Page 12 of Cowboy's Sinful Bargain

My eyes crinkled at the corners as I frowned. "Mr. Sato told me to sign."

Did he not understand that? Mr. Sato might have been my grandfather's loyal servant, but he was as traditional as the rest of my family. He didn't like me and he never had. He acceptedme because he had to. I was positive he was practically gleeful that I was finally gone.

Everyone else in my family was.

"I don't care who it is," Jos replied in a cold, clipped tone. "You know what you're signing before you sign."

I glanced at Monty before slowly nodding at Jos. "Yes, sir."

Jos growled as he tossed his hands up in the air and stormed over to stare out the window. I watched him go, my confusion growing by the second.

"Mitsuaki—"

I glanced back at my father. "Miko, please."

I didn't like the name Mitsuaki. It's what the rest of my grandfather's family called me. Only my grandfather referred to me as Miko, and since he was the only one I loved, I preferred that name.

"Miko, then," Monty said. "The papers you signed today, you were signing your marriage certificate."

"Marriage certificate?" It wasn't a foreign word to me, but it felt like it was. "Who did I marry?"

"Me." Jos spun around and pinned his angry eyes on me. "You married me."

Several things suddenly settled into place in my mind, things I hadn't connected before. The papers I'd sighed. The strange words the judge had spoken right here in this very office. The reason I'd been made to bring all my worldly possessions when I left Japan. The strange possessiveness I saw in Jos's blue eyes every time he looked at me.

For a moment, my shoulders slumped as despair swept through every fiber of my being. Once again, decisions were being made for my life that I had no control over. Once again, no one was asking me what I wanted, what I needed, or even if I was okay with whatever decisions had been made.

There was nothing I could do about it now, just like there had been nothing I could do about the thousands of decisions that had been made for me throughout my entire life.

I squared my shoulders and lifted my head. "Okay."

Jos's eyebrows rose swiftly. "Okay? Is that all you have to say?"

I shifted nervously.

"Okay, okay," Monty said. "Let's just all sit down and talk this over. Its obvious Miko is missing some key information. Unfortunately, what's done is done. Walter already filed the paperwork, and it will take a whole mess of stuff to change it. Maybe we can all just come to an agreement of sorts."

When Monty gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk, I quickly sat down. I sat stiffly with my hands folded together in my lap, my head bent down.

Jos crossed his arms as he leaned back against the windowsill. His stance was imposing and just a tad bit scary. "Miko, did you not understand what was happening when we said our marriage vows?"

Honestly, no I hadn't.

"No, sir."

"Just Jos. Not sir."

I nodded once.

"Do you know what the word husband means?"

"Of course," I replied. "A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse or a partner."

At least, that's what the English-Japanese dictionary said it meant.

"So, when the judge pronounced us husband and husband, that didn't concern you?"

Uh, I hadn't actually been paying attention to that part. I was too busy watching the lawyer to see if he was going to beupset with me because the judge refused to accept his answer for whatever question he had ask.

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