't reply when he asked questions, neither did she allow him to goad her into a conversation.

Federico would have preferred it if she kept talking. At least he would know what she was thinking about.

Why couldn't he just man up and hide the fact that he cheated?

Why couldn't he have a poker face?

He glanced at Lorena severally but her face was completely blank.

What was she thinking about?

Did she suspect him?

"You did something bad and you don't want me to find out," Lorena said when they got to the airport.

"Not at all!" Federico tried to say but she brushed it off.

"Don't insult my intelligence by lying to me. I won't tolerate it." Lorena's voice was cold and harsh. Her eyes flashed viciously making her look like a feral beast.

She didn't even allow him escort her into the airport.

He wished she'd screamed at him angrily. He wished he could say the emotion in her eyes was anger but he knew it wasn't. That's what made it worse.

Had she figured out what happened because he was constantly checking his phone?

He started dialing Mimi's number without thinking.

"Hello? We need to talk. My house. Two hours." He said and hung up.

He'd end it all. It wouldn't go any further. He couldn't afford to lose his wife.

#MenteMelan🖤💀