Chapter 8 - He calls me 'Love'

SERAPHINA'S POV

The sight in front of me made my stomach turn for some reason.

Reed pulled her closer to his body and thrust his tongue into her mouth to deepen the kiss, and I felt my insides twist. It was like they had forgotten there was someone else in the room. I cleared my throat loudly to get their attention, and they slowly pulled apart. The woman's lips, which were now plump from the recent display of affection, seemed to be taunting me as they curled up into a smile.

"Sorry about that; he always loses control with me," the woman said as she moved closer to me and offered her hand for a shake. "Hi, I'm Loveth, although Reed just calls me 'love.'" She added with a chuckle.

I stared at the hand she was offering for some moments before taking it. I didn't know why, but the kiss bothered me a lot.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Seraphina." Without thinking, I gave her hand a hard squeeze with my supernatural strength, making her shriek and pull away to go back to Reed's side. A part of me felt satisfied at her pain, even though I had no reason to.

"Be careful with her kind; you know she can easily hurt you," Reed cautioned her as he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"I was just trying to be friendly since we're going to be seeing each other around a lot," Loveth responded, meekly clutching her hand like I had broken it. Reed grabbed it and gently rubbed it to ease her pain.

Was she his woman? The thought of it ticked me off. It was probably due to the fact that my emotions were high because of what had happened with my father earlier. What Reed did with his time and who he did it with shouldn't be any of my business.

"There's no need for that; she's only here to play her role according to the contract. You don't need to get friendly with her," Reed responded, and she nodded in response.

Aside from the condescending way Reed was talking about me, I should have felt bad for hurting her when I didn't know her, but I didn't. It was like I suddenly wasn't in control of my actions and emotions anymore.

"Go upstairs; I'll join you soon," he ordered, and she winked at him before turning around to leave the room.

The thought of whatever would happen upstairs only deepened my anger and, surprisingly...hurt? I didn't understand why these emotions were brewing in me. They didn't even feel like they were completely mine.

Immediately she was out of the room, I blurted out, "I changed my mind." I didn't know why I said it.

"What do you mean?" Reed asked with a scowl.

"I changed my mind. I'm no longer interested in this contract marriage." I doubled down despite knowing the consequences of what I was saying.

I knew I was acting irrational, but I couldn't stop myself. It was like there was another person's voice in my head cheering me on.

"What led to this change of decision?" Reed questioned.

"The circumstances that brought about this situation gave me no choice but to accept at first, but on a second thought, the terms are too unfair to me, so I don't want to do it anymore," I replied.

"In what manner?" He asked again, looking like he was losing his patience.

"I'm sacrificing my relationships with everyone I've known and loved all my life, and I'm doomed to tolerate being in your presence for a whole year when I absolutely despise you, but you're free to keep your relationships with other women?" I snapped, feeling out of control.

"Have you forgotten what you're getting out of this deal? You're getting freedom and the debt of your pack being cleared; that is already more than you deserve," he uttered.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Him sparing my life was already a miracle; repaying Moon-Ray's debts was a nice bonus. Despite knowing that, why then was I acting like this?

"Maybe, but there has to be a reason you want me specifically to be your wife, not that other woman, so I deserve to add my own terms to the agreement." I was pushing my luck with that statement, but I couldn't stop now.

"And what are your terms?" He inquired, anger evident in his voice.

"I want you to stop seeing other women during the duration of our contract," I answered.

A smirk appeared on his face as he started to inch closer to me, making me back up until my legs hit the conference table behind me, and he entered my personal space.

"Will you warm my bed in their place?" He asked, his eyes fixed on my lips and his voice suddenly low. The baritone in it made a thrilling shiver travel throughout my entire body.

"Never," I retorted, trying to hold on to my composure despite my knees going weak at the hungry look in his eyes.

"Then don't ask me for something you can't provide the alternative for," he responded, looking gratified.

"In that case, I want to be able to see other men too," I fumed. His eyes darkened at my words, and I flinched when he slammed both of his hands on the table behind me, successfully caging me in.

"What did you say?" He asked, giving me a chance to take my words back. His closeness was increasingly making me light-headed, but I refused to back down now.

"I want to continue seeing other men too, specifically, my fiancé, who I'm deeply in love with," I reiterated, raising my chin in defiance. I immediately regretted that action when it only brought my face closer to his. His breath hit my face, and my breath caught in my throat.

Just then, the doors to the room creaked open to reveal three men in suits, who I assume are the lawyers we've been waiting for.

Reed glanced at my face one last time before pulling away and saying, "Do whatever you want. You're just a contract bride after all."