Chapter 8

DAWN

"How are you finding the pasta?" Kyle pushes the plate of side dishes towards me. I didn't know when he found the time to pickle some fresh vegetables, but he did find time to do that. "Would you like some more of the salad? We have more than enough," he passes me the salad bowl and the pesto dish, "so please help yourself."

I wrap another string of pasta around my fork and bring it to my mouth. "It tastes delicious. You were not lying about your cooking skills." My comment earns a scoff that slips easily from Kyle's lips. His reaction makes me chuckle. "And to be honest, I'm eating so well tonight. Usually, I'll munch on any leftovers from the lunch I'll hurriedly cook for myself in the mornings or the night before, and I rarely make salads that look like this." I point to the salad bowl. "My salads are rarely this green or appetising." In my head, the word 'impostor' twinkles in bright neon lights as if it's a beer sign since I'm not talking about the absence of my cooking skills.

"Don't you worry! I'll make us salads every so often that you'll love them." He pushes the glass of juice towards me. "Why do I feel like you don't eat healthily?"

I cock my head down to avoid his gaze.

How does he know about my eating habits just after spending a day with me?

Am I that transparent?

Or has he installed some advanced technology chip into my brain to figure me out when I was sleeping this morning?

Last night's love-making session returns to me vividly, and I remember him massaging my hair roots as he thrusts deep inside me.

Just the thought of it makes me clench my thighs and hips. I sigh loudly into my food.

Why does it turn me on so much?

"What's wrong?" Kyle takes my right hand into his palm to investigate. "Does your index finger hurt while you hold up the fork to eat?" He stares at me, concern evident in his eyes. "Are you in pain?"

I nod my head.

It's just a different kind of pain.

I remember my lady bits being extra sensitive and twitchy when I was walking around at work today.

"It's nothing to worry about, though. I guess I'm not that hungry anymore." Sighing, I push my plate away slightly with my free hand. "My head is so foggy. I think I'm tired."

He grabs my plate and pulls it towards him, cutting up the pasta strings with my fork and knife and pushes the dish back towards me.

"Here, it'll be easier to eat now. Come on, you can do it. Eat up."

Kyle offers my hand a little squeeze as he smiles, and I can feel my heart throbbing loudly in my chest. This small display of concern makes me want to finish my dinner because he cares enough to indulge in my petty tantrums after a long day.

"Okay. If you want me to, then I will finish my dinner."

I feel so lucky that he's the man I ended up marrying, even though we barely know each other.

It's such a weird feeling.

Smiling at him, I finish up my food quickly. Then I stand up to offer my help to him. I never want to be the person who imposes themselves on someone.

"I will do the dishes and clean up around the kitchen."

He gets up too.

"You can do the dishes since I have already cleaned up the counters, put things away and everything." Then he smiles reassuringly at me. "There's no need to push yourself so hard. It's your house too. Go get some rest after you finish with the dishes." He walks to the kitchen with his plates in his hand and then puts them in the sink. I follow behind him with mine and the salad bowl. "I'll be in my study if you need me since I have some files I need to look over before tomorrow's morning meeting."

I nod my head as I watch him disappear towards the floating staircase and then begin cleaning the dishes.

***

An hour later, I am lying on the bedspread in my room, but sleep is the last thing on my mind. Since I didn't bring an overnight bag, I don't have clean clothes to wear to work.

Should I wake up early in the morning and make a run for my apartment?

Or should I pack up all my clothes and move in with him?

There are so many questions floating in my head that I don't have the answers to, and I'm not sure if I should bother Kyle with them. He's working on his files, and I still feel like it's too soon to ask him about moving into his house since we are practically strangers, and I don't know much about him. Let alone fancy the thought of living with him in his mansion.

Maybe waiting for things to happen organically is the right decision.

Slipping out of my bed, I walk towards his study, hoping to chat with him since I feel uncomfortable and out of place in this house.

Doesn't he want to spend time with me?

If that's not what he intended to do, why did he invite me to stay at his house overnight?

Taking small strides, I keep an eye out for his study since there are many locked doors in this house, and I don't know what's behind them. Luckily, after pacing for another five minutes, I arrive at the room at the end of the hallway, where the door is slightly open and steady bright light streams out of the room. It's pretty odd since the light on this side of the hallway remains somewhat dimmed for some reason.

This spacious room must be his study.

I knock on his door and wait for his answer.

"What are you up to?" I clear my throat. "Are you free? I need to talk to you about something?"

I stand at the entrance of his door when Kyle looks up from his computer and talks to me, taking me by surprise again.

"Firstly, I'm so sorry, Dawn. Just about everything I have put you through today, and I will be putting you through in the days that are about to come. I didn't mean to be rude, but I can't help but treat you differently at work. There's a lot at stake for me. Trust me. I won't hurt you recklessly because that's not the kind of person I am. When people matter to me, they matter a lot to me, and I believe in giving every relationship in my life the respect it deserves."

"Oh, that's all right, Kyle. I get it." Sighing, I step into his study. "Don't even think about it anymore." I walk to his worktable and lean on the side of it. "It will be fine working together if we can stick to our professional boundaries. We don't have to be attached to the hip to be close to each other." Then I fix some strands of hair behind my ear. "To be honest, if the information leaks out that I'm your wife at work, the women in the office will be super curious about our relationship and talk flak about me behind my back. It's better this way."

Nodding his head, Kyle situates his gaze on my face.

"You're right."

"So we should continue to pretend not to know each other at work, right?"

"That's right, Dawn. I think that would be best for the both of us." He pulls up some papers from the leather file to glance at before closing the file again. "Were you bored all by yourself in the guest room?"

Shrugging my shoulders at his question, I smile a little.

"A little bit, yes."

"Why don't you go to my bedroom and wait for me since I'll be back in a few minutes?" Then he sets his gaze back on the papers in front of him. "That room is much more cosier, comfortable and easy to live in for you rather than that guest room. Go on." He smiles encouragingly at me. "You can wait for me there if you want."

"Are we going to sleep in the same bed?"

He looks up from the papers to give me a dull look.

"Is that a question you're really asking me?" He scoffs. "Don't worry. I'm not going to make a move on you like I had promised you earlier in the morning. I'll wait for you to come to me when you're ready."

I suck in a deep breath, my eyes wide with the remembrance of the night before.

"Ah, okay." I nod, taking a step back. "I'll get going then."

"And Dawn?"

"Yeah?"

"My bedroom is on the left of the hallway next to yours."

"Okay."

Fidgeting with the wedding ring on my finger, I take small steps stepping out of the room to walk to Kyle's bedroom.