Chapter Two

Annika’s POV

I have been unable to take the stranger’s face out of my mind for the past hour. I am back home in a space that really doesn’t feel like home, pacing the length of my room and trying to think about where I know that man from.

My eyes only landed on his features for a quick second, but there is something about him that teases my senses, almost like I have seen him before. 

And he knows my name.

The door opens in the distance, and I walk out of my bedroom. Ares loves his food fresh, so I haven't instructed the chef on what she is to make. 

But I should have just remained in my room, because the minute I step out, I resist the urge to roll my eyes or even get angry.

It is the girl from earlier, still clinging to Ares' arms like he is her oxygen. I can smell alcohol from where I stand, and I scrunch my nose, hoping Ares won't notice.

But the devil does instead. 

“What?” she scoffs, throwing her purse on the couch. “Annika, did you just scrunch your nose up in disgust at me?

My eyes move from her lean figure to Ares, but he totally ignores me, his hand slowly caressing the side of her face. “You look hot when you are angry,” he murmurs, then plants a peck on the side of her face before stalking away. 

“Ares!”

“Hey!” Her claws dig into my skin as she whips me around to face him. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Because I can do whatever I want to do in my home!”

Her hand lands on my face at once, and my head snaps to the side. It stings badly, and instinctively, I raise my hands as well, about hitting her too.

I halt when I see the look in her eyes. A mischievous glint is etched in her gaze as she folds her arms in front of her frame, silently daring me to do anything to hurt her.

“Come on,” she goads, nudging at my hand still suspended mid-air. “Hit me if you can.”

My hands curl into a fist before dropping limp at my side. 

“I thought as much,” she sneers, taking a step closer to me. I can feel her horrid breath on my face. “You see, the thing you don’t understand, which I think is dumb of you by the way, is that you are only living on borrowed time here.”

“You can’t…”

“I can and I will. Ares is only keeping you in his mansion because he pities you.” She angles her head and stares at me like I am a stray puppy recovered from the side of the road. 

"Soon, he is going to toss you out where you belong, and you will have nowhere else to go because your daddy doesn't even want you."

“I’m not going to waste a breath talking to you,” I murmur under my breath and turn around to leave, but she stops me again, pushing me to the ground in a thud.

“Arghhhh!"  A yelp escapes my lips as I try to soften my fall with my arm, but that only makes it worse. Pain shoots through my bones, and tears pierce the corners of my eyes.

I hear footsteps coming from the hallway, but before I know it, the bitch is on the floor too, screaming and writhing.

Ares appears and only takes in the scene in one flimsy second before stalking closer to us. He doesn’t rush to our aid. Instead, he looks at me accusingly. 

“What did you do, Annika?” Ares questions, positioning himself between me and her.

I shake my head exasperatedly, hoping that this time, he believes me. But hope has been nonexistent since I got married to Ares Brooker. "Nothing," I answer through clenched teeth. "She pushed me."

“And you want me to believe that.”

"Right!" His whore wails from behind him. A fake tear gushes from her eyes as she continues. "I was only going to ask her to show me where the restroom is, but she suddenly flipped out on me and hit me across the face."

“No!” I cry, reaching out to Ares, pleading for him to believe me. He moves out of the way, a slow step to the side to stop me from touching him. 

“Ares.” I look into his eyes, searching for the man I married all those years back. “I didn’t do anything to her, I swear. I was just…”

He raises his hand to stop me, then walks over to her. “Can you stand?”

She shakes her head. “I think I have broken a bone.” A tiny tear slides down from her eyes. Damn. She should get an Oscar for how great her acting is. 

And then, he looks at me. “Apologize right this minute before I lose it.”

“What?”

"Annika!" His voice echoes through the living room, and I tremble from the shock. I should apologize to this whore, who has done nothing but attack me all night?

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, knowing the other option is crueler. 

"I can't hear you, Annika," she says, a smug look in her eyes. "You were saying?"

My lips part for a second before they press shut again.

“Annika,” Ares begins to step forward menacingly. 

"I'm sorry," I scream, feeling something snap inside me. Humiliation washes through me as I gaze up at a satisfied look on her face. 

“I’ll get you to the hospital.” Ares lifts her off the ground in his arms easily and begins to walk to the door while she wraps her arms around his neck.

I try to move my feet, but another bout of pain washes through me. I think I might have sprained my ankle, but telling Ares is only bound to make things worse.

He’ll tell me I’m seeking attention. So what if I am? I am his wife for crying out loud.

I hear his feet halt at the doorway, one hand on the knob. He angles his head a fraction as he regards me on the ground.

"The housekeepers are going on a mandatory break from tonight, and they won't be back until the week is complete." He says it so calmly, like his next words won't break me from the inside. 

“Mandatory break? What about ….”

“That’s where you come in, Annika.” A twisted smile appears on his lips just as my eyes widen in surprise. Fresh tears start pouring down my face, but they might as well be smiles because Ares doesn’t even look at them twice. 

“You will be doing all the cooking and cleaning until I decide I have had enough.” And then, the smile grows even more sinister. “Of course, you surely didn’t think I would let you off the hook after you hurt my guest.”

The minute he leaves, I reach for my phone to call my best friend.