Chapter 14

• “So, you love me, huh?”
• Half-teasing and fully annoying, Arlo hovered around me as I made my way across the corridor after running out of the room.
• His heavy aura felt like every corner we turned to was submerged with darkness and I could see from the corner of my eyes that the maids were deliberately scurrying away to hide when they heard his distinct footsteps.
• “I said those words for your grandfather’s sake.” I hissed, turning my head to the other direction whenever he tries to get a glimpse of my face.
• I still could not muster enough courage to look at him after what happened last night.
• “Why are you blushing?” I heard him say, and I immediately stopped, turned to face him, and huffed.
• “Stop this.”
• There was no change in his expression, still grinning, still teasing.
• “You signed a contract, darling. There is no stopping this...” His arms were crossed and his head tilted.
• I was upset.
• Upset at myself because I thought he would be touched by my words, but instead, it looked like he was amused that I could give a performance of a lifetime. Maybe he is realizing now that I can, indeed, act.
• “Come, darling. To my office...”
• “Why?”
• He raised a brow at me, “Aren’t you curious about what the world is saying about our wedding?” He lifted his hand in my direction, ushering me to take it, but I didn’t.
• He didn’t say anything. He just slid his hand back in his pocket and walked ahead.
• I kept my brows furrowed at the sight of his broad back and walked on my own, maintaining distance between us and listening to my footsteps to lull myself deep in my thoughts.
• I thought what happened last night meant something because of how tender it was.
• Even when I was wine-drunk, I remember him. I remember how he looked at me, bare and vulnerable.
• The intensity in his touch, the way he whispered my name like it was something sacred – all of them felt so real that I had to remind myself that all of this was only a deal. A lie that the two of us need to constantly live up to if we want our revenge achieved.
• And for some reason... I feel bothered by it.
• Maybe I was spiteful at the fact that there would never be a time in my life that I would be truly loved and not only because I am needed by a man with goals.
• “Inside,” Arlo’s deep voice pulled me out of my self-loathing thoughts and I looked up to see him by the door of his office.
• When we both stepped inside, the air greeted us with coldness. Everything in the room screamed power and luxury.
• He moved towards his desk while I chose the chair farthest from him, taking a pillow and putting it on my lap like it might shield me from whatever.
• Arlo noticed immediately before he could even sit down on his leather chair and a slow grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
• “You are sitting too far, Mrs. Frantz.” His tone was laced with amusement.
• I kept my face frozen with neutrality, “I am comfortable here.”
• I was actually far from comfortable when it’s only the two of us here.
• No Pearce shadowing Arlo like a quiet giant, no Kate filling the silence with her banter.
• He raised a brow, “I’m not going to do anything to you in broad daylight.”
• Heat rushed to my face from my neck despite the calmness in his voice because for a quick second I was reminded again by the state of the bedroom when I woke up after a wild night.
• I chose to ignore him and look at the stacks of documents on his desk just so I wouldn’t have to look at him in the eyes because I have a strong gut feeling that he would be able to read my mind if I did meet his gaze.
• “Did you bring me here to organize those?”
• “You’re my wife, not my assistant.”
• My pulse jumped. Wife.
• Liam never called me that. I was only the woman who fetches his coffee, schedules his interviews and answers calls for him.
• I was an assistant.
• I raised my gaze and just stared at Arlo, unsure if I heard it right. But I was sure that something sharp stabbed my chest, the way he said it with weight and authority felt like I mattered.
• I didn’t want to feel moved, but I was.
• Arlo woke up his computer and the enormous TV on the side wall turned on as well, displaying a dozen of open tabs.
• It was headlines, photos, my photos.
• Oh yeah. I think the crazy wedding night made me forget that I was a woman on trial to the public.
• One by one, Arlo showed me the tabs, scrolling through the flood of news articles. Some of them had photos of my crying face from the courthouse next to the photo of me smiling at the wedding ceremony.
• [The Divorcee’s Pathetic Attempt to Rise]
• [Gold Digger Marries Billionaire Fashion King]
• [The Fall and Rise of Hollywood’s Ex-Wife]
• “Wow, they are getting more creative with the headlines,” I tried to laugh it off, but each word I read was a dagger.
• “Relentless, aren’t they?” Arlo commented from his seat.
• I shifted my gaze to him, brows furrowed. “So, you brought me here to mock me then?”
• “Mock you? No, darling. To teach you.” His chair creaked softly as he leaned back comfortably.
• “Teach me?”
• He continued lazily scrolling through another article.
• “As you can see, I don’t have to blindly guess which publishing companies, reporters and journalists are on my target list now.”
• “What?” For a moment, I felt something else aside from fear – a twisted sense of safety.
• I saw a smirk crept on his face. “This only made my job easier.”
• His tone was casual, disturbingly calm. It reminded me of the night I first met him where he had those girls destroyed and possibly still healing from the broken bones.
• “You...” I gulped since my throat went dry. “You’re not going to kill them, are you?”
• Though I wished he would, metaphorically of course. Those cruel paparazzi tore me down like paper.
• He just laughed, slow and steady. “No, that's not necessary.”
• “And why do you care?” I asked quietly, “It’s my reputation, not yours.”
• This question made him stand, rounding his desk until he stopped in front of me, his shadow casting over me.
• “You’re a Frantz now, your reputation is mine.”
• Oh.
• I see.
• It was because of that.
• It was about the name. The empire. The image.
• Something inside me sank, but I refused to let it get a hold of me.
• “Well, since I am now part of the family,” I stood up, trying to level with his gaze. “What else does the 'Frantz' do?”
• I say that while recalling the things I saw that didn’t quite add up.
• The guards – not the usual people that stood stiffly by the gates like decoration. They were men with sharp eyes and armed to the teeth.
• The cars – always tinted, dare I say even bulletproof. Whenever we went somewhere, another vehicle followed closely, always in formation.
• Even the staff in this house behave differently. They are respectful, yes, but their behavior shows more than that. They were fearful.
• Arlo smiled, it was not a grin nor a smirk he usually shows me. It was a knowing smile.
• As if my curiosity amuses him.
• “We do what every business does, darling.” He said smoothly, taking my hand to lift it closer to his face. “We expand, we acquire, and we remove obstacles.”
• The way he said ‘remove’ made something cold and twisted settle in my stomach but the feeling quickly left my body when he kissed the back of my hand gently.
• But I know this kiss was not meant to be a comfort but a warning.