The Secret Society

Chapter 3

HENRY'S POV

Lucy had been talking for what felt like an eternity.

"So, what do you think?" she finally asked.

I blinked.

"About what?"

Her expression immediately changed.

"You weren't listening, were you?"

"I tried," I admitted. "But then you started giving me more details, and I completely lost track."

"Henry, we're getting married in eight months. Could you please take some of this seriously?"

I pulled her towards me and kissed her forehead before wrapping my arms around her.

"You need to relax. You're stressing yourself out. Alice will make sure everything is perfect on the day. All I want is for you to walk down that aisle."

Lucy lifted her head from my shoulder and gave me that award-winning smile.

"And to say 'I do'," I quickly added.

She laughed.

"Henry, as though I could ever refuse you anything."

And, unfortunately, that was probably true.

Two years earlier, a close friend had told me about a secret society.

He had made it sound exciting.

He had told me it could transform the intimate side of my relationship with Lucy.

At the time, I couldn't imagine how that was even possible.

My relationship with Lucy had always been incredible.

I could look at her and still feel completely overwhelmed by how beautiful she was.

I spoke to her about the society, and eventually signed the document.

I didn't read the facts.

I didn't read the rules.

I didn't read anything.

I assumed it was some kind of private relationship workshop or perhaps an unusual form of couples' therapy.

Something we could laugh about afterwards.

I was spectacularly wrong.

The moment Lucy and I discovered what the society actually was, we panicked.

We left.

Or, at least, we tried to.

They found us a few days later.

Our families had money, influence and connections, so we were given one final opportunity.

They made the consequences perfectly clear.

There would not be another warning.

You did not simply walk away from the society.

And so, for the past two years, Lucy and I had attended once a week.

It was something neither of us particularly enjoyed, but we had learned to separate it from our relationship.

Whenever we were together, it was only each other we thought about.

We had even agreed that if this was something we had to continue doing, then we would face it together.

There was, however, one possible way out.

Pregnancy.

The society did not accept pregnant couples into the group.

If we could keep the pregnancy private for nine months, they would consider our membership fulfilled and allow us to leave.

It was our one hope.

Lucy and I had been trying for a baby almost from the moment we joined.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going particularly well.

"Henry, gold or lilac?" Lucy asked.

I laughed and rolled my eyes before pointing towards the gold.

"Gold."

I knew better than to pretend I cared about wedding decorations.

At least I was trying.

---

That Evening

That evening, we pulled up outside Caius's house as usual.

As we entered the dining room, everyone gathered around the table.

Claire stood at the front of the room.

"We have a new couple joining us tonight."

A strange feeling immediately settled in my stomach.

I had become familiar with most of the regular members.

As uncomfortable as the society was, at least I knew the people.

The thought of being paired with someone completely new made me uneasy.

Ironically, considering the circumstances, I had grown accustomed to the familiar faces.

Then Claire introduced them.

"Ella and Evan."

I looked up.

And stopped.

For a moment, I genuinely forgot where I was.

Ella.

She was standing beside Evan, looking nervous and completely out of place.

Her dark hair framed her face, and her brown eyes seemed to take in everything around her with a mixture of confusion and apprehension.

I stared.

I shouldn't have.

But I couldn't seem to stop myself.

Claire introduced everyone else, but I barely heard a word.

My attention remained on Ella.

Then Claire announced that she would choose the first set of keys.

My heart began beating faster.

I couldn't explain why.

I found myself hoping she would choose mine.

It was ridiculous.

I was getting married in eight months.

I loved Lucy.

She was the woman I had chosen.

The woman I wanted to spend my life with.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I wanted Ella to pick my keys.

She reached into the bowl.

I held my breath.

Then she pulled out a set of BMW keys.

I immediately recognised them.

Not mine.

A strange sense of disappointment washed over me.

I couldn't believe it.

I didn't believe in love at first sight.

I didn't believe in instant attraction or fairy tales.

But when Ella looked up, something happened.

Her brown eyes caught mine.

For a moment, I felt completely lost.

Then I forced myself to look away.

What was wrong with me?

I was marrying the woman I loved in eight months.

Lucy was my future.

She was my everything.

I had no business thinking about another woman.

Lucy was standing nearby, and her beauty seemed to radiate throughout the room.

Every man there seemed to notice her.

I resented every one of them.

Especially the men whose keys remained in the bowl.

Yet Ella stayed in my mind.

I told myself it was nothing.

Perhaps I had simply been curious because she was new.

That had to be it.

A little time with Lucy later would clear my head.

At least, that was what I told myself.

"Henry."

I heard my name.

A moment later, someone nudged my arm.

I looked up.

Vicky was holding a set of keys.

My keys.

Of all the people in the room, it had to be Vicky.

She smiled when she realised she had picked me.

"Room Seven," Claire announced.

Vicky walked over, took my hand and led me towards the room.

Part of me was relieved.

At least I had been chosen before Lucy.

