by Nikki Chase
I’m taken aback when he calls me his wife.
I mean, we are married, technically—and legally. I also know we have to fool everyone into thinking we’re an actual couple.
Still, this is the first time that I’m introduced as his wife, and it feels strange. Not unpleasant or irritating. I’m simply not used to it, I suppose.
“Oh, Mrs. Hunter, nice to meet you,” Paul says.
“Nice to meet you, too, Paul.”
The fact that Mr. Hunter has just introduced me to the concierge, out of all people, makes it feel even weirder.
I thought my first public appearance would be at some big event. I thought I would’ve been briefed by Eliza on what to say and do. I thought there would be camera flashes and microphones with logos of media outlets on them.
Instead, there’s just this mundane scene. This place is gorgeous and luxurious, but that doesn’t change the fact that Mr. Hunter is just introducing me to the modern, urban equivalent of his house staff.
It’s an everyday thing. And that’s exactly why this introduction feels so strange to me.
This doesn’t feel like acting. This feels like real life.
I fake a smile for the very real concierge in front of me as he politely welcomes me to the building. He presses the elevator button for us and lists all the facilities available to the residents of the building, telling me to come to him with any questions.
Mr. Hunter and I thank him as we enter the elevator. Again, he lets a machine scan his fingerprint. The door closes and the elevator starts to move up.
“Be careful with Paul. I think he’s receiving money from the media in exchange for information,” Mr. Hunter says. “There are some celebrities in the building and many paparazzi are willing to pay top dollar for some intel.”
“Oh, I never would’ve guessed that.”
“Yeah, he may seem friendly, but he has an agenda. Some of the other residents have been burned. They’ve had the details of their private lives leaked to the media.”
“Oh, are there famous people living here?”
“A couple of celebrities whose names I can never remember. The latest one is this guy, the heir to the Holt Bank. His wife just got pregnant and she made the mistake of telling Paul. Now they’ve got people hiding in the bushes to take her pictures.”
“Raphael Holt lives here?” I’ve heard of Raphael Holt. He used to be pretty wild but he has left the party scene, now that he’s married.
Okay, so I sometimes read gossip magazines. I don’t know how I feel about being the one whose personal life is being scrutinized and sold to nosey people like myself, though.
Regardless, it seems like I’ll have to get used to it, seeing as that’s pretty much my job description.
I wonder if celebrities themselves read gossip tabloids, or if they avoid them like the plague.
“That sounds like the right name,” Mr. Hunter says with a shrug. “I thought telling Paul would be a good way to get the gossip going organically. But be careful what you tell him.”
“Yes, Mr. Hunter.”
“And you’ll have to stop calling me Mr. Hunter. Married people—at least those born in this millennium—don’t talk like that to each other, Mrs. Hunter.” He smirks.
He’s only teasing, but the hint of possessiveness in his voice makes my heart skip a beat. It’s like he has branded me with his name, and I belong to him now.
But that can’t be true. This whole thing is just pretend.
“What should I call you, then?” I finally say after a pause that lasts five seconds too long. I’m rendered speechless by the simple act of him calling me by my married name, but I can’t show him how much it affects me.
“Just call me Ethan,” he says casually.
“Okay. Ethan,” I play with the name in my mouth, sounding it out. It feel strange.
Mr. Hunter—Ethan, I mean— looks at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. He seems pleased.
There’s just us in the elevator, but I still need to talk to him like he’s actually my husband. Instead of getting used to putting on an act on some occasions, I’ll have to get used to treating Mr. Hunt—Ethan—like he’s my real husband, so it would seem natural when we’re outside.
This whole thing is starting to feel more and more real.
“We’re here,” Ethan says when the elevator stops and the door opens.
I was expecting a hallway, perhaps a carpeted one, with narrow tables and nice sconces along the walls. You know, a nice hallway like you usually see in hotels and upscale apartments.
Instead, the elevator opens right into the apartment. There’s no hallway; not even a door.
All I see is a wide, open space with Ethan’s and Penny’s coats hanging on the wall hooks along one wall. Their shoes are neatly arranged in cubby-holes below the hangers. Their framed pictures are hung over of the hallway table.
“Is this…” My voice trails off as my mind wanders. This place is such a distraction. It’s hard to talk when my jaw drops open and refuses to close again from all the luxurious things in this apartment—and I’m only at the entrance. I clear my throat. “This is the only apartment on this floor?”
“Yes. We get a 360-degree view of the city and sunlight at all times of the day,” Ethan says as he points to the glass walls enclosing this apartment unit.
With the high ceilings, there's a lot of light flooding in, and I wonder if Ethan and Penny have ever taped pieces of cloth to the glass walls just to make it less intense, because I don’t see any curtains.
Aside from its rectangular shape, the layout of this place is unlike any home I’ve seen.
To avoid blocking the sunlight or the views, all the enclosed spaces are placed away from the outer glass walls. You can walk along the edge of the apartment and eventually return to your original spot.
There are two clusters of enclosed spaces, made up of the elevator we arrived in and, presumably, bedrooms and bathrooms. The rest of the apartment is completely open, with the living room and kitchen located in the middle.
