His widow bride

Chapter4

Zariah’s POV

I returned to my hostel with one of Damian’s drivers dropping me off. Throughout the ride, I replayed our conversation over and over again in my head, until I had every word memorized.

“Why did you sit there, doing nothing, while she spoke to you like that?” he’d asked, anger in his eyes. It reminded me of that night, when I’d been drinking.

“You don’t know anything about me, Damian,” I’d shot back, pissed that all he’d done since he got back was order me around. “And my personal life is none of your business.”

"You are wrong," he'd muttered, casually strolling to the bar in one corner of his office. With his back turned to me, Damian continued. "As my wife, every part of your personal life is my business."

“I am not getting married to you, Damian.”

“That wasn’t a request.”

Damian's driver didn't even try to strike up a conversation with me throughout the twenty-minute ride, and by the time he pulled up in front of the building, I'd decided I had had enough drama for one day.

Making my way down the narrow hallway leading to my room, my hand fished for my keys in my purse, when abruptly, I heard the clack of heels on the marble floor.

I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. The scent of her rich perfume permeated every corner of the hallway, and there was just something about her presence that drew everyone’s attention, even when they didn’t want it.

“Look who it is,” she started in a loud tone, loud enough to get the attention of the other students in the hallway. “The bloody betrayer. I wonder how Nathan would feel in his grave, knowing fully well he could have done better with his choice of a wife.”

“Ariana, it is late. I’m really tired.”

"Of course you are." I couldn't tell if she was sad or just angry as she stopped right in front of me. "Jumping into bed with your late husband's best friend merely days after his funeral must have taken a lot of your strength. All that rigorous exercise…"

She allowed her voice to trail off, giving the students the freedom to imagine whatever they wanted to.

“Look, I’m sorry that Damian couldn’t talk to you earlier. We just had something really urgent to discuss, and…”

I allowed the rest of my words to trail into oblivion when Ariana scoffed. “I’m sure he had a reason for that, Zariah, but it would be really silly of you to think that it had anything to do with you.”

She laughed then, a wicked sound that seemed to lodge deep in the air, leaving a harsh dent in me. “Take a good look at yourself, Zariah. Do you really think someone like Damian Rostov would give you a second glance? You think today meant something, but he only pitied you because you are his best friend’s widow.”

She had no idea what happened in that office, but what was worse was the fact that I couldn't tell her. The clause in the will also stipulated that the moment an outsider knew about it, the clause would be void, and that meant I would have to pay back eleven million dollars.

Where the hell was I supposed to see that kind of money?

I tried to step around Ariana, slotting my key into the hole, but her hand came down sharply, hitting mine. The key tumbled to the floor, falling out of reach.

Anger flashed in my eyes as I looked up at Ariana. I raised my hands against her, but halted when I saw the smug look on her face.

“Go ahead,” she mocked. “Hit me! But I should remind you that it would be the last thing you would do before you are escorted out of NYU. Your scholarship was only made possible by people like my father, and it would give me great joy to rip it out of your hands.”

Ariana was right. Nathan's contract marriage with me never included my education. The deal was to get my mother the medical help she needed after she was diagnosed with cancer. I had to apply for a scholarship, and I was lucky to have gotten it.

I couldn't allow this to ruin my chances at having a degree in arts.

My hands fell back to my side, just as Ariana shook her head pitifully, laughter brimming in her eyes. “I thought as much,” she drawled.

"People like you should know their place. This is the last warning I'll be giving you, Zariah. Stay away from Damian. You can't seduce your way into his bed and believe that you are suddenly worth more than you are. You are just filth beneath his shoes, and he can't wait to get rid of you."

She gave me a once-over, then turned around and walked away, but not before I heard her last words. “I wonder what Nathan was doing before getting married to you. He probably wanted to know what it felt like having s*x with a virgin.”

The hallway erupted with laughter, and it stung even deeper than her words. I fell to my knees, fishing for the key that had conveniently blended in with the marble. Finally finding it, I jumped up to my feet and opened my door, rushing in before anyone else could make a snide comment.

The moment I had the door closed behind me, I allowed the tears to freely flow down my face, sliding down to the floor. Nathan's death couldn't make me cry, but the series of events that followed sure got to me.

Even in death, he looked for ways to make me sad. I fished for my phone in my purse, along with the contract Damian had handed over to me. His number was scrawled on the last page.

He picked up on the first ring.

“Zariah.”

It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. Damian had my number. I wondered how long he’d had it for.

I swallowed. “Let’s get married.”