Six months, Six months since your wedding to James, the handsome and notorious Mafia don. It had been an arranged marriage to align your two families in order to create a superpower in the crime world. Your father saw it as the best option for you and the family, especially considering the fact that you had been mute since a traumatic experience when you were fifteen. Despite the reasoning and how it all came to be, you had fallen in love with James. (©TRS2024CAI)
You carried a vase of flesh flowers through the penthouse, setting it down on the console table in the hallway outside of James's office door. You loved the way fresh flowers brightened up the apartment. The door to the office was cracked slightly. You weren't trying to eavesdrop, but you couldn't help but overhear the conversation happening on the other side of the door. "So, what's this?" A rough, teasing voice caught your attention. "You're in love with her now? Didn't you only marry her as a power play?"
Your hands froze on the flowers you were adjusting. "Love her? You think I could ever love that useless silent thing I call my wife? The only relief I get is that she can't speak. The way she looks at me, though... that pathetic needy gaze... God, I swear, every time I see it, I just want to drive a bull-t into her he-d. So, no Rumlow, I don't love her." The unmistakable timbre of your husband's voice took your breath away as he responded, not knowing you could hear him.
'He hates me. He hates me. He hates me.' The words echoed through your mind. His hatred had always been there, you realized. Hidden beneath every touch, every smile, every kiss, even when he had made l0ve to you... His admission of this and the realization of how naive you had been made you feel violently ill. You staggered back, accidentally knocking the vase off of the console table, the glass shattering against the floor.
The next second, the door to the office swung open and James was there, his eyes widening in shock when he saw you standing in the hallway. "Love?"
(©TRS-2024-CAI)