Page 53 of Deceit

“You don’t even know what happened,” I point out, in a half laugh.

“Don’t need to,” she shrugs. “He fumbled you. Idiot.”

That makes me smile, at least a tiny bit. I reach over for the TV remote, turning on the first movie I see before tossing it to the side again. Maggie turns her attention to the TV, letting me dictate the situation and pacing. Something I appreciate more than I could ever explain because I don’t know what to think or feel, let alone how to express it.

“He told me to meet him in his office today and when I showed up there was a woman.”

“A woman?” Maggie asks, as she turns to face me.

I nod. “A beautiful, leggy, perfectly bronzed woman.”

“Okay. What was the woman doing?”

I swallow and cringe. “She was sitting on his desk, her skirt raised, legs spread and…”

Maggie waits silently before she realizes I’m not going to continue.

“I’m going to say something completely unhelpful, and I hope you won’t hate me for it, but you deserve to know. That is just kind of how our world works.”

I frown at that. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, that woman you saw, she’s probably his fiancée or she will be.”

The word is like a punch to the chest.

“Well, what am I? What was I? A distraction? A game?” I ask.

She shakes her head before shrugging. “Maybe he really does like you and was hoping you could be his mistress when he marries. It’s extremely common, I actually don’t know of any married men in our…circle that doesn’t have a mistress.”

“What? That’s insane! Your dad?” I ask.

“Oh yeah. It’s one of the reasons my mom left him. My stepdad has one too but he chose someone who is from a good family, so my mom overlooks it.”

“That is so fucked up. Why is this okay?”

She smiles sadly and shakes her head.

“It’s just the way it is, babe. 90% of the marriages are arranged, people tie themselves to smart matches while they continue pursuing love and lust discreetly. You really think I’ll be happy to marry a man? Fuck no. I’ll be taking a mistress or ten on my wedding night, you can trust that,” she laughs hollowly.

“Why are we marrying people off anyways? This is the twenty-first century. This isn’t a nobility thing where titles and provinces are on the line,” I scoff.

“Isn’t it, though? Sure, it’s not like it was two or three-hundred years ago but that doesn’t mean the game has changed,simply the pieces. We aren’t battling for new land, but large estates. We aren’t negotiating treaties but conducting business acquisitions and mergers. There aren’t any dowries but there are the ‘I scratch your back you scratch mine’ methods to every arrangement. Every single one. Everything about these people is methodical, tactical, and you don’t step out of line. Ever.”

A heavy sinking feeling settles in my stomach as I numbly nod. It’s disgusting, but apparently it’s the world I now live in. Or more accurately, the one I was thrust into. Regardless, I hate everything about it.

I pick at my lunch, but I don’t have any real intention of eating any of it. Maggie is rattling on about a story from high school and I’m doing my best to pay attention. Really, I am. I’m just so….lost in my own head, I guess. God, would you listen to me? How pathetic am I? I’ve known the man for, what? A few weeks? And I’m all torn up like this? Ridiculous.

As if my mood couldn’t be soured anymore, a swaggering man with side swept blond hair and green eyes comes up to us, that smirk shining brighter than the sun.

“Hi babygirl,” Liam smiles.

I stare at him blankly before turning my attention down to my food. There is a pause for several moments before he tries again, Maggie instantly becomes silent as she listens in intently.

“So, I was wondering if I could take you out tonight?” he asks.

“No,” I say, as I stab my chicken with my fork and lift it to my mouth.

I glance up to see his eyes confused and his brows furrowed.

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