The Marriage Clause

Chapter 17

Vivian's POV:

A month had passed since our whirlwind courthouse wedding, and life had settled into a dangerously pleasant routine.

At home, Adrian was a constant, warm presence. The penthouse, which had once felt like a sterile glass box, now smelled of roasted espresso, fresh herbs, and the subtle, intoxicating cedar scent of his cologne. But at Aurora Life Sciences, we maintained a careful, professional distance.

Everyone in the building knew we were married now. The news of the CEO marrying her jolly-to-go executive assistant had sent shockwaves through every floor during the first week, but as the initial gossip died down, things settled. Out of respect for workplace ethics—and perhaps a lingering fear of my icy reputation—the employees treated us like the boss and subordinate we still appeared to be on the surface.

And that was precisely where my frustration began.

I stood behind the double-paned glass wall of my corner office, holding a mug of coffee, looking down at the open-plan floor where the executive assistants worked.

Amelia was standing by Adrian's desk again.

Ever since the announcement, Amelia had toned down her flirtatious touchiness—she wasn't bold enough to cross physical boundaries with the CEO’s husband—but her constant presence was infuriating. She visited his desk during almost every coffee break, brought him pastries from the corner bakery, and joined the group lunches with Ethan, Noah, and Ryan.

I watched through the glass as Adrian looked up from his dual monitors, giving Amelia a bright, warm smile as she handed him a fresh cup of coffee. He laughed at something she said, running his hand through his honey-brown hair.

A sharp, hot spike of possessive jealousy flared in my chest.

I wanted to have lunch with my husband. I wanted to walk down to the cafeteria, sit across from him, and taste the food he packed for us every morning. But I held myself back. I didn't want to smother him or overwhelm him with my constant presence. He deserved to have his friends, his routine, and his space at work without his boss-wife hovering over his shoulder like a warden.

Still, watching another woman bring him coffee every single day was testing every ounce of my patience.

I glanced at the clock on my desk. It was nearly five in the evening. Most of the floor was wrapped up in quiet, end-of-day administrative work. Yet Amelia lingered at his desk, leaning against it, chatting away as if they had all the time in the world.

I waited five minutes. Then ten. She didn't move.

My patience snapped.

Walking over to my desk, I slammed my coffee mug down and pressed the intercom button.

"Adrian," I said, keeping my voice clipped and strictly professional. "Bring the quarterly vendor audit files into my office immediately."

Through the glass, I watched Adrian react instantly. He nodded to Amelia, gathered a thick folder from his desk, and stood up. Amelia finally took the hint, waving goodbye and walking back to her department.

A few seconds later, my office door clicked open. Adrian stepped inside, holding out the thick manila folder. "Here are the audit files, Mrs. Rossi"

I didn't even look at the folder. I stepped forward, snatched it out of his hand, and carelessly tossed it onto the sofa behind me.

Before he could react, I reached for the wall console beside my desk and pressed the frost button. Within seconds, the floor-to-ceiling glass surrounding my office turned completely opaque, sealing us away from the eyes of the entire building.

Adrian’s hazel eyes widened slightly, a surprised blink breaking his composure.

We had a rule, unspoken but absolute: inside this building, we were nothing more than colleagues. Our physical intimacy lived exclusively behind closed doors at home. We had never crossed that line at work—until now.

I closed the distance between us, grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket, pulled him down, and pressed my lips firmly against his.

It wasn't a gentle, polite kiss. It was deep, demanding, and fiercely possessive—a silent declaration that the man currently being pampered by the office staff belonged exclusively to me.

Adrian stiffened for a fraction of a second before a low, amused rumble vibrated in his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, pulling my body flush against his, and kissed me back with the familiar, intoxicating warmth that always made my knees go weak.

When we finally pulled back, resting our foreheads together, his lips were curved into a wicked, lopsided smirk.

"You didn't actually need the vendor audit files, did you?" he murmured, his hands sliding down my back until his large palm gave my rear a firm, playful squeeze through my pencil skirt. "Were you jealous, Mrs. Rossi?"

Warmth bloomed across my cheeks at the sudden, bold pressure of his hands, but I couldn't even find it in myself to deny it. I loved the way he never missed an opportunity to call me Mrs. Rossi. Coming from his lips, the name felt less like a label and more like a badge of honor I was proud to wear.

"What if I was?" I admitted quietly, looking straight into his eyes. "She brings you coffee every day, Adrian. She brings you snacks. She talks to you during every break."

Adrian laughed softly, a rich, tender sound that instantly diffused the tight knot of anxiety in my chest. He tilted my head back, dipping his lips down to the sensitive line of my neck. He nipped playfully at the soft skin right beneath my jawline, making me gasp and arch into his touch, before soothing the small bite with a trail of warm, feather-light kisses up to my earlobe.

"Vivian," he murmured against my skin, his voice dripping with an earnestness that hit me straight in the heart. "You have absolutely nothing to be insecure about. Amelia is just a friend, and she knows I completely belong to my wife. I would never, ever betray you."

He pulled back slightly, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to the corner of my mouth. "If anything, I'm the one who married way out of his league. I have the most brilliant, stunning CEO in London waiting for me at home. Do you really think I'm looking at anyone else?"

I looked up at his handsome, open face, feeling a strange lump form in my throat.

The corporate world and the media thought I was the one pulling the strings—the cold, dominating CEO who had her husband under her thumb. But who knew that behind closed doors, I was absolute putty in his hands? He was the one with all the actual control over my heart and body, yet he gently let me and the world believe I held the power.

I couldn't help but think of my father and make a contrasting comparison. Growing up, I had watched Richard Matthews demand complete submission from my mother. Even though my mother was the brilliant mind behind Aurora—making all the profits, building the legacy, and running the enterprise—my father had constantly tried to shrink her. He wanted a traditional wife who stayed in his shadow, cooked his meals, and stroked his fragile ego, all while he secretly betrayed her behind her back.

Yet here was Adrian.

He had no fragile male ego. He wasn't threatened by my power, my title, or my wealth. He proudly stood beside me, cooked for me without ever being asked, took care of our home, and treated me like a prized equal rather than a prize to be conquered. He was everything my father was not—a rare, incredible gem of a man.

"You are ridiculous," I whispered, a soft, genuine smile breaking through my guarded expression.

"Just honest," he winked, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me flush against his chest as we stood in the quiet, frosted office.

I rested my head against his shoulder, listening to the steady, comforting beat of his heart beneath his tailored shirt.

"What are people going to think about the frosted glass walls?" I mumbled against his chest.

He chuckled carelessly, "Imagining us as what a normal husband-wife does."

"s**t! That's going to be so awkward."

"You should have thought about that before being so reckless." He kissed my head as we stayed there in silence.

And as I closed my eyes, wrapped safely in the arms of the man I had hired as a temporary fix, the sheer depth of how much I needed him scared the absolute life out of me.