Page 36 of Obsessive Love

"Morning," he grunts, closing his laptop and pushing it to the side, replacing it with his plate of pancakes.

"Morning," I mutter, glancing in his direction.

"Is Myra bringing you breakfast?" he asks, reaching for his knife and fork. I nod in response and as if the woman heard him, she comes swanning into the room with a steaming mug of coffee and a plate of pancakes.

"Would you like any fruit or syrup with them?"

"If you have strawberries, then yes, please, and of course I'll say yes to some syrup," I tell her, smiling as she places the plate in front of me.

The room descends into silence as Myra leaves again to get the strawberries and syrup and although my coffee is burning hot, I lift it to my lips and scorch the inside of my mouth as I take a sip so that I have something to busy myself with instead of having to force a conversation with my husband.

Within a minute, Myra is back with a pot of syrup and a bowl of sliced strawberries, setting them on the table, and doing what I wish I could've done moments ago, and leaving the room.

I pour syrup on my plate along with the strawberries and then grab my knife and fork and begin digging into the pancakes, shovelling them into my mouth. I stare at the plate as if it's themost fascinating thing in the world and listen to the sounds of my and Jericho's cutlery scraping against our plates.

When I'm halfway through my first pancake, Jericho sets his cutlery down and clears his throat, gaining my attention.

"Sophia, I'm glad I've seen you this morning because I think we need to have a conversation about everything, just to make sure we're both clear about the situation between us."

My cheeks heat and I almost choke on the pancake that I'm trying to force down my throat as an onslaught of questions and worries enter my mind.

Does he know about me and Kaleb? Does he know that Jaylen's been snooping around? Does he know what I did last night?

I drink some of my coffee, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat and doing anything to prolong the conversation.

"Sure. What is it that you'd like to talk about?" I ask, looking over at him and giving him what I hope looks like a genuine smile, not a nervous one.

"Well, we both know this marriage is fake and it's only happened because our families needed to come together and look like a united front to the Garcia family in the hopes that it'll deter them from trying to take over London, although after the wedding and last night, I think it's wise to assume that our plan hasn't worked."

I nod, waiting for him to continue.

"Inside this house, we don't have to act like a married couple. My staff and all of the men that are in and around this house are ones that I trust, and they all work for me and only me, so they know of our family's deal and understand that this is purely just a business arrangement and there's no feelings from either of us. I'm making this clear to you because I want you to understand that inside this house, you can do as you please with whomever you please and there will be no repercussions from it."

My brows furrow in confusion and when he sees my mouth pop open as I'm about to talk, he holds a finger up, stopping me in my tracks.

"All that matters to me is that in public, you don't do anything that could make people question if this is a genuine marriage. When we're in private though, you have my permission to do anything you want to do as long as you can guarantee that it will be discreet and it will only stay within this house until this marriage is over."

Until this marriage is over?

My brows shoot up in surprise and I stare at him in complete shock as he gulps down some of his coffee.

"Jericho, I'm unsure of why we're having this conversation. I understand that this isn't a real marriage, and although I'm unhappy that I've been forced into it, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise it because I know it had to happen for both of our families to maintain control of the city."

He sighs and stands from the table, walking towards me and pulling out the chair beside me to sit back down.

"Sophia, I'm aware of the situation between you and my brother. I know you met before we were married and spent a night together. I can tell that there's a connection between you both and I know of my brother's infatuation with you. I'm having this conversation with you because although you're avoiding his advances at the moment, I know you won't for long. For the sake of my little brother's happiness, I need you to know that I will have no issues with whatever you two choose to do or be behind closed doors."

"Jericho, I appreciate you saying that, but I could never-"

"Let me stop you right there," he says, closing his eyes and releasing a heavy sigh. "If you genuinely don't feel anything towards Kaleb, then by all means, let everything I've said this morning flow through one ear and out the other, but if you dofeel something for him, even if it's only a smidge of something that he feels for you, then listen to me and take in everything I'm saying."

He pauses, examines my face, and then smiles at me sadly.

"I know how my brother feels about you and I don't want our marriage to get in the way of his happiness, so I'm giving you the green light to get to know him and possibly pursue things with him if that's something you might want. I'm aware that this all may seem absolutely absurd to you, but I would hate for my brother to become like me."

He looks away from me to stare out the window and when he turns back to me a moment later, I can see the hint of sadness in his eyes.

"What do you mean you don't want him to become like you?" I ask quietly.

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