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"Maybe too much. Thanks to him, most of the boys kept away from me. Everyone but one, that is."
A weird look comes into her eyes. Guilt? Or remorse, maybe? Then it’s gone, and once more, she is Zara Chopra, superwoman. "It’s why I had to fight extra strong to be heard. Maybe that’s why I still fight so hard to stand out. Maybe that’s why I’m constantly testing the limits imposed on me."
The housekeeper arrives with a cup of coffee and places it on the table next to the food.
"Thank you…" I blink. "What’s your name again?"
She gapes at me as if I asked her to give up her firstborn.
"Umm, you okay?"
She jerks her head up and down in a rapid movement. "Yes, Madam. It’s just, you asked me my name."
"So?" I frown.
"He’s never asked me for my name."
"You mean Liam?"
She nods again.
I exchange glances with Zara, then turn to the housekeeper. "And how long have you been working here?"
"Two years, Madam."
"Two years, and he never asked you for your name?" I stare.
"N-no, Madam." She glances from me to Zara, then back to me. "Uh, please don’t tell him I said that."
"Of course, not. This stays between us girls." Zara slants me another look. "Doesn’t it, Isla?"
"Yes, of course—" I tilt my head.
"Oh, it’s Malory, Madam." The housekeeper pats the back of her silver-streaked bun.
"Thank you, Malory." I flash her a smile.
Malory all but blooms under the attention. "Thank you, Madam." She half-curtsies to me.
"Oh, and please call me Isla. And you don’t need to" —I wave a hand in her direction— "bow and stuff. I’m not royalty."
She blinks, then dips her head again. "As you wish, Madam." She walks away.
"Jeez, was that surreal or what?" I murmur as I walk over to take a seat beside the coffee table. "To think, I didn’t ask her name earlier. It’s the first thing I should have done."
"You’ll learn." She takes a sip of her coffee.
"Hopefully not. I don’t plan to be here much longer."
"What? Why?" She sets down her cup. "Wasn’t the honeymoon everything you wanted it to be? I thought it was too short, but figured he had to be back at work. But maybe I thought wrong? Maybe you guys returned because you had a fight?"
"Nothing like that. Quite the opposite. He’s everything I thought he was. No, he’s much more than I thought he’d be. He didn’t put a foot wrong. He was tender and caring, and has a way with words that’s almost as good as the way he—" I firm my lips.
"Almost as good as the way he fucks?" She smiles widely.
Color flushes my cheeks. Which is really strange. I’m not a prude. Okay, so maybe I’ve never come as hard as I did around Liam’s dick, but I’ve had my share of boyfriends. And I’m totally cool with discussing details of my sexual life with my friends. It’s just, with Liam it feels wrong. Things are too new, too raw, too intimate, too personal… So personal and so invasive, I made sure to piss him off enough that when I finally leave, he won’t be too surprised.
"So what’s the problem?" She peers into my face. "If he makes you happy, and from what I’m reading in your eyes, he does, why do you think you need to leave."