I didn't want to know who had picked her.

---

Room Seven

Vicky closed the door behind us.

She had always been confident and completely unrestrained within the society.

I, on the other hand, had spent countless evenings trying to convince her that conversation might be preferable to rushing straight into an arrangement.

It had never worked.

Tonight was no different.

I kept my thoughts elsewhere.

On Lucy.

On our wedding.

On our future.

I refused to let myself think about Ella.

Eventually, the evening came to an end.

I left the room as quickly as I could.

All I wanted was to find Lucy.

I headed towards the car, hoping she would already be waiting.

She wasn't.

I turned around and went back inside to collect my keys.

As I hurried through the hallway, someone suddenly collided with me.

We both stumbled backwards.

"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry!"

I recognised the voice immediately.

Ella.

She had fallen onto the floor and was trying to get back up.

I couldn't help but laugh softly at the absurdity of the situation.

"It's fine. Don't worry."

Then I looked into her eyes again.

Those brown eyes.

She looked as though she had been crying.

"Are you okay?"

Ella nodded but wouldn't look directly at me.

Something about that bothered me.

I wanted her to look at me.

I had no idea why.

Before I could say anything else, Evan came running over.

He reached for Ella and helped her towards the door.

He gave me a brief nod.

I returned it.

I didn't particularly like him.

Perhaps it was unfair, but something about him immediately irritated me.

Once they left, I returned to the dining room.

Claire was still there.

"Where's Lucy?" I asked.

"She hasn't come out yet."

That surprised me.

I glanced towards the hallway.

"What do you think of the new couple?" I asked.

Claire followed me into the dining room.

"He seems arrogant," she replied. "Ella, on the other hand, seems genuinely sweet. I hope she comes back."

"Why wouldn't she?"

Claire gave me a knowing look.

"Because he didn't tell her what she was agreeing to."

My expression hardened.

"He tricked her?"

"Apparently."

I shook my head.

"That's wrong. You should speak to Caius. The fact that only the men sign the contracts isn't right."

"I know. I've already told him."

Claire sighed.

"But Caius is Caius. He believes the world should work the way it did centuries ago, where men made decisions for everyone else."

"It's still wrong."

"I know."

Claire's expression softened.

"Poor Ella is trapped now, just like Lucy and you."

I didn't like hearing that.

"Does Caius even care?"

Claire shook her head.

"Not really. To him, she's simply a new member. The moment he saw her, he was interested."

I frowned.

"You sound like you wanted to throw something at him."

"I nearly did."

I laughed.

"You?"

Claire looked at me with complete seriousness.

"Don't be ridiculous."

I smiled.

"Fair enough."

Claire's expression fell.

"He's my husband, Henry. I don't exactly have many options."

I immediately regretted making light of it.

"I'm sorry."

Claire nodded.

"Thank you."

Ten minutes later, Lucy finally appeared.

She was smiling.

I frowned.

Why did she look so happy?

"Ready?" she asked.

"More than ready."

I walked over and took her hand.

We left the house together.

---

The Journey Home

The car ride was unusually quiet.

Normally, Lucy could talk for hours.

Tonight, however, she was silent.

"What's wrong?" I eventually asked.

She looked at me.

"Nothing is wrong."

"You seem unusually quiet."

She smiled.

"I didn't have to do anything tonight."

I glanced at her.

"What do you mean?"

"He just wanted to talk."

I stared at her.

Someone had chosen Lucy and spent the entire evening talking to her?

I couldn't decide whether to be relieved or suspicious.

"That must have been a long conversation."

"He was having problems at home. He wanted to talk to someone and thought a woman's perspective might help."

I nodded.

We arrived home and walked inside.

Lucy turned towards me.

"What do you think of the new couple?"

I thought about Ella.

"He seems arrogant."

Lucy frowned.

"Why?"

"Claire told me he tricked Ella into joining."

Her expression immediately changed.

"Oh, that poor girl."

"And she was paired with Caius."

Lucy looked genuinely horrified.

"That's awful."

We continued towards the stairs.

"I doubt telling her about the pregnancy clause would help," Lucy said quietly.

I looked at her.

"You mean the clause that allows couples to leave once they have a child?"

"Yes. I can't imagine Ella would suddenly want a child with Evan after what he's done."

"Perhaps not."

I paused.

"But if she gets around to reading the entire contract, she may discover the clause herself."

Lucy nodded.

"We shouldn't interfere just yet."

"Agreed."

I didn't tell her what I was thinking.

I didn't tell her that I couldn't stop thinking about Ella.

I didn't understand why.

And I didn't like it.

Lucy began walking upstairs.

Halfway up, she turned around and smiled at me.

"Take a shower."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Her smile widened.

"Because you're about to receive some serious attention."

I didn't need to be told twice.

For the first time that evening, my thoughts were completely focused on one woman.

Lucy.

My fiancée.

My future wife.

And the woman I loved.