Chapter 27

27

Mira

"And that’s the last you saw of him?"

Summer pats the little boy who’s fast asleep in his crib. I wrapped up work, then came to her place. She was putting her son to bed, and I stayed with her as she spun a story for him, something involving dragons and space travel and rockets, complete with hand gestures which had entranced him. He resisted sleep; they always do. A couple of times, he closed his eyes, and we were sure he'd drifted off, only for him to open his eyelids and cry out as soon as Summer started to move away. But she persisted, and he finally fell asleep. We've stayed just to be sure he doesn’t move. And she strokes his back in rhythmic beats that have me curling up in the armchair and burrowing my cheek into the cushion.

"Haven’t exchanged a word with him since, and it’s been a week."

She gives me a strange look. "Don’t you two share a room?"

"Um… Yes." I change my position, looking for a more comfortable spot in the chair. "But I fall asleep before he comes to bed, and he's gone before I wake up." It’s a lie, I know. But you can’t expect me to tell her I’m not sharing a room with my new husband, can you? I love my friends but draw a line at sharing such intimate details with them.

"And you work with him, so you see him in the office?" She pushes the hair back from her baby’s forehead, a soft smile on her face.

"He's been busy in meetings, and communicates with me through emails," I murmur.

"So he spent your wedding night with you, but then he was gone?" she asks slowly.

"Something like that." I don’t want to go into details about what happened that night. That my husband let his control slip and fucked me, but he didn’t come inside me. It still counts as consummation, though; I looked it up online. The Oxford dictionary defines the completion of a marriage by an act of sexual intercourse, which is defined for these purposes as complete penetration of the vagina by the penis, although ejaculation is not necessary.So there you have it, ladies and gents. My husband has made it clear to me he 'fucked' me and did his duty by consummating the wedding. And now, he's making it clear he doesn’t want anything to do with me.

I thought I could catch him in the office, at least, but he’s made sure to stay ensconced in his room in meetings.

He turned the glass wall between his office and my desk into an opaque sheet, so I can’t look in. The symbolism isn't lost on me either. And when it was time for lunch, he asked the receptionist to bring it to him. She, with the long nails and false eyelashes that graze her forehead. I hated her slim figure and pixie haircut on sight. Hated her even more when she came out smirking and walked by me without a second glance. Bitch.

"Guess he must be busy?" Summer rises to her feet, then bends and tucks the covers around her son.

"I suppose." My voice isn’t convincing.

She kisses her son on the forehead, then straightens and leads me out of his room. She pulls the door half shut, and we walk down the stairs into the kitchen. She pulls out her phone, makes sure the app linking to the baby cam is active, and places it on the island, then busies herself making us both herbal tea. I slip onto the stool and watch her pour the hot water into the cups. She slides one over to me, then sits on the stool next to me. "I know you got married in a hurry?—"

"Which is putting it mildly."

"But as you know, I believe in love at first sight, so I’m not as surprised as some of the others."

More like lust at first sight on my side , and convenience at first sight on his, but I don’t say that aloud.

"I know you and Sinclair, too, had a rushed courtship—" I begin to say, but she laughs.

"He thought my father was responsible for what happened to him and Edward and their friends. He wanted revenge, so he blackmailed me into marrying him."

"What?" I gape.

She shrugs. "I needed the money he promised in return. It was a logical arrangement, only?—"

"You fell in love."

"He fell first." She laughs. "Then he fell harder. He'd wanted me all along, but didn’t know how to express his feelings. So, he hatched this very convoluted plan to marry me. All to avoid talking about his emotions. Sound familiar?"

"It does. The only difference is, Sinclair loved you. Edward? I’m not so sure. He sees me as a convenience. I was the first eligible woman he came across, and he had to fulfill his grandfather’s conditions in order to retain his role in the company, and—" I firm my lips. "Oh, shit, I just gave everything away, didn’t I?"

She looks at me with soft eyes. "Nothing I hadn’t already guessed."

"But I signed an NDA. Please don't say anything."

She makes the motion of zipping her lips.

"So you knew all along this was a marriage of convenience?"

"I could tell he has feelings for you?—"

"He does not," I protest.

She merely smiles in that enigmatic manner women who are at peace with themselves, who’ve been through this merry-go-round and decided to get off, have.

"I was there when he was pissed on your behalf with his grandfather. Then, he beat up his half-brother because he dared kiss you too close to your lips, without his permission."

I wince. "That’s just him being all possessive…because I’m his 'wife.'" I make air quotes. The light from above flashes off of my rings. She glances at them.

"He gave you his grandmother’s engagement ring."

"Only to make sure everyone believes in this make-believe relationship."

"But it’s not make-believe for you, is it?"

I begin to nod, then scowl at her. "Sneaky."

She laughs. "And you always wear your heart on your sleeve. I like that about you, Mira. I like that a lot."

"Doesn’t help when you’re trying to play a game with your husband and you don’t know the rules."

"Make up your own."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"He’s attracted to you, Mira. He can’t take his gaze off you when you’re with him. He’s possessive about you?—"

"Which makes no sense; I’m his wife in name only."

"So test him."

"How?"

"Use his weakness."

"He’s Edward, the emotionless robot who’s convinced he can’t be redeemed. He doesn’t have one," I grumble.

She continues to look at me with a meaningful look on her face.

"What?"

When she only gives me a small smile, I sigh. I take a sip of my herbal tea, then place the mug on the coffee table.

"I suppose his one indication of fallibility is losing his temper with Knox," I admit.

And the fact he lost control and fucked me on our wedding night. He was unable to resist me. Of course, he had to do it because G-Pa made it a condition—the marriage had to be consummated. Still, he didn’t have to actually do it. He could have lied to G-Pa, and everyone would have believed it. But apparently, he’s not a liar. Which is good, right? It means he’ll be truthful with me, as well. I draw in a breath. "You’re saying I should play on what seems to be his vulnerability and use it to get a reaction from him?"