Sir, Mr Fuentemayor is here to see you."

Adriano looked up from his computer at his secretary, Imogen, who had just spoken from the door which was ajar. Inwardly, he sighed and responded, "Let him in."

Seconds later his friend strutted in, making sure to make his presence pretty obvious. Almost immediately Adriano regretted even letting him into his office in the first place.

Santiago took at seat in front of him and propped up his feet on his desk. "Sup," he chimed happily.

Adriano rolled his eyes and went back to his work. "To what do I owe this honour," he replied unamused. "Get your stupid feet of my desk." He kept them on the table nonetheless.

"I know where she is."

Much to his chagrin, Adriano's heart fluttered uncerimoniously. It had been about three weeks since Ximena's unforseen departure. Nobody knew where she had disappeared to and no one what to formally addressed the issue. In fact, he hadn't seen his father or anyone else from that disatrous lunch since then. Avoiding his father was very difficult but surprisingly he'd gotten away with it for weeks.

He cleared his throat but did not remove his eyes from the screen. "Really? That's nice," he retorted unmoved. He didn't care about that woman's whereabouts, or so he wanted to make himself believe.

Santiago laughed very loudly, that the people in the whole building probably heard it. "Don't you act unaffected, bro. I know you too well and I know your heart is in overdrive. You've been wondering what happened to her and right now as we speak you really want to know where she is," he stated giving his friend a pointed look. Sometimes Adriano hated how much Santiago knew him.

"Well then," Adriano began as he leaned back in his leather seat. "Where the hell is she?"

"She's in Paris. I can even tell you which hotel and her suite number."

Adriano did a double take. "Wow, and how exactly do you know this?" he asked, genuinely awed by Santiago's stalkerish behaviour.

He grinned, and finally took his feet off the mahogany desk. "What can I say? I've got my sources. What's important is you know her location and you can go get your soon to be wife."

A chill ran down Adriano's spine. Soon to be wife? No, she wasn't. They barely knew each other and to him, the whole idea of a marriage of convinience sounded completely bogus. And he knew it was a mutual feeling. That's why she'd run away in the first place, right?

"I'm not going to get her, Santi. Let her be, okay? I don't want this crazy marriage and neither does she. Period," he affirmed almost confidently.

Santiago stood up and began to pace about the large room. "Okay, I understand that but have you thought that maybe you're not the only ones who don't want this marriage to work?"

"What are you getting at?" Adriano inquired, curiously.

"Your father," he said lowly. "You know that Humberto is a very calculating and manipulative man, right? Have you asked yourself why he hasn't talked to you about the contract since that day? It's almost as if he doesn't care at all..."

"Because he knows he will get 40% shares of the Dos Ramos's company if Ximena doesn't keep his end of the deal," Adriano added, the truth finally dawned on him. 'So that's why he's been leaving me alone. Hijo de-"

Santiago cut him before he could finish his curse. "The more reason for you to go to France a.s.a.p. He cannot have his way."

"But I can't force her to come back. She's a self centered, conceited little girl who doesn't think of her actions clearly. If anyone's to blame for that, it's her and I will have no part in it," he interjected coldly. He had no time to be chasing spoiled brats.

"No, bro. Don't do that please. She's probably feeling betrayed and that's why she just left," he pleaded, his grey orbs gleaming with concern. "You can't just sit there in your Armani suit and do nothing."

Adriano did not reply. On the one hand, he really didn't want to get married to some woman he didn't even know but the other part of him really wanted to foil his father's malicious schemes. He was finding himself in a bit of a dilemma.

His emerald eyes flew to his friend. "I'll think about it."

Santiago exhaled, showing relief. "Thank you because I know that's your way of saying you'll do it."

Not wanting to argue any further, Adriano ignored his reply. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you so hell bent on this damned marriage happening?"

A smirk broke out on Santiago's lips. "It's because I know she's gonna be the love of your life." With that, he left the office not bothering to hear what Adriano would say.

He shook his head and chuckled to himself. "That idiota!" he muttered to himself. Why did he have a weird feeling in his gut that was saying his friend was right?

A couple of hours later, around five p.m, Adriano stepped out of his office and went to the top floor to see his father. He'd been dodging him for days on end but it was finally time to talk to him. He knocked at the door and heard a 'come in' then proceeded to go inside.

"Are you busy?" he asked smoothly, as he strolled in and stood in front of his desk with his hands in his gray pants pockets.

Humberto shook his head and offered a smile. "Of course not. You've come at a good time. So, I haven't seen you much lately," he joked but received nothing but a blank stare from his son.

Adriano looked out the window. "I don't know if you've noticed but being around you is quite nauseating for me," he sliced coldly, earning a laugh from his dad. He looked back at him, his eyes glazed over with ice. "I know what you're up to."

His eyes held fake intrigue. "And what do you mean, hijo?"

"You want that 40% share. That's why you've been quiet about Ximena's departure."

The older man did not deny it. An all knowing look graced is aging face. "So you're not as stupid as you look. To be honest, I'm impressed!" he mocked.

His son's jaw ticked with annoyance. "Just when I think you couldn't get any worse, you prove me wrong. Well guess what," he said as he moved closer to his desk. He lowered himself to eye level, his hands stretched out on his desk. "You will not get away with this," he swore and exited abruptly.

As he approached the executive elevator, his phone began to ring. He fished it out of his pocket and Amanda's name flashed across the screen. A sinking feeling rose from the pit of his stomach. He really wanted to answer, to hear her soothing voice but seeing as he was about to do something that would hurt her, he declined.

Once in the elevator, he dialed Santiago's number. He picked up after approximately 2 seconds. Adriano just got straight to the point.

"Where is she?"

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Hi guys....I know you are probably mad at me right now but let me just begin by saying perdonamé. I am so sorry that I haven't updated in like 2 weeks. I am just really packed with my university work load...pre-med is not a joke guys. Well, I did find time out of my hectic schedule to write and update, so I hope you like it!

Seems like our leading man is going to find his runaway fiancée....let's wait and see what happens next.

Vote, comment & share.

~Deetronite.