Chapter 16 - Brooke

The next morning, after a solitary breakfast and no sight of Max anywhere, a chatty doctor came to check on me. As he poked and prodded, the kindly old man spoke a fast mix of English and Russian and didn’t seem to mind that I was off in another world. I barely answered the questions I did understand and let him go about his exam, as if I had any choice in the matter.

Staring at the age spots on the balding head in front of me as the doctor wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my arm, I continued to stew about last night. My mind was a mess, alternating between drifting off into daydreams about how amazing everything had been, then swinging abruptly to wallowing in shame for giving in the way I did.

Not just giving in, but practically begging Max to continue. That was the worst part, needing his touch so badly it felt like I couldn’t breathe if he had stopped. But he’d been fully ready to walk away. In fact, he had walked away!

On our honeymoon night, which wasn’t supposed to even happen, but in books and movies, didn’t the couple go all night? It certainly didn’t seem normal that the new husband would so casually stroll away.

Or for the wife to try to flee, like I’d done. Not just my failed attempt to get over the wall, but I’d also tried to storm my way back to the guest room, as if that would have made up for all the gasping and groveling and loving every damn second of what we’d done. But, oh no, he was the one to leave, that—

“Your blood pressure is quite high,” the doctor said, interrupting my mental tirade. I huffed, trying to settle down. “Just take it easy for a while, nothing too strenuous.”

Oh God, had Max told him I tried to jump from a tree last night? Just like a monkey, but not really, or I’d be somewhere else by now.

“I don’t think it’s from exertion,” I said through gritted teeth.

No, I knew exactly why my blood pressure was up, and it was the big, handsome jerk who was holding me hostage. There was no possible way this marriage was legally binding, no matter what happened last night. As soon as I could find a phone, I was out of here, by any means necessary. Even if it meant bringing a SWAT team down on Max, and, by extension, my best friend’s new family.

Surely, Jenna wouldn’t stand for this if she knew what was actually going on. But thanks to Max, she thought I was back in San Francisco, living normally. Max was going to keep texting her to keep up the ruse.

After he pronounced, nothing was wrong with me, and as he packed up his supplies, I asked the doctor if I could borrow his phone.

“Mine got cracked beyond repair when I was…” I trailed off, looking worn down and pathetic.

Either he wasn’t as kindly as he seemed, or he’d been briefed by Max, because he barely refrained from rolling his eyes at me and refused. Once he left, I wandered around looking for Max, but he didn’t seem to be anywhere in the house. To keep from being too curious and getting worked up again, I decided it was the perfect time to search the place.

There had to be a phone somewhere. There were so many bedrooms, each one decorated to perfection with beautiful paintings or stunning photographs that were probably actual works of art and not just reproductions, but none of them had phones. Same with an extensive library lined with shelves of books from floor to ceiling, a couple of rooms that looked like offices for the staff, sitting rooms, the massive kitchen, a formal dining room that could have fit four of my apartment inside, and an entertainment center.

But not a single, damn phone in sight. There were jacks in the wall that signified that house phones had been there at one point, and chargers and cords were left in the offices. That had to mean some of the staff were carrying their phones with them, but if the doctor had been given orders, so had they. Short of tackling them and hijacking their phone, I didn’t dare try to ask anyone else. I wasn’t quite up to being completely humiliated again by trying to go the mugging route.

By the time I gave up the search, I was ready to punch something. My blood was boiling that Max had been so thorough. I sank down on a big leather chair in the open-plan living area, staring out the length of glass doors that led out to the pool. The crystal blue water looked inviting, and I needed to cool off before I really did have a heart attack. I could feel the pressure building up and making me want to scream, and the last thing I needed was for any of the lurking, discreet staff to make a call to their boss, telling him I’d finally lost it.

It was better to dive into the deep end of that gorgeous pool than metaphorically go off the deep end, so I went upstairs to rummage through Max’s drawers to find something to swim in. The shorts and top that had appeared yesterday had just as mysteriously disappeared, probably to be laundered, but I found a pair of running shorts and a dark tank top.

With the waistband rolled and the top tied in a knot at my waist to keep it from floating away, I headed back downstairs, already feeling lighter at the prospect of plunging into the cool water. Until I nearly ran smack into Max as he was heading up. To check on me? I swerved him, ignoring his chuckle at my appearance.

“I’m glad you’re settling in and feeling comfortable enough to go through my things,” he said.

“California is a community property state,” I quipped tartly, continuing to trot past him.

He kept laughing and stepped aside, waving his hand at a couple of his security team hauling in boxes and shopping bags.

“You might be more comfortable in one of the new swimsuits my assistant ordered for you. I’m sure they’re in there somewhere with your other new things.”

I stood there gaping at the seemingly never ending flow of packages being brought in, and Max continued on his way upstairs, breezing past me as if I was another member of his staff.

Well, what did I expect? A kiss? Did I want a kiss?

Yes, I did, and that pissed me off all over again, along with the curiosity welling in me about the contents of the bags and boxes. As if all those gifts piling up in the entrance hall were worth my freedom. I left all of them unopened and went for my swim in Max’s clothes, which were much too big. I sliced through the water until I was too exhausted to register the rage that I couldn’t seem to shake.

Falling into a lounge chair under a cluster of palm trees, I reached for the ice-cold pitcher of water that had been placed there. I looked around to see if there was one next to every chair, but no, someone had anticipated I’d fall into this one. It was bizarre, just this side of creepy, but mostly pretty nice, since I was dying of thirst after my rigorous workout.

I hadn’t had the time to swim in ages, and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. I grabbed every opportunity when I was a kid, which was few and far between. Certainly never in a pool like this, with a waterfall feature and all that beautiful foliage shading it from the blazing sun.

I made the decision to make more time to use the pool on campus once I got back, and no sooner had the thought filled my head than I went cold all over. Dragging the towel over my skin to dry the droplets that still clung to me did nothing to warm me up, not even the sun could break through the chill that enveloped me.

What if I never got back to campus again? Losing my job was bad, but I could always find another if it came to it. But someone like Max could never understand how hard I had worked to get my scholarships, how many derogatory remarks I had to put up with by people who didn’t understand the concept of bettering oneself. I had studied late into the night with only the light of a candle, as if I was in the damned eighteenth century because one of my foster families begrudged the cost of a lightbulb kept on after ten o’clock.

The happiest day of my life had been when I received the notification that I was not only accepted to Berkeley but also qualified for the much-needed financial aid required to make that dream a reality. Besides working at the boutique, I did deliveries, babysitting, and whatever anyone offered me to stay in school.

I hadn’t even picked a major yet and I was about to lose it all if I couldn’t get out of here.

As much as I tried, I couldn’t get that familiar anger back, anger that I’d found difficult to deal with. This was much worse, this was real fear. My chin dropped to my chest as tears slid silently down my cheeks.