Wife Unwanted (Corrupt Vows #2)

Chapter 24

Thalia

I AM FALLING in love. I am falling in love with a man who hates me. That thought rang in my head as we sat down to eat our takeout after the failed risotto. It failed because you couldn't resist him. I no longer wanted to, anyway. When have I ever fully resisted him? I have always folded each time he initiated sex. Because anytime he paid me attention, every thought and action after that was determined by my pussy. But somehow today felt different. I didn't know how to explain it yet, but there was something about him I hadn't seen before till today.

I wonder how life would be like if we were like this every day? Would he love being with me all the time, or would he be against it? When I went to the bathroom to freshen up, I came back to see that Carey had ordered food from one of his restaurants, brought another bottle of wine, and sat up a picnic in the living room. He did all by himself, feeling ashamed for burning dinner. To be fair, we both burned it, but I was enjoying the care to protest. Whilst I was deep in my thoughts, enjoying the food, I felt Carey's gaze on me. I looked up from my plate and found him staring.

"Something on my nose?" I asked nervously.

He shook his head. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

He shook his head again. "Nothing."

A giggle bubbled out of me. "You can't just look at me like that and then say nothing."

"And how exactly was I looking at you?"

"Like you want to devour me."

"That's because I do."

My breath caught in my throat as though we hadn't had sex an hour ago. Before I could think of a witty response, he crawled over to my side, took my face in my hand, and licked my lips. "I wanted to do that ever since that sauce coated your top lip." He kissed me again. This time, slowly and more deliberate until I was moaning like a sex starved woman. He pulled me up, picked up the bottle of wine, and led me to his bedroom.

There we made love again. This time, it was slow and agonizingly sweet. Carey paid attention to every part of my body, worshipping it like I was a goddess and he was a mere mortal, lucky to find me in his bed. And when he finally entered me, I was almost at the edge of my orgasm. He took his time, thrusting slowly until I was begging him to make me come. Only then did he increase his pace. Driving both of us to the edge until we reached the climax at the same time.

I felt light. As though I was floating. My body was singing, sensitive to touch.

"I have never felt like this," Carey said after we separated. We were both staring at the ceiling, catching our breaths.

"Me too."

"We're meant to be together, you and I."

I must have audibly gasped because he turned to face me. "It's true. We've been running away from the truth, but it's here, clear as day."

"I never thought you believed that."

"I didn't. Not at first. Back then, heck, even recently, all I tried to do was to purge you out of my system. What I should have done was embrace what we have. There's no one I wanted more than you. I don't know why I denied that."

I was too stunned to speak. I turned to face him. He looked so beautiful in the low lamplight of the room. His gaze was intense, but not in its usual intimidating way. He was looking at me differently; I realized. Like he was seeing something he's never seen before.

Fuck. I falling in love with him. Or was I always in love? That could be the only reason I stayed. Why I endured his hatred. Why I even agreed to his father's sordid deal. Guilt loomed over me and pressed down on my chest like a stone. He didn't deserve to be lied to. He needed to know the truth. And if his father were to find out, then fuck it. As long as he could forgive me, then everything would be fine.

"Carey. Your father…" I didn't know where to start. My hands felt clammy. I felt even more nervous when Carey scowled. "My father is the last person I want to think of right now."

"It's important. I've been thinking of a better way to tell you…" Damn. I didn't know how to start. "That deal I made with your father," Carey stiffened beside me. "It's in the past," he said. "Lets not dwell on it. Like I get it. You wanted money. Plenty of people would not have had the guts to say no. It doesn't matter any more."

"But it does. You see, I did it because of my mother."

Carey sat up. "You're bringing your dead mother as an excuse for your own greed?"

"No! It's not like that! My mother was sick, and I needed the money. Your father approached me."

"Why are you telling me this all of a sudden? You couldn't tell me when we got married? You couldn't tell me that night at the office party?"

I didn't know how to respond. How could I tell him I was too afraid of his father? Nolan Sr had proven himself to be proficient at knowing everything I do. How could I tell him I didn't want to jeopardize his future? I wanted to live the lie and when he pursued me without me even trying; I wanted to believe he wanted me for me.

"I wanted to tell you." I sat up and took the sheets with me to cover myself. I was feeling a lot more self conscious now. "Carey, I didn't know how. But when I fell in love with—"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" His voice was so harsh it stunned me into silence. "First of how dare you use your sick mother as a tool in your own greed. Now you're telling me you love me! You think I am that dumb!"

"B-but. When you said we belong together."

"How can I love someone as deceptive as you? Someone who's willing to lie to get what they want."

That cut to the bone. He doesn't love me. He doesn't love me. What was I thinking. What a stupid, naive little girl you are. Why did I think he was in love with me? I had fooled myself into believing something that was not real. "It's the truth."

"Yeah, sure whatever."

Tears streamed down my face. I turned away so he wouldn't see, but it was too late. He scowled when he saw them. He thinks I am faking it. That made me cry even more. He doesn't love you. You fool. You stupid little fool. Carey climbed out of bed and marched to the bathroom. The banging of the door, a loud enough signal of his anger.

I dragged myself out of bed, my legs feeling numb and my pussy buzzing from all the sex we just had, and picked up my dress. Carey’s phone rang as I was putting it on. Might as well dress faster before he came back to answer his phone, I thought. But I was too slow. He came back just as I was zipping it up. He strutted in, nakedly confident, and answered on what felt like the last ring.

“Nolan. What’s up?”

I could only hear the muffled sounds of his brother’s voice, but the sudden fall in Carey’s face gave me pause. He ended the looked down. His voice was so low, I barely heard him.

“My father. He’s dead.”