Page 19 of The Devious Husband

She leans back in her seat, her expression shrewd. “It isn’t really about what I see in him, it’s about what I see in you — and you, my sweetheart, have never had eyes for anyone but him.”

“W-what?”

“Just how many times have you regaled us all with stories of things he’d done to you, week after week, year after year? We both know you could’ve put a stop to that ridiculous feud of yours easily — it’d have taken but one phone call to Silas. But instead, you grew more lax, left him loopholes and made silly mistakes whenever you wanted to lose to him, to keep the score even.”

“That’s not true,” I say weakly, my cheeks blazing.

“Isn’t it?” Raven says as she fiddles with the buttons on my back.

“Rave!” I whisper-shout, shocked at the way she’s siding with Grandma on this one. Normally she’s completely unresponsive when she’s tailoring a dress, entirely in a world of her own, but today she’s clearly got enough of an attention span to call me out.

Grandma chuckles, and my heart softens. Every time I’ve tried to talk to her about my engagement, she’s just seemed so happy with the thought of me marrying Xavier that I don’t have the heart to tell her the truth — that he’s not at all what he seems. If she keeps smiling like that, I’ll play my part, even if Xavier’s promise of fidelity turns out to be false, as I suspect it is.

My stomach twists at the thought of being his wife, when it’s someone else he wants. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be the love of my husband’s life, the centre of his universe. I’ve always dreamt of being with someone that could break down my walls, someone that’d stay with me no matter what. I won’t be any of those things to Xavier, and having to mourn the loss of my dreams while smiling for my grandmother is proving to be harder than I expected.

“That dress over there,” Grams says, drawing my attention to a beautiful emerald evening gown on a hanger. “Wear that to the annual real estate gala. It’s this month, isn’t it?”

“Oh, I—” I haven’t attended the gala in years now, not since Xavier started to bring Valeria with him.

“He’s going to be your husband, Sierra. There’s no point in avoiding him. If anything, I’d advise that you start attending the same events again. You might as well get used to being around him, because you’ll be seeing a lot of him.”

Eighteen

Sierra

I sigh as I glance over the wedding plans Celeste sent me. I refused to engage in any of the planning, but I did make one request — to hold the wedding right at the centre of the elaborate maze at my family’s estate, with no one but our closest family present. It’s bound to piss Xavier off when he finds out, and that’ll just make my day. Apparently, he gave us free rein to do whatever we want, and my sisters-in-law are doing all they can to romanticize it, none of them willing to admit that he cares even less than I do.

I look up in surprise when Graham walks into my office, and he sighs as he approaches my desk. “Did you forget about our resource allocation meeting?”

“I’m so sorry,” I tell him, quickly clicking away all the wedding stuff before I rise from my seat. “It completely slipped my mind!”

Our project hasn’t been high on my list of priorities, not in light of the hospital appointments I’ve attended with Grandma, and my upcoming wedding. I bite down on my lip as I glance at my office door, my heart beating a little faster at the thought of seeing Xavier again, even if it’s only for a business meeting I’d forgotten about entirely. Since we signed our contract with Lena we only have a meeting once a month, so I haven’t seen him since we last discussed our marriage in his office, and I’m not too sure what to expect now that we’re technically engaged.

“What’s wrong?” Graham asks, reaching for me. He gently pushes my hair behind my ear, and I instantly feel guilty, my mind replaying the lies I threw at Xavier in anger. Don’t pretend you’re actually going to stay away from Valeria, and I won’t pretend I’ll stay away from Graham. I don’t even know why I said it, when there’s absolutely nothing but friendship between Graham and me. I suppose I did it to get on his nerves, and to make myself feel a little less pathetic.

“Nothing is wrong,” I lie. Graham cups my cheek, and I lean into his touch. I need to tell him, but I don’t know how. I can barely believe I’ll have to marry Xavier Kingston, and acknowledging it feels impossible.

“How do I make it better?” he asks, his voice soft. Graham and I have been hanging out a bit more frequently, and it’s been so refreshing to have a friend that isn’t also one of my family members. He looks at me like he really sees me, and I need it now more than ever before. He’s unlike Xavier, who reserves all his chivalry for Valeria, never extending so much as a kind word to me.

Just as I’m about to answer, my office door opens, and Xavier walks in. He tenses when he catches sight of us, and Graham reluctantly pulls his hand back. For a few moments, Xavier and I just stare at each other, neither of us quite sure how to act around each other now.

I take a step away from Graham and gesture toward the sofa in the corner of my office. “Let’s get started.” I sigh and run a hand through my hair, annoyed with myself for forgetting about this meeting. I’d remembered, I could’ve just cancelled it. I’m not ready to be in the same space as Xavier, especially not with the lies I told standing between us.

I’m nervous as I sit down, and he doesn’t hesitate to take the seat next to me. His thigh presses against mine, the hand on his knee brushing against the hem of my pencil skirt. I shift away a little, but he just moves with me, ensuring our bodies are pressed against each other no matter what I do.

“We’ve already agreed to equally split the budget three ways, but we need to determine what each firm’s strengths are, to ensure we capitalize on synergies between our companies,” I tell them, hoping to just get this meeting over and done with. I can just tell that Xavier is itching to get on my nerves, and I’m not going to give him any opportunity to do so.

Xavier barely says a word as Graham and I begin to assign different parts of the project to our own firms, and I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking about.

I’ve spent the last few days analyzing everything he’s said to me, noting how often he’s contradicted himself. One second he’s telling me that he isn’t romantically involved with anyone, and the next he’s showing me that his words are a lie. For years, I’ve witnessed him catering to Valeria, going as far as carrying her out after long nights because her feet seemed to hurt. He’s carefully kept her out of the media and by his side, protecting her from the gossip and slander my family and I are often subjected to. He clearly cares about her, so why is he marrying me?

“You both seem distracted tonight,” Graham remarks. “What are your thoughts on this allocation?”

“I apologize,” Xavier says, running a hand through his hair. “Can we reschedule? I don’t think either Sierra or I will be able to focus tonight. There is something else she and I need to discuss privately first.”

“Privately?” Graham repeats, a hint of irritation in his eyes.

I sigh and rise to my feet. “He’s right, Graham. I’m sorry. Can we reconvene early next week?”

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