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“Which part?” he huffed humorlessly.
“The children part…”
“Do you object?”
I frowned at him. “To our children being determined they should exist because of a contract? Yes, I do. If I have kids, I want it to be because we’ve decided to have them, not because it was forced on us. I won’t do it.”
“Rose, it’s in the contract. I love you,” he said tiredly. “I would have married you if I could have. We would have had those kids anyway.”
“I’m sorry.” I had to stand up for myself. If this was going to work between James and me, things had to be different. “I won’t do it.”
“But you would do it with him?” he said angrily. “You would do it for Alexander?”
“I didn’t know him or love him,” I spat back. “Don’t you get it? I knew exactly what I was getting with him. With you, everything is different. Because it’s you, I want better for our kids. I want them to see that we love each other. I know that sounds cruel to the kids I thought I would have with Alexander, but it’s the way I see it. I never would have been happy in that marriage, but I can be with you.”
He balled up his fists angrily, “I’m Alexander!” he shouted. “You know that none of this makes sense!”
“I know that! That doesn’t change the fact that I saw a different life with you. I can’t just alter that in my head.”
“Well, you’re going to have to,” he said, storming past me to the living room. He shouted over his shoulder, “We’ll be married for at least the next five years!”
* * *
Jamesand I spent the day together on Sunday, though very little of it was actually spent in the same room. We couldn’t seem to come to an understanding, no matter how much we tried. I spent the day researching design companies, while he spent most of his on the phone. I found it laughable that he told Alisha he would be taking the day off. Before I was even awake, he was on the phone with her.
And when it was clear that we weren’t going to go out for breakfast, I went in search of my own food. I did the same at lunch and dinner. I had to hand it to his housekeeper, she really kept things organized for him. By the end of the day, I’d found a company I wanted to work with and even set up an appointment for the next day, first thing in the morning. That was the benefit of having money. Everyone wanted some, and they were willing to squeeze you into their schedule to get a job.
I mostly ignored James throughout the day, not wanting to interrupt his work. Now that I knew the situation he was in, I was slightly more sympathetic. But that didn’t mean I was ready to get on board with the nonsense of the contract.
When he came to bed, we made love, despite feeling like the whole day we were dancing around each other. In the bedroom, there was nothing to interfere with who we really were. Everything was perfect, exactly as it should be. And then we fell asleep, and the whole cycle started over again.
I slept in the next day, refusing to get up when I heard him moving around. It was easier on me if I didn’t have to see him donning his traitorous clothes and ignoring me with the multitude of text messages he was receiving first thing in the morning.
Brushing off the shit day I had yesterday, I was determined to have a good day today. The designer should be here in an hour, and I was ready to feel like at least something in my life was under my control. The housekeeper arrived at eight o’clock, and this time, I refused to back down.
The elevator doors opened and she stepped out, eyeing me up and down as she got out. “Nice to see you with clothes on today.”
“Well, since I knew someone would be in my apartment, I decided to put on a few more things.”
“It’s funny that now it’s your apartment. You were eager to get out of here the other day,” she spoke over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen. I followed her in there, shoving open the swinging door that she purposely tried to slam into me.
“Our relationship is none of your business. All I need to know is what you need from me.”
“Nothing,” she snorted. “I have a list of things Mr. Langston likes, and I make them for him.”
“I’ll need to see that list. Since I live here too, I may have a few things to add.”
“Write them down and I’ll see if I can get to it.”
Except, I didn’t know where the paper and pen were. “I’ll email you a list. Write down your email address for me.”
She turned to me with a grin. “There’s paper and pen over in that drawer,” she pointed across the kitchen.
Pursing my lips, I marched over there and yanked it open, pulling out what I needed. I sat down at the small table in the kitchen and started writing out my absolute favorite meals. Some of them were more complicated than necessary, but if this woman was going to push my buttons, I was going to push hers. As I wrote, she continued to put away things she’d picked up. It was mostly cleaning supplies, but there were also things like granola bars and other snack foods she slipped into a single cabinet. It was almost like she was hiding them away.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“It’s for Mr. Langston. He has a sweet tooth in the middle of the night. I’ve been buying things for him and hiding them in here.”
