6. TWO PEAS IN MY POD

ARIA

“ROWAN?”

I whispered my husband's name, tears leaking from my eyes from the betrayal.

Rowan turned and saw my face, but he kept thrusting into Zara who moaned aloud as she came.

Immediately, Rowan came too, shaking in ecstasy in a way he never had, with me.

I was so stunned I couldn't move from the door. They caught their breathe, Zara grinning evilly from the bed.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” Rowana barked at me when they were done. “You uncultured slut! Didn't your parents teach you any better?”

My heart shattered at the cold words. “Rowan? You're cheating on me with my sister?”

Zara kissed the woman on the bed and siddled over to Rowan, pulling a robe over her naked body.

She rolled her eyes as she smirked. “Oh no, I think you're getting it wrong, ugly sister. Rowan was cheating on me with you!”

I frowned, my head stabbing painfully at hearing those vindictive words from my sister's lips. “Rowan is my husband, how dare you claim to be right?”

Rowan shoved me outside and stepped out with Zara. He berated me in a loud voice. “Oh please, Aria. Stop being so fucking dramatic. You're not daft enough to believe I married you because I loved you, are you?”

Zara smiled at his words and coiled like a snake into his arms. “Exactly. You've never been his choice, you were only a replacement for me because of that ugly scar on your face.”

“Rowan please…”

Rowan interrupted me angrily. “You're a prude, you're useless as a wife, you can't even get pregnant. Sign the divorce papers and stop forcing yourself on me! You never would have done this threesome!”

He spat the words in my face and each one stabbed my chest as it landed.

“And yet you called me the slut when Zara is the whore after all!” I snapped at him, too riled up to care.

Rowan's eyes darkened hatefully as Zara gasped. She slapped me and lifted her hand to slap me again, but I held her hand and slapped her instead.

“Aria!”

Travis’s voice made me freeze. I let Zara's hand go as she subbed, leaning into Rowan whose face looked murderously angry.

“How dare you slap Zara on her birthday? Are you angry because she exposed you for the shameless woman you are?” Travis said angrily, dragging me away from Zara who cried even more.

What? It was Zara who had exposed that picture? My throat constricted as my eyes flashed at her. Of course it was her.

Zara ran into Travis’s arms. “I didn't mean to shame her. It was all a silly mistake. I was only going to show it to Rowan, but I sent it online by mistake!”

The vicious liar! I felt my fingers fist at my sides as Travis kissed her hair and soothed her. “You can stop crying. I will punish her myself for hitting you.”

Travis let her go and turned his wrath on me. He walked towards me and took my arm, fisting his fingers until I winced in serious pain.

“Travis! You're hurting me!” I cried as he dragged me out of the house and threw me into his car.

“Shut up!” He roared. “Keep quiet or I'll take out my wrath on you!”

He slammed the car door shut on my fingers without caring and I yelped as he started driving out of my parent's property.

My head swam as pain filled my body. I held my broken fingers as tears filled my eyes at all my afflictions.

Rowan had called me a slut, but I had never slept with another man for the five years I had been married to him.

Zara whom he loved, had slept with his friend, Damien but he had forgiven her and taken her back.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked him.

Travis scowled at me cold-heartedly. “You will come with me to pick up Zara's birthday dress. It is my birthday gift to her. You will take the dress to her and apologize for hitting her on her birthday. Do you understand?”

I nodded numbly, my eyes going dark suddenly as the pain overwhelmed me. I blinked until I felt steady again.

Travis reached the atelier where we were picking up the dress. As we walked inside, he kept space between us as though he was ashamed of me.

When I tried stepping into the elevator, he gave me a frosty look. “Get out. You are too fat, I'm sure using the stairs will be beneficial to you. When you're done, come to room 205.”

My jaw hung open at his words. What had happened to my brother? Travis would never have said something like that to me before all this.

I gulped at the hurtful words and started walking up the stairs. I had almost walked halfway when my head started swimming. I stopped, gasping as my vision went dark and I fell.

I tried clawing for a hold as I fell, but it was impossible. I thought I would fall to my death when a hand caught me.

I was pulled against a solid chest and I sputtered as his arms caught around my waist.

I looked up, breathing hard. My breathing stalled in my lung as I stared into Arctic gray eyes.

Sandalwood floated into my nose and I jerked back, embarrassed at my fall.

“You almost fainted there. You would have died if I didn't catch you.”

His voice was deep like the ocean, but edged with harshness as if he didn't care to be bothered with me.

My breath caught, spine straightening instinctively, thighs tightening as my body obeyed before my mind could catch up.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to faint.” I wheezed, goosebumps spreading over my arms at the effect of his words.

He chuckled and handed me a bottle of water. “I'm sure you didn't mean to.”

He bumped my chin gently as he walked away. “Next time, be careful next time, pretty little doll. What's your name?”

“Aria.” I mumbled, looking at him from under my lashes.

“Such pretty eyes.” He murmured, tipping her chin up as she walked away.

I grasped the bottle of water as I hurried up the stairs to Travis, shuddering softly as his words rang in my head.

Pretty little doll.

No one had ever called me such a sweet name before and my heart, already starved for affection, was responding because it was thumping like it would beat its way out of my chest.

“You're so slow and lazy, Aria!” Travis said immediately he saw me. “I've been waiting here for almost five minutes.”

He already had the clothes and he made me carry it. Immediately we got home, I handed Zara the bag and went off to my room, still weak.

I needed to rest. But I had barely gotten into bed, when Zara yelled, followed immediately by Travis's voice calling me downstairs.

I rushed down the stairs, holding my head which was pounding heavily.

I rounded the stairs and almost ran into Travis who pushed me away from him.

Around him stood the guests who had arrived for Zara's birthday, and crying prettily in the middle of them was Zara, who was held by Rowan.

“She ruined my dress. I'm sure she didn't mean to really, but now I can't wear it.”

Rowan turned his icy eyes on me as the guests whispered and I felt a jarring sensation crawl up my back. Talia smirked at me.

What the hell had she done this time? I didn’t need to look to know I’d been set up again.