Enemies to Wife
Chapter 1
”You can”t afford any more screw ups, Lily,” the familiar voice of Jade, my manager at the agency, grated through the mobile phone that I was trying to cradle with my shoulder while I locked the door to the apartment that I had called home for the last three years.
”I know, I know,” I sighed. I had heard various versions of this talk several times over the last two weeks since the contract had been signed. It wasn”t like it was even my fault, but somehow, I was the one who would have to pay the price for it. I had started working at the Wife for Hire agency three years ago after my friend Clara had convinced me to apply. I had lost yet another job and had my bank account hacked. I was broke and miserable and Clara had told me all about the agency and how she was earning obscene amounts of money for spending a few months with rich men who needed, for one reason or another, a wife. I was hesitant to even consider the idea at first, but after receiving yet another demand letter from the student finances department at the university that I had unfairly been kicked out of, I knew I didn”t really have a choice in the matter.
The agency had taken me on, and not only given me a job and a place to stay, but they had also dealt with the university and given me more time to pay off the stupidly large debt. I wasn”t surprised to hear that the Regents University of Law and Economics had regular clients with the Wife for Hire agency. The whole place was filled to the brim with self entitled rich kids who were just the type to think that it was their right to own another person like property. I had had my own run in with one particular jumped up elitist prick, Sebastian Lynch. He had become so assured that I would be his, that when I turned him down; he made up shit about me and had me kicked out of the university, leaving me forced to pay back the scholarship fund that had enabled me to go in the first place. I had tried fighting them, but apparently their contract was ironclad, and I had thirty grand of debt for an education I wouldn”t be getting.
”Well, as long as you do know,” Jade”s snarky tone pulled me back to myself as I picked up my small suitcase that had every possession I owned and set off down the stairs to the ground floor.
”I promise,” I said into the phone. ”I have no intention of this going wrong. I know how much I need this contract. I know how much I owe the agency.” I wanted nothing more than to complete this next six months and collect the ￡100,000 that they were paying. Granted, I would only get ￡40k after paying back the agency and the university, but it was enough to start my own life again. Maybe I could even go back to college. I would grin and bear the next six months, I would be the good little fake wife to whoever my client was, who for some reason had chosen to remain unnamed until our first meeting. After these six months I would be free. Free of all the debt, free of this damn agency and free of all the bad luck that I have had since meeting the bastard, Sebastian Lynch.
I stepped out of the main doors and onto the street. The first thing I noticed was the sleek-looking luxury car parked right outside, despite it being a no-parking zone. Of course, I scoffed to myself, the rich ones didn”t think the rules applied to them. The man standing by the car was easily over 6ft and even under the tailored suit, that probably cost more than my entire suitcase, I could tell that he was broad shouldered and built of pure muscle. I couldn”t tell the colour of his hair in the streetlight, but it was cut short to his head. He was certainly handsome with a sharp jawline and looked to be in his thirties. Maybe this next six months wasn”t going to be so bad after all.
”Jade, I thought I was meeting the client at the party,” I said into the phone as the man looked up and met my eyes.
”You are,” Jade said. I heard tapping of a keyboard. ”Yes, you are getting picked up by the client”s driver, who will take you to Ivory Crest Manor.” Ivory Crest Manor? Why did that sound so familiar?
”Oh, well, I guess the driver is here,” I said, a little disappointed that he wouldn’t be the man I’d be spending the next six months with.
”Right, just remember-”
”I know, I know. I fuck this up I am done for.” I cut Jade off before she gave me the spiel all over again.
”And don”t curse, it”s not befitting a lady,” Jade grumbled before disconnecting the call. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, because working for a company that hired out your body and freedom was so ladylike too.
I tried to slip the phone into the small clutch purse that was hanging from my arm, but struggled to get the zip undone with one hand.
”Miss Appleby, I presume.” I looked up to see the driver standing in front of me. When had he even moved?
”Oh,” I said as I tried to force a smile on my face. ”Erm, yes that”s me.” The driver nodded and held his hand out towards the suitcase.
”May I take that for you?” This time my smile was genuine, and I handed over the bag. The driver turned back to the car and headed to the boot to put away the bag. With my other hand free I was able to slip my phone away and smooth down the black evening dress that I was wearing. I had been terrified to put the thing on when it had arrived. I was no expert when it came to name brands, but even I could tell the dress was designer quality. It had come with a single note saying how the client was looking forward to seeing me in the dress, and to being the one to take it off of me. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. Of course, I knew that the contract included sexual relations, it had even included a long list of agreed activities and hard limit exclusions. The note just highlighted the reality of the situation that I was entering. The note had been signed, ”Your husband.” It had more of an effect on me than I would”ve liked to have admitted to.
”Are the rest of your cases inside?” I looked up at the driver who was waiting patiently.
”The rest of my cases?” I asked, confused. Then I realised he was talking about the suitcase. ”Oh no,” I blurted, ”That”s everything.” The driver frowned and looked back at the car.
