Chapter 2

Jace looked up at the sound, his eyes meeting mine. I didn't need a mirror to know how bad I looked.

"Not feeling well?" he asked, frowning a little.

I walked silently to his desk, swallowing the bitterness in my throat. "If you don't want to marry me, I can tell your mom."

Jace's frown deepened. He knew I'd heard his conversation with Steve.

My throat felt tight. "I didn't think I'd become something 'lacking flavor'. Jace—"

"Rea, in everyone's eyes, we're already married," Jace interrupted me.

Rea was my nickname ever since I started living with the Johnstons.

'So what? He wants to marry me for appearances?'

I wanted him to marry me because he loved me and wanted to spend his life with me.

With a snap, Jace closed the pen and looked at the marriage license application form I was holding. "Next Wednesday, we'll get the license."

These were the words I'd been waiting for, but they made me feel awful, really awful...

I looked down, shaking my head slightly. "Jace, you don't have to force yourself. I don't need your charity."

"Keira Kay!" he called my full name firmly.

I trembled, looking up to meet his impatient eyes as he reached out his hand. Tightening my grip on the form, I saw his jaw clench.

"Give it to me," he demanded.

I stayed still. The tension hung in the air.

After a few seconds, he stood in front of me and sighed softly, with a hint of exasperation. "I was joking with Steve. Did you really take it seriously?"

'Was it really a joke?'

He added, "You know men like to save face." His hand slid from my arm to my hand, gently taking the form from me.

"Don't jump to conclusions." He turned and put the form in a drawer, grabbing his coat. "I have to go out for a bit."

Lately, he had been going out a lot, and each time, he'd be gone for a long time.

"Jace," I called out, "do you like me?"

He stopped and stared at me with dark, intense eyes. After a moment, he smiled, a faint dimple appearing on his left cheek.

Jace's smile had always been charming and warm. I remembered the first time I arrived at the Johnston residence; he walked up to me with that same smile and called my name. That smile warmed my heart and made me fall for him completely. Even now, I still loved his smile.

My head suddenly felt heavy as he ruffled my hair. "Of course, I like you. Why else would I go all the way across town to get your favorite baked pears, bring you roses every birthday, watch shooting stars with you, and... want to marry you?"

Every time I wavered, just a smile from Jace and a few sweet words would make me surrender. I felt like a kite, with one end of the string firmly in his grasp. He controlled my emotions at will, according to his mood.

But his conversation with Steve had affected me deeply. This time, his words didn't pacify me like they used to. I looked into his eyes. "Is it a romantic kind of like?"

As soon as I finished speaking, he stopped smiling and paused his hand on my head.

He moved his hand to my cheek and gently pinched it. "Don't overthink it. Let's head home after work. You love fish, right? I got some fresh salmon delivered, and I'll cook it for you tonight."

He walked away, avoiding my question as he had many times before.

I could still smell his hand cream on my nose and feel the warmth of his palm on my cheek, but my heart felt cold.

He treated me well, pampered me, and liked me, but it felt more like family affection than a romantic love.

Yet, my heart was full of him. I had loved him for ten years.

I couldn't help but think, 'So, what should I do? Marry him and live a dull, unromantic life? Or leave him and let him find his true love?'