Page 13 of The Unwanted Wife

"Not when it comes to an arranged marriage, it’s not. What you see is what you get in such a marriage of convenience." I scowl.

"Hmm, you may not have read any booktok favorites, but you sure know the language."

"The fuck you talking about? What is book talk?"

"Not book talk, booktok. It’s a hashtag used on a popular social media platform. Perhaps, you’ve heard of it? TikTok?”

I roll my eyes. “Of course I’ve heard of it, douchebag.”

“Well, what you, apparently, don’t know is that it helps readers find their next read."

I rub the back of my neck. "How the fuck do you know this?"

"I make it a point to find out everything that’s relevant to my target audience."

"Your target audience?"

"Hey, women make a lot of important decisions which impact the rest of us. And I've found, reading these books is the best way to understand what women want."

"I prefer to use my instincts." I scoff.

"That too… but I’ll take every advantage I can get. I want to be prepared for when I meet 'the one.'"

"The one? Don't tell me you've bought into this fairytale notion of finding the one?"

"No." He shrugs. "Eh, maybe. Whatever the case, it's good to be prepared."

"Prepared?" I lower my arm to my side. "In what way?"

"I want to make sure I know exactly how to enact her favorite scenes."

"Hmm." I scratch my jaw. "There’s a certain appeal in that. But how spicy are these scenes in these books."

"Enough to leave me with a massive hard-on and needing to take care of it."

"O-k-a-y?" I purse my lips. "I thought spicy books were like chick flicks, loaded with emotions and such."

"Also loaded with 'porntastic' scenes." He makes air-quotes with his fingers.

How interesting. Does Skylar read them? Based on the names she’s chosen for her pastries, I think it’s a safe bet that yes, she does. And if so, which are her favorite scenes? And why am I curious? Don’t answer that. I know.

The arrangement I proposed will be a marriage in name only. Unless I can show her it’s more than that. Meanwhile, it should be enough to confirm my position as CEO, so I can bring down Arthur and have my revenge for how he and his family turned their backs on my mother. Of course, by marrying Skylar, I'm ensuring she'll have access to the Davenport funds. Enough to pay off her debts and stop her business from going bankrupt. I promised Ben I’d take care of her, and this is my way of ensuring she’ll never lack for anything.

It's a good plan. Everything will be neatly tied up, and once I make sure she has enough money in her account, I'll bring down the company and be done with this lot, once and for all. Meanwhile, I have to spend time with my half-siblings, keeping up the pretense of our family ties. It's expected. And I must do it, so I don’t arouse any suspicion. Truth is, I really can't complain. Hanging out with them isn't exactly a chore. It's the old man I could do without.

"Nathan? Did you hear my question?"

"No. I’m not looking forward to getting married, if you must know." I scowl at him.

"So why do it? It’s not like you don’t have enough money?" There’s a shrewd expression in his eyes. He might be the quietest of my brothers, but he’s not to be underestimated.

"I want the role of the CEO locked down, and Arthur won’t agree to it unless I get married."

"I can understand the seduction of power, but to sacrifice your personal life for it…" He raises a shoulder. "Seems a heavy price to pay."

"You grew up in privilege. You've always known what it's like to be an heir to the Davenport fortune. I grew up in a single-parent home with a mother who never missed a chance to tell me I should claim my right when I grew up. The result was, I hated the Davenports and everything to do with that name."

"It’s also your surname."

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