”That is everything you own?” he asked. I nodded slightly, trying not to feel like I was some sort of Victorian street urchin. The driver frowned for a moment and then smiled at me.
”Well, I am sure that the boss will provide anything you need,” he said, and I nodded again.
”It”s okay,” I said. ”I”m not used to a lot of things, anyway. I don”t mind it, really.” The driver nodded and then waved towards the car.
”Well Miss Appleby, your carriage awaits,” he said as he turned towards the car. I followed the driver to the car and slid into the back seat as he held open the door for me. There was an envelope and a small velvet box in the furthest seat. I could see that the envelope had my name on it. The driver had closed my door and gotten in the front seat. He looked back over his shoulder and nodded to the items.
”Boss said to give you that, Miss Appleby,” he said, and I looked back at the envelope.
”Please call me Lily,” I said as I picked up the envelope and traced the letters of my name.
”As you wish, Lily,” he replied before turning on the engine.
”And what do I call you?” I asked.
”Everyone calls me Davis ma”am,” he replied.
”Well, it is nice to meet you, Davis.”
Davis pulled away from the curb and as the streets passed by, I picked up the envelope again and opened it. Inside was an embossed card, much like the one that had come with the dress. I recognised the writing as the same as well.
”I thought that you should have this. Please put it on before you arrive tonight. And know that once you do put it on, you will officially be mine. Your Husband.”
My stomach fluttered as I read the note, especially the last two words. There was something about the possessive tone in the note that caused an excitement in me I wasn”t sure I was prepared for. I picked up the velvet box, already guessing what was in there, and opened it. Of course I was right with my guess, but that didn”t stop the gasp that flew out of my mouth as I stared at the two rings sitting on the velvet cushion inside. One of the rings was stunningly designed with a stupidly enormous diamond in the centre and wrapped in what looked like a delicate gold pattern. The other ring was a simpler version but with a part cut out so that the two rings fit together. I stared at the two rings, my heart pounding in my chest. I had never seen anything like them before. The diamond ring was breathtaking, and I couldn”t imagine what it would be like to wear something so extravagant. But the other ring, the one that fit into the first, made my stomach churn. It was a symbol of ownership, a physical representation of the power dynamic that was expected between us. I felt a wave of hesitation wash over me. Wearing those rings would mean submitting to the contract in full, to the demands of a man I didn”t even know, and I wasn”t sure if I was ready for that. But the rings meant so much more as well. In their symbol of submission, they were also the path to my freedom. And that was something I craved more than anything in the world.
”We have almost arrived Miss- I mean Lily,” Davis called back over his shoulder as he kept his eyes on the road. I saw we had long left the city behind and was on a dark country road. There was a light further up the road, and the closer we got I saw it was the entrance of what looked to be a large estate. I quickly slipped the rings onto my finger before I could overthink the situation anymore. The two pieces of jewellery interlocked together perfectly, much like how they fit my finger perfectly too.
I saw a sign in stone on a wall as we pulled up. The sign had an emblem that tugged at the edges of my memory. It was a skull with a triangle surrounding it. Underneath the symbol was the name ”Ivory Crest Manor and Estate” and then below that, three words. Trust. Resilience. Integrity. I knew those words. I had spent a solid year having those words shoved down my throat on a daily basis. Or at least I had until the University had kicked me out. Those words were the motto of the University and were taken very seriously. A solid uneasy feeling settled in my stomach as Davis pulled passed the gates and up a long driveway. Was the client connected to the University? I watched out the window as Davis pulled the car up to a lit up and extravagant entrance. I searched the mingling people for recognition of someone I might have known but saw no one.
Davis got out of the car and came to stand in front of the door I was sitting by. He opened the door and held out a hand for me to get out. I hesitated, twisting the new jewellery that wrapped around my finger. I reached up to take his hand and got out of the car. I was smoothing my dress down when I heard a voice that I recognised at once.
”Good evening, Lily.” I stiffened at the voice which was right behind me. I looked at Davis, the weight in my stomach now rising to my throat. Davis looked alert and watched my movements, like he was ready if I ran. And I wanted to run. I wanted nothing more than to get back in that car and drive away and not turn and face the man behind me. But I knew I couldn”t.
I took a deep breath and turned around slowly to face the man behind me. He looked exactly the same as he had four years ago when I last saw him. Or almost the same. His dark brown hair was styled in a messy effect that you knew took longer to achieve than it looked, and his warm brown eyes focused on me with an intensity that caused my chest to tighten. The only difference was there was a glint in his eyes that screamed that I should consider running away again. Whatever was there chilled me to the bone, this wasn”t the warm, seductive look that I had seen so many times in university. This was the look that I saw that day in the Principal”s office, the smug hatred look he gave me when the decision had been made to expel me. Only this was so much more intense, and dangerous. Sebastian Lynch took his time to look me up and down before speaking.
”How is my lovely wife tonight?”