15. Jane

William kissed me until everything faded away. He kissed me until my legs felt weak and he had to lift me onto his table so I wouldn't fall to the ground. His hand was still wrapped around my waist, making me feel more protected than I'd ever felt. His other hand caressed my cheek.

I found myself wanting more even though I didn't know what that meant. What would it mean to have more of William Aldaine? I didn't know the answer to that question but I didn't care. I just wanted more of him.

My legs wrapped around his waist and I pulled him to me. William obliged. He inched closer as his mouth drifted down my neck. He left kisses all over my chest. He undid my shirt buttons and his kisses descended.

"I didn't see Jane at her—Oh wow!"

Kiara's loud voice pulled William and me apart. He turned to face his mom while I buttoned my shirt back up. This was the second time we were getting caught like this.

Why did this keep happening?

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Kiara said as she backed away.

I stepped out from William's back so I could look at her. I knew a couple of my buttons were still undone but I hoped she would ignore them. "No, you didn't interrupt anything."

"It looked like my son was about to take you right there on his desk."

Kiara was painfully blunt and yet she maintained her classy tone. It was an odd combination. I blushed an embarrassing shade of red and lowered my head. "It's not what it looks like," I said, in a poor attempt to make her believe she had misread the situation. I shoved William so he could back me up but he wasn't forthcoming. I turned to look at him and I saw that he was smirking.

Once his mom left, I was going to strangle him!

"It's fine, dear. You two are married after all and I'm no prude. How else do you think I got pregnant with William? Let me tell you, his dad was a—

William blanched. "That's enough, mother. We really don't want to hear that."

"Actually," I said as I smiled brightly. William glared at me but I ignored him. "It would be lovely to learn from those who came before us."

"A wise young woman," Kiara said before going into a detailed speech about her time with William's father.

It was I who initiated it but by the end of it, I was well and truly scarred for life. William looked worse off. He'd lost even more color since his mother brought the topic up. His immense discomfort was worth my scarring.

I couldn't help but laugh when I looked at the way his nose scrunched as his mother spoke. His gaze shifted to me and he cocked a brow. I bit my lip to stop from laughing but I couldn't hold it back. William tilted his head and I knew I wouldn't like what was coming. I tried to step away from him but he held me in place. He tickled my side and I did my best not to laugh.

For a moment we completely forgot Kiara was in the room with us. When I turned to her, she had a small smile playing on her lips. "It seems I really did interrupt something."

With that she walked out, leaving William and me alone in his office. I excused myself shortly after she left. I rushed to the bathroom so I could fix my appearance. I knew I probably looked like a mess. When I was done, I stared at myself in the mirror for an extra moment, taking in my swollen lips and scattered hair.

I looked strangely… happy.

***

"Are you sure you're happy here?" Ryan asked for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

I sighed and smiled at him. "Yes, Ryan. I am happy here."

He didn't look convinced but he didn't say anything else. He walked down the hallway with the familiarity of someone who had been here before. I knew Ryan and William met up here sometimes so they could hang out. They hadn"t done that since I got married to William.

There were days when I felt bad for coming between their friendship. It was my fault that their friendship had become like this. William and Ryan were like brothers but thanks to me they'd become strangers.

"Hi Josie," Ryan said as he walked into the kitchen.

The woman turned and greeted him with a smile. She seemed pleasantly surprised to see him. "Ryan! It's been a while."

"I know. Will and I aren't on the best of terms. I'm here to see my sister."

Josie nodded and didn't say anything else. She knew a few of the details surrounding William, Ryan, and me. I couldn't help but wonder if she blamed me too. I was the reason she hadn"t seen Ryan in a while. I was the reason my brother and William weren't on speaking terms. I was at the heart of all their problems. The guilt was slowly becoming overwhelming even though I did my best to ignore it.

I told myself that Ryan and William would fix things after the marriage contract had ended but I knew that wasn't true. Ryan would hate William even more after the divorce and it would be all my fault.

"Would you like some apple pie?" Josie asked.

Ryan placed a dramatic hand on his chest. "You're the woman of my dreams, Jo," he said, causing Josie to laugh and me to roll my eyes. "I would love a slice but first I need to use the restroom."

He walked off while I stayed in the kitchen with Josie. We talked about food, work, and even the weather. Everything and anything but the animal in the room. When we ran out of things to say, I started wishing for Ryan to come back. Why was he taking so long anyway? I fidgeted in my seat before finally hopping off it and walking away.

I checked the guest restroom but Ryan wasn't there. I assumed he went to the one in my room but he wasn't there either. Confusion washed over me as I walked through the house. Ryan was nowhere to be found. I was about to walk back to the kitchen when my eyes caught a strange sight. The door to William's home office was slightly open. He never locked it but he never left it open either. And no one was allowed in there if he wasn"t there. It was an unspoken rule.

I walked to the door and pushed it open. Ryan stood beside William's desk with a manila folder in his hands. He had pulled out the contents of the folder and placed it on top. I knew that folder. I knew what it contained which meant I knew what Ryan was looking at.

"Ryan—

"What the hell is this?" he asked, his voice colder than I'd ever heard it.

"I can explain."

"What is there to explain, Jane? You married William for money?"

"That's not what happened."

Ryan's gaze shifted back to the contract in his hands. William had suggested we draw up a contract so things could be more official. I thought it was a great idea at the time but I didn't think so anymore. How could I when Ryan was scanning the contract with an appalled look on his face?

"You married him so he can keep the CEO position. He's going to pay you a million dollars in cash and help you get your job back at Bella's Elite. Is that right?"

