Claiming My Bride Of Convenience. Kate Hewitt

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       CHAPTER TWO

      I WATCHED AS shock blazed across Matteo’s features and stiffened his powerful body. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting that. No doubt he thought I’d spent all the money he’d given me. If only he knew the truth…

      ‘Why on earth would you want an annulment?’ he blustered. ‘What’s the point?’

      ‘That’s none of your business,’ I shot back.

      The last thing I wanted was to expose my vulnerability to this man. I wanted out of this marriage because I wanted a chance at a real life, a real love, and I knew I wouldn’t get it with Matteo Dias. That was a fact that sent a stupid pang through me, because even now, when he was being so irritatingly arrogant, part of me wished he’d notice me the way a man was meant to notice a woman.

      Even in this tight red dress, I could see he was regarding me like something unfortunate he’d stepped in.

      ‘It certainly is my business,’ Matteo retorted. ‘We’re married, Daisy.’

      ‘It’s not a real marriage.’

      ‘It is on paper.’

      ‘I’m willing to pay back the money, Matteo. What objection can you possibly have?’

      Except I’d known instinctively that he would object—that he was not the kind of man to let a woman dictate his terms. To let me be the first to walk away. And now, feeling the full force of Matteo Dias’s ire was enough to have me trembling where I stood. Still, I was determined to stand my ground.

      ‘I assure you I’ve thought this through very carefully. I would not be giving back one million, seven hundred fifty thousand euros lightly.’

      ‘How on earth do you still have all that money?’

      ‘What would I have spent it on?’ I countered, which was not quite the truth.

      ‘Seriously, Daisy…’

      ‘I invested it,’ I told him. ‘And the profits will allow me to repay you and keep some for myself.’

      He shook his head slowly, as if he couldn’t believe I was clever enough to have done such a thing, or courageous enough to ask him for an annulment. But I was both, and I was proud of it.

      His jaw hardened and he folded his arms. ‘I don’t wish to have an annulment.’

      ‘That’s too bad for you, then, isn’t it?’

      His eyes flashed dangerously. I knew I shouldn’t have provoked him like that, but I wasn’t having this high-handed manner now.

      ‘Our agreement was clear, Matteo. I could have the marriage annulled at any time, as long as I gave the money back. You just never thought I would.’

      His lips tightened. ‘It is exceedingly inconvenient for me to have our marriage annulled.’

      ‘Oh, dear,’ I mocked. ‘I’m so sorry.’

      ‘Don’t, Daisy.’

      ‘How about you don’t—don’t stand in my way? I’m the one abiding by our agreement, Matteo, not you.’

      Matteo shook his head slowly from side to side, as if trying to clear it. Then he shook it more forcefully.

      ‘This is ridiculous. What on earth are you going to do once our marriage is annulled? Where will you go?’

      ‘Actually, I intend to stay on Amanos.’

      ‘What?’ He stared at me in scathing disbelief. ‘Not in my house.’

      ‘No, of course not. I’ll rent a place in the village.’ I’d already seen one—a small, whitewashed one-bedroom cottage that was reasonable.

      ‘Why, if you intend to stay on Amanos, can’t you stay married to me?’

      I didn’t reply, and Matteo’s eyes narrowed.

      ‘Have you met someone else? Are you having an affair?’

      ‘That’s rich, coming from you.’

      Matteo’s affairs were plastered all over the tabloids, which was the whole reason I was meant to be invisible.

      ‘Are you, Daisy?’

      He looked furious, which was entirely unfair.

      ‘As it happens, no, I am not.’

      Something in my tone must have given me away because understanding flashed in his eyes like lightning.

      ‘But you wish to?’

      ‘No, actually. I have no desire to have seedy, sordid affairs the way you do,’ I retorted.

      ‘What, then?’

      I shook my head, regretting having said anything about it. ‘Let’s focus on the annulment.’

      ‘I need to know why.’

      ‘No, you don’t.’

      ‘Yes, I do.’

      I threw up my hands, exasperated. ‘Matteo, you don’t—’

      ‘Not an affair…’ he mused out loud. ‘But something else. What could it be?’

      Was he really so dense? Had the concept of true love really never occurred to him? Was it so off his radar that he couldn’t imagine me or anyone else wanting it? Or was it that I was so unappealing to him he couldn’t imagine anyone wanting me?

      I shook my head, deciding to end his misery. ‘I’m twenty-six years old, Matteo. I want a real marriage one day. A real family.’

      I heard the ache of longing in my voice, and I knew he heard it too. A baby…that was what I really wanted. A family of my own—something I’d never had. I’d take the husband too, of course, but his image was a lot hazier.

      ‘A family?’ He looked surprised. ‘You want children?’

      ‘Yes—children, a husband, the lot. Most people do. Don’t you?’

      He was silent for a moment. ‘I will need an heir СКАЧАТЬ