Page 58 of Prized Possession

The class was only for a couple of hours each day, but they’re the most free I’ve ever felt. For the first time in my life, I’m doing what I want to do, and I’m loving every minute of it.

As soon as I’d get home from the class, I’d jump straight into the kitchen, practising the techniques I learnt that day, whilst making dinner for that evening.

Although Marcus has never asked me to do this, it kinda feels like the only way I can contribute. He’s at work all day, the least I can do is make him a nice meal for when he gets home.

The first couple of days he came home to find the meal ready and waiting for him, I could tell he was surprised. He looked at me with that intense gaze of his, assessing me to see if there was something he was missing, if I had an ulterior motive.

Every time he looked at me suspiciously, I’d roll my eyes and remind him that it’s just food. I’m not poisoning him, and I’m certainly not doing it so I can get something out of him. It’s nothing more than a way to thank him.

It took a couple of days, but he stopped looking at me suspiciously, and started actually looking forward to whatever I was cooking that day.

He came home late on Saturday, looking like he hasn’t slept in weeks, and I wasn’t really sure what to do. Although we’ve settled into this comfortable existence where we talk about inconsequential things and eat meals together,I’m not sure we are friends. Yet, at this moment, I think a friend is exactly what he needs.

Marcus brings over a bottle of wine as I place the food I’ve made on the table. We don’t normally have wine, so it must have been a long day for him.

When he left this morning, I could see the bags under his eyes, and the paleness to his skin that had been getting progressively worse over the last couple of days, but even compared to this morning, he looks exhausted.

“How was your day?” he asks as he sits down, taking a slightly larger than normal gulp of his wine straight after.

“It was good, thank you. We learnt how to make different sugar flowers today, and I had a lot of fun practising. My first few didn’t even resemble flowers, but by the end of the class, I think I got the hang of it,” I reply, unable to keep the smile off my face as I think about how much fun I had in class.

I’m almost at the point where I could attempt to make my first real celebration cake, but there are still a few more techniques I want to learn before I try.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” The small smile he throws my way is so genuine, and I have to avoid thinking about how much that tiny gesture makes my heart race.

“What about you? How was your day? You look like you’ve had a particularly rough one,” I say, hoping I’m not pushing things too far between us.

Marcus is very particular, and doesn’t really like to talk about his work. He will give me a rough overview of if he’s had a good day or not, but that’s about the extent of it.

I learnt after the first day that there’s no point asking, as he’ll just ignore me, so I have no idea what prompted me to push him today.

He lets out a sigh before taking another sip of wine. “It’s been a fucking long day,” he replies with a groan, running his fingers through his hair as soon as he’s placed his wine glass down.

His long dark locks stick up at all angles, making him look completely ruffled in the best way, and I have to bite my lower lip to keep from staring at him.

It’s so unfair that even in his most exhausted state he manages to look fucking gorgeous, I think to myself.

“What happened?” I ask, taking a bite of my potatoes.

Marcus looks at me for a moment, but there’s no malice in his eyes. He seems to be warring with himself, and so I keep quiet while he works through whatever is going on in his head.

After a short time, he lets out a huff followed by a sigh. “Things have been alittle…rough lately between your family and mine. Jacob isn’t really speaking to me, and your arsehole fiancé, Scott, is making things difficult at every turn.

“I found out today that Scott is gathering his resources. He’s doing it discreetly, and he’s not left any sort of usable trail, but it’s not hard to see what he’s doing. When he marries you, he plans to have Jacob ousted so that he can take over?—”

Before he even had the chance to finish the rest of his story, I cut him off, blurting out the first thing that came to my head. “That would mean starting a war with you.”

Marcus slowly nods his head, his lips pressed together in a tight line. “Exactly. I think he plans to become the leader of your family, and with the Santoro resources, combined with his family supporters, he’d stand a very good chance in a war against me.”

I shake my head in disbelief. “That will never happen. There’s no way my dad will hand over the reins to anyone except Jacob. He’s his heir,” I point out the obvious.

Marcus’ eyes scrunch up as he grimaces. “Sadly, Jacob has been going further and further off the rails recently. He’s making lots of mistakes, and even though I’ve been trying to cover for him, word is slowly reaching people.

“He’s making your family look weak, and that’s something your dad will not tolerate. Jacob isn’t exactly hiding the fact he doesn’t want this job, and the people aligned with your family are starting to notice.

“If they start to question his ability to lead, it will make it very fucking easy for Scott to stage the rebellion I can see coming from a mile away.”

As soon as he’s finished speaking, his whole body seems to sag, like the weight he’s been carrying around with him has been lifted.

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