Ian did not linger in the bathroom after this. His gaze swept across the empty bathroom after his ’guest’ had left, and he stepped out decidedly, pondering over the information he had been given. The anger was still visible in his frame, but then the thought of her fizzled it like water poured on a flame.
’I have to apologize and let her go back!’ Totally forgetting about the fact that he had decided not to, but then, he stopped short when he re-entered the room.
She had just put the phone away and turned to look at him when all the resolve and the rehearsals he had had disappeared.
To find a woman who was the object of your newfound fantasy in your clothes was a different thrill for Ian. One that he did not know he had. He looked at her clothes folded and deduced that she was not in any underwear.
That thought did not help his unstable state of mind. What Ian had not realized was that, in all the time the new girl had spent in his room, his thoughts had remained on her and never once on Aliya.
He had been unknowingly freed from the grasp of the tormenting memories of his lost love ... at least temporarily. Something that had looked like an impossible mountain to climb even a month prior.
While his eyes scanned her, her short curled hair cupping her face and casting a slight shadow on her flawless face. Like a being descending to the realm of humans. It was just so exotic yet perplexing.
"Fuck!" He said just as he met her gaze, and she smiled.
A smile so bright yet so sad. He could not comprehend how for it was unlike those other women he had met in his life who tried their possible best to seduce him.
She wasn’t even trying; there was no maliciousness or even trickiness behind that seemingly harmless smile that pierced his heart.
Looking at her, she had her own merits... who was he kidding? She was drop-dead gorgeous in a very innocent way. That combination was even more dangerous! This girl could basically bend any man to her will without lifting a finger.
Nonetheless, it seemed like she was adoring him in a way, but at the same time, she was not. This added another layer to his confused state. He wanted to wish that she was, but at the same time, a voice at the back of his head did not want to because ’It’s Aliya I want, right?’
He shook his head at the ridiculousness of the line of his thoughts. Ian came to his senses and withdrew his gaze, but not before his eyes scanned her bare thighs and her peeking butt from where the covers had slightly lifted off her on the bed. He shut his eyes and walked towards one of the closed doors. Ian disappeared for a while and came back with a pair of boxers, which he threw on her.
He turned his back to her as she quietly obliged.
"I’m done," she whispered, and that soft voice flowed to him like a mesmerizing string pulling him into a trance.
"What is wrong with me today?" He said as his eyes were drawn to her lips, remembering how they had felt when he had devoted them. His throat bubbled involuntarily, and he clenched his hand tightly, trying to anchor himself into the reality and not the dreamy world that threatened to suck him into.
Looking at her, he felt a calm settle on his soul, but rather than comforting him, it got him more disturbed.
He walked to the bed and sat at the far end of her, trying to put as much space between them as possible as the bed would allow. As he looked at her up close like that in the morning light that streamed through the opened drapes, it finally clicked.
They both said at the same time.
"It looks like you do recognize me," Ian said while he studied the girl.
She lowered her eyes and whispered, "Yh, from your voice."
"Hmmm," he nodded and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I am your wife!" She said a bit harshly, making him look at her once again.
"I don’t remember ever going to any wedding or signing any documents, nor do I remember proposing to anyone, so how are you, my wife?" he asked quietly,
Shelby looked sharply at him and opened a webpage on her phone and gave it to him.
"Hmmm.... It looks like a lot has gone on in this short time, I’m guessing thanks to my mother. But I wonder why you would agree to something ? You look quite the sane person."
"It’s not like I had a choice."
"Why did you have no choic-"
’I’m asking silly questions’ he said to himself as he felt his heart in distress from her sad look at the question.
’Why am I in distress because she is sad? This does not make any sense!’
"It was a contract marriage accepted by my family, so I have to do my part of the bargain."
"And what would that be?" He asked quietly, trying to hide the fact that his mood dipped a bit when he heard ’contract’.
"Give you an heir," she said it so softly that he had to strain his ears to hear.
Shelby nodded, and Ian let out a scoff.
"That will never happen in this lifetime because I am promised to Aliya! And no one else."
"And you still accepted this contract?"
"As I said, I did not have a choice!"
"How old are you miss....?"
"Shelby! My name is Shelby Monroe, and I am twenty-three this year."
"I don’t remember you treating me like a baby a little while back!" She muttered under her breath, and he narrowed his eyes at her. As he took in all the information she gave him, he tried to understand his reaction to her but could not fathom anything. After a while, he asked,
"Do you know how old I am?"
She nodded, but instead of answering it, Shelby rather said, "...but age is just a number!"
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