"Yes, but there's so much more—

"How could you do something like this? You sold yourself!"

The accusation was like a slap in the face. I felt it reverberate through my entire body until it left me numb. The media had already accused me of selling myself. Strangers said the same thing behind my back and a few even said it to my face. They all stung but none of them cut this deep. To hear Ryan accuse me of those things was like a dagger through the chest. It lanced through me, leaving me bruised.

"If you would just let me explain, Ryan. Things are more complicated than that. I was desperate to find out what happened at Bella's Elite but I couldn't find anything. William has the money and the resources to help me. I didn't have—

Ryan cut me off before I could finish my rant. "You told me you loved him."

"I…"

I didn't know how to respond to that. I lied to Ryan because I knew it was the only way he would approve of my marriage to William. I didn't know how to explain that to him.

Sadly, Ryan didn't wait for an explanation. He stormed out of the office, taking the marriage contract with him. Fear crept up my spine as I worried about what he would do with it. I knew Ryan would never hurt me but his actions would hurt William and I couldn't allow that. If that contract got to Bernard Aldaine, then all hell would break loose.

"Ryan!" I called after him but he didn't stop. He walked into the elevator and hit the button while I did my best to reach him. The elevator doors slid closed just as I reached it. I placed a hand on the cold door and sighed.

What do I do now?

I called Ryan multiple times after he left but he didn't answer any of my calls. I didn't know what he planned to do with the contract but u knew it wouldn't be good.

William came home shortly after Ryan left. He knew Ryan was visiting and he graciously stayed out so Ryan wouldn't be uncomfortable. I decided it was best not to tell him about Ryan finding the contract even though I knew he'd find out eventually.

This was the second secret I was keeping from him. He still didn't know that Mirabel had offered me a job at Bella's Elite.

"Are you feeling okay?" William asked.

I turned to him and plastered a fake bright smile on my face. "Yes, why?"

"I don't know, you just seem… quiet. You haven't said a word since I got back. Not that you're usually talkative but…" His voice trailed off.

We were sitting at the dining table eating the food Josie had prepared. The apple pie that Ryan was supposed to eat sat at the center of the table. It was a constant reminder of what happened earlier today. Not that I needed one. I would never forget how Ryan looked at me when he found out about the marriage contract. I'd never seen him be so disappointed. After my parents passed, Ryan became the person whose approval I sought. He'd never looked at me the way he did today.

"I'm fine, William. Nothing's wrong."

He nodded but he didn't seem convinced. "How's Ryan doing?"

"Good."

"Did he stay long?"

"No."

"I guess he wanted to leave before I came home." William seemed saddened by that statement. I wanted to tell him that Ryan had other reasons for leaving early, but I couldn't tell him what those other reasons were so there was no point.

We ate in silence. Well, William ate and I stared at my plate. I couldn't bring myself to eat anything. Tomorrow I would have to face the aftermath of Ryan finding out the truth. The thought of it made me want to throw up.

What would Ryan do with the truth?

I squirmed in my seat as Kiara's cool gaze observed me. When I thought of the aftermath of Ryan's discovery, this was not what I pictured. I expected the unbridled wrath of William"s grandfather, not the calculated calmness of his mother.

Kiara had strolled into the penthouse two days after Ryan's visit. The manilla folder in her hand told me everything I needed to know. I thought she would be angry but her features remained serene. I didn't know if she was hiding her rage or if she wasn't angry at all.

Both possibilities seemed to scare me. If she was truly angry then I would likely not survive it. And if she wasn't then what did that mean?

She sat in a cream armchair in the living room, clad from head to toe in exquisite pieces. Her perfectly manicured red nails held onto the folder before she leaned forward and placed it on the glass table in front of us.

My auditioning intensified. Why was this woman so difficult to read? Her eyes showed no anger but they didn't express joy either. Did she simply not care about the contract?

"Your brother brought this to me," she said, her voice surprisingly soft. "I thought I should return it to the owner."

"But I… Don't you… I don't understand."

She smiled. "My son has been closed off for five years. Five years of watching him work day and night while confining himself in the solitude of his office. He isolated himself from everyone, including me. But then you came along and you brought him out of whatever shell he'd crawled into when he lost his father." Her voice broke slightly but she carried on. "I've seen the way he looks at you, Jane. This marriage is not a contract."

I didn't know how to respond to that. How did William look at me? I'd never seen anything other than irritation in his eyes. Maybe a hint of amusement and… compassion?

No, that couldn't be right. William didn't feel anything towards me but contempt. Just like how I felt about him. We hated each other.

We have always hated each other.

"Could you not tell Bernard about this," I said, remembering that there was a bigger problem at hand.

"Oh, God no! Bernard would have a heart attack if he saw this contract."

I nodded. "Thank you."

Kiara left and I sat in the living room staring at the contract. Could she be right? Did I really bring William out of his shell? Did he actually look at me in a way that suggested this marriage was real?

My head hurt with all the questions racing through it. I pushed them out because I wasn't ready for the answers to those questions.

I didn't know if I would ever be ready.

Was there any point thinking about it? William and I would be divorced soon anyway. Once his deal was settled and the real culprit from Bella's Elite was exposed, our marriage would end.

William was great at his job so I knew it was only a matter of time before he succeeded. And he'd hired one of the best detectives in the city. Soon, I would find out who actually stole money from Mirabel and William and I would no longer be married.

I thought about it often. What would it be like when I finally found the culprit? Who hated me enough to frame me? I'd always been a woman of peace. The only ‘enemy' I had was William so who could have done this?

Why would anyone hate me that much?