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I notice Hazel on the other side of the room and grimace. She came with her brother, and I have a feeling she’s not here to wish me well on my nuptials. The way she narrows her eyes when I meet her gaze only confirms it.
I haven’t seen her in two weeks. Not since she showed up at the mansion without being invited on the day that I met Calla. I know how it looked and I wasn’t opposed to Calla making assumptions about my relationship with Hazel at the time. I was willing to do anything to put some distance between myself and Calla.
I needed to do it. Because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to ignore the odd feeling of yearning swirling in my gut from being so close to her.
Calla is an amazingly beautiful woman, but it’s clear she doesn’t know it, nor does she capitalize on it. Her dark hair and crystal blue eyes make her striking, but it’s the innocence surrounding her that really gets to me.
Also, knowing her innocence was real and not some affectation, only made me want her more. I was shocked when Pavel talked about her virtue so openly and wanted to rip his arms from his body for it. I shoved those feelings and impulses away with all my might by focusing on my anger about being forced into a marriage I didn’t want.
I was so fucking confused because seeing Calla wear my ring, knowing she’s a virgin and that she would be living with me in my wing, even though it would be in a guest room, was fucking with my head in ways I never expected. I lashed out at her for all the wrong reasons and then I took advantage of the situation Hazel presented.
I might have carried Hazel out of the formal living room, but the moment we were alone in the hallway, I dropped my hands away from her body and gritted out through my teeth, “Let go of me.”
She did so reluctantly and looked up at me with a pout. I might have told her to let go of me, but she still ran her hands over my chest, trying to pull me closer to her. Her voice was breathy and unsure, “Who was that woman?”
I tipped my head back and let out a deep sigh. I did not want to talk to Hazel about the situation. “She’s my fiancé,” my voice was bland, even though part of me was jumping up and down with glee on the inside.
I just couldn’t let anyone see that.
Hazel ripped her hands away from my body like I was molten lava. Her voice took on a shrill quality which grated against my skin, “She’s your what?”
I tipped my head back down and glared at the woman in front of me. “You’ll be mindful of your tone, Hazel. I’ll be marrying her in two weeks. It’s all been arranged.”
I watched as emotions flitted across the face of the woman I had been hooking up with only days before. When her eyes cleared, she had a mischievous look of victory on her face like she had figured it all out. “Oh, it’s an arranged thing?”
I nodded slowly, unsure of where she was going with her question, but I saw no reason to lie to her about what was happening. I just didn’t mention there was a connection to my bride-to-be I was finding hard to ignore.
“Then it’s not real,” her voice dropped into a sultry place. Her tone would have had me taking her against the wall if theincessant nagging of knowing I had just put a ring on another woman’s finger wasn’t right there in my mind. “We can still have our fun.”
The way her eyes glittered while she looked at me told me how much she liked the idea of not only continuing to be in my bed, but to be my mistress. It was like a punch to the gut. I took a big step back from her which had her eyebrows pulling together in confusion.
All at once, I saw something in myself I didn’t like. I never pretended to be an honorable man, but to have a woman not even consider I would be faithful to my wife was like a slap to the face. I shook my head slowly.
“Hazel,” my voice was hard because I needed to draw clear lines, “I won’t be cheating on my wife. The marriage may not have been my choice, but that doesn’t mean I won’t honor it and my vows.”
Hazel’s shoulders dropped. “You’re not married yet,” she whispered, a plea in her voice I didn’t completely understand.
Hazel was always loud and boisterous, but it was obvious to anyone who wanted to look that it was mostly a front. I had been fucking her for a while, but it occurred to me I didn’t know much about her. She kept the conversation between us light and always focused on me. It fed my ego, and my heart sank as I realized what kind of man that made me.
“I won’t be cheating on my fiancé either,” I tried to soften my voice because it wasn’t her fault this was happening. It wasn’t mine either, but I wasn’t going to be that kind of man or husband.
“You can’t be serious,” she hissed. “I thought there was something between us.” An emotion flashed in her eyes, but itwas there and gone too quickly for me to figure out what it was. I knew Hazel wasn’t a bad person, but as her slightly hurt expression morphed into a sneer, I knew she would try to cause me problems. “Well, you had no problem with me wrapping myself around you before you carried me out of the room. I’m sure your fiancé,” she spit the word with so much venom it was hard not to flinch, “loved seeing that.”
She smirked, whirled around, and stomped off before I could say anything in response. She sure as fuck wasn’t wrong. In the last two weeks I haven’t explained to Calla that nothing happened, or will happen again, with Hazel. I’ve let it be the start of the wedge between us.
I’m sure the way I’ve treated her—with cold indifference—has only made the wedge grow larger. I don’t know what to do with the way I’m drawn to my wife. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Hell, I was never supposed to be forced into a marriage I had no say in.
I look over at Calla and watch as she takes a small step back from her brother even though the smile on her face is large and full of cheer. It’s fake as fuck because I can see the fear in her eyes.
It has me ignoring the way Hazel is staring me down while striding across the lavish ballroom where our reception is being held. The show is oppressive and I’m just about at the end of my rope with the whole thing.
When I get to Calla, she keeps her eyes on her brother who is eyeing her like a predator. I might not be sure if I trust Calla, but I sure as fuck don’t trust Pavel. There’s something sinister about him which has nothing to do with the business our families are in and everything to do with the man. He might be wearing an expensive suit, but nothing can change that he’s scum.
I wrap my arm around my wife’s waist and pull her to my side. She glances up at me with relief before she looks at her brother again. “Don’t worry, Pavel,” she keeps her voice soft, like she’s talking to a rabid animal. “I’ve been treated very well. I promise.”
Pavel looks down to where my hand is resting on the white satin covering my wife’s hip and narrows his eyes. I can see the hatred he has for me and my family when he meets my gaze. “Congratulations. Wishing the both of you all the happiness in the world.”
I could believe his words if there was a single bit of sincerity ringing in them. There isn’t. It’s also impossible to miss the formality he uses when addressing his own sister. It confuses me.
