Page 117 of The Devil's Pawn

“Wow. You’re selling this marriage to me. No kids. A chance I could get abducted every time I set foot outside the door.” She laughs bitterly. “You’re a catch, aren’t you? A real catch.”

“My love for you is real. If you give me a chance, I will make you so happy. So fucking happy. We’ve had a tricky start, but if you come back home with me, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you. I’ll be your rock, your safe place to fall. I need you. Please.”

Her eyes lock onto mine, and she says nothing for at least thirty seconds. Thirty of the longest seconds of my life. Longer, perhaps, than the week we’ve spent apart.

“I’m not ready. I may never be ready, and you have to accept that.”

My stomach drops to the floor. “Is it truly the tracker that’s the deal breaker, or the fact I won’t have children?”

“What would you say if I said it was both?”

For once in my life, I’m unable to come up with an answer. “I don’t know.”

“What if I said I’d relent on one, but not the other?”

The fact she’s negotiating makes me so fucking proud of her, I could burst. Even if I can’t see a way for me to give in on either one.

“Which one?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll think about it.”

“How long do you need?”

“I’ll let you know.” She returns to the dressing table and picks up a hairbrush. “You can go now.”

If anyone else summarily dismissed me, I’d rip their headsoff. But when Imogen does it, I want to kneel at her feet and worship her.

“I’ll call by tomorrow.”

“No. I’ll call you. Until then… I guess you’ll have to wait.”

My wife. My queen. She’s incredible.

“As you wish.”

Scott and Jessica must hear me coming down the stairs, because they appear from the living room. Jessica is wringing her hands while Scott rubs at the back of his neck.

“Is she going back with you?” Jessica asks.

“No.”

Her face falls. “We’ve tried talking to her, but she won’t listen. I can only apologize, Alexander. This is not the woman I raised her to be. I raised an obedient girl—one who would not disobey her husband like this.”

How I keep my incredulity from spilling all over my face is a mystery. I’ve never met a more disobedient woman than Imogen, and if I’m honest with myself, it’s the thing I first fell in love with. No one outside the family has ever challenged me. She was a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed until I breathed her in and realized I’d been suffocating for years.

Jessica rubs her lips together, opens her mouth to say something, then shuts it again.

“What is it, Jessica?” My tone is coated with impatience.

“Are we… is Scott…” She shakes her head. “If Imogen won’t return with you, will Scott lose his business?”

I close my eyes briefly, breathing out through my nose. It’s unsurprising they thought about the consequences of Imogen leaving me. The contract they signed with my father makes it clear that the success of Scott’s business is predicatedon my marriage to Imogen. If the marriage fails, then it’s a logical leap for them to make that we’ll withdraw our support, and with it, the contacts and supply chains Scott has built a successful business on.

“The deal was that Imogen marry me, which she did. Your business won’t suffer through any actions from me or my family.

Jessica’s shoulders sag. “Thank you. And I promise, we’ll keep on at her to return to you.”

“No.” My rebuttal is instant. I don’t want Imogen coerced. I want her to return to me of her own free will. “This is our marriage. We will sort through our problems in private.”

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