Chapter 5

Cecily's POV

Sunday morning.

I stood in front of the mirror and wrapped a silk scarf around my neck. Sabine would be back in the city soon, and whatever fragile peace this house had left was already gone. But I couldn't fall apart today. Sunday was the day I visited my father at Oakridge Care Center.

I couldn't let the nurses see Nolan's fingerprints on my collarbone. And if my father somehow woke from his coma, I couldn't let him see them either.

I grabbed my purse, planning to slip out before the Rothwell brothers woke.

But when I opened my bedroom door, Everett was standing on the other side.

I gasped and stumbled backward.

He didn't look like the cold, ruthless CEO from the night before. His tie was gone, the top three buttons of his shirt were open, and his hair was a mess. He looked as if he had spent the entire night pacing.

Without a word, Everett walked into my room and kicked the door shut behind him. The heavy bang made my heart jump.

"Everett? What are you doing? I need to go to the hospital--"

He wasn't listening. His ice-blue eyes, normally indifferent to everything, were restless now. He crossed the room in two steps and trapped me against the door.

Before I could protest, he ripped the scarf from my neck.

The red marks on my collarbone were exposed in the bright morning light.

Everett's breath caught.

"He touched you again." His voice was dangerously low, full of anger.

"I slapped him!" I shoved at his chest. He had handed me to the wolves last night, so what right did he have to question me now? "I got away from him because I'm the one who cares about the boundaries of this fake marriage. Not you."

Everett went still. He stared at me, his chest rising and falling hard.

"You are my wife," he said, his voice dropping. He moved closer until his tall body pressed against mine and boxed me in. "My name is on the marriage certificate. My ring is on your finger. Nolan has no right to leave his filthy marks on what belongs to me."

"I don't belong to--"

He cut me off with a hard kiss.

There was nothing gentle about it. It was punishment, desperation, and possession.

I gasped in shock, and he took advantage of the opening. His tongue pushed into my mouth with hungry force, making my knees weaken. One large hand locked around my waist and pulled me so close that I could feel his heart pounding.

I knew what this meant. He wasn't kissing me because he loved me. He wanted to erase his brother's touch, cover Nolan's mark with his own, and reclaim his territory.

But my mind went blank. For one dangerous, dizzy moment, I let myself believe another lie. My fingers slid into his dark hair, and I kissed back, foolishly desperate for the warmth of the man I had been married to for two years. He bit gently over my pulse, directly on top of Nolan's bruise, sending a hard shiver through me.

A sharp ringtone cut through the room.

Everett's phone.

He froze with his lips almost touching my neck. His breathing was uneven, and his eyes were dark and confused. After a moment, he reluctantly pulled the phone from his pocket.

I saw the name on the screen.

Sabine.

The room turned cold.

Everett stared at the screen for one long, painful second. The jealous husband who had pinned me to the door disappeared, and the powerful executive's mask returned.

He stepped back, straightened his shirt, and put distance between us as if the kiss had never happened.

He answered the call. "Sabine." His voice softened instantly, carrying a warmth I had never heard before. "You landed early."

He turned his back on me and walked straight out of the room.

I stayed frozen by the door, breathing hard, my lips still swollen from his kiss. The scarf lay abandoned at my feet. The warmth he had left on my skin turned to ice.