Kiss me in the crossfire

Annika’s POV

Ares might as well not be present, because even if he is right next to me, his eyes haven't left the Armani watch on his wrist for the past hour. I should ask if he is expecting something.

Or someone.

But I know very well how that will end. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Brooker," someone chimes from the small crowd at the gala. Automatically, I lift my hand to arrange my hair. Ares has said it time without number that he hates it when his friends see me in any condition that is less than perfect.

“Hi,” Ares murmurs, stretching out a hand for a shake. I just stand like a doll beside him, flashing my teeth in the dim light. He likes that too. I should be seen and not heard.

"It's nice what you're doing in the investment sector," the person continues, and I zone out of the conversation immediately. My eyes filter through the growing crowd, searching for any familiar face but turning up empty.

I shouldn't have even bothered. Ares doesn't let me keep friends in his world, and the one person in the world who understands me isn't here right now.

Vivienne. 

Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen her in a couple of days. I should check up on her.

“Right, Mrs. Brooker?” 

I jump when I hear my name suddenly, staring in confusion at the man who has been talking to my husband. 

“Sorry, you were saying?”

“It’s nice chatting with you, Spencer,” my husband cuts in at once, going in for the second handshake that always signals the end of the conversation. I see his jaw harden and his eyes grow cold. I should have said something more intelligent than ‘Sorry, you were saying?’ 

Now, I am going to suffer for it.

I count to ten in my head, sucking in a breath when Ares’ hand wraps around my waist with such force that I am sure it will leave bruises on my delicate skin. I don’t argue as he pulls me with him out of the halls, even smiling as wide as I can to everyone that looks our way.

A Brooker is always perfect, and I cannot be any different. 

“Ares….” I begin to say when we reach the parking lot, but he cuts me off with one fierce look. 

"What do you think you were trying to do in there?" His voice comes out in a harsh whisper, and automatically, I take a step away from him.

Ares has never raised his hands against me, but what he does is much worse. 

“I…”

"Do you know how long I have been pitching my proposal to that man who probably thinks I have a dumb woman for a wife?"

“I zoned out,” I murmur, my eyes glistening under the dark skies. “I didn’t know what you were both talking about and…”

"Of course, you didn't, Annika." He leans into me, his eyes dark and fierce. "I still ask myself why I married you when your brain is as empty as a child's. You should be lucky that our wedding was a public affair because I would never have brought you out here on my arms."

“Ares…”

“And Annika, you are not some fucking arm candy.”

I want to tell him that it doesn’t matter if I am here with him, because the whole of Hampton probably knows that I am just the figurehead wife, and that he has a bunch of ladies at his disposal.

They probably laugh at me each time they meet up. They laugh at the wife who was unfortunate enough to end up with Ares Brooker. 

I thought I knew him. I thought I was in love with him.

The day he asked me to marry him was the happiest day of my life. I had never gone out with a man before, and the first person that looked my way was one who looked like a god and smelt like one.

But I should have known that gods didn’t exist. 

“Ares,” a sultry tone floats in from the dark. I swallow and try to press down my hair again before the new arrival resurfaces, but my hand hangs in mid-air when she walks out.

Tall, with endless legs and blue eyes that light up the night. Her blonde hair is all around her in layered waves, and her dress could probably have covered more.

Is this what Ares likes? Should I be this for him to get his attention?

“Hey,” he answers, motioning her forward with a finger. “What took you so long?”

"I had to look good for you," she breathes, and then her eyes rest on me. A light chuckle escapes her lips, bruising every part of me. 

“Were you trying to look pretty for me, Annika?” she drawls, a smug look on her face.

My hand drops to my side, and I take in a slow breath to stop myself from doing anything that will get me in trouble.

“Aww," she murmurs, placing her perfectly manicured nails on her lips. "Poor baby. You probably thought that was someone from Ares' office, right? Look at you trying to act all proper, but you should know that nothing you do about your hair will make you look any better."

I look to Ares for help, her words slicing me. But he only puts a hand around her waist. The same hand that held me only a few minutes ago. 

“You shouldn’t waste a breath on her,” he says, then snaps his finger at one of his men, always around just in case he is needed.

“Take my wife home, and ensure she goes nowhere.”

He nods and steps in beside me, leading me to Ares’ other car. I don’t flinch as I turn around, even though I feel like my whole world is collapsing all around me. I should be used to this already. It has been happening for three years now.

But can anyone get used to this life?

I suck in a sharp breath when I feel someone watching me from a pillar at one corner. But when I look, all I see is a blur of a tuxedo. 

I'm mere inches away from the car when I feel the eyes again. Ares' man holds the door open for me, and I get in.  

And then, he steps into the light, his eyes locked on mine.

“Annika?”

The door slams in front of me.