A Wrong Surrogate for the CEO-Chapter 41: I didn’t cheat

Lazarus had told Lara that Curtis was out shooting birds.

The idea was a little bit ridiculous to her, because why would people take delight in shooting harmless birds who just wanted to fly and be free?

But she would never understand the idiosyncrasies of rich people. So she decided not to think about Curtis and his weird habits.

That was not what she was going to see him for anyway.

The address Lazarus gave to her wasn’t that far from Curtis’s mansion. It was a private estate, and as she drove through the massive gates, Lara knew that the place had to belong to a ridiculously rich person.

Or maybe it was some sort of association that was created for people like Curtis who had too much money and nothing to do with said money.

Lara drove down the long, seemingly unending driveway for a long while. She eventually came across some sort of alcove.

She parked the car and left it where it was, got out of the car, and moved towards the alcove.

Curtis’s back was turned to her, so he didn’t see her coming. And he didn’t hear her coming too, probably due to the fact that there were some sort of earbuds over his ears.

She tapped him on the shoulders gently.

"Hello, Curtis," she said when he turned to look at her.

His eyes were filled with a blankness that made him look even more dangerous than Lara was used to.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a bland voice. Lara, who was already figuring out why Lazarus asked her to not come and see him, took a deep breath before she spoke.

"I did not cheat on you. I am not cheating on you. Your mother’s words are nothing but lies," she stated firmly.

Curtis said nothing, staring at her for a long, long time. Lara held her breath as she waited for him to speak.

She needed him to know that she would never do something as despicable as that.

Curtis turned away from her and cocked his gun instead.

"Take a step back and cover your ears," he said curtly.

Lara’s brows furrowed into a frown. What was he talking about?

She watched as Curtis took a step forward. He raised his gun.

And Lara realised what he was about to do. She immediately scrambled away from him and clasped her hands over her ears.

Curtis nodded at someone Lara could not see, and a bird was released into the air.

Curtis pulled the trigger, and the bird fell to the floor, dead.

He killed the birds in succession, not stopping to do as much as take a breath.

Lara was terrified and mesmerized at the same time. How could he be so good at shooting guns?

And why was he taking his anger out on innocent birds?

Lara lost count of the birds after a while and by the time Curtis was done with them, she was scared all over again of the man standing before him.

All she wanted to tell him was that she wasn’t cheating on him, but to her, it seemed as though he wasn’t willing to hear her explanation.

Lara figured that she might as well leave.

She cleared her throat and stepped forward.

"Curtis. I..." she started to say but he raised a hand, cutting off her words and interrupting her.

"You should not have come here."

Lara sighed. "I know, I know. Lazarus told me that you are in a terrible mood. But I...I just needed to let you know that I would never cheat on you. It doesn’t matter that our relationship is fake and based on a contract. I would never do such a thing. I think it is a disgusting habit."

Her voice threatened to waver, but she managed to keep it steady.

Curtis took a step closer to her.

"Is that what you came here to tell me?" he asked. Lara nodded.

Curtis took another step closer. "Why would you come all the way over here just to say that?"

"To convince you that I am not someone who sleeps around?" she insists.

Curtis shook his head at her words and took a step closer yet again.

"You should not have gone through the trouble, Lara. I know that you can not cheat on me."

Lara heaved a breath of relief and was about to say something to that effect, but her husband was not done yet.

He went on.

"I know you. In and out. I have read each and every single one of the documents that contains even the smallest detail about your life. I know things that you are not even aware that I know. So yes, there is no way you could have cheated on me, fake contract or not."

His words were steady, grounded. They had the authenticity of a mountain.

But again, Curtis was not done.

"What would you have done though, if the situation was reversed?" he asked.

Lara was confused.

"What do you mean?"

"What if I was the one who got accused of cheating? What would you have done? Would you have believed in me the way I believe in you?"

Lara was floored. Of all the things he was expecting him to say, of all the questions he could have asked, she didn’t expect that one.

"I...I don’t know," she stammered.

"Answer the damn question, Lara," he growled.

"We...I...I don’t mind, really. We are not in any real obligation to each other. You can... uhm...you can sleep around with anyone if you like. My own decision is from a...a personal decision. I can’t...I can’t ask you to do the same," she stuttered.

Lara’s intention was to assure Curtis that she wasn’t trying to hold him to any obligation. That he was free to do as much as he liked.

But her words only seemed to enrage Curtis.

He growled in her face and his hands snaked up to grab her arms.

"Don’t. Don’t you ever say or think that about me. I am not that kind of man. You are the mother of my children, and the only woman I will allow myself to feel any sort of affection to, no matter how small. There is, and there will be, no sleeping around, Lara.

I will not cheat on you. Don’t you dare forget that," he stated very intensely.

Before Lara could get over the sheer intensity in his words, he leaned closer to whisper into her ears.

"Never... forget."

And then he smashed his lips against hers.