CHAPTER 9

It's been three days.

Seventy-two hours to be precise,since my wife last let food cross her lips..

Usually I wouldn't give a fuck about hers or anyone else's dietary needs but with an important event approaching,I can't risk her collapsing from starvation.it would be disastrous for my image

Said wife is on the other side of my massive kitchen staring daggers at me.if looks could kill I'll be long dead.

“If you've got something to say,just say it”I say,my focus still on the article about stocks I was reading

She simply ignores me,like she's been doing since our wedding night along with the trays of food I had asked my cook to send up to her room.

Instead,she heads to the refrigerator for a bottle of orange juice she takes every morning like some sort of ritual

“Don't bother”I take a bite of caesar salad “I ask Helen and Margaret to get rid of every single drop.Orange juice is officially banned from this mansion till further notice”

Slowly,she turns to face me,her lethal gaze pinning mine

“You what?”Her voice is dangerously calm, like the silence before a storm.

I finally glance up from my article,meeting her glare with deliberate indifference.“I banned it” I repeat, as if explaining the obvious to a child.

She looks like she’s seconds away from hauling some at my head “You had no right”she hisses “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Setting the article aside, I lean back in my chair “I’m your husband, Fiora…and as your husband, I have every right to make sure you don’t make a spectacle of yourself or me”

Her glare intensifies, slashing through me like a blade “You don’t own me.”

My lips curl into a slow, deliberate smile. “No? Let me remind you otherwise.”

Before she can react,I push back my chair and stand. She takes an immediate step back, but I’m faster. I kill the distance between us in long strides then grip her wrist tightly, leaving no room for escape.

“Let go of me”she yells,looking ready to burst into flames

Ignoring her protest,I guide her toward the dining table“You’re not leaving this room until you’ve eaten something”

She struggles, twisting against my hold, but I don't budge. With a quick maneuver, I sit down and place her on my lap. Her body stiffens.irritation radiates off her in waves,but I keep my arm securely around her waist,locking her in place.

Get off me!”her fists pounds against my chest.

I don’t flinch “Stop fighting,Fiora…You’re only making this harder for yourself.”

Reaching for the plate of Caesar salad on the table,I spear a piece of chicken with my fork and hold it up to her lips “Eat.”

She glares at the fork as though it’s an instrument of destruction,then shifts her fiery gaze back to me “I’d rather starve”

I smirk,tilting the fork slightly “Oh, you will eat, Fiora. Whether you do it willingly or I have to force every bite myself. The choice is yours.”

Her lips press into a thin line but I don’t waver, keeping the fork as close to her lips as possible

“Go to hell,” she scowls

“Been there. Didn’t care for it...Now open your mouth”

She exhales sharply,frustration lining her face but cracks were beginning to form in her resistance

After what feels like an eternity,she finally parts her lips.I slide the fork past her teeth,watching as she chews begrudgingly.

“There’s a good girl”Words I never thought I’d say. Especially to this particular girl

She scrunches up her face as if I’ve just forced poison down her throat“ugh,who the hell has caesar salad for breakfast?Ever heard of waffles or I don't know,pancakes?”

I don't indulge in sweets never had the urge to,I believe sweets are mind numbing and with the type of company I ran,I needed my brain functioning at its fullest capacity

My brow shoots up at the sarcasm in her voice “Those are nothing but sugar-laden fluffs,childish indulgences and empty calories”

A mocking smirk adornes her full lips“Do you even know how to enjoy life,or are you too busy counting calories and crushing people under your designer shoes?”

I don’t bother rising to the bait,simply spearing another piece of chicken with the fork“My life is perfectly fine.Now eat”

She narrows her eyes,drilling holes in my forehead

Once again,I lift the fork closer to her mouth“You can continue to eat this like the civilized woman you claim to be, or I’ll have Margeret puree it into a smoothie and feed you through a straw. Your choice”

She hesitates for a beat, probably weighing her option.Knowing fully well that she wasn't going to win against me,she decides to pick her battles and takes another bite

Her face squeezes into a dramatic grimace “Seriously though, you couldn’t come up with anything less depressing?”Her expression is comical at best and if I had a heart,It would have made me smile

I set the fork down for a moment, studying her with a calculated calm “I don’t indulge in sugary distractions,Fiora. Unlike you,I don’t need sweets to mask life’s realities.I need my mind sharp, and my body fueled..simple as that”

A scoff escapes her lips as she crosses her arms over her chest“And you think forcing your boring lifestyle on me is going to accomplish what? Gratitude? Respect? Newsflash,it’s not.”

