UNCOVERED INTENTION

ROWAN’S POV

“What the hell,” I thought to myself as I saw my dad warmly greeting Mrs. Piper.

The fact that he greeted her first without acknowledging me seemed so… deliberate.

I didn’t even understand it. His eyes were glued to her like she was some rare artwork he’d been dying to collect.

I know Piper wasn’t my wife, my choice, but somehow she already is and I didn’t know if it would last forever, so whatever this stuff was , it was making me uneasy.

“How are you, our dear Mrs. Piper Archer” he asked, his voice light and charming, laced with a tinge of something that made my jaw clench.

Piper offered a soft, cautious smile, clearly taken aback by the sudden display of familiarity. She gave a curt nod, clutching her handbag a little tighter against her side.

“I’m… fine, sir.”

Sir? She still called him that. Good.

“You look exquisite, my dear. Marriage suits you,” he continued, his tone velvet-smooth.

The man was never without an agenda.

Every word from his mouth always meant more than it sounded.

I stepped forward, clearing my throat.

“Dad,” I said stiffly.

He finally glanced at me, a thin smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Ah, Rowan. There you are.”

“There I am?” I echoed with a hard laugh.

“Nice to know I still exist.”

He chuckled, unaffected. “Of course you do. But I figured I’d greet your lovely wife first—after all, she’s the new blood in the house now, isn’t she?”

My fists clenched at my sides. Piper shot me a brief look, confusion flickering across her features. The tension in the air was thick enough to slice with a blade.

“Mrs Archer,” he said while scrutinizing her looks from head to toe.

“You need to get proper clothes lady, you are now one of us, you should look more classy” he said before boring his eyes into mine.

“Didn’t you think of getting your wife clothes, young man”

But I was just there staring at him wondering. “Hope this man don’t want to use this girl as his daughter and forget me as his son”

“I thought you were trained better than this” his voice said, jolting me back to reality.

“I already planned on doing that “ I said as Piper looked at me with scornful eyes.

I feel she figured out I was lying.

Ruben straightened his sleeves, glancing at the large gold watch on his wrist. “I just came to check in. I’ll leave you two lovebirds to settle in.”

“Check in?” I raised a brow.

He turned toward Piper, ignoring my question. “Piper dear, I’d love to have a short word before I go. Business talk—if you don’t mind.”

I could feel my patience snapping strand by strand.

Piper blinked. “Sure, I guess.”

They stepped off into the adjoining lounge while I remained rooted to the marble floor, watching them like a hawk through the cracked door.

Their voices were muffled, but their posture told a different story. My father leaned in closer than necessary. His voice, smooth and persuasive. Hers, soft but cautious.

Every now and then, she nodded slowly, like she didn’t know how to respond to whatever he was saying.

I couldn’t breathe properly. My pulse beat in my ears.

It didn’t take long, maybe ten minutes—before they emerged again. Ruben, smug as ever. Piper, unreadable.

“Well then,” he said with a clap of his hands, brushing invisible lint off his coat. “Pleasure, as always.”

He patted me on the shoulder, but his eyes didn’t meet mine.

I didn’t speak.

He walked out with that same annoying self-assurance, his cologne lingering in the hallway like an unwanted ghost.

As the door shut behind him, silence filled the air.

Piper began heading toward the staircase, but I caught up with her.

“How’s your head?” I asked flatly.

She paused and turned to face me slowly, one brow raised. “Why are you asking like you care?”

Her words pierced sharper than expected.

I scoffed, folding my arms. “Because I’m not in the mood to be charged for manslaughter if you faint and break your neck around here.”

Her jaw tightened. “Wow. Charming as ever.”

I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice. “Don’t pretend you want my concern, Piper. You’ve made it clear I’m the villain in your little fairytale. So don’t act surprised when I wear the cape proudly.”

“And you think that makes you powerful?” she hissed. “Insulting me every time I breathe? You think that makes you immune to guilt for what you’ve done to my life?”

I tilted my head. “No. It makes me honest. Something your father clearly wasn’t when he auctioned you off to me.”

She flinched. A flicker of hurt flashed through her eyes before she masked it with sarcasm.

“You’re impossible.”

“And yet, you still manage to look me in the eye,” I muttered, brushing past her as I ascended the stairs.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling. My father. That conversation. Her unreadable face.

The suspicion sat in my gut like a rotten stone.

Climbing up the stairs I decided to go greet my dad, telling him how the day went well.

“That's good,” he said as he continued munching on his peas.

“This marriage stuff with Piper, is it going to be forever ?” I asked as my dad continued munching without answering and I was already losing my patience.

“I know you need me to get married, but I fall in love with another , I might get married to her”

“Ah ah !!!!!!” He burst out laughing as I looked at him in surprise.

“Fall in love?, man you are married not in a relationship, let it stick to your head son “

“Doesn’t really matter dad , anything could happen, people divorce, people remarry “

“That would not happen !!”

“ It can!”

“Well let’s see if it truly can “ he said as he focused on what he was doing.

“Goodnight Dad, I said closing the door gently”

I got to our shared room first, the door half-closed. I opened it, only to freeze in place.

There, standing by the large mirror, was Piper.

Her back was to me, but her bare skin glowed under the low light. Her auburn hair was piled lazily on top of her head, and her curves were enough to test every restraint I had.

She was completely naked……