Chapter 59
Rafe
“My darling wife looks beautiful.”
Ava’s cheeks don’t even flame. Not the tiniest of blush, not one speck of colour. No reaction whatsoever. Not under my compliment, not under my lips that press a soft, featherlight kiss to her temple, not under my eyes which I try to smoulder. Nothing.
Completely dead inside is my wife.
“And you’re very handsome too,” she smiles. It’s dull. Nothing like any of the blinding smiles Lina gave me.
When Lina looked at me my whole body came alive.
I sit beside her on the swing chair outside my cabin, handing over a steaming cup of tea and throw my arm over her shoulders; my body aching to throttle her for what she’s done.
I don’t miss how she tenses. Odd, when she was so assertive we work on our marriage.
She takes a few sips and resumes staring ahead into the wooded area of the yard. I make a mental note of all the jobs I must do.
Chop wood, pinch the suckers from the tomato plants, pollinate the corn, mend the fence surrounding the chickens—little bastard silkies escape on the daily, though they never stray far apparently.
They’re cute though.
“Ready to sweat?”
Ava wanted to have a quick sit down outside with a cup of tea before I show her the ropes of yard work, and I intend to make her miserable. By the time I’ve got some good graft from her, the tonic should have kicked in by then, loosening her lips.
“So glad you’ve decided to stay in Eklin and make a go of this with me. I think we’ll be real happy, Ava.” I squeeze her into me some more.
“Me too.” The smile hiding behind her cup is fake. She blows the tea and takes another sip.
“And when we’re done, I’ll draw us both a bath, and I’ll wash you.”
“Huh?”
Her shocked face is masked quickly before she waves her hand in the air, struggling to swallow her tea. “Oh, no need,” she chokes.
“Every need, darling. We need to reconnect. What’s more romantic than a bath together,” I say, jostling her in my side again.
It’s working, I see it in her pale face, tense shoulders and flaring nostrils.
This is so much fun. Purely because over the last few days I’ve come to realise that whilst Ava wants to remain married to me, she doesn’t actually want to be a wife.
The most affection she tried to give was when Lina was in front of her, I’m assuming she felt the need for a pissing contest. After Lina left, it was like having a platonic roommate.
I worried for a moment Ava would throw herself at me, and I’d have to be cruel, but she’s made it easy.
Just what is she up to.
She sets her empty cup down, nibbling the nail of her thumb.
“Right, let’s get to it.”
Over the next several hours I make Ava sweat.
Her red curls stick to the sides of her pale face.
She’s a beautiful panting mess caked in dirt, straw and shit.
Although her aim with the axe was shite when chopping wood, she did a great job splitting it down into kindling.
The chickens seemed to tolerate her too, the pigs… not so much.
“I’m never eating pork again! They’re awful.”
Her constant grumbles have been the music of the day. She demanded the slaughter of them all after one went behind her, knocking her on her arse.
“Well, learn to love them, you’ll be doing this daily.”
“Daily?”
“Aye. Daily. I have to work Ava,” I say, hauling the axe down on a chunk of wood. “Keep the roof over our heads and food in our stomachs.”
“Well, who did all this while I was gone for so long?”
I swing the axe again. “Sam and I,” I lie.
“Then Sam can do it,” she huffs, wiping her forehead with the bottom of her dress. She barely ogles me, if at all, and I’d made sure to take my tunic off a while ago to make a show of glistening muscle.
It does nothing for her, as I suspected.
“Sorry, darling, time for you to step up. Sam’s due to be deployed back to Winari now his toe has healed.”
Her quiet grumbles make me smile. Truth be told, I’m not having a great time either.
See, these aren’t actually my pigs, and the fruit and veg are not grown by my hand either.
They’re Noah’s, who lives down the way. A nice young chap trying to improve living costs for his small family with growing his own crops and rearing his own pigs and chickens.
I had to pay him coin to make himself scarce so I could use his yard and pose it as mine, all in a bid to make Ava miserable and tired after a day’s graft.
The tonic works better on folk who’s exhausted, saying the first thing they think due to brain fatigue.
At least Noah and his wife, Juliette, get to enjoy a peaceful day together.
“No more, Rafe. No more. This is awful. You honestly enjoy this?”
Nope.
“I love it. Give me purpose to life, ya know.”
“We’re hiring someone.”
“Costs money, darling Ava. Money I don’t have.”
“Where’s all our money?”
“Business is tanking a little since portal offices are popping up here there and everywhere.”
Another lie. Business is booming. I don’t tell her I own forty percent of the Kingdom’s portals; it’s just under a different name.
