15. Chapter 15
Chapter 15
-Kace-
M y wife was quite sweet—a bit na?ve, though. However, maybe it wasn’t so weird since she had never realized what went on behind her back, or maybe she had just had that much faith in Zac. Yet there was still much for her to learn. Not even blood or business guaranteed allies.
“He doesn’t have to do it directly to me,” I explained. “Nor does your family.”
“I don’t understand,” she admitted.
“You can be the primary target, but it can affect me too. It can be so subtle that I wouldn’t be unable to say anything,” I continued.
“No, I'm not following.”
“Let’s say at the dinner they bring up our marriage and ask us about how it is going,” I began.
“They most likely will,” she said. “I know why they are coming here. To see how miserable I am.”
“Yes, but let’s say we proved to them that it’s not that bad and that we work well together. Wouldn’t joking about former boyfriends, asking if I perform as well as them, be the best way to ruin things in our marriage?” I pointed out.
“And when you say… perform?” she asked, nervous about asking the question.
“In bed, or maybe even outside it,” I teased with a little smile.
“Oh…”
“It can be a clever way to try to get to us. They might even ask me if I treat you as well as they did, then give me tips, using your old relationships for comparison. Or maybe you confessed something to them. Something very private, and they will bring that up to undermine me again, making me feel like I will never be a good enough husband. And they can do it very subtly. You know our world, and it is best to be prepared. Let nothing be able to get to you,” I explained.
“Nothing…” she repeated, as if mulling over the word.
“Yes, think of it as a business,” I advised.
“Is that how you think of people?” she asked.
“Most of the time.”
Annabella seemed shocked that I could think of interactions this way, but why not? People were fake in our world.
“That’s so cold,” she accused.
“It’s protection,” I corrected.
“From the world?”
“Yeah, why not? Do you not wish you could have looked all those people in the eyes who gossiped about you and told them to go fuck themselves?” I asked.
Annabella thought about it, then she began nodding. That was exactly what she wanted to do.
“So, boyfriends.” I went back to the former subject.
“Oh, eh…” she stammered.
“I should be prepared.”
“Yeah, it makes sense.”
“Any of them performed very well or did something extraordinary for you?” I asked her. “Were you close to marrying one of them? Or were they all paling in comparison to Zac? Were they just a distraction?” I inquired.
“A distraction?” she echoed.
“Yes. Should I expect a question or a remark about being beneath him?” I asked.
“I hope not,” she murmured.
“Okay, but then what about those boyfriends? Should I outperform them?” I chuckled.
“What?” she exclaimed.
“What?” I asked.
“No!”
“I was just teasing you,” I said and saw her cheeks grow even redder. “Come on, we should prepare, right?”
“Yeah…” she whispered.
“So boyfriends?” How many times did I have to repeat myself? Why was Annabella so reluctant to answer? Did she find it awkward? It was not like I was very interested in hearing about her former boyfriends, but I was her husband now.
“Yeah, um...” she began.
“What?” I asked.
“We might not have to worry about that,” she confessed.
“Why not? Were they all bad in bed?” I asked teasingly.
“They weren’t there.”
“Huh?” Her words made me feel very confused. How could her boyfriends not be in her bed? “That makes no sense.”
“It does… if it is because I have never had one,” she admitted.
I stared at Annabella, blinking fast, and she looked down, fiddling with the friendship ring, unable to meet my eyes.
“Sorry?” I pressed.
“Yeah, no boyfriends, so don’t worry…” she assured me.
“You never had a boyfriend?”
“I have never been asked on a date…” she whispered, still not meeting my eyes.
“No? Why not?” I inquired.
“There was my sister instead, and, eh… I sort of… liked someone else.”
“Shit, how long have you been in love with him?” I asked.
“Pretty much all my life,” she admitted. “And now it seems those rumors about me probably started long ago, so no wonder no one asked me on a date.”
“Jesus,” I sighed and leaned to the side, running a finger over my chin as I studied my wife. She was becoming an even bigger enigma than I first thought, and I was so interested in figuring out all these small hidden secrets about her.
“Yeah, lucky me…” she murmured.
“How about non-relationships?” I asked.
“You mean hookups?”
“Hookups, situationships, being played,” I listed.
“Not… really,” she said.
“Not really? Or at all?”
She continued to find other interesting spots to focus on, and I knew I was pressing her, but something important was becoming clear to me.
“Not… at all,” she told me.
I remained silent for a few seconds before I placed my folded hands on the edge of the table, studying my sweet wife on the other side.
“Annabella?” I called. It took a moment, then she looked at me again, her eyes already telling me what I needed to know, and they were almost pleading with me not to ask, but I wanted answers.
“Have you ever slept with anyone?” I inquired.
Her eyes sought the ring in front of her, which told me all I needed to know. Was my wife really a virgin? How long ago was it since I slept with one? I couldn’t remember! Now my wife was one? There was nothing wrong with that, but I needed to know how far I could push her and what to expect if we really took that step forward.
“I…” she began.
“Answer my question,” I commanded her, and she looked at me for a tiny moment, but then she averted her gaze once more. “Annabella!”
“Why do I have to? You know the answer!” she snapped at me.
“Yeah, but I would like to hear the words come from you.”
She turned her head, and her eyes carried clear anger. It made me feel perplexed, as I did not understand where it was coming from.
“So you can make fun of me for that too? So you can realize how pathetic I am for pining after Zac?” she questioned, expecting exactly that to happen. What had people subjected her to?
“Annabella, that is not what I'm trying to do,” I explained to her.
“No?”
“No, but if we are to take that step forward, you and me, wouldn’t it be nice if I took my time with you?”