Page 199 of Hate Mates

“What if she never changes her mind?”

“All good things require patience. But I won’t force her even if we’re incompatible in the bedroom. It’ll be at my discretion whether she made a genuine effort, and if I conclude she did her part to make the marriage work, you’ll still get paid for the year. I’m willing to put that in writing.”

His confession gave me pause. He was willing to put it in writing that he wouldn’t coerce her. With sex off the table, this was just about a rich man wanting to play house with us. That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Shit. Did I just entertain letting another man into our marriage? My invaluable love for Amelie suddenly felt cheap.

I desperately wanted the life he offered, but this cost was too high. I couldn’t sully our epic love story.

A humorless laugh came out of me. “You underestimate how much I love my wife. The reason I want financial freedom is to take care of her. What’s the point of money if I have to share Amelie’s love?”

“Without money, you won’t have Amelie’s love. She wants children of her own, but your dead-end job can barely support the three you have. A woman like her will find someone else to start a family with, someone financially secure. By then, my offer would be off the table, and you would’ve lost her anyway. All you would accomplish was depriving your family of a golden opportunity.”

Panic flared inside my rib cage. The thought had crossed my mind; one day, Amelie would tire of living paycheck to paycheck and return to her glamorous life with a man of equal stature. The possibility seemed more real now that he had said it out loud. For God’s sake, Kai Cavendish was willing to settle for being her second husband. Who was a better prospect than him?

“If you’re so confident she wants financial security, why did you approach me and not Amelie?” I asked.

“Because for things to transition smoothly, you must agree first, then help her consider the benefits.”

“Meaning, you want me to convince my wife to marry you.”

“Why wouldn’t you want me to? From every angle, you come out a winner,” he insisted. “Our marriage won’t cancel yours. Everything will remain the same between the two of you.”

I scoffed. “Except the sanctity of our marriage.”

He sighed as if explaining something elementary to an adult. “The sanctity of marriage is defined by those in the marriage and their values. Old-school Mormons still practice polygamy. Sister-wives work toward their shared goal of a big family and restore balance by dividing the household tasks. The sanctity of marriage isn’t lost on them. If anything, their devotion to family values, such as having a lot of children, is the foundation of their marriage.”

“What kind of marriage requires you to share your spouse?”

“The kind that places more importance on growing a family than monogamy. Similarly, our needs for financial freedom and a family are more important than monogamy. If women can come together for the sake of the big picture, why is it so unthinkable for men to do the same?”

“You’re a feminist now?”

“I’m a realist. I’m merely providing you with a different definition of the sanctity of marriage. I heard Amelie keeps a grueling work schedule and passed out a few months ago after an eighteen-hour shift. Can you guarantee it won’t happen again and next time it won’t be worse? She’d never suffer if we became a family. Are you willing to take that away from her so that you can hold on to monogamy? Prioritizing your desire not to share her isn’t honoring the sanctity of marriage. It’s breaking it.”

I wanted to rise from my chair, but something kept me seated. He was a lunatic, yet, somehow, he made sense. That was the problem. His knack for simplifying complicated matterswas difficult to deny. There was a morsel of logic in the ethical dilemma he had posed.

Which upheld the sanctity of marriage better: monogamy or prioritizing my wife’s health?

“Consider my offer a transactional one based on our shared needs. I’ll have a loving family to come home to without sacrificing my fast-paced work life. Amelie won’t have to work graveyard shifts. The kids can attend private schools, and I’ll set up trust funds for them. You can leave your job and travel the world for photography. When was the last time you picked up a camera?”

My chest constricted. I put away my camera a long time ago and my dreams along with it. The sore topic drained my remaining energy.

“I love her,” I said weakly, with barely any force behind my words. “And she loves me, too, more than anything. Amelie would never agree to such a thing.”

“Perhaps she’s in love right now, but what happens after the novelty wears off?” he asked without faltering at the declaration of my undying love. “You’re not a fool; you saw how men reacted when she walked through the door tonight. Do you think she’s lacking in options?”

“Doesn’t mean she’ll agree to a poly marriage.”

He shrugged. “The only way to find out is by bringing it up to her, though I’ll rely on you to convince her.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’ll do anything to keep Amelie. But you can’t afford to start a family with her until your siblings are adults. She’ll get fed up and leave you for a stable man before she misses her window to be a mother altogether. What’s worse, sharing her or not having her at all?”

Kai had me wavering, and it showed, judging by the satisfaction on his face. Gun to my head, I would share Amelie rather than lose her altogether. I couldn’t live without her.

Just like that, the unimaginable idea had become imaginable.

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