Chapter 42
FORTY-TWO
S elf-consciously holding the small pink and white wedding bouquet, Sage couldn’t help but look out of the corner of her eye at the guests who had shown up to witness Creed and her wedding.
Creed had texted her to ask who she wanted to invite, but she hadn’t bothered to reply.
She didn’t want to invite anyone to witness a marriage she had no intention of lasting.
He had used her, so she would use him. She would stay long enough for him to find proof that Victoria had hired someone to kill her, find a job, and fall out of love with him.
Bringing her focus back onto him, she thought that may be easier said than done.
Wearing a tan suit, paired with a blue tie and brown shoes, Creed looked sophisticated and so handsome that he had jumpstarted her broken heart when she saw him waiting for her outside the small chapel he had rented.
Thankfully, Glory wouldn’t stop insisting she wear the dress she had worn to her bridal shower. The ankle-length white dress was a beautiful A-line chiffon dress. As she walked, the flowy material made her feel as light as the flowers Creed had given her when she met him at the door of the chapel.
Expecting only to find out who Creed had found to perform the ceremony and who he had chosen to witness it, she was surprised to find several people she didn’t know were waiting inside.
Tears filled her eyes when she spotted Twister sitting in the front pew. His happy expression when she walked down the aisle brought a sense of guilt that she was about to marry his son when she didn’t want to.
There were other guests sitting in the pews, whom she had no idea who they were.
Most of the guests were men who appeared uncomfortable in their suits.
A lone woman was sitting in the last pew, wearing a dark teal, sleeveless satin dress.
The high neck accented the graceful curve of her tanned shoulders.
Whoever the stunning woman was, their eyes met briefly as she walked past. There was a flicker of pain in her eyes, which Sage instantly recognized, and a sense of recognition connected them in that moment.
Both were in love with the same man. Both had been hurt by him.
The shared moment made her look away, or she would never be able to go through with the ceremony.
She didn’t expect to find any of her friends, so when her eyes fell on Tayla then Glenda sitting beside a man Sage surmised was her husband, it brought a brief surge of optimism.
The feeling lasted only as long as it took for her to remember carrying lunch to Creed in his office, wanting to surprise him, only to find herself the one surprised.
Creed saying his vows was the hardest part.
She didn’t believe he meant a word when he said to love and cherish .
She wanted to use her wedding bouquet to hit him when he promised to be faithful.
It took everything she could do to repeat her own vows, right up to the point where she omitted one part, rewording it to until we do part .
She’d barely managed to keep her gaze centered on Creed at the snickers of laughter coming from the pews.
During the exchange of the rings, embarrassment filled her that she hadn’t thought to get Creed one. He slid a delicate square diamond on her finger, which she didn’t want to know how expensive it was. It fit perfectly next to a matching diamond band.
His hand caught hers before she could pull it back. When she felt cold metal touch the palm of her hand, she closed her fingers around the ring he had pressed there.
She slid the thick matching ring to her set onto his finger; hers were trembling so badly Creed had to help her. Unable to look at him because she didn’t want him to see the tears in her eyes, she barely heard the official pronounce them man and wife.
She tilted her head back for his kiss, forcing herself not to turn her head away. His firm lips closed over her quivering ones as he lifted her into his arms, leaving her feet dangling mid-air.
After his ritualistic kiss, Creed placed her back on her feet, then turned them to face their guests. Twister stepped forward with broad smile of happiness that made her fake hers; she didn’t want to dim his enjoyment, or the others who had come.
She let Creed do all the talking when their guests took turns wishing them congratulations.
The best part of the ceremony was when Creed made excuses for them to leave, promising them he had arranged a reception in their new home this weekend so her sister and nieces would be able to be there.
“Was the ceremony okay?” he asked once they were in the car.
“It would have been perfect if I had wanted to be there.” Hating herself for her bitchy comment, she curled her nails into the palms of her hands.
“You’re not going to give me a break anytime soon, are you?”
From his expression, he didn’t seem to care if she did or didn’t.
“If you are asking if I’m going to forgive you for having sex with Livvy, have me fired from my job, and making me marry you when you could have helped me without asking anything in return, then no , I’m never going to forgive you.”
