4

EVIE

I was still standing by the window until early evening when I saw his car drive back into the manor.

It’s been a week of being here, ignored. I haven’t set eyes on him except when he’s leaving in the morning or at night. Margaret came every morning by 9 to drop my breakfast, by 1 p.m. to drop my lunch, and by 9 p.m. to drop my dinner.

It had become a norm for me that once the clock struck that hour, I opened the door, waiting for her.

Our conversation had always been the same — drop the meal, take the previous dish, me saying thank you, and her offering a warm smile.

Is this the punishment for the crime? It would be relieving if I had the freedom to even roam the house, not to mention step out. I missed Patricia so much, and I know she’d be dying to reach out to me.

Today was different anyway, because even while I stood by the window, my door opened and I turned quickly. Nobody ever did that.

It was him.

“Evie,” he called with a gentle smile. The way he called my name, it felt so… Focus! I mentally scolded myself.

I simply stared on without saying anything.

“Let’s have a chat,” he announced, letting himself into the room. He pulled the only chair in the room and sat in it, staring at me. Suddenly, I felt like prey being watched by a predator.

But I composed myself, hiding my fear. “What about?”

He put his hand inside his jacket and brought out a single paper. Then he passed it to me. “Go through this and give me an answer. Now.”

Scowling, I took the paper from his hand. The heading alone made me nearly go mad. A marriage contract? “I’m sorry, what do you take me for? First, you kidnap me and punish me for a crime I know nothing of, and now you want to make it worse by—”

I paused as my eyes landed on the terms. I’d get everything I need and want. He would play the role of a husband in fulfilling my needs, and in return, I only had to do what he said with no objections.

“I’m waiting,” he urged, tilting his head to the side with that same devilish smirk that never left his face.

“The terms are not fair,” I whispered. “It’s almost like you’re the one benefiting from everything, and I get nothing. Because the one thing I really want, you can’t give it to me.”

“Which is?”

“Freedom,” I replied. “I want freedom. I want to be away from everyone who has done me bad.”

He chuckled. “Evie, you have to know there’s no such thing as freedom in this life. Besides, why leave for the ones who hurt you when you can hurt them back and get revenge?”

Revenge? I never thought of that. I stared at the paper in my hand. “Can I add a few things to this?” I asked.

He nodded with a light shrug.

“Will you let me go anywhere I want to?” I asked.

“Well, going out is not the problem. The problem is that, as my wife, you cannot just step out like that. You’ll be driven around in a flashy car, and you’ll have security around you all the time.”

“Isn’t that a prison too?” I asked, feeling down already.

He shook his head and stood up, walking towards me. With a finger placed beneath my chin, he lifted my gaze to meet his, then leaned downward towards me as if he wanted to kiss me. My breath hitched in my throat.

“No, wife, it is not. It’s rather because I have too many enemies, and I don’t want my wife to suddenly be attacked, kidnapped, and taken to a place I don’t know.”

“We’re not married yet,” I whispered.

He grinned and brought his lips even closer to mine. My heart stopped for a moment, and somewhere, I was anticipating the feeling of those lips on mine. The way they moved when he talked, the way they curled up into his signature devilish smirk, and the way they parted when he grinned, revealing pearly white teeth.

I somehow wanted to know how they’d feel against my lips too.

As if he could read my mind, he brushed his lips against mine for a brief second. I didn’t know when or how my eyes closed, but I waited, and waited, and nothing happened.

I opened my eyes and noticed that he had moved his face away and was staring at me.

Fool, I cursed myself inwardly. You just melted before him.

“Seems like you wanted more,” he teased. “And you can have all of that. Just say yes and sign the damn contract. I can’t kiss a woman who’s not my wife.”

As he spoke, he reached into his jacket, took out a pen, and handed it to me.

As I signed the paper, I told him softly, “I’m going to need a phone. I need to reach out to my friend and let her know I’m fine. Also, we won’t sleep in the same bed, and the marriage is only for show. I won’t do anything illegal for you, and I won’t sleep with you. I didn’t keep my virginity all this while just to give it to a monster I just met.”

“Ouch, babe.” He held his chest dramatically. “Monster isn’t a sweet name for your husband. Unless you’re talking about…” He gestured to his crotch area. “But then, you haven’t seen it, so you can’t know what it looks like.”

I felt my face burn hot due to his shamelessness. “Don’t utter such shameless words,” I mumbled.

But even as I scolded him, a part of me wanted to see what it looked like. And that same part asked me a question.

Was it worth keeping my virginity anymore? I’ve been saving it for my husband, and now I have one. Does love even mean anything? Ryan loved me but slept with Camille. So did Ethan, and Jose, and Michael.

I opened my mouth to call his name and remembered I didn’t know his name. Then I glanced at the contract. Gammon. That name.

My head burned instantly, and I shut my eyes. The past — the flashes of the fire. I grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling at it, hoping to suppress the pain in my brain.

“Evie? Are you okay?”

It didn’t help, and soon I broke out in sweats again, and I didn’t know when I started screaming.

“Evie, hey!” He grabbed my shoulders, opened my fists, and put my hands down. “What’s the matter?”

“Hurts,” I cried. “Take it away.”

He held my face gently. “I don’t know what to do…” His voice sounded a little too soft. Is he worried about me?

But the pain came even stronger, and I screamed even louder. However, my scream got muffled as I felt his lips crash into mine, absorbing all the pain.

Surprisingly, the pain stopped instantly, and relief washed over me.

The kiss, however, did not stop. His one hand slipped to the back of my neck, and the other one went down to my lower back.

And my arms? They — on their own accord — wrapped around his neck.

The kiss was something I had never expected, but it caused fireworks to explode inside of me. And the tiny naughty part of me whispered, claim him now.