The transparent walls make me feel exposed, although we're so high up it's unlikely anyone can see inside.
“I’d give you a tour, but you can probably see everything just fine from where you’re standing,” Ethan says. “Come here, let me show you your room.”
He pushes open a white door and drags my luggage inside, the wheels turning smoothly over the white marble floor, although one wheel squeaks a little. It looks tattered and out of place in this opulent space.
Like the rest of the apartment, my bedroom walls are white. If it wasn’t for the bed, it would look like a gallery, with the big paintings and black-and-white photographs hanging on the walls.
“Check this out,” Ethan says with a proud grin.
He pushes a button and what I thought was a wall lifts up, revealing a glass wall that lets me look across the hallway and out at the city skyline. My breath catches in my throat at the sight.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“Yeah” I say. I should be appalled that he could buy such an obnoxiously flashy apartment with the money that he has stolen from ordinary families like mine, but I have to admit I’m impressed. It is really cool.
“All the glass walls outside can be covered as well. You’ll find buttons like this all over the apartment. I just thought you should know, since you’ll probably be spending some time home alone.”
“Thanks, Mr. Hunt—I mean, Ethan,” I say.
He seems pleased when I correct myself. His smile sends a chill down my arms, I realize with horror.
What’s happening to me? First, the kiss. And now, this?
“I’ll leave you to settle in, then. That door is where your en-suite bathroom is.”
“This whole room… It’s for me?”
“Yes, Megan. Unless you want to move to the marital bed?” Ethan shoots me a teasing smirk.
I can’t help it. Heat sears through my cheeks, and I know he can see the color in my face. Damn it, wh
y do I have to be so pale that every little blush turns me bright red?
“Well?” Ethan cocks one eyebrow, obviously enjoying my embarrassment.
“Uh, I’m good here,” I say awkwardly. I wanted it to come out like a fun, casual comeback, but my cheeks still smolder, which makes it impossible to act cool.
“Okay, just let me know if you change your mind.” Ethan chuckles as he walks out and closes the door behind him.
I let out a big relieved sigh. Stepping toward the huge window, I push the button to close it again. I need some time to myself.
I’ve been plucked from my normal environment and placed here, where my every action is scrutinized. I’m already craving some privacy.
Now that I’m not needed at the office, this apartment is the only place where we don’t have to be husband and wife, and this room is the only private space that solely belongs to me. I don’t need anybody peeking in here.
Ethan has already invaded my family, years ago when he destroyed my parents’ livelihood and relationship. I’m not letting him into the only private space that I have, even if this bedroom technically belongs to him.
I step into the bathroom, which is ritzy in an understated way.
I stare at my own reflection in the mirror, expecting to see a different person.
But no, I look the same as I always have, even though I’m a wife now, and he has branded me with that blazing-hot kiss.
I expected a lot of things this morning when Mr. Hunter’s driver picked me up from my apartment in a black sedan and helped me put my luggage in the trunk. I wondered how many cars he has, and what the driver does all day when he's not driving Mr. Hunter or Penny all over town.
But I never expected that kiss. That damn kiss.
That kiss made me question everything.
I run the tip of my index finger over my lips and wonder, what am I really doing this for?
Do I want revenge for what he’s inflicted on my family? Am I really trying to earn some money to support both my mom and myself?
Or do I actually want this?
This whole time, I’ve been suppressing my thoughts and feelings about him. My anger has been clouding over everything else, to the point where I wouldn’t even allow myself to acknowledge how attractive Ethan Hunter is—how attracted I am to him.
But that kiss…
Could there really be something between us? Something other than a business arrangement and pent-up resentment?
Megan
“I can’t believe you got married and you didn’t invite me,” Penny sulks at the dinner table.
“It wasn’t a real wedding, Penny,” Ethan says with a big, exhausted sigh.
He’s still wearing his work clothes, although he has taken off his suit jacket and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, exposing a pair of strong, muscular forearms. All around us, San Francisco starts to light up as the orange-and-pink sunset gets darker and darker.
For the last ten minutes, Ethan has been trying to explain to his daughter that whatever we did this morning wasn’t a big deal—which it really wasn’t, except for that kiss. But that kiss was at least a PG-13 anyway, and Penny’s only eleven.
At the kitchen, a man is throwing the vegetables he has chopped into a pot on the stove. Matt is their personal chef—and mine, too, I suppose—who comes over every night to prepare dinner, as well as an easy breakfast for everyone to reheat in the morning.
Matt’s not supposed to know that we’re only pretending to be married. Luckily, he’s far enough away from us that the audio from the TV should be sufficient to drown out our conversation.
With Ethan’s busy schedule, he doesn’t have any time to do house chores himself. I should bump into a cleaner or two in the next few days. I can’t imagine Ethan mopping the floor in his Armani suit, even if the sleeves are rolled up.
“You’re really married, though, aren’t you?” Penny asks.
Good question, kid. I’ve been asking myself the same question myself. It’s hard to know what’s real anymore.
“Well, legally we are. But you know we’re not actually…” Ethan runs his fingers through his dark hair in frustration and gives me a look, asking for my help.
