2

EDWARDS 

"I'd like some time to speak to my fiancée in private." The words brush against my tongue like sandpaper. 

Rose's eyes connect with mine. They expand before turning to Ross in a silent plea for help. While her ability to read me as a multi-pigmentation machine kept her productive, it was nothing but an inconvenience now.

Ross opened up. Any look I sent his way, he would back away slowly.

"See you both inside." He greeted Rose before entering the ballroom. 

The wedding planner checks the time on her watch. “I'll be back in five minutes to grab you two. Don't disappear on me again. She winked before entering the kitchen.

My heart pounded in my chest, and I took three deep breaths to slow it down. 

You told her to find you anyone with an XX chromosome and the ability to reproduce. You are the only one to blame here.

I have passed the point of no return. I never thought that Rose would use this kind of plan without asking me if I agreed. It's a terrible idea that risks jeopardizing all that we've built together over the years.

Calm.

One… two…

Fuck this.

"What the hell are you thinking?" 

Rose doesn't stand out too much for my tunes, though her full lips are pursed in disgust. "I'm saving your ass, that's why." 

"I don't understand how that was the case.

“Do you want me to schedule an eye exam for you? I heard eyesight gets worse with age.” Her usual joke about being twelve years older than her had failed.

My eyes narrowed to slits. "Don't test me."

"And you don't dare look at me that way." She placed a brown hand on her hip like a fighting pose. The diamond on her finger stood out against her dark skin, drawing my attention to it. “If I don't come in, you're going to have to explain to a room full of hundreds of guests why there's no blushing bride-to-be. What will you tell people? That she got lost in the mail? " 

"No." I gritted my teeth together. 

Her black eyes were almost sparkling. "Face it. You've run out of time and options."

"Obviously." I glanced at her. 

Something flashed behind her eyes before disappearing. She lifted her chin slightly. challenging while looking me straight in the eye, "How to make a girl feel special." 

"Especially the last word I want to use to describe you." It felt too general for a girl. people like her.

She let out a groan as she threw her hands in the air. "I don't know why I think this is a good idea.

" What exactly is your motive here? " 

“I like you so much that I want to save you from yourself. I'm sure it must be some form of chemical imbalance, so my therapist will hear all about this on Monday. " 

I blinked at her. "Don't tell me you're marrying me for your kindness?" 

Her dark eyebrows pulled together, and she stood taller. "So what if I am?" 

“Cut the action. Those ideas only exist in the movie Dreamland.” 

Her lips. "I didn't act, although your reaction makes me wish I did." 

There's something wrong with this whole thing. Why did Rose suddenly volunteer to be my wife after months of searching for the perfect candidate? 

Because she doesn't want to see you marry someone else, the tiniest voice in my head spoke up.

She can't... No. No way. 

Or can it be?

That could explain her erratic behavior. I followed her gaze, finding her staring at the engagement ring. She traced the round edge of the diamond slowly. I dare say respectfully. 

Oh shit. 

Attraction is one thing. Infatuation is a completely different death game that I have no interest in playing anytime soon.

My molars clashed. "You do all this because you're secretly in love with me?" The words came out of my mouth in a hurry. My heart pounded in my chest, trying to find a way out. 

She has strong emotions besides indifference towards me which is not something that I consider. Hell, I never even wanted to think about it for a hundred reasons, but most of all because she's the best assistant I've ever had. Losing her is not an option. Especially not when she was an essential part of my plan to take my father's place.

The idea shattered into a thousand pieces as Rose wriggled and let out the most obnoxious laugh. In the three years I've been with her, I've never seen her sanity crack. Who knows all it will do is have my ring on her finger trigger a complete breakdown? 

She reaches for stability, grabbing the first thing within reach that happens to be me. Every muscle in my body was locked, and the heat spread to my arms as if I were being consumed by fire. I straightened up as her laughter turned into a few wheezing wheezes. 

