“Noted.”
There’s an awkward pause as I put the cup down. I rack my brain for something to ask her, to put her at ease again.
She looks so lovely wearing my clothes, I realize with a start. Her red curls are the right kind of messy to be considered charming and warmth just seems to radiate from her so naturally.
It wouldn’t be a bad thing to make the most of this situation. Perhaps we could even be friends.
I’m about to say as much when she breaks the silence for me.
“I suppose we don’t really need to know each other, do we?”
Her words turn my own to ash in my mouth. Right. Duty. None of this is personal.
“No. We don’t.” I drain the rest of my coffee, though it tastes much more bitter now, and deposit the mug in the sink with a little too much force. The handle breaks off with a small crack.
I ignore it as I storm past her back into the bedroom, quickly finding clothes of my own before gathering my necessities for the day. Suddenly, spending the morning alone with her feels absolutely abhorrent.
“What…what do I do now?” her voice asks quietly from the corner.
I pocket my phone and glance in the mirror. Respectable, professional. Cold. “Stay as long as you want, but I have to go. I’ll send my new address to Teo if you need it.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to exchange numbers?”
“Do what you want.”
“But what about?—”
I turn on her, suddenly very irritated indeed by her incessant nagging. “I don’t care, all right? I’m not your keeper, and, quite frankly, I have more important things to worry about than this. You stick to upholding your part of the agreement, and I’ll stick to mine. Agreed?”
Mia looks somewhat overwhelmed by my outburst, and so frightfully vulnerable in those oversized clothes. I have to look away so that she doesn’t see the guilt in my gaze.
This is decidedly the wrong thing to do, as her voice suddenly takes a harder edge.
“Oh, of course, my dear husband. Let me bend over backward to fulfill my wifely duties. How would you like me next time? Spread eagle or with a bag over my fucking head?”
I refuse to dignify her response with even a glance as I pack up my things. The cold shoulder does nothing to improve Mia’s mood, and she promptly leaves the room.
A second later, the door to the penthouse slams shut behind her.
It takes the entirety of the drive to the Prince’s Hand’s flagship casino for me to shake the bitterness that threatens to choke me.
I always knew this marital arrangement would be a strain at best, but it was foolish of me to think it could be anything more. Getting my hopes up was nothing short of embarrassing.
As I step across the familiar entranceway, I let the embarrassment fall at my feet, cloaking myself in the things that truly matter. The most important of which is survival for the sake of my sister.
By the time I made it to the meeting room, the morning's interaction with my unwilling wife was tightly locked away at the very back of my mind.
“Natali,” Dante greets me with an easy smirk, though I note he looks particularly gleeful today.
He’s one of the first to arrive, as has become his habit since the Guild saw fit to send one of their own men to help negotiate an alliance. Teo’s second was, admittedly, a point of tension to begin with.
But over the last few months, I’ve found that he’s grown on me some. Dante’s easy-going nature and extensive understanding of trade routes with our counterparts across the globe have been invaluable.
“Is it your birthday or something?” I give him a once-over—yes, his knee is bouncing beneath the table.
Dante taps the folder before him. “An early birthday present, perhaps.”
I quirk an eyebrow at him. If what he’s implying is true…damn it, the Guild works fast.
