Chapter elevenKathleen was just coming out of the shower, her body still wet and droplets of water falling from her hair. She was in the process of drying it when Derek walked suddenly walked in, she shrieked, losing her balance, in a flash, he caught her before she hit the floor, her side eyes stared into his and her mouth parted in shock, Derek was drawn to her, his bride was indeed very beautiful, she quickly moved away from his hold, "how dare you startle me like that"Derek raised his brow trying to hide his sudden attraction to her, "should I remind you that this is also my room?""Oh, you definitely need to remind me because I've been the only one staying here since we got married" she snapped and he smirked, moving closer to her, too close for her comfort, his blue eyes danced, "I see my wife misses me" he put his hand on her cheek but she slapped it away, "in your dreams"She moved away from his closeness before he would notice how his nearne

Chapter thirteenDerek frowned, so she was the lady arranged for him by his mom, his eyes traveled down her frame, not bad, good looking but what was she doing here? No doubt his mother must be behind this, he wondered what she was up to, "what are you doing here?" He demanded and she gestured inside, "can we talk inside? Or do you want more press confrontation". Derek eyed her for a moment before paving way for her to enter the house." so, we are inside, can you now tell me why you're here?"She sat down and crossed her legs slowly and seductively, her gaze inviting, Derek's eyes followed the movement."Can I get something to drink at least?" Derek felt impatience with her but kept his cool as he brought out a glass and a bottle of wine, he made attempt to pour out the drink but she stopped him, "won't you drink with me, it the least you can do for ditching me" Derek made no reply as he simply went to get another glass for himself, she had already op

Derek entered the room to see Kathleen already set for bed, she didn't say anything to him when he entered and he wondered what was going through her mind, he quickly took a shower and climbed the king-sized bed, she was lying with her back to him and he laid down, facing the other side so that they were lying back to back. This was the first time he was sleeping at home since their marriage, he knew he had hurt her with his action, but she shouldn't expect anything from him, this marriage was a sham from the beginning and he was starting to think he had made a huge mistake in agreeing to marry her, he wasn't fit to be a husband to someone, he would just end up hurting her, perhaps he should tell her he can't do this anymore, he turned to his side, facing her back, she looked so soft and he fought the urge to run his hands down her smooth skin, he wondered what must have prompted her to flee on her wedding day and getting married to a total stranger for protection, no, she had come

Derek opened his eyes the next morning, he tried to sit up but the exploding pain he felt had him falling back to the bed, he groaned aloud holding his head."That's what you get for drinking too much, the aftereffect is always bad" Kathleen came in carrying a tray, the smell of freshly made coffee filled the room, she helped him up with a hand underneath his head,  "here drink this" she gave him the coffee which he drank with relish, " thanks" he handed the cup back to her when he was through, " you could have sent the maid to bring it" he avoided making eye contact with her, he knew he must look a mess right now, he touched his swollen cheek, served him right, he thought as he winced at the pain, she said nothing, she simply removed his hand and placed some ice pack on it, "ouch" he winced again trying to move his face away."Be still, you didn't think of the pain when you involved yourself in a fight, what were you thinking?" Her sharp tone had him sitting still li

Derek's yell made heads turned towards their direction and Kathleen felt like the ground should open and swallow her to save her from this embarrassment, she felt like running away but before she could put those thoughts into action, Derek grabbed her hand, as if he knew exactly what she had planned to do.Christine didn't waver at his tone, she kept her smile in place and repeated, "congratulations"Derek tone lowered but not less deadly, "I asked what you are doing here" he repeated, Kathleen was also wondering what she was doing here, Christine turned to the guests, "attention everyone, I have something to say"  Derek's eyes narrowed on her as he wondered what she was up to, Kathleen tried to remove her hand from his grasp but he just held on tighter, he looked at her briefly, "I won't allow you go anywhere, you'll mark your place in my life publicly, don't worry about her, I'll handle it"Did she hear him right? He wanted her to mark her place in his life? Sh