A Room

~Adrian~

Aaron watched as his fiancè led Astrid away before turning his attention to me.

“You're married, funny,” he said dryly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Doesn't seem funny to me,” I took a step closer to him. “Don't speak to her like that again...ever,”

Aaron didn't look even bothered, he just stared at me like I was some kind of annoying pest.

“Considering the fact that you never spoke about a woman in the years since I've known you and then, you get yourself a random lady as your wife because you're about losing your job,” he said and I felt slightly irritated, because he knew nothing about me absolutely nothing.

“You know nothing, okay? So don't judge,” he remained silent, just watching me. I stared back just as both women returned.

Astrid returned to my side, holding my arm. I tensed almost immediately but forced myself to relax knowing fully well Aaron could pick on it.

Aaron’s gaze flickered to Astrid, like he was trying to piece something together.

Joan smiled widely, so bright it hurt my eyes. She was still as full of life as she'd been when I first met her, right after she and Aaron broke up. Whatever that was, turned Aaron into a fucking shadow of himself.

Turned out, the man was whipped.

“Let’s get you two settled,” Joan chirped, breaking the awkward silence. “We have a guest room ready for you both.”

I stilled. Nope, we were staying at a hotel not in Aaron's house.

“We already booked a hotel suite for the duration of our stay,” I cut in and Astrid nodded, smiling up at me.

My stomach twisted because I very much knew how fake that smile was.

Aaron raised a brow.

“We invited the newly married couple over. We would as well host you. Stay with us, unless... there's something we don't know about,” he gave a shrug and I gritted my teeth.

Cunning bastard. I played right into his trap.

I nodded curtly, but I felt Astrid's fingers dig into my skin, her smile a little more forced.

We were going to share a room. Of course, that was the expectation. To sell this marriage as real, we’d need to play our roles perfectly, even behind closed doors.

Joan whispered something to Aaron before they both led the way in. Astrid and I followed behind.

“What the hell? We can't stay here,” she whispered, clutching at my arm. I glanced down at her before returning my eyes to Joan and Aaron.

“Unfortunately, we are,” I said and she hissed through her teeth.

“You never told me this when we left Seattle, this isn't part of the plan!” she hissed and I gritted my teeth.

She could be fucking infuriating when she wanted to be and right now, she was goddamn annoying.

They stopped in front of a door and Joan turned to face us with a smile.

“Okay, this is were you'd both stay while you're here. We’ll leave you two to unpack,” she said cheerfully looping her arm through Aaron's.

“Dinner’s at seven. Don’t be late!” She winked as they both disappeared down the hall.

The moment we entered the room and the door clicked shut behind us, Astrid’s relaxed posture dropped, and she walked straight to the window, staring out like she was already planning her escape.

“Well, this is cozy,” she muttered under her breath, but I didn’t respond.

She turned to face me, my expression cool. “We need to talk,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument.

She folded her arms across her chest, meeting my gaze evenly. “What now? We're going to stay here and play the couple in love?” she asked.

“Aaron doesn’t buy into superficial charm. You think he's easy to convince? If I'd turned down the offer of staying here, that means, this is a sham” I bit out and she tipped her head back.

“It means we have to top our game,” I continued and she narrowed her eyes. “Joan’s already warming up to you, but if Aaron thinks for even a second that we’re putting on an act, it’s over. For both of us.”

“And why exactly is this so important to you, Adrian?” she shot back, stepping closer. “You’re acting like your life depends on convincing Aaron of this lie when we both know you're way more than this job!”

“It isn't any of your fucking business. Now, you'd listen to me,” I said, my voice dropping into a dangerous calm. “My career is on the line. And right now, so does yours.”

She opened her mouth to argue but stopped herself. She knew I wasn't wrong. If this charade failed, the fallout wouldn’t just hurt me—it would hurt her too. Her reputation, her clients, her livelihood. We both had quite a lot to lose and it'd affect her more than me.

“Fine,” she said finally, her voice tight. “But you don’t get to dictate who I am or how I act. I’ll play the part, but don’t push me.”

I stared at her for a long moment before nodding curtly. “Good.”

With that, she turned back to the window, and the room fell into an uneasy silence.

I exhaled slowly, glancing at the bed that dominated the space. We had barely started this arrangement, and I could already feel the pressure it was about to bring my way.

This was going to be harder than I thought.