Page 11 of Bound Bride
Great. How the fuck do I make reading sexy?
"That's cool. What are you reading right now?" When Kon doesn't reply, I continue. "I like being outside. Any activity that lets me be outside is so fun, although not any kind of intense sports. That's not my jam. But swimming, going to the beach, cycling… all sorts. Do you do any of that?"
Kon's shoulders lift slightly. "I swim."
It's like milking a rock trying to get a decent response from him.
So, he really was just putting on a show because we were in the middle of everyone.
Suddenly, I might as well be as interesting as the flowers on the table.
"Excuse me," I murmur, pushing away from the table. "I have to pee."
As soon as I step away from the table, Calvin melts out of the crowd and becomes my shadow for a few steps until I stop and turn to face him. "Are you following me?"
“Yes, ma'am."
My nose wrinkles. "Ew. Please don't call me that."
"I've been assigned as your personal bodyguard. Where you go, I go."
I glance past him at Kon, who appears to be watching us, but he looks away as soon as I notice him. "Even the bathroom?"
"To the door," Calvin clarifies. "I'm to protect you, not invade your privacy."
"Oh. Okay. Cool." I resume walking while a knot tightens in my chest and remains there until I stumble into the cold tiled bathroom and close the door on Calvin's face.
This is really fucking weird.
I've spent the past six months in utter hell, and yet the monstrous family I've supposedly married into is treating me with more humanity than the fuckers I'm free from.
How does that make any sense?
Caught up in my thoughts, I don't notice the shadow in the corner of the stall until I reach the sink and place my hands on the cold porcelain with a deep, calming breath.
"What the fuck are you playing at?" Mathew melts out of the stall and lunges at me, catching me by the throat and slamming me painfully hard into the mirror. All air rushes past my lips, and then I choke as he tightens his fist around my neck and brings his face close. "What was that shit on the dance floor?!"
I claw at his wrist while he spits in my face, his words hushed but just as threatening. It's not until my nail catches on the soft skin beneath his thumb that he finally relaxes his grip enough for me to breathe.
"Y-You told me to fuck him!"
"Not in the middle of the dance floor. Are you fucking insane?"
"I was trying to work out what makes him tick!" I gasp weakly. "He's a hard man to read!"
"In private, you fucking whore. It looked like you were trying to embarrass him into walking away from this marriage, and I warned you what would happen if this failed. Do you need a reminder?"
Pain flashes in my mind, along with a jarring reminder of Mathew's boot slamming down on my ribs. "No," I choke out. "I-I know what I'm doing!"
"Good. Because if I get even a hint of you trying to screw me over, I'll carve up your sister and mail her to a hundred different places all over this city so you can never piece her back together!"
Tears of desperation spring into my eyes as the knot in my chest inflates, threatening to break my ribs from the inside just to expel some of the energy.
Words fail me.
All I can do is nod frantically until Mathew finally releases me.
As he steps away, I crumple down against the sink with a strained gasp.
