Page 6 of His Naive Wife

When I step back into the loft, Dylan and Jimmy are gone. Clive looks at his watch before walking to the door.

“Don’t give me any trouble,” he says.

With his meaty hand wrapped around my arm, he leads me out of the loft and to the black sedan all of my father’s employees drove. I pull my arm away from him and fold my arms over my chest as we walk to the door. He opens the door, and I get into the backseat.

As Clive begins to drive, I notice Dylan and Jimmy standing by Dylan’s car.

“Oh wait, there’s Dylan,” I say as I roll down the window. I wave out the window to Dylan, but he turns away from me. “Guess he didn’t see me,” I mutter.

“Are you stupid?” Clive says. “You can’t possibly be this naive.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not stupid.”

“He’s using you! I can’t be the only one who’s pointed this out. What have your girlfriends said about him?”

“I don’t have any girlfriends. Never saw the need for them.”

“Never saw the need?”

“No, logically, there is none.”

“Logically, that asshole is using you to get at your father’s money. Logically, I should stay out of this. But if you were my daughter, I’d be grateful that someone had tried to tell her.”

“He’s not using me. He loves me.”

But even as the words left my mouth, I realized that Clive’s words had a ring of truth to them. I pushed that aside and focused on the posh prison we were pulling up in front of.

I grew up here. I barely remembered my mother anymore, but I was grateful that my dad was the kind of person who tried to keep her memory alive with stories about her and old photos all over our home.

I never minded all the homeschooling; I actually enjoyed it. My father and I are close, but over the past year we haven’t been seeing eye-to-eye. After all these years of my dad letting me do what I wanted, he started talking about my getting married. He didn’t like that I was leaving the house without him. He especially didn’t like Dylan. And I can see why.

Before Dylan, I rarely left the compound. Dad made sure I had everything I could need. But Dylan encouraged me to break free, to go out into the world and see what was out there.

As I exit Clive’s car, I notice a parked white Maserati. Clive grabs my arm, but I quickly jerk it away.

“Let me go. I don’t want you anywhere near me.”

“Your father is waiting for you in his office,” he growls as we enter the house.

“You don’t have to tell me to go to my father’s office. I know why you brought me here. Do you have any idea how much you embarrassed me?” I jab at his chest with my finger before turning towards the office.

As I turn towards my father’s office, I notice someone else in the grand foyer walking towards the door. The man looks comfortable in his suit, something not every man can pull off, but he has a quiet confidence to him that I only see in older men.

I’m never attracted to older men. They usually make me think of my father, but this man is different. My pulse quickens.

His dark, wavy hair is a little wild from the windy day. I spot some grey at his temples, but he’s so attractive that I don’t care about this reminder of his age. It’s more than just his looks, though. There’s something about him that I feel is pulling me to him. I’m enchanted by his blue eyes, which hold my gaze, letting everything around us fall away. It’s only us, and I can’t explain it, but that’s exactly what I want. My heart leaps in my chest, and my breath catches in my throat.

A noise catches my attention. I feel as though I’ve been dreaming. I realize my father finally did what he was always threatening to do—he found a husband for me.

“So I see my father found another daddy for me,” I say, trying not to fall into the trap of his blue eyes again.

“Hi, Emilee?” I’m?—”

“Shhh,” I say, interrupting him. His voice is smooth and deep, and it’s affecting me like his eyes did. Like all of him does. “Sorry to waste your time, old man, but I’m already taken. My dad doesn’t get to pick who I’m marrying.”

I escape to my father’s office and quickly pull the door closed behind me. I lean my back against the door and put my hand on my chest, feeling my heart race.

What was that? Who was that?

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