Chapter 35
TIFFANY
My mind is working fast because I have so much to digest. Eliza was kind, although slightly weird with her fresh air thing, but enlightening to a degree.
The guards escort me the short distance to Joseph’s home. I still think of it as that, despite the fact that I’m his wife now.
We head inside and my first thought is finding him. I don’t know why it shocks me that I missed him, and yet something in Mrs. Harrington’s expression surprises me. She appears a little uncomfortable, and I ask, “Is everything okay?”
“Of course. Welcome home, Mrs. Ravera.”
“It’s Tiffany, remember.”
I smile and she nods, her head bowed. “Of course. Forgive me.”
I glance up as Joseph heads out of his den, something in his expression lost, distant almost. Lines are etched around his eyes, and he appears to have been through hell and back and I’m anxious as he approaches and kisses me on both cheeks.
“Did you have a nice lunch?”
“I did.”
He nods to Mrs. Harrington.
“Perhaps you can arrange drinks in the library for six o’clock.”
Joseph grips my hand and nods toward the front door.
“I could use some air. Shall we?”
“Go out?”
I’m shocked, and he smiles. “Is that unusual?”
“It is rather.”
I’ve only been gone for a couple of hours and yet it’s as if I’ve walked into a different house entirely, and as he grips my hand, I follow him outside. Rather than step into the usual car that is waiting, we turn left out of the gate and head down the street.
“Where are we going?”
“There’s a park around the corner. It’s a good place to go to blend in with normal life.”
“Why are we going?”
I’m curious about that, and he grips my hand a little tighter than normal.
“Do we have to have a reason?”
“I suppose not, but well, you always appear so guarded, and this appears a little reckless for you.”
“It is.”
I note the usual guards trailing us and the ones on the corner as we approach, and for some reason it’s as if this is a very big thing indeed.
He is silent, almost somewhere else entirely, and I wonder what happened when I was gone. Mrs. Harrington’s expression alone told me something was amiss, and this excursion, for want of a better word, seems almost contrived.
We turn the corner and Joseph ups his pace, walking more briskly, heading toward a small, gated park with trees and shrubs all around.
As we head inside, I notice one of the guards standing motionlessly at the exit and several others lining the perimeter.
The park is empty.
I say park, it’s more like a formal garden in the middle of a square. Almost private in a public kind of way.
Joseph guides me toward a bench and drags me down with him, and we sit shoulder to shoulder as we gaze on a flower bed that is almost empty due to the winter frost.
“Tell me about your lunch.”
His grip on my hand is tight, and despite my curiosity, I oblige.
Telling him everything except for one thing and finishing up by saying, “Eliza was a strange one. She insisted on the door being open and shivered through the entire lunch. She made certain I was surrounded by heat, courtesy of a heater trained on me as she told me that she preferred the chill and Malik preferred the heat, so she was taking advantage of that.”
His low chuckle confuses me.
“And you believed her story.”
“Her story?”
“Of course. I very much doubt she prefers the chill as she said. It’s merely another one of her husband’s games.”
“I don’t understand.”
I’m mystified and add, “How do you even know that?”
He relaxes his grip a little and chuckles. “Malik Karim is well known for his power games. Testing limits is a hobby of his. It’s no different with his wife. Eliza Karim is his match made in heaven because she allows him to practice on her.”
“I still don’t understand.”
I am so confused and Joseph grins once again, catching me unaware because he really is so God-damned handsome when he does.
Almost beautiful in a godlike way, and my breath hitches as he leans forward and whispers, “I’m guessing he told her that she can only have a friend to tea if she sacrifices one thing. ”
I’m amazed as he chuckles. “It appears that he didn’t want her too comfortable without him. The cold was merely another reminder that he controls her, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“That’s slightly odd, don’t you think?”
“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Malik is a dominant. He expects his wife’s attention to be on him at all times, and he takes great pleasure in reminding Eliza of that at every opportunity.”
I lean back, my mind spinning. “Well, knock me down with a feather, why don’t you.”
He laughs out loud, and for some reason, I join in because this life is crazy, mad, and yet beautiful in a dark, destructive way.
I shiver a little, and Joseph wraps his arm around me and says with interest, “What aren’t you telling me?”
His grip tightens, and I wonder if this entire outing was fabricated to extract some kind of truth from me. I wouldn’t put it past him, and I sigh.
“I received a message from her husband.”
Joseph stills his hold tighter as I sigh, “She told me to visit my mom.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. She was very insistent, and when I questioned her, she never told me the reason.”
“Visit your mom.”
Joseph repeats the message slowly and appears lost in his thoughts.
I say nothing, enjoying the closeness of our impulsive outing, and then he sighs heavily. “First, we must meet my mom for dinner. I’m sorry, Tiffany, it won’t take long and I apologize in advance for anything she will say.”
“I am interested in meeting her.”
I’m not lying, I am and he tenses as a siren sounds nearby and then huffs, “Enough fresh air. We must head home and prepare for dinner with my mother.”
He pulls me up, and as I fall against his chest, he plants a soft kiss on my lips, his fingers tangling in my hair.
I’m surprised when he pulls my head sharply down, and the fierce expression in his eyes terrifies me.
“Never leave me, Tiffany.”
“I-” My words are captured with an angry kiss, deep, powerful, almost painful. It’s almost as if he is promising bad things will happen if I dare to walk away from him. I’m so confused. How he could turn in a heartbeat, and when he pulls away, he groans. “I’m sorry. I knew this was a bad idea.”
“I really don’t understand, Joseph, what is going on?”
He strokes my face and whispers against my lips, “When you were out I had a visitor.”
My heart is pounding as he whispers, “Su Yin. It was her suggestion that we come here. Take a walk on the wild side, as she put it.”
My heart crashes inside me as her name is mentioned. It appears that there are three people in this marriage, and I have yet to meet the other one. Jealously hits me hard, surprising me as I stumble over my response. “You, you entertained her.”
My vision blurs as I imagine them in the black room—my black room—our black room.
“Yes.”
He states simply as if it means nothing, and I suppose it does to him.
“I needed her, Tiffany. I always do.”
He pulls away, and this time when he grips my hand, my heart is cold.
Disappointment washing over my shame that I am falling for the beast. When he relaxes, he appears a different man entirely.
Somebody I could love; can see a future with.
And then his true personality reveals itself like a giant red flag waving in my face.
As we head back to the house, my heart trails after me because until he no longer possesses any desire to meet with that woman, I can never see a future for us, no matter what he says.