Six

EVE'S POV 

My face burned red at Morgan’s words and proximity. 

Why was he suddenly acting this way?.

I had already made it clear that I wasn't going to share the bed with him, let alone sleep with him!

He must be teasing me!.

His lips was so close to my ear as he whispered.

"What do you think?"

What did I think? I couldn't even think, for one. The only thing I knew was that I needed to get out of this situation…

Quickly, I ducked under one of his arms and sprinted across the room to the bathroom. I didn't care of how I looked like running away. I would deal with the embarrassment the next day.

Now, all I had to do was remain in the bathroom until he went to sleep then I could slip back into the room.

Heaving a sigh, I walked to the mirror and took in my appearance. My face was a raw shade of red, and when I placed my fingers against it, i felt how hot it was. 

When was I going to stop having such a reaction to him?

MORGAN'S POV 

When I woke up the next day, the first thing that registered in my brain was the mouthwatering aroma filling the room. 

At first, I thought I was dreaming. Then I opened my eyes and looked towards the kitchen.

It was Eve. She was moving behind the counter, flipping something on a pan while the stove was on.

 Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and shifted my long legs to the floor. She really was making breakfast.

While I was still staring at her, she turned around with the pan in her hand. Her eyes flew to me and she gave me a small smile.

"Morning. Breakfast is ready"

"Morning" I replied, finally getting to my feet. 

"I pop into the bathroom for a sec."

As I went, I tried wrapping the entire thing around my head. It seemed as if everything about her was catching me by surprise. But then again, I hadn't expected to wake up to breakfast prepared by my pretending wife.

When I got back into the room, Eve had already prepared the breakfast table. So I joined her and appraised the bowls of steaming food, and a pot of freshly brewed coffee that she got a hold of and asked, 

"Coffee?"

I nodded, smiling.

 "Yes, thank you" 

When was the last time I had a home-cooked meal? That I couldn't remember.

EVE'S POV 

As the two of us sat down for breakfast, I noticed how heartily Morgan ate his portions. I knew i was a good cook, but I hadn't expected him to wolf everything down as if it was the most delicious meal he had ever had.

"Wow, that was very delicious. Thank you" he complimented when he was done. 

"Sure" I replied, unsure of how else to react. 

He looked genuinely pleased.

"You're a very good cook. I wouldn't mind eating your food every day"

Was he being serious now, or was he just exaggerating? Anyways, it didn't matter to me.

"I have to go somewhere. You will have to wash the dishes" I told him, rising from my seat.

I headed over to the bed and picked up my purse as he asked.

 "Where are you going?"

I was actually going to see my parents, but I wasn't going to tell him that. It wasn't any of his business, anyway. We had agreed to stay out of each other's business.

"See you later" I told him instead, leaving quickly.

MORGAN'S POV

A few minutes after Eve left, there was a knock on the door. And when I went to open it, I found Henry, my assistant, on the other side.

"Good morning, Boss. I brought your breakfast" he said as he walked into the house.

I closed the door and went in after him, heading for the kitchen table to continue gathering the used dishes.

 "l already had breakfast" I informed him 

"Eve made it"

Henry watched in astonishment, as I cleared the table.

“You what? She.. but..but you only eat food from the restaurant”

He obviously knew how picky I was with food. He only ever ate food from one restaurant. To imagine that I had eaten breakfast prepared by my new wife…

"Stop gawking and help me clean up. I have somewhere to be soon" I admonished.

EVE'S POV 

I had only one agenda for my visit home, and that's to get the money for Sandra's treatment. 

I was already planning on how to go about it, after getting the money. I guess I would go straight to the hospital to see that Sandra’s treatment begins right away.

Morgana, Jeffery, and Cindy were in the dining room, having breakfast when I got there.

"We are having cash flow problems at the moment, so we can't pay the bill right now" Morgana said, sipping on a cup of tea after l had told her what I wanted.

“What?!!. But you told me that as soon as I marry Morgan, you would pay her bill”,

"And I'm telling you that we don't have the money right now", Morgana argued.

"Then why did you promise that you would pay the money if you knew you couldn't? Sandra can't afford to wait any longer", I pointed out, getting upset. 

I felt like I was having a nightmare. How could they do this to me? The only reason I had agreed to marry Morgan Caruso was because my parents had promised to pay for Sandra's medical bill right away. So how could they now tell me that they couldn't, after I had married the man the wanted?

"Don't worry, I'll try to get you the money before this evening" Jeffery offered from his place at the head of the table.

 "When l go to my office later, I will have my accountant-"

"Jeffery!" Morgana interrupted him.

 "You know very well that we cannot afford to pay the money right now. Do you know how expensive treatment for kidney failure is? We cannot afford to use any funds from the company at the moment. She can wait!"

"If she could wait, I would have looked for the money elsewhere, instead of agreeing to marry some man I've never even met!" I retorted.

"Where is he, anyway?" Cindy asked. 

"How could he let his new wife go back to her parent's house alone the day after the wedding? Doesn't he want to come and greet his in-laws?"

 Clasping her hands below her chin, she gave me a sympathetic look.

 "Oh, or is he too ashamed to step foot here?. Maybe he doesn't have a nice suit to wear today?", she added.

"Shut up, Cindy" I snapped at her. 

How dare she make fun of me when she was the cause for all this! I should have never agreed to get married in Cindy's stead. How stupid could I be to think that the Luciano's would keep their end of the deal? When had they ever treated me fairly?

"How dare you talk to my daughter like that?" Morgana shouted, putting her cup down and shooting to her feet. 

"Only one day out of this house, and you're already behaving like an ingrate?"

"Morgana-" Jeffery tried to calm her down, but she held a palm out to him, shutting him up.

"The nerve of you to storm in here and start demanding money as if we owe you anything. You are no longer a member of this family, do you hear me?"

I folded my hands into fists as I met Morgana's hateful gaze head-on. In my peripheral vision, I saw Cindy rise from her seat too.

"Throw her out, mother. If l ever see her face in this house again, I might just throw up."

I scoffed. 

"So after having me marry him in your stead, you now declare that l'm not a member of this family?"

"You never were," Morgana told me, grabbing my arm and pushing me away.

 "Get out!"

I grind my teeth together as I caught herself on the table to steady myself from stumbling to the floor. I wished there was something I could.say or do to make them keep their promise. But after everything they had put me through, I knew it would be in vain.

 They had used me as they wanted, and now they don't need me anymore.

Straightening, I turned on my feet and stalked out of the room. Cindy went with me, escorting me to the door. 

She opened it, and as I was walking through it, she pushed me from the back, causing me to stumble onto the porch outside.

"Go back to wherever you came from," she sneered.

As I stumbled onto the porch, I was about to fall, but someone caught me in their arms. Puzzled, I looked up to see who it was.

"Morgan?”