Chapter 7 Want Renee Back

*RENEE*

"A cripple is better than me? Seriously, Renee? Can he even stand up for you?" Andrew asked, then burst into laughter as he walked closer to me.

"You'll regret this for the rest of your life, Renee. He can't even make you feel like a woman. Come back to me and I'll-"

"Did I tell you that my husband doesn't make me feel like a woman? Or would you like to hear stories about our consummation?"

I saw Andrew's eyes widen.

"Stop joking."

"How would I joke about how good my husband is in bed? Having shared his bed, I should know best, don't you think?"

I held back my laughter, seeing the pure disbelief on Andrew's face.

I would never give him or anyone else the satisfaction of knowing what living with Marcelo was really like.

"You... Marcelo?!"

I saw Andrew looking past me in shock.

Did he just say Marcelo?

I turned to see Marcelo just a few feet away.

He was seated in his wheelchair-an imposing figure despite appearing crippled.

His bodyguard stood beside him.

What was he doing here?!

Seeing the glare in his eyes, I swallowed hard.

Did he hear what I said?!

I was left speechless as I stared back at him.

What should I do?

I could feel my cheeks heating up.

I had literally just boasted about how good he was in bed.

How was he going to take it?

I ransacked my brain, thinking of what to say.

"Come here, Renee," Marcelo called out to me in a surprisingly soft voice.

I bit my lower lip nervously as I walked up to him.

It felt as if I were a child who had been caught doing something wrong and was about to be reprimanded.

As I stood in front of him, he placed his hand on my chin, bringing my face a bit closer to his.

"So you really do want to share my bed with me. You must be really curious about how good I am," he said in a low voice only I could hear.

I gasped as he ran his fingertips around my neck.

"What are you doing here with your ex-fiancé? I really can't understand you, Renee. I love having people figured out, but you're just being super pesky to me. You clearly told him all that to make him jealous, right? If he's the one you want, then why did you marry me?"

With the way Marcelo was tenderly stroking my face and neck, people around us would think he was being extremely affectionate and murmuring sweet words to me.

But his touch was making me unable to think or concentrate.

"I... I only said that..."

"Marcelo, don't tell me you're really smitten with Renee?!" Andrew thundered as he moved closer to us. "You turned down so many great women your mother arranged for you over the past few years just to end up with Renee? She doesn't even have a family. What happened to your standards? Are they so low now?"

I felt so insulted by him that I turned around to stand up for myself.

"Andrew, you-"

"Drew!" someone squealed from behind us.

I frowned as I saw Catherine running up to him. She held Andrew's arm and leaned against him as if marking her territory.

"What are you doing here, Andrew? I've been looking for you since I came out of the dressing room. I thought you were going to help me pick some dresses. Did my sister lure you out here? She can't even stay faithful to her husband already?"

I could see Catherine's gaze linger on Marcelo.

Granted, Marcelo was a very attractive man-even as he was pretending to be crippled, that didn't diminish his appeal one bit.

Seriously? Was she thinking of stealing him too?

"I think you're the one who needs to tell your dog of a man to be content with you," I snapped at Catherine.

"Don't you dare insult me, Renee. And don't think I'll fall for your lies. I know Marcelo better than you do. He will never... not in a million years fall for someone like you."

I scoffed. "Well, would you like me to show you how hard he's fallen for me?"

With that, I turned to face Marcelo, who was giving me a hard and confused look.

He might punish me for this later or be incredibly mad, but I couldn't let Andrew and Catherine have the last laugh.

Taking a deep breath, I walked up to him in the wheelchair and sat on his lap.

I saw his eyes widen as I cupped his face.

I just needed to kiss him real quick, to show them that my husband loved me.

I didn't care if it was a lie-I needed both of them to believe I was very happy with my life now.

They had seen me suffer enough.

It was meant to be a quick kiss, but as soon as I pressed my lips against his and tried to pull away, I felt him wrap his arms around me.

Then he opened his mouth and took a nibble of my lips.

I was captivated by his action as I tilted my head to the side, giving him a better angle as we kissed.

I had no idea how long we stayed there, taking nibbles of each other's lips, but we were interrupted when Andrew yelled out-

"Are you guys seriously going to have sex right now? In the mall?!"

My eyes widened as I realized Marcelo's hand was cupping my ass.

I had been running my hands through his hair and hadn't even noticed when.

I quickly got off his lap and adjusted my dress.

When I looked back at him, he looked stunned.

God.

What had just happened?

I only wanted to kiss him, but it felt like I'd gone through a hot, sensual battle.

Was kissing someone always that hot?

"Look at you, Renee. What have you become? You always acted so prudish whenever I touched you, but look at you-kissing someone so shamelessly in public."

I got a hold of myself and replied, "He's my husband. I can kiss him as shamelessly as I want..."

"Renee, you-"

"Can you shut up now, Andrew? Or do you want me to lose my shit? Because trust me, I've had enough of you right now. Even if you were engaged to Renee, it's all in the past. She's my wife now, and you should respect that."

I was surprised to see Marcelo defending me.

I rarely had anyone stand up for me, so this was touching.

********

**MARCELO**

I should be mad at this woman.

She was a sudden bride I never wanted.

She was Andrew's ex.

I hated anything that had to do with Andrew.

Yet, I kept getting drawn to her.

Was it the kiss?

This was the second time we had kissed.

The first time was that night when we had agreed to have sex-before I found out who she was.

And now... I was curious to know more about her.

Not just about her life, but her body.

"Mr. King, you have no idea how rotten Renee is. I'm her sister, so I know-"

"Shut up!" I interrupted the annoying woman standing beside Andrew.

To think my mother had tried to match-make me with this woman made me sick.

How was she even from the Hudson family?

I felt irritated by her.

If you were to compare her and Renee, Renee was far more deserving to be my wife.

"So, Andrew, did you hear that? You're my past now, so you should focus on Catherine," Renee shot at him.

For the first time, I noticed Renee's tough and daring nature.

Her boldness wasn't off-putting.

She had been putting Andrew and her sister in their places ever since I ran into them.

I felt even more drawn to her.

"Let's go, my wife," I said to her proudly as I stretched my hand to her.

Renee smiled at me and took my hand.

Why did her smile look so pretty?

My bodyguard, Luke, pushed my wheelchair as we left the mall.

I so badly wanted to stand on my feet and walk away with her.

But I couldn't ruin my plans!

She might be messing with my head today, but I couldn't let anyone mess with my plans.

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

Andrew fumed as he muttered curses under his breath. He felt like hitting something-anything!

How could this be?

How could Renee look so happy with his crippled cousin?

And why the heck was the brutal and cruel Marcelo suddenly soft with Renee?

Catherine, on the other hand, was confused by the sudden turn of events.

Renee was supposed to live a miserable life with that cripple.

And why was that cripple so good-looking?

She hated to admit it, but he was even more handsome than Andrew.

If he weren't crippled, she would have targeted him next and stolen him away from Renee, as usual.

But she couldn't make that move because of his disability.

Damn it!

She couldn't stand the fact that Renee was happy with that man!

And why did it seem like Andrew was about to go crazy when Renee kissed her husband?

Catherine stared up at Andrew, who was still fuming.

He couldn't possibly want Renee back... could he?