“At least one of us has no problem being honest,” he joked, not disconcerted at her comeback.
“You think lying to me about Livvy is funny?” If he weren’t driving, she would have smacked him.
Creed’s expression grew serious. “No, me lying isn’t funny, but sometimes, it’s a necessity.”
“You didn’t have to lie to me about Livvy. Men date around; I get that.”
“I didn’t lie about dating Livvy. That was the truth. You didn’t ask me the right question.”
She was astounded by his reasoning.
“I didn’t think it was possible for me to feel sorry for her. You used her and wouldn’t take her on a date? Wow,” she said snidely. “How’d you get away with that?”
“Sage, I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have, so how about we drop the subject?”
Recklessly, she wanted the opposite—to poke at him until he was bleeding internally like the wounds he had inflicted on her with his deceptions.
He was wrong; she did want him to hurt her more, so each time she wavered about how much she hated him, there would be something new to remind her not to be taken in again.
Before she could goad him further, however, Creed made a turn on the road. She had never driven through this area of Kansas City before.
Huge homes dotted the perfectly landscaped yards. They had to sit on at least two acres, giving each a sense of privacy with trees expertly spaced apart to keep the homes from being in the same line of sight.
“You bought a home here?”
“I did. In the general area. Ours is farther down.”
“Ours?”
“Of course, did you forget we’re married?”
She swallowed hard. “How could I forget?” Morosely, the beautiful neighborhood no longer held her interest.
The day she had taken Creed the sandwich, she had imagined where they would live if he’d asked her to marry him.
By the time she had reached his office, she had built a fantasy world where they were married, had four children, and two dogs.
Then, within seconds of standing at his door, her fantasy world had burst. The humiliation she felt at being such an easy mark was just as hard to forgive herself for as it was to forgive Creed.
He took another left, and the road led to a two-gated entry with a guard between. Creed pulled up next to the booth. Reaching into his suit jacket, he removed his wallet and slid his ID out to give to the guard.
“Nice to see you today, Mr. Bryant. All moved in?” The guard placed a scanner over Creed’s license then handed it back.
“Almost. We’ll be moving my wife and her family in tomorrow. Pete, this my wife, Sage.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Nice to meet you, Pete.”
“Thank you.” Pete nodded at her respectfully. Then, reaching inside the booth, he pushed the button to open the gate.
“I do have two deliveries coming tomorrow after twelve,” Creed informed him.
“I’ll make a note of it, sir. Best wishes on your marriage. Good afternoon.”
When they drove through the gate, she noticed the homes on the other side were even larger, with more distance between them.
Her interest was piqued when Creed swung his SUV into a driveway attached to a tan and black home. She had to lean back yet still couldn’t see the whole house.
Without waiting for Creed, she jumped out of the car.
Her first burst of excitement faded when she took a couple of steps back to get a full view of the house.
“You don’t like it?” he asked somberly, seeing her expression.
“I love it.”
Creed frowned at her. “I don’t understand. If you love it, why do you look so unhappy?”
“Because I don’t want to love it!” she wailed. “Do you even have four vehicles?”
A smile tugged on his lips. “I have two.”
“Then why do you need a four-car garage?”
“Because it comes with the house?”
She jerked her eyes toward him. “Are you laughing at me?”
“No …” he drawled, raising his hands in surrender. “Do you want to go inside and see the house? You might find something to dislike in there.”
“How big is it?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t at big as it looked.
“Over seven thousand square feet.”
The front door wasn’t one but two doors, and you had to unlock metal bars to even reach them.
“What’s with all the security? You think there’s going to be a zombie apocalypse?
” When he keyed the numbers into a pad by the door, Sage heard a few beeps go off before the door was electronically unlocked.
“Worried some of your girlfriends will find out where you live?” Sarcastically, she stepped into a foyer.
“I’m not the one who’s got a contract on my life.”
She deserved that uppercut, she had to admit.
“I’ll show you around.”
The house was even bigger than she had thought it was from the outside. There was a basement with a theater room and an area that had been decorated as a playroom. The girls were going to flip out when they saw it.