Chapter 42
chapter
forty-two
“No matter how hard I try to escape, his name still sounds like home.” – Haven
CYRUS
It’s beyond shocking that there isn’t a lineup of fans and paparazzi waiting for us when Officer Grimes opens the front door and says we are free to go.
Declan stands beside the limo, but other than that, the parking lot only has a smattering of police vehicles casting shadows along the pavement in the morning sun.
Haven grabs my arm, stopping me before we reach the car.
“I need to know something,” she says, and I prep myself for the question. “What did you promise that guard to let you in my cell?”
My lip twitches and then curls up.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Yeah, actually, I would. That’s why I asked.” Haven crosses her arms. “That was illegal, and unprofessional, and…”
“Are you planning to get him fired?”
“I should,” she huffs, and looks away. “No. I guess not. You’re infuriating.”
“I am,” I say with a shrug, and head to the limo. “But you brought it on yourself.”
I toss that bit over my shoulder, taking my life in my hands when Haven’s eyes turn murderous all over again.
“Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll take you for round two.”
“Is there something I should know,” Declan asks, looking between us.
“Just that Haven and I are together,” I say.
“No, we’re not,” she exclaims, protesting.
“Yes, we are.”
“No, we are not.”
I turn toward her.
“Yes. We. Are.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you two are going on about, but you may as well be together,” Declan says, and we both look at him.
“Why,” Haven asks, voice suspicious.
Declan holds out his phone and shows us the headline.
CYRUS VALE’S WIFE REVEALED
In a shocking turn of events, Haven Gaillard, the daughter of Auguste Gaillard, is Cyrus Vale’s wife. We have speculated on how these two rivals will fare, but it seems we need not wonder any longer.
Ms. Gaillard was seen dramatically racing across the stage when the lead singer of Venomous collapsed, not even a week ago, due to a suspected relapse.
But an anonymous source reveals that the hospital’s admission paperwork shows clearly that Haven Gaillard is Cyrus Vale’s wife.
This certainly explains the fiery outburst at the exotic dance club, Sirens, earlier this evening.
The photo below shows Ms. Gaillard hauling the fan off Mr. Vale’s lap before the fight escalated, leading to the arrest of both Haven and Cyrus.
How long have they been secretly married?
Is this why Haven took the position with the band?
Has Cyrus Vale been lying about his hatred of Haven?
Has he been cheating on her this whole time?
Was Haven ever really engaged to someone else?
And most of all…do you consider their marriage a little too taboo?
They are brother and sister by marriage, even if they aren’t blood related.
Or are they?
“Jesus Christ,” Haven gasps, eyes wide.
I look at her.
“Did you put yourself down as my wife?”
Haven’s face turns ashen, and her eyes bounce between Declan and me. We silently wait for a response.
She rubs her forehead, something she used to do when she was really stressed.
“Ugh…yes. Okay, happy now?”
“And you didn’t think to tell me this, so that I could make sure it didn’t get leaked,” Declan fumes.
Haven steps up to Declan, fists clenched. I’m certain she’s going to take a swing, and we’ll end up back in the cell again. Not that I mind. If Monopoly, had the hot as fuck sex option on its board, everyone would want to go to jail and never leave.
“Gee, I’m so sorry that I forgot to tell you when I thought Cy might die. Consider me a little distracted.”
“But that’s your job. Your job is to let me know. We’re supposed to work together to stop shit like this from happening. Your job is not to fuck the band members and make my life harder,” he yells, poking her in the chest.
The rage is instant, like a wave crashing into me and carrying me away. I react. One second, I’m standing beside Haven. Next, I have Declan by his jacket, pinned up against the limo, fear filling his eyes.
“Do not ever lay a finger on Haven again, or I’ll break every last one of them.”
Haven touches my arm.
“Cy, it’s okay.”
“No, it fucking isn’t. Now apologize,” I snarl at Declan.
His eyes dart to Haven.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Releasing his jacket, I take a single step back. My body is still vibrating from the intense and visceral reaction. I grab Haven’s hand, and she looks up, seeming genuinely confused as I link our fingers together.
“As far as the world is concerned, Haven is my wife. We’ll go with it.”
Haven tries to tug her hand away, but I don’t let her.
“Cyrus, don’t be ridiculous, we can’t go around pretending to be married.”
“Why not?”
Her mouth opens and then closes.
“Because it’s not true,” she finally spits out.
“And? It’s not hurting anyone, and your father wanted us to play up the fake dating. This is just the next level. And if you feel that strongly about it, we can go to the courthouse and make it official,” I say, teasingly.
“This is ludicrous.”
“Do you not want to marry me?”
One indignant finger that I want to bite points at me.
“Don’t do that. Don’t turn this around. You know that—”
She stops, and I cock my eyebrow as she nibbles her lip. I want to grab her and shake her. I just fucked her in a police station. Does she really think there is another option?
“Go ahead, finish what you were going to say.”
She sighs, swearing a blue streak that would make a trucker proud.
“Okay. Fine. I’m going to regret this. I can feel it. We’ll pretend for public appearances,” Haven says, and I snort.
“Fuck that. You’re my wife all the time.”
Her eyes narrow. “Fake wife.”
“Semantics.”
Haven rolls her eyes at me, and my heart beats harder. She looks at Declan, who has wisely decided to let us argue it out and not interfere.
“We’ll pretend to be married,” she says to him.
“Great…now I just have to come up with a plausible backstory. Fucking joy,” Declan grumbles, opening the limo door and climbing inside.
He sticks his head back out. “And in case you’re wondering, we got the girl from the club to drop all charges.
You’re welcome,” Declan says and then disappears into the dark car.
Before I can get in, she tugs me to a halt.
“How long are we doing this for?”
“As long as it takes.”
“Takes for what exactly?”
Dropping my lips to hers, I kiss her hard, demanding every inch of her sweet mouth. Haven finally opens and lets me in, I pull her close and devour her, not giving a fuck who is around to see us.
Haven’s lips are swollen, and her eyes still hold a trace of uncertainty when I pull back.
“For you to understand that you can call us whatever you want, but at the end of the day…you’re mine.”
Winking, I release her hand and wait for her to move away. It takes a second, like she hasn’t noticed she’s no longer trapped. Then, she slips inside the dark interior and disappears.
I take a deep breath.
Wife.
I fucking like the sound of that.