Contract Of Betrayal

Chapter5: Consumation

Chapter Five

Sophia’s POV

(SLIGHT MATURE SCENE AHEAD BUT BRUSHED ON)

Dinner stretches like a punishment, with Isabella's high-pitched laughter ringing in the air. I want to ask what she is doing here. I just got married to Julian, but it feels like that doesn't matter.

Maybe I should be grateful that I am nothing more than arm candy. That is what I want, right? It gives me time to be away from Julian, to practice my art, and maybe stay with my parents a little more.

I try to catch Ava's eye, but each time I do, Mrs. Blackwood's sharp look cuts me down. She shakes her head insistently and forces me to focus on my food.

And Ava, my best friend, doesn’t even bother to make an attempt. She doesn’t reach for me, only smiling politely when she is addressed by others.

By the time the plates are finally cleared and everyone disperses without giving me as much as a glance, I feel a headache coming on. Today has been strange, and I just want to sleep.

One of the maids lead me to a room upstairs. With the welcome I received, I do not expect to sleep in the same room as Julian. Hell, I don’t even want it. But at the same time, this room does not feel welcoming.

The curtains are already drawn, and a silk nightgown lies carefully folded at the foot of the bed. I remain on my feet long after the maid closes the door behind me, staring at the nightgown, and replaying the last two hours.

It makes no sense.

Ava, being here with them.

I walk into the bathroom to have a shower and return a while later, slipping into the nightgown. Fatigue finds its way to me as I crawl under the sheets and whisper into the dark, “What are you doing with the Blackwoods, Ava? And why won’t you talk to me?”

The door pushes open suddenly, and I can tell who it is before he even takes a step further.

Julian.

He fills the doorway with his presence, his dark tie loose, hanging limply around his neck. His eyes are darker than I have ever seen them. I sit up just as he strides across the room.

“Julian…” I whisper into the dark.

He doesn’t reach for the night lamp. “Do you like the nightdress?”

My eyes widen. “Julian…” This time, it is a gasp, a gradual knowing that has me pushing away from him, farther into the bed.

I can see him in the dark, and the look in his eyes tells me everything. Possessive. Needy. Unrelenting. I shake my head, pressing back against the headboard. "Go back," I whisper, clutching too tightly to the sheets. “Please, just leave me alone.”

“I married you, Sophia. Haven’t you heard that lack of consummation of marriage renders it void?” His voice reverberates through the walls, returning to me, chill and dark.

“Don’t, Julian. Please….”

The bed sinks with his weight, and in one second, the sheets are ripped from my grasp. His body crashes against mine as he pulls himself onto the bed.

"Julian!" Panic creeps into my voice, and my hands push against his chest. Hard.

But my protests amount to nothing. It doesn't matter.

So, I let him be. I stay as still as a rock as his hands fuss over uhh u my body, tearing the nightdress and dumping it unceremoniously. It doesn’t matter that I have never had s*x before. I doubt he even realizes that.

The cool air caresses my skin as his hot hands replace every inch. Heat sears everywhere he touches, and I wonder why I feel the warmth in the base of my stomach. It travels and halts between my thighs, and I clamp them together.

I cannot begin to understand what my body wants. It doesn’t matter that I hear his buckle unclasp in the dark or that he parts my legs open with one hard move of his hand.

All that matters is how wet I am and how my breath hitches in my throat.

My hand on his chest grows weaker as Julian buries himself into me.

I press down the moan threatening to escape my lips, but like everything else, Julian doesn't notice. I gasp when he starts thrusting, closing my eyes tight as a single tear rolls down my face.

When it is over, I lie there, angry at myself for wanting him. The nightgown still lay discarded by my side, and now, the diamond ring on my finger weighs a lot.

Julian walks out of the room without saying a word, and just as I am getting used to the silence, the door opens again.

Ava. She's around?

For a heartbeat, relief shoots through me. My tears pour out faster as she saunters in.

“Ava,” I wail. “Oh my God! You don’t know how relieved I am to have you here. You won’t believe what Julian just did.”

A single scoff echoes, and my head snaps up.

“Like you didn’t enjoy it,” she hisses, her face appearing in my vision. “I should have known it.”

“Ava…”

“You’ve been throwing yourself at him since the minute you saw him.” Her voice is laden with so much rage that it cuts through me. "Don't pretend you didn't want this, Sophia. Don't lie there and act like the victim when you have taken the only man I've ever wanted. That I've ever loved."

A frown rests on my face as I shake my head violently. “What are you talking about, Ava?” I whisper. “I didn’t even know who he was until…”

She scoffs again. “I am not falling for that again,” Ava snaps. “That might have worked in Arts school when you walked up to the stage and took all of the awards that should have belonged to me, when you shone under all the attention the boys gave you. I watched you flirt back at the one I wanted, Sophia.”

“And now, you think you are special because he put a ring on your finger? You think this marriage makes you his? Let me tell you something.” She leans in until her breath teases my cheek. “Julian Blackwood has never belonged to anyone. And the day you believe otherwise will be the day you break.”