Page 46 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

“A very beautiful chess piece,” he clarified. “And you’re the queen on the board, which is the most important piece.”

“With absolutely no control of my own life! Tell me how that makes me the most important piece!”

He opened his mouth, gaping like a fish. “Because…see, the queen represents…well, she was the…”

“Yeah, that’s really informative,” I snapped.

“The king was often guided by her advice. See? And in Medieval times, she played games of intrigue at court. So, there’s that.”

“Yeah? The king could also imprison a queen, put her in a nunnery, or even have her beheaded!”

He nodded his head slightly. “Well, there is that, but I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that Asher would never do any of those things to you.”

“He’s moving us to a house that’s bigger with more guards. What part of that isn’t like being in prison?”

“The food is better?” he said uncertainly. “Oh, and the beds are softer. I bet if you wanted, you could redecorate an entire wing of the house. He already has it picked out for you.”

“The entire…” We weren’t even going to share a room. Well, if that didn’t put me in my place, I wasn’t sure what did. I could feel the tears coming and fled before Patrick could see the devastation on my face. After turning on the water, I stripped and stepped into the hot water, sinking to the floor of the shower.

I had no illusions about what this marriage was, but to hear that I wouldn’t even share a room with him was harder than I thought. It wasn’t like I was ready for that…for the expectations that came with sharing a bed. That would put me in a position of vulnerability that I wasn’t ready for. I hadn’t been with anyone since I had betrayed my father two years ago. I thought I was trusting the right person, and in the end, I paid for it—nearly with my life.

But this made my marriage even less realistic than I thought before. Asher had already proven that he could provide me comfort when I was sad or hurting, and now he was taking that away. Maybe it was silly to think that I would be able to take some comfort in our situation, but I had hoped that the kindness he had shown me so far would be one aspect of our marriage I could cling to.

I rested my head on my knees and let the water pour over me. Tears ran down my face for what felt like hours, but I needed to get it all out now before I saw Asher again. There was no way I’d allow him to see how much he hurt me. Too many men in my life had betrayed me, and I’d never put myself in a place of vulnerability again. As soon as we left this island, I would find a way to gain back the strength my father stole from me. I would be fierce and loyal only to myself, because I was the only person I could count on.

I shut off the water and stood, bracing myself on the wall. I took a deep breath, pulled back my shoulders, and prepared myself for what was ahead. I grabbed the towel off the bar and dried off quickly, then wrapped myself in the towel. When I opened the door, Patrick’s face went comically wide and he quickly covered his eyes as he scooted backward, only to trip over the edge of the bed and fall on his ass.

“Geez! A little warning next time!”

“Last I checked, this is my bungalow,” I said, dropping the towel and walking over to my dresser. I was well aware that my back was on display, but I didn’t give a fuck if he saw it. This was me, and I wouldn’t be ashamed of it.

“Christ, Asher’s going to kill me,” he muttered as he ran for the door.

I opened the dresser and pulled out my clothes, dressing for the day. I brushed the tangles out of my hair and stared at myself in the mirror. I was ready for this. I was strong enough. And I would make sure no one ever walked all over me again.

I grabbed my bag and started throwing my things inside. It didn’t matter if Asher wanted to stay here longer. I was going home. I wanted to see my mom and Margaret. I needed some semblance of normalcy, even if it meant returning briefly to a home I hated.

“What are you doing?”

I didn’t bother to look up when I heard Asher’s voice. There was no point in giving him even one more second of my time. “Going home.”

He was quiet for a minute, then said, “You don’t get to make those calls. Your safety—”

“Is in your hands,” I finished, turning to face him. “Yes, I’m well aware of what this is. Let’s not pretend otherwise.”

His jaw clenched hard as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “About before—”

“There’s really no need to explain. You and I both know what this is. My father sold me off to you. I understand that you don’t consider this a real marriage, and frankly, you’re right. Nothing about this is in any way something we should celebrate.” I turned back to my packing. “Anyway, I need to get home and see my mom, so you do whatever you want.”

“I was planning on leaving this afternoon anyway.”

I huffed out a laugh. Wow, he really didn’t want to be around me. “That’s fine. If you don’t mind, I’ll catch a ride.”

“Why would I mind? You’re my wife.”

“In name only,” I said calmly. “Patrick said there’s a wing of the house for me. Is there an allowance for me to use for redecorating?”

When I finally looked at him again, he was pissed. I quirked an eyebrow at him. For a man that didn’t want this marriage, hated the idea of being married, and wished he could get rid of me, he was really being a big baby about this.

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