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Inever pictured this would be my life. Never in a million years.
A fake wedding without my parents.
Marrying because of a contract, not love.
Being married to an asshole who sees me as a piece of trash to hide away until it benefits him.
Moving into said asshole’s mansion.
The same mansion where a guy I’ve happily fucked lives.
This is a fucking mess. This is my life now. A jumbled disaster that holds more secrets than I can keep up with.
Normally, a couple gets married, has their honeymoon, and enjoys the bliss of being newlyweds. But not us. Marnix’s time is too precious for that, and this isn’t a real marriage. He made that clear last night, reminding me of what a mistake it is to even come near me.
It’s the morning after our wedding now, and I’m spending it moving out of my tiny apartment and into a house where I’ll forever get lost.
“Is that the last of it?” Lya pants, throwing my remaining clothes into a box.
“Yeah, I think so. I don’t have much.”
“A whole U-haul full isn’t much?” Zep snarks, grabbing the last box. He’s barely even breaking a sweat, while I feel like my lungs are about to combust.
“It’s a small truck, you ass.” Playfully pushing his shoulder, I roll my eyes. Why am I friends with this jackass?
“Tara,” Lya huffs, grabbing my shoulders so I can look into her eyes. “You sure about this?” It’s a question she’s been asking me over and over again. The same question I’ve been asking myself. It’s not like I can change it now, but it still lingers on my mind.
As far as I can tell, Marnix is nothing like Zayan. So I think I’ll be safe. I might be moving in with him, but the house is so big, I’ll probably never even see him.
“I’m fine, Lya. I know you’ll be stalking me anyway, like the creep you are. So if I’m not okay, you’ll be the first to know,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.
She forcefully pulls me against her, crushing my body as she wraps me in a hug. “You’re damn right I’ll be stalking your ass. You’re my bitch, my bestie, and I’ll kill him if he hurts you. I just love you so much. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
Too late.
“If you hold me any tighter, I think your men might get a little jealous,” I tease, but she pins me with a look. “I love you too, ya hoe. Now let’s get this over with.” I squeeze her tighter before letting go. This situation is getting too emotional and I can’t handle much more of it.
Thiago, Rian, and Zep have the last boxes in their arms as we all head out the door. I pause in the hall, turning to lock up behind me. I’ve lived in this apartment since the day I graduated college, and it’s been my place of comfort. The place I’ve made both good and bad memories in. This is a bittersweet moment, leaving it all behind.
My fingers trace the gold ‘4D’ on the door as I reminisce about how excited I was years ago, being able to afford this little trash dump of an apartment. When I first moved in, the whole building was falling apart, but I was proud of the place because it was mine. The building was eventually renovated, making it a little nicer, but nothing compared to where I’ll be moving to.
I worked hard to live here. No one handed it to me, no one helped me. It was something I did on my own with pride.
Now I feel like I’m giving it all up just so Marnix Taylor can keep up appearances. It makes sense—we’re married now; of course we should be living together.
But why am I the only one giving anything up? Will he ever compromise at all over this next year?
I have a feeling Marnix would disagree with that. He’d argue he’s giving up his freedom, privacy, and reputation. I’m sure he thinks marrying me is tarnishing his name a little.
Thinking about him puts a sour taste in my mouth. I haven’t seen him since he stormed out of the office last night, leaving me half naked and confused. He kissed me like his life depended on it, then in the blink of an eye he was back to being the cold jackass I’m used to.
I eventually got my top back on and headed back to the reception after fixing my makeup, but he was nowhere to be found. By that time, the party was dying down, so I just told people he had to take an important call that couldn’t wait. A shitty excuse, but everyone who knows Marnix bought it, since he’s apparently a workaholic.
“Ready, Tar?” Thiago’s rich voice pulls me from my thoughts.
I nod, turning my attention to the four sets of eyes staring at me. This is it. I’m officially leaving my old life behind. “Let’s go.”
We head toward the staircase—not trusting the elevator in this building to be up to code—and make our way down. They might have fixed this place up compared to the dump it used to be, but it’s still not perfect.
