Chapter 14

Louisa looked out the window of her father's SUV at the picturesque countryside along the highway without truly seeing it. The hillside running adjacent the concrete road was now covered in neat rows of pineapple shrubs, a sea of yellow-orange and green quietly awaiting their pickers. She was familiar with this road, this was the same one they always took when going to their own hacienda. The cool breeze of the mountainous district coupled with the quaint scenery usually brought solace to her.

Except for today.

Today, her nerves could not be calmed by a simple road trip. Because today was the day Tio Fernando would be announcing her engagement to Gabriel to the entire Montoya clan.

Today, she would be, officially and publicly, the fianceé of the Montoya heir.

Being reminded of the real reason for this trip made her want to gag. Her fluttering heart was rapidly flushing blood through her veins, causing her whole body to tingle. She took several deep breaths and counted up to ten. Not achieving her goal of emptying her mind, she went through the same sequence three more times. Only then did she feel composed enough to think things through. She must be at her stoic best today. She could not let Gabriel see her in her present aggravated state. Unfortunately, just the mere thought of her betrothed's name seemed to plunge her into the quagmire of tangled emotions again.

Gabriel.

The name sliced through her like liquid fire, burning her insides.

Their last encounter was still too fresh in her mind. After his unexpected intense declaration about the future of their relationship, he stomped away without a word. He did not return nor call after that night. She hoped and prayed he'd lost interest in conning her. Surely, he wouldn't think of continuing with the charade. She had called him out on it. She had exposed his lies. She had breathed easier when two days passed without any indication of his betrothed's existence.

Until a mammoth multi-colored bouquet of roses arrived at her doorstep yesterday, together with a heart-stopping note.

Two simple lines of text with a very implicit message:

The most beautiful roses for my own prickly rose. Looking forward to being your husband, IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD!

And there it was. The one phrase with the power to make her knees buckle: in every sense of the word. It made her breathless, anxious, and strangely, excited, even eager for it to be true. Yet, reality always had a way of bursting her tiny bubble of bliss.

The truth was plain and simple. Gabriel was playing mind tricks on her. And had she not overheard Angelo speaking with Miguel on the phone a few days before Gabriel made his emotionally-charged statement, she would've fallen for his scheme. Angelo's (albeit one-sided) conversation with Miguel rang clear in her mind.

"Miguel, I know you're aware of Gabriel's betrothal to Louisa…Come on, bro, you're the one closest to him. Yes, yes. But he practically hit me with it in the hospital…No, what I want to know is what he intends to do with her…It's nothing, no, no, I'm just curious…Louisa's a friend and I've always known about his dislike for Louisa before…yes, I know it's been a long time…but what does he intend…oh, I see. He feels honor-bound…obligated…So, he plans on going through with it then? But, wait…wait…what? What? On paper only? Just to keep Papa happy? Then, it wouldn't be a real marriage after all, would it? It would be a farce..."

She rushed out before Angelo even finished his sentence, heart crushed, eyes prickling with bitter tears. Truth be told, she shouldn't have been surprised by what she'd heard. Gabriel had never been fond of her (to put it mildly). What she never anticipated was how painful the words 'on paper only' could be. Those three little words shattered her last hope of having a real marriage with the man she'd loved her entire life.

Still, she needed to be brave, brush it off, and gather what little of her heart was left. And she did. She patched it up and safeguarded it behind walls of steel and ice.

And just when she thought she had succeeded in barricading her battered heart, Gabriel kissed her senseless and made the most outrageous, most titillating, most mind-blowing declaration she never even thought him capable of.

Which totally confused her.

How could he kiss her with such sweetness if he was a cold-hearted snake? How could he make her want him if he had no intention of being married to her for real? And why make her believe he longed for her to be a real wife to him if he never intended to be a real husband to her? Why go through the trouble of convincing her of something that really had no bearing on their future relationship?

She had already resigned herself to their betrothal. She would be Louisa Montoya in a few months' time, whether she liked it or not. Her feelings didn't matter. Only family, honor, and duty did. She had come to terms with living without her heart. Why did Gabriel seem hell-bent on stirring up unnecessary emotions? What was he really up to?

She had prided herself in being a realist, a practical woman who preferred to battle with all her faculties intact. She had tamed her treacherous heart, subdued its wild stirrings, and garrisoned it behind a fortress of nonchalance and detachment. She would enter this marriage with her mind in tow and her heart in distant exile.

But now, Gabriel was trying his best to break through her defenses and the walls were cracking under his persistent onslaught. Louisa closed her eyes, a silent tear sliding down her cheek.

Oh, Gabriel. How I wish I could understand you. Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to confuse me? You give me hope when you touch me. Every soft look you throw my way makes me want to believe we can have a future together. Yet, it gets shattered every time by what really lies between us, that you see me as nothing more than an obligation, a duty to be fulfilled. Honor and duty are the only things that will bind us to each other.

A soft touch on her shoulder brought her back from her tortured musings. She wiped the corner of her eye and turned to find Matthew looking at her with concern. She had been too caught up in her thoughts she'd forgotten Matthew was sitting beside her.

"Yes, Matthew, what is it?" she asked, smiling at her friend.

"We're here," Matthew said simply, his eyes speaking volumes.

Louisa glanced out the window, her heart catching in her throat when her first view of the Montoya compound was of Gabriel, magnificently astride an equally impressive black stallion, his windblown hair giving him a roguish, devil-may-care look.

Louisa slumped back into her seat and turned to Matthew. He took her hand and smiled, apparently seeing through her façade of stoic silence.

"Don't worry, Louie. We're here for you. I'm here for you."

Louisa nodded, closed her eyes, and concentrated on breathing. Ten deep breaths should do it, she thought. But before she even got to seven, she was blasted with the unusually cold mountain air. Then, his voice was cutting through her like a knife.

"Louisa," Gabriel said.

She instantly turned to mush. It was unfair how he had such a devastating effect on her while he seemed unaffected by her presence. Looking down at Gabriel's outstretched hand, she wondered why he was acting the chivalrous knight.

But, of course. It's showtime! The curtains had been drawn and the actors must now take their respective places.

She looked up at Gabriel as she took his annoyingly warm hand and gave her the sweetest smile in her arsenal. Satisfaction washed over her at seeing Gabriel's expression.

"Good morning, Gabriel. Nice to see you again," she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "My future husband, in every sense of the word."

If it's acting you want then I'll give you a performance you'll never forget.

She smiled inside when she saw Gabriel's cheeks turn beet red. Batting her lashes, she slowly retrieved her hand from Gabriel's to land one final blow—a not-too-chaste kiss on his lips.

Once her goal was achieved, Louisa turned on her heels and sashayed down the path leading to the main house without bothering to give her betrothed another look.

If she did, she would've laughed out loud. Because she would've seen how Gabriel Montoya, the billionaire playboy and infamous breaker of hearts, had been floored and struck speechless by a simple, unexpected kiss.