I may not know much about how to deal with kids, but I remember being a little girl, and getting excited about going to weddings.
“We did get married, Penny, but it wasn’t a wedding,” I try to explain.
“What do you mean?” Penny turns to me, her blue eyes blazing with outrage.
“I mean we just said some words and signed some papers, but we didn’t have a ceremony. It wasn’t a wedding. There was no white dress, there wasn’t any music, there was no dancing…”
“…or cake,” Ethan adds.
“Exactly,” I say. “You would’ve been bored.”
“Was there kissing?” Penny asks, challenging us.
Ethan and I glance at each other. We haven’t even talked about the kiss, even though we both know it wasn’t just a formality. We definitely went above and beyond what was needed there.
“There was, wasn’t there?” Penny insists. “I can tell from the way you’re acting.”
“Well, honey, we had to kiss for the minister to sign the papers and make it official. But that still didn’t make it a wedding,” Ethan says.
“No, Dad, haven’t you ever watched any movies about eloping at all?” Penny asks indignantly. “It’s a wedding when you say the vows, and then kiss.”
The movies. Of course that’s where Penny has been getting her ideas from.
“Well, life is not like the movies, Penny,” I say, although I don’t know if that’s true anymore. I mean, the events of my life so far have been pretty movie-like, especially the part where I freaking married my boss, who also happens to be my nemesis.
“It was a wedding. You got married and you didn’t invite me,” Penny repeats. Great. Now we’ve come full circle.
“You know what? There’s nothing I can do about it, Penny,” Ethan says in defeat. “Whether it was a wedding or not, it’s not like we can repeat it just for you right now.”
“Okay, but you would if you could?”
“Yeah,” Ethan says off-handedly.
“Okay. Then do it.”
“What?” Ethan asks.
“Do it, whatever you did at the office when you ‘didn’t actually have a wedding.’” Penny draws air quotes with her fingers when she says the last part of the sentence.
I cast a worried glance at Ethan. What are we going to do now? Looks like we just got trapped by a ten-year-old. I’d be embarrassed if I weren’t also confused about the feelings swimming in my chest right now.
A part of me feels like it would be wrong to reenact the fake wedding and further insult the institution of marriage—which is already perplexing because I don’t believe in marriage anyway.
A different part of me, the one that has been replaying the kiss again and again all afternoon, kinda wants to do it again.
And yet another part of me is outraged that I’d have to kiss my sworn enemy twice in one day, when even just once in my entire lifetime is bad enough.
I feel divided, to say the least.
I’m also hungry, and it seems like Matt is done with the cooking. The aroma of whatever he’s serving tonight whets my appetite. I’m ready for this little stand-off with Penny to be over.
“Can we just eat, Penny? You’re being unreasonable,” Ethan says, saying out loud what’s on my mind.
“Sure, we can eat, but only after you show me what the wedding was like.”
“I told you what the wedding was like. It was just another boring signing of a contract. We said some words, we kissed, and a man declared us married. That was all.”
“Okay, tell me what the words are.”
“I, uh, take Megan Jones as my wife,” Ethan glances at me, a strange expression on his face, before he continues, “to have and to hold until death do us part.”
“Okay.” Penny grins from ear to ear in tr
iumph. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it, Dad? Your turn now, Megan.”
“Me? Uh… It’s the exact same thing, except for the name part.” I laugh nervously.
“Just say it. Come on, you guys already didn’t invite me to your wedding. This is the least you can do,” Penny says.
When she puts it that way, I guess we have forgotten about her, and we shouldn’t have. It just didn’t occur to either one of us that family should be involved in what’s essentially just a temporary business arrangement.
I take a deep breath. “I, Megan Jones, take Ethan Hunter as my husband, to have and to hold until death do us part.”
“Okay. Now, kiss.”
Ethan and I share another look, then stare at Penny.
“What?” Penny asks innocently, although the intelligent glint in her blue eyes tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing. She adds, “Come on, Matt’s already done with the food. Don’t you want him to think of you as a real married couple?”
Ethan raises one questioning eyebrow at me, but he remains silent. He’s not saying no to Penny’s request. He’s letting me decide what to do.
I should say no. Penny is being unreasonable, after all.
On the other hand, maybe another kiss wouldn’t be a bad idea. Maybe, earlier in the office, the whole wedding thing and the strange atmosphere made the whole thing feel more intense.
Perhaps if we share another kiss, it wouldn’t live up to my memory. And then I’ll be able to get Ethan Hunter out of my system and refocus my energy on my mission to bring him down.
“I don’t mind,” I say as casually as I can.
“See, Dad? Megan doesn’t mind,” Penny quickly comments, not wanting to miss this opportunity.
“Okay,” Ethan says, not looking like he minds it at all.
Without missing a beat, he gets up from his chair on the other side of the square table and steps toward me, his blue eyes dark with impatience—impatience due to how strange his daughter’s request is, or impatience because he can’t wait to kiss me?
I’m eager to have another taste of him, and I wonder if I’m just projecting my own motives onto him. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but for a split second, I think I catch a hint of desire in the way his gaze sears into my flesh.