Instead of feeling relieved, I was slightly taken aback by her reaction. My stomach ached at her loving disregard.

You will always be the one who cannot love. My father's voice pierced my head at the most inconvenient times, sending chills through my skin.

I plucked her fingers one by one from my biceps. "Are you going through some kind of crisis?" 

“No, idiot. And I don't love you." She laughed again, making the most horrible wheezing sound every time she inhaled. "I'm doing this because we're friends." 

"I will never be your friend." And I never wanted that.

Her lips wrinkled. “People lie. Friends help friends when they're sick. 

” “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Remember the time I got the flu?”

I crossed my arms. That 's the case."

"So you remember!" Her laughter turned into a hoarse cough

.

"Strong. What about the time I helped you when you were drunk on a business trip?

" I never wanted your help." 

"You tripped on your own two feet and asked me to introduce you to my twin you didn't know about."

My tolerance for vodka is right there with my tolerance for people — non-existent. 

“Drunk you are much more beautiful. You asked me to tuck you into bed and sing you a lullaby. "

"Now I know you're lying. You're one of the worst singers I know." My lips curled into a smile, but I winced instead.

She raised her hand to the sky. "Good. I lied. But I won't say no if you ask! Because friends help other friends”.

I want to pay whatever it takes to have the word friends removed from dictionaries everywhere. I do not have them. I don't want them. And I don't want to be them, especially not hers.

Her hoarse laughter turned into coughs. Before I could stop myself, I took her tiny purse from the table and shoved it into her hand. "Fix that horrible sound."

She sifts in her bag to find her inhaler. "Concerned about my health?"

“For self-service purposes only.”

"Of course. How could I forget." She smiled around opening the dispenser box before inhaling the medicine.

"Let's get a few things straight." 

Her eyebrows pulled back, and her mouth opened, but I was silent. “Any kindness I have shown you in the past is purely out of respect for you as my assistant. I don't waste my time on something as meaningless as friendship, so if you believe there's anything weird between us, that falls on you, not me. Unlike most women who cry in my

presence, Rose just shrugged at my harshness. I can assure you it won't happen again.

” “I feel nothing but a burning desire to achieve my ultimate goal.” 

She sighed. "There's more to life than destroying your father." 

I ignored her as I checked my watch, noting that we were running out of time. "I need to lay down some ground rules now."

"Rule." Her eyes widened to their limit.

"Every glance." The unsteady beat of my heart filled my ears. Her breath caught in her throat as I held her cheek. My thumb caressed her soft skin, rubbing it over and over as if I could name myself with just one touch. "Every touch."

Her eyes were shut tight. Every cell of my body burns to retract itself. To put some distance between us because I shouldn't touch her like this. It blurs too many lines. But I was useless inhaling her coconut scent, and my lungs resisted the invasion. "Every kiss... is nothing but a lie." My lips brushed the corner of her mouth, and my body felt as if it had been hit by a cable.

Her eyes were wide open as I backed away, a clear storm raging inside her head. I put my hands in my pockets, looking unfazed as her chest rose and fell with each quick breath she released.

“You—I—the—” Her speech was as jumbled as her thoughts. I should feel proud of my ability to disable her, but it threw me out more than anything. My touch shouldn't have caused such a reaction. Not if she's being honest when she says she's only doing this because she considers me a friend.

I seek to regain control of the situation again. To create some barrier around me. “There is nothing I wouldn't do to earn my inheritance. Remember when you forget this is just a game to me”.

Her mouth opened, but she was cut off by that shrill voice that would haunt me forever.

“Okay, you two. The guests are getting more and more crowded to meet the future Grandparents” The wedding planner interrupted us. She pointed her clipboard towards the entrance to the ballroom like an army commander. 

"Are you ready?" The rose clung to my hand. Her smile was a smaller version of the smile she suggested to Ross earlier.

I remained silent, knowing anything that came out of my mouth would be a lie.