"Yes. Jericho and Alessandro have told Kaleb to move in here whilst you reside here as he will be a secondary bodyguard for you." When she sees my wide eyes and slack jaw, she pats my hand in what I think is meant to be a comforting gesture. "I know he seems quite frightening, especially from the stories people tell about him, but once you get to know him, he's a lovely young man. He just has a few issues, that's all."
Yeah, I can certainly tell he has a few issues.
I follow her down the hallway, past a few closed doors, until we reach the very end.
"These two rooms have been made up for the both of you. There are fresh towels, and the bathrooms are both stocked with products for you to use. If there's anything else you need, feel free to come and let me know and I'll be sure to put it on the shopping list for next week. I'll go and make you both some food whilst you get settled and unpack."
"Thank you, Myra," I call out, watching her sashay down the hallway and back to the stairs. Once I see her figure disappear from view, I push open my bedroom door and tug Jaylen and our luggage inside.
"We're going to completely disregard what she told us and sneak around on the right side of the house aren't we?" Jaylen asks, slumping his shoulders and looking at me tiredly.
"You know me too well, Jay."
"Can we do that tomorrow? I really want to eat her food and then go to sleep. All this drama is tiring. I'm getting way too old for this shit."
"Jaylen, you're twenty-five, not fifty," I scoff, rolling my eyes. "But, yes. It can wait until another day. Go check out your room whilst I unpack some of my stuff and get out of this godforsaken wedding dress and then we can go downstairs and eat."
As I wait for Jaylen to knock on my door and notify me that he's ready to go downstairs, I sit on my bed staring at the plain interior of the room and I can't help but feel slightly dejected. I know Myra said that we've been put into guest rooms, and I didn't really expect for it to be anything extravagant, but the fact that it's a bog standard room with no personal touches to it is forcing me to dawn on this whole situation.
I'm married to a man who knows absolutely nothing about me, and from the looks of it, he doesn't want to know anything either. After seeing this room and the wedding, and the fact that I've been placed on the opposite side of the house to my 'husband', I'm positive Jericho didn't send the veil that was gifted to me.
I also still haven't managed to wrap my head around the fact that I've slept with my husband's brother.
How could I have been so stupid? I didn't bother to ask for his name when I met him; I didn't even stop to question the fact thathe was Italian. I could blame it on the alcohol if I wanted to, but I know that I didn't drink enough to blame that sordid liquid for my stupid decisions.
When I hear Jaylen knock on the door, I jump up from where I'm seated on the bed and practically run to open the door, eager to have something else occupy my mind instead of sitting there thinking of Kaleb for a moment longer.
"Sorry, I saw how big the shower was in that room and I couldn't stop myself from having one. I thought your parent's house was amazing, but this place is next level, Soph. Everything's top of the range and it's all so fancy. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop."
I roll my eyes as Jaylen rambles on about how long it took for him to figure out the controls on the shower. I continue walking down the hallway towards the stairs and the smell of food causes my stomach to growl.
When we get to the foyer and walk through the double doors that lead to the split hallway, I glance to the right and see a bolted door blocking anyone from venturing that way.
"Maybe we won't be exploring that side of the house," I whisper, nudging Jaylen and pointing to the padlocks on the door. He examines it for a few moments and then turns to me with a smirk and shakes his head.
"You should know me well enough by now to know that I love a challenge. I'll get us in there, just give me a little time," he says, taking one last look at the door before walking down the hallway towards the smell of food.
I follow after him, wanting to get some food in my stomach and hopefully retreat back to my room before Kaleb and Jericho get home.
I know I can't avoid Kaleb forever, and I know I need to talk to him so that we can both agree that we won't ever speak of ournight together again, but at the moment, I don't have the energy to talk to him.
I want to take some time to think about what to say to him, and I have to make sure that whilst I'm talking to him, I don't start thinking about our night at the club because every time I do, I blush and my mind gets all tangled. I can't have that happening when I'm talking to him, because he'd likely see it as a good thing and think that I like him when I don't.
Well, I did, but I don't anymore. Now that I know him as Kaleb Rossi, I need to forget everything he made me feel. I'm married to his brother now, so everything between us has to be put to the back of my mind now. Even though it's not a real marriage with any feelings involved, I have to respect it and portray that it's a loving, healthy, working marriage. I can't focus on that if I'm sat here lusting over Kaleb.
I agreed to this marriage to help my family, so therefore I have to commit to it and make sure I don't get distracted. I know that Kaleb will be a huge distraction if I don't shut him down and put some rules in place between us.
Myra snaps me out of my thoughts when she sets a plate down in front of me and the smell of melted cheese has my mouth watering and my stomach gurgling.
"I thought grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of homemade tomato soup would be the best snack for you both before heading off to bed. I know it always helps me chill out after I've had a stressful and busy day."
"Thank you, Myra," we say in unison.
Chapter Seventeen
Kaleb
The coldness of the metal pole seeps into my skin as I grip it tightly in my wounded palm, swinging it side to side whilst I walk towards the two men tied up in the middle of the empty warehouse. They both glare at me, their faces bloody and bruised already from the past two hours.