Chapter 5
1240 Words
Aurora
It's totally fine if I get nicknamed “Miss Joker”
Because I could have sworn that there was no way on earth that I would exist in the same space with this man.
Yet here I was barely a week later, sitting across from him on the dining table in his home, my dinner barely touched, his untouched, and he staring at me with the very desire that I knew would burn me if I didn't remain firm.
“Rules?” he raised a brow.
Great. He heard me loud and clear before.
“We need clarity so we can create boundaries.” I straightened up and steadied my voice.
He leaned back in his chair, confidently brushing his thumb on his jaw, he always did that, which made me suddenly feel like whatever I was going to say wouldn't matter so much.
But I won't falter. There's so much at risk here and the only way to maintain a careful living experience between two adults were rules.
“Boundaries.” he echoed slowly, savoring the words.” Right. I'm all eyes Mrs. Malcolm.”
My heart froze.
“I’m serious. Let's not start with a joke please.”
He stared at me amusingly. “What? Calling you Mrs. Malcolm is a joke?”
I inhaled sharply deciding to ignore him.
“Okay. First rule…” I hard barely started before he cut in.
“How many are we aiming for? Ten? Twenty? Should I get a notebook?”
I glared at him and his lips annoyingly curved in a smirk. Absolutely shameless.
God, why is he like this?
“Archie…can you be serious please, cause I am.”
“I know,” he murmured, and the softness in his tone made my heart stumble. “You always are. That's the problem.”
I shut my eyes to regain sanity and when I opened them, I straightened up again, back to business.
“Rule number one,” I continued firmly. “We maintain a strictly professional relationship in the four walls of this household. No slip-ups, no moments or whatever.”
“And what happens outside the four walls of our home?”
Our home?
God Archie Malcolm, keep driving me nuts okay?
“I don't know..I don't think we need to convince anyone we are married, we've done enough of that on what we've carelessly put up in the media.”
“You sure about that? Maybe you've got no idea who you are married to….”
“This isn't marriage, and what would you have us do outside the four walls of this household?”
“Perfect, uhmm let’s see…we attend events together as the romantic beautiful couple we are supposed to be? We don't act like total strangers outside, but rather like real lovers.”
“And like real lovers you mean?”
“Everything a husband and wife should be.”
“I’m not going to kiss you, Mr. Malcolm, not ever.”
“So the kiss from that night…”
“That was a moment of weakness, an accident!” I snapped quickly, too quickly.
His eyes gleamed like he had been waiting for that reaction all night. “I see…so people accidentally kiss like that?”
“I swear to God, Archie….” I fumed.
But his gaze held mine, and suddenly, the room began to feel hotter than it should, I looked away instantly, looking everywhere else but him.
I swallowed hard, his eyes linger to my lips and for a moment I saw the passion that burned in them and I wanted badly for it to remain there, but sadly he took his eyes off my lips and leaned forward.
I cleared my throat, gathering my senses back “Whatever you say Mr. Malcolm, as long as you don’t break any of my rules.”
”Rule two,” I continued, stiffly. “No touching inside this household, not even accidentally, and outside, don't get carried away.”
He blinked at me slowly “You want me to pretend like you don't exist?”
“I want you to please behave.”
He chuckled. I clenched my fist, because ignoring him was impossible and I’m certain he knows this.
“Rule number three.” I continued, refusing to let him derail me. “No emotional conversations. No dredging up the past. No asking me personal questions.”
His expression shifted, changing the air and melting the teasing aura sharply.
“No personal questions at all?”
“None,” I said quickly.
He said nothing but just sat there, watching me for a long, breathtaking second.
“Fine. No personal questions,” he finally said.
Good, absolutely perfect. Because if he asked, if he ever asked….
I swallowed and pushed in “Rule no four: We’re staying together, yes, but that doesn't mean…”
”Yes it does,” he said, cutting me off with a deep unshakable certainty.
“You’re my wife, Aurora. I'm not letting you sleep in a different room.”
The word wife hit me like a slap. But not as hard as the thought of sharing a bed again with him!
I pushed my chair back instantly. “Not happening, Mr. Malcolm. Please don't start. We literally just agreed to no acting in the four walls of this house.”
He rose too, slowly, but deliberately. “I’m not starting anything,” his voice came softly. “But I'm also not doing a marriage where you would hide in a different building. Look around you, there are staff everywhere in this household, they could snitch.”
“For Christ’s sake, it's a room, and this is not a marriage,” I whispered, all of my strong defenses thrown out the window.
This wasn't even the bomb yet. I still had to buy my time before I finally ended this conversation with the most important part of the night.
My chest thumped but I paid no mind to it.
“I’m not gonna pretend we don't share a roof,” he said softly.
“Arc…..Mr. Malcolm, this thing…whatever it is, we’re not it. We can't be it.” I hated the c***k in my voice as he walked closer.
“And yet, here we are.” his eyes didn't leave mine for a second.
And in that moment, I knew the only thing that could cut it, and my chest stopped at the very thought of it.
But I straightened, ignoring the way my pulse hammered.
“There’s one more thing, I blurted out quietly.
“More rules.”
“No”
His brows furrowed for a second but he quickly relaxed. He watched me as I turned towards the hallway.
My voice almost failed me but I forced it out.
“Tiana, come baby.”
The door opened slowly and a tiny figure stepped forward. Her curls were messy from sleep. As she walked towards me, her small hands rubbed her eyes.
My heart melted at the sight of her, but the moment felt like a hot seat and I genuinely didn't want to have anything to do with this seat.
“Mommy?”
Archie turned to me sharply, he didn't say a word, his mouth slightly open, I opened up to speak but no words could come out.
“Mo..mommy?”
At the sound of his cracked voice, I felt the world stop instantly.
- Writer
