Page 46 of Between Dusk and Dawn

"So, you just got back from your wedding in Dansport randomly last night, and then...how did we end up in bed together?" I questioned, desperately trying to unravel the threads of the previous night's events.

He sighed, as if contemplating how much to reveal. "It's complicated," he admitted, and the weight of those words settled in the room.

Complicated. The word echoed like a haunting refrain. I grappled with the ambiguity of the situation, caught in the crossfire of emotions.

"I don't understand," I confessed, my voice betraying the frustration bubbling beneath the surface. "You're telling me you got married, yet here we are..."

"Things are not always what they seem, Madison. There are layers to this, layers I never intended to drag you into."

I felt a mixture of anger and confusion. "Drag me into it?"

His eyes softened, a flicker of vulnerability surfacing. "I didn't plan for any of this. Sometimes life takes unexpected turns and we find ourselves grappling with choices we never thought we'd make."

The room hung heavy with unspoken truths, leaving me suspended in the unknown. The anger bubbled beneath the surface, and when I flung the plate of eggs and bacon bits at his face, it didn’t surprise either of us.

He dodged left, the plate shattered against the wall, and the food fell to the ground as I stared at him.

"Fuck you. Fuck you for all of this. Fuck you for your elusive lies. Fuck you for stringing me along whatever game you areplaying. When will you grow the fuck up and tell me the truth?" I stood, the chair clattering onto the ground.

"Damn it, Madison." He stood, closing the distance between us as he grabbed my waist and held me to him. I writhed beneath his grip. "You aren’t the only one fucking up. I messed up."

His deep-brown orbs darted back and forth as if he was trying to read my mind. "I love control. I love my power. I love having a very formulated plan in life that will lead me to the ultimate leadership role I’ve always dreamed of. It is the whole reason I couldn’t be with you the first time we slept together. Somehow, you came in like a tornado and fucked it all up," he confessed, the cadence of his voice carrying the echoes of an internal struggle.

A pause lingered, pregnant with the unsaid. "I never intended on hooking up with you all those years ago. It wasn’t in my fucking life trajectory. When I saw you folded like a fucking pretzel in front of me, I wanted to worship at your feet. I’d never met a goddess who walked this earth until the day I laid eyes on you."

His words pierced the air, and my breath hitched. Emotions surged within me, a tempest of conflicting feelings, as his intense gaze bore into mine. I yearned to look away, yet the magnetic pull kept me locked in his scrutiny.

"But last night, it all went to shit," he stated, a bitter edge seeping into his tone. "Because I was supposed to be in Dansport tomorrow announcing my engagement, and now I am going down there with a wife on my arm."

The revelation hung in the air like a storm cloud, and my breath caught in my lungs. The puzzle pieces snapped into place, forming a picture I was reluctant to see.

"Wha-what do you mean…wife?" The word hung between us like an impending tempest.

Refusing to confront the truth, I closed my eyes, a feeble attempt to shut out the reality I dreaded. Yet, in the encroaching darkness, his next words lingered, waiting to be unveiled.

He met my gaze with a cold, unyielding resolve. "Last night. I saved you from the party with the fraternity guys. I’d walked over and found you there, and when I realized I needed you to myself, it solidified what I wanted. We exchanged vows, and the priest declared us husband and wife in the quiet chapel."

Disbelief and shock swirled within me, creating a storm of emotions. I yearned to dismiss his words, to classify it all as a twisted fabrication, a sadistic game. Yet the coldness in his eyes, the calculated precision in his confession, left little room for doubt.

"Why?" The word escaped my lips in a whispered plea, a desperate inquiry into the abyss he had dragged me into. "I thought you were joking. I didn’t really mean that I would have married you if everything was right. I thought you were on your way?—"

He sighed, but there was no remorse in that exhale, only the acknowledgment of the shitshow he’d dragged us into. "It wasn't planned. It wasn't orchestrated as part of some grand design. I didn't intend for it to happen like this, but circumstances played their hand, and, well, here we are."

He said it so easily. As if getting married to someone was just something he needed to check off his list of things to do. A maelstrom of emotions engulfed me. Anger, confusion, and a strange vulnerability mingled within. The realization that I, in a state of inebriation, had unwittingly stepped into a union that defied reason, left me grappling with the surreal nightmare of our unholy bond.

Anger grew heavy, replacing any sadness or confusion. "You son of a bitch," I spat, each word laced with venom, as if the force of my fury could obliterate the reality he had revealed. "Youorchestrated this entire farce, didn't you? Marriage, vows, all of it."

My hand stung from the slap I delivered to his face.

"I didn't change the circumstances, Madison. I adapted to them. You should know better than anyone that I excel at shifting the plan."

The rage swirled within, a tempest threatening to consume me. "Adapting? Is that what you call it? Manipulating, deceiving, ruining lives—those are more accurate terms for your actions."

A twisted smirk played on his lips, a chilling reflection of his amusement at the chaos he had caused. "You're always so perceptive, Muse. Yet, here you are, entwined in a marriage you don't remember, a pawn in a game you never signed up for."

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. "I want out of this nightmare. Annul this sham of a marriage."

He chuckled, the sound resonating with mockery. "Ah, naivety. Annulment isn't that simple, Madison. Especially not when it serves my purpose."

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