Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 582(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
I wasn’t so sure about the nice part, but I definitely needed to be alone with Samuel.
My phone beeped with a text from Samuel telling me that he’d be late, and I should eat without him.
“Samuel’s working late.”
Her face pinched in disapproval. “Would you like me to stay?”
“Are you sure? What about your husband?”
“I’ll send him a message. He had a business lunch anyway. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
Eating with Ines was nice, but my mind kept drifting to Samuel and what he was doing. Ines hadn’t mentioned her husband working late, but wouldn’t he if things were so busy?
I didn’t want to be the jealous bride, but I wondered if Samuel was with another woman, with that F.
The whispers of other people finally got to me, their assumption that a man like Samuel would have a mistress in a marriage with someone like me. As if I was incapable of fulfilling his needs. And even if that were the case, that didn’t mean the vows of fidelity were void.
I needed to know. The chances of getting an honest answer probably weren’t too high, but maybe his reaction would give him away.
When Samuel finally came home late at night, he looked surprised when I was still up and waiting for him in the bedroom. I put down the book I’d been reading and looked at him. My bravado dwindled seeing his eyes. I hated conflict, and this early on in our marriage, I could do lasting damage, but I needed to speak my mind, or I’d go insane.
“Are you all right?” Samuel asked as he opened his cuffs. For some reason, the movement made me long for his touch, for what we had on our wedding night.
The muscles in his forearms flexed, and I could hardly look away. It would have been easier to keep watching him and duck away from the questions tingling on my tongue.
I cleared my throat. “You agreed to marry me.”
Samuel’s brows drew together. He was obviously unsure where I was going with this. I, myself, wasn’t sure how to speak my mind.
“Maybe I’m not what some people in our world consider a good catch, and perhaps some people even believe I can’t be a good wife, but I’m just as capable as any other woman. I also expect to be treated with respect, and for me, that includes faithfulness or, at the very least, honesty. If you are with someone else, I want to know.”
Maybe this would mark the end of our marriage before it had even really begun. My mouth turned dry when the last words left my mouth.
Samuel dropped his hands from their task of unbuttoning his shirt. “What makes you think I would be with another woman?” he asked quietly, his gaze so intent I had trouble not looking away.
I felt inexplicably stupid blaming his possible infidelity on my wheelchair, especially since I’d been the one who told him it wasn’t as big a deal as many people thought.
Maybe he saw it because his frown deepened, becoming almost foreboding. Of course, that only made him more attractive. Samuel was a man who always looked good, and sometimes he looked completely breathtaking. “My parents have been married for thirty years. My father taught me that loyalty and faithfulness are the key to a marriage. I wouldn’t dishonor you by cheating on you, Emma. There isn’t another woman, and there won’t be.”
I swallowed. I could tell he was being serious. Actually, he seemed almost angry that I’d dared to accuse him at all. But what about F.? Was he really that good a liar? If that were the case, our marriage would be doomed. I blushed at my next words, feeling ashamed for my actions. “You have two phones, and this morning an F. told you she misses you.”
Samuel’s face became stone, as cold and as unrelenting, but the look of disappointment and anger in his eyes was worse. “You spied on me?”
I swallowed hard. “You hid your second phone from me, and the message from F. popped up on your screen.”
He stared off to the side, his gaze distant as if contemplating what to tell me. “You don’t trust me.”
Anger surged through me. “How could I? I’d love to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I know how some men in our world are, and I know how many people perceive me. I won’t lie to myself, and I don’t want you to lie to me either.”
Samuel took a step closer, his eyes blazing with fury. “You shouldn’t listen to what other people say. You should care how I perceive you. And I haven’t given you a reason to distrust me. I have two phones because I’m not only in contact with Outfit members. I have to deal with many creeps from other organizations that I’d like to keep separate.”