His Identity

“Do I really have to wear this?”, Rita sighed, staring at herself in the mirror.

“Yes, you have to. You’re my fiancee, soon to be my wife and dressing shabbily wouldn’t speak well of me”, Edmundo said, fingering the necklace on her chest.

Rita had never worn a gown as revealing as this. The gown was really short with an open back that clung to her hips, bringing out all her shape. She felt uncomfortable on it but she persevered only because she didn’t want Edmundo to suspect her. If reverse was the case, she would happily wear this gown for Rodrigo knowing that he would appreciate it more.

“Now, hurry up or we’ll be late”, he said.

Rita stared at him through the mirror,. He adorned a navy blue suit over a white bow that made him look handsome. Rita wasn’t fooled by his appearance. Deep within him, he was a gutter fighter, a ruthless man who never stopped until he got what he wanted.

As they walked out of the penthouse towards a limousine no doubt belonging to him, Rita couldn’t imagine that as perfect as they looked, there was no love between them.

As they drove in, Edmundo stared at her unbeknownst to her. He couldn’t help but admire her beauty but he didn’t know why he couldn’t love her. True, she was the daughter of one of Spain’s most richest men, but he had dated so many heiresses in the past. Now, with the news he got only yesterday, he wanted to teach her a lesson. He held himself from asking her all about him, that would only make him suspicious which would foil all his plans.

“Where is this wedding exactly?”, she asked.

“Downtown, we’ll soon get there”, he said, absentmindedly, toying with his ring.

“Okay”.

“What time did you sleep yesterday?”, he asked.

He watched her emotions change before she schooled her face to one of indifference. This only confirmed his thoughts. He gripped his seat, a rage of emotions flowing through him as he stared at her.

“I didn’t check the time. Probably around ten. Why are you asking?”, she said.

“Oh nothing. I thought I heard voices very late at night but the CCTV showed that nobody trespassed”, he said, vaguely.

“I see”.

They soon got to the venue of the wedding. For the first time in her life, Rita felt intimidated by all the people she saw. True, she belonged to the elite class but she had never seen these people in her life before.

“You’re surprised?. This my darling is Spain’s finest people”, Edmundo said, escorting her out of the limo.

“Remind me again. Who is getting married?”, She said.

“Dio Mio!. Rita, do you even read the news? The whole world has been talking about this wedding for months”, he said.

“I do, only that I don’t bother myself with all these only the business section”, she said.

“Well, you should as from now on. After all, we’d be getting married soon and you’d want to be up to the date with the latest styles”, he grinned.

Rita shuddered. He never failed to remind her about their wedding, one that she desperately wish she could run away from.

“I see, I’ll try to look more at that section”, she lied smoothly.

“Good”.

As they walked towards the hall where the wedding would be held, Rita had a feeling that she had just been thrust into a circle that she wasn’t ready for. A circle of pompous Spaniards who thought only about themselves and no one else.

When they walked into the hall, Edmundo seemed to be the cynosure of all eyes. Everyone wanted to shake his hands, touch, hug him. Rita was pushed to the side, completely forgotten about. She was glad for this though as it made her look at her surroundings, observing those who were in attendance.

She watched as Edmundo conversed with a lot of people, half of which she didn’t know. It made her think if these people were really his friends or they just pretended to be because of the favour they could get from his father through him. She smiled, thinking about what Rodrigo might say or do if he were here. No doubt, he’ll be disgusted at the amount of pretence they had to put up with.

He’ll say something snarky which would make the people appear foolish. She’d no doubt gain satisfaction in knowing that she wasn’t alone.

“Please, meet my fiancee”, Edmundo said, cutting into her thoughts.

Rita stared at the woman as she shaked her hands. In alm of her twenty six years, she had never seen anyone so thin and emancipated before and to make matters worse, the woman adorned makeup that made her look all the more uglier.

“Hello, nice to meet you”, the woman said with a scratchy voice.

Rita looked towards Edmundo, hoping he could tell her who this woman was. Here seemed too get the hint and Rita was secretly thankful that she wasn’t left hanging.

“Apologies my dear. This is Martina, daughter of the ex army chief. You would remember her father who led Spain to war to reclaim our lost territory”, he said.

Rita remembered the story. She learnt it in history class during her high school days. The story had it that, a long time ago, during the war of the Spaniards as it was fondly called, some of Spain’s territory was taken by the opposing party and with the help of the army chief, Spain got their land back.

“It’s really nice to see you. I hope your father is doing alright”, Rita smiled politely.

“Yes, though he’s getting on in years, he’s doing alright. And your Father?”, Martina asked.

“Quite alright, thank you”.

When she left, Rita heaved a huge sigh of relief. She’d been holding herself against laughing over her hideous makeup. Someone really needed to tutor her on the art of applying make up. She had a mind to tell her but she didn’t know how she’d feel or most especially how Edmundo would react.

The wedding was in full swing now much to her satisfaction. The sooner it began the better it was could leave on time. When the bride of the day arrived, Rita gushed about how pretty her dress was. She imagined getting married like this one day but the man in her imaginations was Rodrigo. She wasn’t surprised because she constantly thought about him. Even at that moment, she wondered what he was doing.

“Such a beautiful bride”, Edmundo muttered.

Rita stared at him and she could tell that Edmundo had something to do with her. The way he stared at her had her wondering if perhaps he’s slept with her before.

“You’ve known her prior to this?”, Rita asked.

“Of course, she’s my very good friend”, he said vaguely.

“I see”, she said, accepting a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

The wedding moved on and Rita hated every part of it. From their pompous attitude to their fake smiles and hugs. She could actually feel the jealousy radiating from them when she was introduced as Lawrence Anderson’s daughter. Most of them had judging eyes, secretly looking for flaws within her. Rita had none of these because she was beautiful, down to earth and kind.

“We should move to the reception now. The first part is over”, Edmundo said.

Rita groaned inwardly as she allowed Edmundo to lead her the venue of the reception which was in another part of town. She didn’t understand why people would waste funds in this manner but she remained quiet since she wasn’t really in the mood to be in a conversation with Edmundo.

“You know, you look really beautiful”, he smiled.

“Thank you. You look quite charming yourself”, she said.

Just then, his phone rang which saved the day. He looked at the offending gadget, frowning at it. Rita could tell that whoever was calling him wanted to tell him something important as the only time he seemed to frown was if the issue was serious.

“Yes”, he snapped.

Rita trained her ears on the call. She tried to make sense of what they were saying but she couldn’t keep up as Edmundo spoke in rapid Spanish and her Spanish was only limited to a few words.

“So what have you done before you called me”, Edmundo said.

Rita stared at him and she could tell that whatever it was, it didn’t seem good to him. His expression was one of tiredness and anger but she wisely kept quiet, she wasn’t one to poke nose in another’s business.

“I see. Find out more information then get back to me”, he said before cutting the call.

Rita relaxed a bit, surreptitiously looking at him. Her inquisitiveness rose to the surface and she couldn’t help wondering what the conversation was about.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Anything the matter Edmundo!”, She asked.

“Nothing you can help with”, he snapped.

Rita held her tongue from replying. She should have known better than talk, Edmundo wasn’t that kind of man who would discuss his business with a woman. Nevertheless, Rita determined to find out what was said because within her, her last shred of trust on him had just vanished.