Unwillingly His

The Deal

Ellie's POV

I woke up to silence.

I turned over slowly. The room was empty. I sat up and looked around. No sign of him. Like he'd never been there at all.

He had left the room yesterday and hadn't returned. I remembered my threat. I was sure he was going to return to the room today. But none of the things he took away with him was here.

I got up, freshened up and stood in the middle of the room for a moment. Part of me wanted to walk to the guest room and check. See if he'd gone back there after I slept.

I stopped myself.

I wasn't going to walk around this house looking for my arrogant husband. That wasn't who I was.

I headed downstairs. Irina was at the foot of the stairs arranging flowers on the side table. She looked up when she heard me.

"Good evening Mrs Ellie”

"Good evening Irina." I kept my voice easy. "Have you seen Jayden?"

"Yes ma'am. Mr Spark has been at the gym after he returned from work”

The gym. Of course.

"Thank you."

I found it on the far side of the ground floor. The door was slightly open. I could hear the faint sound of weights before I even pushed it open. I stepped inside quietly.

I saw him before he saw me.

He was at the weights. Shirtless. His back to me, every muscle defined and moving with each rep.

I held my breath.

A line of sweat ran down his spine and I stood completely still in the doorway.

I was not prepared for that.

I looked away. At the wall. On the floor. Back at him because apparently my eyes had their own agenda entirely.

I pressed my lips together and looked at the ceiling instead.

He still hadn't noticed me. He was focused. Breathing

steady, movements controlled. Even here he looked like someone who had never lost control of anything in his life.

I quickly remembered why I was there so I straightened up and cleared my throat.

He slowed. Set the weight down and reached for his towel and wiped his face before turning around. When his eyes landed on me they didn't move.

"So." The corner of his mouth shifted slightly. "You fulfilled your threat."

"Put your shirt on." I said bluntly

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm in my gym Ellie."

"I'm aware of where we are. Put your shirt on." I fixed my gaze on the wall behind him. Neutral. Unbothered. At least that was what I needed him to see.

"You can't look at your own husband?" He smirked

Something warm crawled up my neck and I lifted my chin before it could show on my face.

"I won't have any conversation with you until you put your shirt on. That's final." I looked the other way with my arms crossed.

He looked at me for a long moment. That slow, unbothered way he had of doing everything. Then he reached for the shirt on the bench beside him and pulled it over his head. Unhurried. Like the decision was entirely his.

I exhaled once, quietly.

"Better?" He asked.

"Much." I said flatly.

He crossed his arms. "You went to my father."

"You left the room."

"That doesn't give you the right”

"You had 24 hours Jayden." I kept my voice level. "You chose to ignore it. I simply had a conversation."

"Don't do it again."

"Then don't give me a reason to."

He looked at me differently then. Not angry exactly. Something more calculating than that. Like he was reassessing something he thought he already understood.

"Your deal." He said finally. "I'm not accepting it as you laid it out."

"Excuse me?"

"If we're making terms we make them together. Not just yours dropped on me like an instruction."

His own terms?

I held his gaze. "Fine. Say your terms."

He pushed off the equipment behind him. "You don't go to my father again. Whatever happens between us stays between us. Not his business. Not anyone else's."

"Agreed."

"You stay out of my space. My work. My life outside this house."

"Gladly."

"And publicly" He paused. "When it's necessary we present as a couple. Only when it's necessary. No performances otherwise."

I nodded slowly. "My terms."

He waited.

"No intimacy. We live separately under the same roof. No interference in each other's lives. No nagging. No crossing into each other's space." I held his gaze. "And in two years this ends. Cleanly. No complications."

He was quiet. Reading my face the way he always seemed to. Looking for something to use or something to dismiss.

"Two years." He said.

"Two years." I repeated.

The gym was quiet. Just the two of us and the weight of everything we were agreeing to hanging in the air between us.

"Fine." He said.

One word. Cold and clean and final.

But it landed exactly the way I needed it to.

I turned toward the door.

"Ellie."

I stopped but didn't turn around.

"Don't mistake this for a truce."

The smile crossed my face before I could stop it. Good thing my back was to him.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

I walked out.