Page 36 of Devious
“Yet, you still went through your plan. Brave.”
I never thought of myself as brave. I thought of myself wanting to be free. I admire the garden with different colorful flowers. The air is humid, but smells sweet. Soldiers are speaking loud near the door located at the end of the manor.
I need to change the subject, so I ask, “What happened to your parents? Why don’t you talk about them?”
“I hate small talk.”
We need to have some kind of relationship so I can earn his trust and try to escape him.
“If we want to make this marriage work, we might as well get to know each other. I’m stuck with you for the rest of my life. The least you can do is answer my questions,” I snap.
He tilts his head to the side, and the wind blows through his perfect hair. I keep my hand in my lap to keep from fixing it.
“This marriage is not real. You’re a business transaction.”
The feeling is mutual. I’ll never fall in love with someone as cold-hearted as him.
“My parents were a piece of shit, and I’m glad there are dead. They didn’t treat Aiden and me well.”
“Is that why you have scars all over your back?”
He nods. “He used to beat me until I was black and blue. Sometimes, I used to wish I would die.”
The sorrow in his eyes breaks my heart and I grab his hand, and squeeze. We’re quiet for a moment and for a split second, I forget why I’m here in the first place. We have something in common, that we were hurt by our parents, me more so by my papa than my mother. My mother used to neglect me sometimes and I still ended up taking care of her. I study his face like a map and he looks like a broken boy who wants a hug. This is too intimate for my liking, so I pull my fingers from his. I hadn’t expected him to tell me the truth.
“My papa slapped me across the face on our wedding day.”
Devious grits his teeth, and his face turns red with anger. “He did what?”
I swallow thickly before responding. “He slapped me and told me to not give you trouble.”
I feel like a little kid telling on a bully.
“He would never hit me when Mother was alive, but ever since she passed away last year, he’s been taking his anger out on me. I thought you were going to do the same thing, like beat me. That I—I would turn out like my mother and be married to a man who beat me to the point it would drive me to suicide.” Tears sting my eyes, and I use the back of my hand to wipe them away.
Devious strokes my cheek. “I would never beat you.” He kisses the top of my forehead, and I freeze like a statue. “I want you to be comfortable here.”
I hadn’t expected Devious to be gentle with me, or these butterflies to swarm in the pit of my stomach.
He stares into my eyes. “I have to deal with Lex for putting his hands on you. “
“What are you going to do?”
“Don’t worry about it, Roselyn.”
Silence falls between us, and I hope I didn’t sentence Papa to death.
“Please, don’t kill him,” I blurt out, but Devious only frowns. “Don’t hurt him, please.”
He crouches down, his shorts riding up his thighs. He grips my chin. Sometimes he stares at me like he’s longing for me.
“Don’t ever tell me what to do when it comes to protecting you. I’ll kill anyone who tries to harm you. I’ll burn down this city if it means keeping you safe.”
Roselyn
The following week, I’m so bored out of my mind that I do some housework. Some of the maids fuss at me because, as the woman of the household, I shouldn’t be doing their job, but Devious didn’t tell me what I should do, and I’ve painted enough canvases and read enough mangas from the library to last me a lifetime.
As I head to the living room, Devious walks in wearing an all-black suit. The thread count is fine and expensive, and his perfectly dark hair is a mess. He has a five-o’clock shadow. His gaze rakes over my body, then my lips, and he licks his.