I lean closer, her lavender scent trickling into my system “I don’t need your gratitude and I certainly don’t need your respect. What I need is for you to stop acting like a petulant child and do what’s necessary.”

Her eyes flashes with irritation“And what’s ‘necessary,’ according to you? Letting you control every aspect of my life until there’s nothing left of me?”

“Necessary,”my tone hardens“is ensuring you don’t sabotage everything I've built because of your stubbornness”

“Says the same person who waltzes into my easy going life and ruined everything”she huffs like a little child

She was really starting to annoy me now“it was your father who ruined mine in the first place.be thankful he's still alive”I focus my attention back to the article, putting an end to the stupid back and forth. I can’t decide who’s the bigger headache..her or her insufferable father.

Utter silence stretches between us for a beat

“Can I get up now?”

“Not until you've eating every single bite’”

Her jaw tightens as though she’s biting back a sharp retort and I resist the urge to roll my eyes..Even toddlers don't throw as much a fit when asked to eat food

If I thought my wife would just give up and eat the rest of the food in silence,I clearly underestimated her talent for dramatics

Instead,She shifts and stretches in my lap,pretending to search for a comfortable position, rubbing against my crotch.

In seconds, I'm hard,my cock pressing against Fiora's parted butt

I'm sure she can feel it because she freezes in place,a flush creeping up her neck

“Stop moving”I grunt,my voice thick with untapped desire

“Just trying to find a comfortable spot”

She tilts her head a bit to observe my reaction.Not detecting any,She takes a peep at the article in my hand “What are you reading?”

“Nothing you should worry your pretty little head about”

“I haven't seen a paper news article since 1985”

“You weren't alive in 1985”

She wiggles her butt once more.. stretching to take a better look at the article and I try not to lose my shit even though every fiber of my being wants me to get her on her knees and fill her mouth with my cock

“Concerns over inflation and central bank policies have continued to weigh on the market. Investors are closely monitoring economic data for signs of a slowdown, while ongoing geopolitical tensions add to the uncertainty”the words roll off her tongue so smoothly,I'm convinced my wife could make a fortune as a newscaster if she wasn't a complete waste of space

“Should have known you were reading about money..That's the only thing that can make an unfeeling monster like you hard”I can feel the heat of gaze on my skin

I slowly drag my face to stare at hers“Money isn't the one sitting on my lap now.Is it?”

The skin on her neck flushes and I am once again reminded that my wife,despite being infuriatingly stubborn and resilient, is also innocent.so delicate and crushable in the hands of a man like me

“Mr Kingsley,are you done with your breakfast?”A polite voice cuts through the tense atmosphere and like a knee jerk reaction,Fiora scrambles off my lap.The sudden movement sends a wave of cool air where her warmth had been.

Almost like the thought of being seen anywhere near me was something she couldn't tolerate

I shift my gaze just as a petite young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes steps into the kitchen.

Margaret pauses in the doorway, her gaze darting between us. Though her expression remains carefully neutral, there’s an unmistakable flicker of curiosity in her eyes “I'm sorry,did I interrupt?”

Rising to my feet I take a peep at my cartier..thirty minutes after eight.For the first time in a decade since I took over as the head of Kingsley & Co.,I was about to be late and it's all because of my insufferable wife “No Miss Hayes,I was just about to take my leave…Make sure you keep my wife out of trouble..if you’re successful,200k would be added to your salary”

“Not a problem sir”Margaret responds,my hand clasped neatly in front of her

“200k was enough to get you to betray me? Wow Margaret, just wow” I hear Fiora says has I exit the kitchen

“What? 200 grand is a lot of money..okay?”

Margaret replies with a defensive tone

My driver, Desmond,is standing outside, waiting for me at the front door beside my rolls Royce,the same way he does every morning

“Get me to work as quick as you can”i say to him as I descend the stairs two at a time.

“Hey jerk,Wait up”

Impatience churns within me as I turn to see my wife standing in the doorway,her body glued to the large mahogany door.

I take a moment to really look at her. Her unruly curls cascade around her face, and the golden rays of the sun catch in her eyes, turning them into a fiery, almost otherworldly green. They’re piercing,intense, like they could strip away every layer of my soul with a single glance

“What?”The word comes out a little harsher than I intended.Controlling my emotions has always been my biggest strength but all my self control seems to vanish whenever I'm around this spitfire of a woman

“I did what you asked,so lift the orange juice ban”

“And give you a reason not to eat regular food??Not going to happen,the orange juice ban stays” I say firmly,turning away and striding toward the car.

“You’re impossible!”She yells after me,but her voice fades into oblivion as the Rolls-Royce pulls away.