Lina’s name to be exact, since older Rafe took her coin and made her a shareholder, giving her the majority split.
I don’t even think Lina knows yet. I didn’t until I was going through my ledgers last week.
The laughter poured from me upon discovering the paperwork. Bastard left them in my cabinet with a bottle of my favourite amber wrapped in a bow and note saying congratulations. Guess it meant I was one step closer to solidifying a future with her.
She grumbles behind her hand, and I turn, sweeping my tunic from a stump and wiping down my sweat soaked face and torso.
“What’s wrong? You seem… troubled,” I say, squatting in front of her on a small tree stump, hiding my wince as my knees crack on the way down
“I didn’t sign up for this, Rafe.” Her eyes widen and she shakes her head like she couldn’t quite believe she snapped like that.
It’s working.
“But this is our way of life. You’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t want to.” Her hand flies to her mouth and I tilt my head, amused.
“Then what do you want, darling wife.” Keeping the snarl from escaping is challenging. I hate I called her that. There’s only one woman I want to call my wife.
“My villa in Fazyr. I want to go home.”
“Ava, why do you want to be married to me?”
“Because you’re safe, you don’t touch me,” she gasps, muffling more words behind her hand. “What have you done to me?”
My smile is wide. Finally, I’m getting somewhere.
“Isn’t a wife supposed to want to be touched?”
She presses both hands to her face more firmly, shaking her head, muffling words behind her hands and she squirms to stand, but I keep her locked where she’s seated, my big arms no match for her smaller frame.
“Ava, if you feel so safe with me, remove your hands, and talk to me.” She shakes her head, eyes glossy and something in my chest tugs. “We can sort whatever’s troubling you. Together, I promise you.”
And I mean that. I don’t want to be cruel, but she blackmailed Sam for a reason, and it wasn’t because she’s infatuated with me.
And it’s not because of my money either, she married me when I was piss poor and only had a few portals in my portfolio.
She only likes the money now because she’s used to it, but I’m sure I’ve got a memory somewhere in my head of her parent’s being well to do.
She allows me to tug down her arms, I encase her hands in mine.
“Why did you blackmail Sam?” I keep my tone soft so as not make her feel in trouble. I need her to talk, not feel backed into a corner.
She lowers her head to her chest. “I’m sorry, Rafe.”
“Talk to me, Ava.”
“You were the safest choice to marry.”
“What does that mean?”
“My parents kept setting me up with suitors, Rafe. But they liked you. You’d gone to one of their banquets, looking for investors.”
Oh yeah. The memory is fuzzy, but I remember shmoozing rich folk, eating gourmet food and dazzled by the opulent surroundings of their estate.
And I remember Ava, beautiful in her red gown, being swarmed by males vying for her attention.
I remember how overwhelmed she was, so I took her hand, and led her out of the fray to give her a break.
Hated seeing her being cornered by men acting like wolves and she the bone.
“So many of these suitors talked to me and touched me like I was meat. I felt nothing. But you were so different. So, I…” Her breaths become shallow as she fights herself from speaking her truth. “I set you up.”
“How?”
“Spiked your drinks, made you think we were involved. Mildly courted you. Made Sam get in your head to make you think it was a good idea, told my parents we were deeply in love and to invest in your company. It was easier than anticipated.”
“Why would you do that? To Sam. To me. Why would you threaten his livelihood like that?”
The breath she lets out is slow, drawn-out. She doesn’t meet my gaze.
“I never would’ve told the authorities. You don’t have to believe me, but I wasn’t going to report him nor hurt Aurelia.”
“Who’s Aurelia?”
She waves me off, staring out into the yard.
“Ava,” I say, warning lacing my tone.
“I don’t feel anything.”
“Huh?”
She huffs, her face full of exasperation.
“Just spit it out.”
“I don’t feel anything.”
“I heard you the first time. Explain.”
“Promise, Rafe.”
“Promise what?”
“That you won’t throw me to the dirt. That you’ll keep me safe.”
Can I honestly promise her that? My agenda here isn’t her; it’s to free Sam from this blackmail and dissolve this marriage so if Lina does come back to me, we have can have a fresh start.
But something in me wants to believe Ava isn’t all that wretched. Just someone lost, in need of a helping hand to find her way.
Can I be that hand?
“I promise.” I hope I don’t fucking come to regret this. Luckily, I have some Taka. I’ll reverse time if this doesn’t go my way.
“I feel nothing. I’m not cut out for companionships. There’s no word for it, but I have no feelings… no…”