v. avareza

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"It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." --Timothy 6:10.

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avarice: (n) extreme greed; intense and selfish desire for something.

In Madrid, Adelaida and Cristiano were inseparable. From the very moment they got off the plane that brought them from Madeira it was clear that they were enamored with each other. He held her hand as they walked through the airport. The press was there waiting for him. And Adelaida felt herself shrink in their presence. Her almond brown eyes focused on the ground below her, suddenly feeling self-conscious about herself and they way she looked to them.

Surely, she thought to herself, they would comment on her sense of dress. There would be people criticizing her every move from this moment on. He felt her hand tense in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Pay no attention to them, minha vida." He told her, his hot breath in her ear while he whispered. "The press always find ways to make themselves noticed."

And there were bright flashes that went off, taking photographs that the entire world would see by the end of the day. Cristiano had been trying so hard to shield Adelaida from everything that had to do with his career because he was terrified they would scare her off. He feared everything would be too much to her. It was different with Adelaida. She was sweet and fragile and she had never been surrounded by so many people, only the people of her church community.

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He took her to live at his house in Madrid, and Adelaida was hesitant at first. She had been raised under the very conservative watch of her grandmother. And she was certain her grandmother would disapprove of what she was doing.

But as she spent more time with the Portuguese footballer, the less she cared about what her grandmother would think of her. She still attended services in Madrid and had taken a job as a Sunday school teacher. She still prayed to let God know she appreciated all the blessings he put in her life. She did the same things she used to do in Madeira only in Madrid she had someone who she loved.

For Cristiano, having Adelaida was the best thing that could ever happen to him. He was happier than he'd ever been and his team mates noticed it. They all agreed that he needed someone who would treat him right. Even though they claimed to have ended their relationship on good terms, the Real Madrid players had seen how Cristiano had been affected by his break up from Irina. Adelaida was also great with children and treated Cristiano's son as if he were her own. And he was glad his son adored Adelaida as well.

The love Cristiano and Adelaida had for each other only grew and Adelaida never returned to her home town in Madeira. She wasn't welcome there by her grandmother anymore and though they were mad at each other, Adelaida was hurt about her grandmother's rejection. Her parents visited often, they were overjoyed at the attention their youngest daughter was getting and they also enjoyed spending time at Cristiano's house.

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One day, Adelaida got up in the morning, showered, got dressed, and went down to the dining room to find Juninho, as she fondly called Cris' son, already having breakfast before heading off to school. Adelaida sat at the table to join him, a bright smile on her face. "Bom dia, Juni." She greeted the little boy.

"Bom dia, mamãe." The little boy grinned.

"Where's daddy?" She wondered. Normally by the time she got down for breakfast, he was already there.

Shrugging his shoulders, he responded, "He went out early."

"Hm." Adelaida hummed while she poked at the food on her plate, which had been set before her just seconds prior. She knew it was stupid, but she liked to see him every morning before he headed off to drop off his son at school and she to church. Having him already gone by the time she got up made her feel like there was something wrong. But she shook the thought away when she felt the greed creeping up on her. It was that greed that made her wish that all his time were for her.

Adelaida was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the voice of Cristiano's son. "Mamãe," He had been calling her mom for a while now and she didn't have the heart to tell him not to. "Will you read me a story before you go visit Deus at church?" He asked her.

Each day, she would read to him from her bible. But she found his request odd, since he normally asked for a story before going to sleep at night. As if knowing what she would ask next, the little boy brought her bible out from under the table and handed it to her.

That was another thing she found suspicious. Adelaida opened up her bible to find there was a slip of paper wedged in between the thin pages of her book. It was a folded note which she picked up and opened. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you." were the words written on the slip of paper in Cristiano's handwriting. Adelaida felt her eyes well up with tears and she brought a hand to her quivering lips. From behind her, she could hear his footsteps as he walked into the dining room.

She turned around in her seat just as he got down on one knee. "Marry me, meu bela princesa." He asked rather shyly.

Feeling that avarice again, that selfish greed that yearned to spend the rest of her days with Cristiano, she told him, "Yes, of course I will marry you." The same greed that made her suffer when he was away and the same greed that made her angry when there were other women around him. But she tried hard to keep her emotions under control.

And perhaps her grandmother was right. She was being corrupted by her love for him. And that corruption was driving her to commit each and every one of the seven deadly sins.

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thank you for reading, meninas! tomorrow morning i have to wake up at five am so i can sign up for summer classes at the university. sign ups are like the hunger games, super competetive and brutal. haha. so wish me luck. and i really hope you all like the update. i am trying really hard to update all my stories, but no wifi. i also hate to have fallen behind on my stories that i was reading.

anywau, hopefully it'll all be fixed soon. thanknyou for reading and supporting.

i love you.

-clary xx