His Secret Vow

Chapter Four

At 6 PM, her phone rang. It was Ryan.

"Are you settled?" he asked without saying hello.

"Yes. Thanks for the credit card limit increase. I bought some bowls. Very necessary bowls."

"Good." There was an awkward pause. "I'll be traveling for business tomorrow. Three days."

"Oh. Okay. Should I water your plants or something?"

"What plants?"

"It was a joke. You know, because the apartment has no plants. Or pictures. Or personality."

"You can decorate if you want."

"Really?"

"Within reason. No pink walls."

"What about purple?"

"No."

"Green?"

"No."

"What colors do you accept?"

"White, gray, beige, or light blue."

"Those are the most boring colors in existence!"

"They're calming."

"They're depressing! Don't you like any fun colors?"

There was another pause. "I have to go. Don't open the door for strangers."

"You said that already."

"It bears repeating. Goodnight, Melody."

"Goodnight, Robot Husband."

That night, Melody lay in the unfamiliar bed in the unfamiliar apartment, married to an unfamiliar man. The car outside was gone, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something strange was happening.

At midnight, her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number: "Does he know what you're worth?"

Melody sat up, her heart pounding. She texted back: "Who is this?"

No response.

She checked that all the doors and windows were locked, then texted Ryan: "Someone sent me a creepy message."

He replied immediately, which surprised her since it was so late: "What did it say?"

She sent him a screenshot.

Ryan: "Don't respond to any unknown numbers. I'm coming back."

Melody: "What? No! You have a business trip!"

Ryan: "It can wait."

Melody: "Ryan, I'm fine. It's probably just a wrong number."

There was no response, and Melody figured he'd gone to sleep. But twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

She peered through the peephole to see Ryan standing there, still in his business suit but with his tie loosened. His hair was slightly messy, like he'd been running his hands through it.

"You came back?" she said, opening the door.

"You said someone sent you a threatening message."

"It wasn't threatening exactly..."

Ryan stepped inside and immediately checked all the windows, then looked at her phone again. His jaw was clenched tight, and his gray eyes looked stormier than usual.

"You're staying in the master bedroom tonight," he said. "I'll take the guest room."

"Wait, you're staying here? But I thought you had your own place?"

"I do. But someone knows you're here and they're sending you messages. I'm not leaving you alone."

Melody felt something warm flutter in her chest. "You came back from a business trip because I got one weird text?"

"It's not safe," Ryan said simply, already pulling out his phone and typing rapidly. "I'm having security installed tomorrow."

"Security? For a random text?"

Ryan looked at her with those serious gray eyes. "You're my responsibility now."

"I'm not a responsibility, I'm a person."

"You're both." He paused. "Do you have everything you need for tonight?"

"Yes, but"

"Good. Lock your bedroom door. If you hear anything unusual, call me immediately."

"Ryan, you're kind of freaking me out. Is there something you're not telling me?"

He was quiet for a moment, then said, "Sometimes my work creates... complications. It's nothing you need to worry about."

"That's exactly the kind of thing that makes people worry!"

"Go to sleep, Melody. We'll discuss it tomorrow."

But tomorrow came with Ryan already gone when she woke up. There was a note on the kitchen counter in neat handwriting: "Security team arrives at 10. Marcus will supervise. Don't leave apartment until complete. Breakfast in refrigerator. -R"

Melody opened the fridge to find a fancy container from what looked like an expensive restaurant - scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, and orange juice. There was another container labeled "Lunch" and one for "Dinner."

"When did he even have time to get this?" she muttered.

At exactly 10 AM, Marcus arrived with three men in uniforms who started installing cameras and a high-tech alarm system.

"Don't look so worried," Marcus said cheerfully. "This is just Ryan being Ryan. He's very... protective of his things."

"I'm not a thing."

"Poor choice of words. He's protective of people he's responsible for. Last year, someone bumped into Grandma Ruth at the grocery store, and Ryan had the entire store's security footage reviewed."

"That seems excessive."

"Welcome to life with Ryan Cross." Marcus grinned. "How are you settling in, by the way? Need anything?"

"An explanation for what's going on would be nice."

Marcus's smile faltered slightly. "What do you mean?"

"The mysterious text, the security system that probably costs more than I make in a year, Ryan acting like I'm about to be kidnapped by ninjas..."

"Ninjas?" Marcus laughed nervously. "That's ridiculous. Ryan just watches too many crime shows."

"Ryan watches TV?"

"Okay, no, he doesn't. But if he did, they'd be crime shows."

Before Melody could ask more questions, her phone rang. It was Mr. Paws from the pet shop.

"Melody! Where are you? You didn't show up for work and didn't call!"

"Oh no! Mr. Paws, I'm so sorry! I... I got married yesterday and—"

"MARRIED?"

"I know, it was sudden, but…"

"Take the week off. Paid. Consider it a wedding gift."

"Really?"

"Really. But I want to meet this husband of yours when you get back."

After hanging up, Melody found Marcus staring at her. "You work at a pet shop?"

"Yes. Is that weird?"

"No, it's just... Ryan didn't mention it."

"Ryan doesn't mention a lot of things."

Marcus's phone buzzed. He looked at it and frowned. "I have to go. Emergency at the office. The security team will be done in an hour. Don't let anyone else in."

After everyone left, Melody was alone again in the too-quiet apartment. She decided to do something about it and went shopping with the credit card Ryan had left. She bought throw pillows for the couch (blue ones, so he couldn't complain), some plants (they made oxygen, which was very practical), and a few picture frames.

She realized she had no pictures to put in them. Her phone had some selfies with Emma and Tommy, but none of Ryan. How weird would it be to have no pictures of her own husband?

That evening, Ryan called.

"The security system is installed," he said without preamble.

"Yes, Marcus supervised. It's very... thorough."

"Good."

"Ryan, why do I need cameras that can see in the dark and an alarm that calls the police automatically?"

"Prevention."

"Prevention of what?"

"Problems."

"You're really bad at explaining things."

"I've been told that before."

"By who? Your other secret wives?"

There was a pause. "That was a joke?"

"Yes, Ryan. It was a joke. You really need to learn what those are."

"I know what jokes are. They're verbal constructs designed to elicit laughter through unexpected conclusions or wordplay."

"That's the most depressing definition of a joke I've ever heard."

"But accurate."

Melody sighed. "When are you coming back?"

"Friday. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, I just... this is weird. Being married to someone who's never here."

"Most people would consider that ideal."

"Most people didn't marry you yesterday."

Another pause. "Are you having regrets?"

Melody thought about it. "No. It's just strange. Everything changed so fast."

"Change is often uncomfortable."

"Says the man who probably eats the same breakfast every day."

"Oatmeal with blueberries. It's nutritious and efficient."

"Of course it is." Melody smiled despite herself. "Ryan?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for coming back las

t night. When I got that text."

"It was necessary."

"Still. Thank you."

He was quiet for so long she thought he'd hung up. Then he said, "You're welcome. Goodnight, Melody."

"Goodnight, Robot Husband.”

She thought she heard him make a sound that might have been almost like a laugh, but he hung up before she could be sure.