Chapter 30: Jealousy (Ace's POV) I really can't decide what she's doing. She could just tell me very easily who that was and we wouldn't have an argument about anything. But she really likes to poke the bear. "What do you think I'm going to do about it?" "I wouldn't ask if I knew," she smiled, sitting on her desk. "I'd probably kill him, little Phoenix." She jumped back off the table, her smile slipping. "No." "Yes." "No! That's Leo." "Leo who?" She sighed, looking at the glass window. I walked over, standing in front and towering over her. "Gianna." She kept looking away from me. She clearly thinks this is a game. I grabbed her chin, turning her to look at me but she pushed my arm off and looked back out the window. I sighed, rolling my eyes and resisting the urge to curse. I grabbed her by the throat then and tugged her forward. She rolled her eyes and looked straight up at me. "He's my ex-boyfriend, Ace." "Ah, the Frenchie?" She glared at me. "Didn't you come here to take me for lunch?" "Why don't you go to lunch with your ex?" "Ace, please just relax. We're friends now. He comes to Chicago once in a while, his brother lives here. I see him a few times in a few years. There's no need to show so much jealousy." "Jealousy?" I scoffed, "Please. There's no jealousy." "What is this then, hubs?" "I have every right to ask you which man is kissing your head and giving you hugs, Gianna. I'm your fucking husband." "So what if he kissed my head and gave me a hug? You don't hug women?" "I don't, actually." "Well, I hugged him. What are you going to do about it?" "Don't ask me that unless you want me to do something, sweetheart." "Don't threaten me saying you'll do something to my friend just because you don't fucking like him." She threw my hand off and poked my chest with a finger, hard. "I don't need to choose my friends based on what you say or think. Sorry, but I'm really not." I let out a breath and stared down at her. "I'm not trying to tell you who to be friends with. I'm just trying to tell you to be careful." "Why? Because you don't like him?" "Also because you have more eyes on you as my wife. And I don't want a reporter seeing something and then assuming something and then putting some fake news out there." She clenched her jaw. "If you're worried about fake news then I think you should get your priorities straight, Ace." I chuckled dryly. "You have a problem with my jealousy, you also have a problem with my concern about fake news. You've got problems with everything." "No, Ace. You've got problems with everything. You're jealous of my ex-boyfriend, yes or no?" "No." "Yes or no?" "No," I said slowly. "I'll ask again. Yes… or no?" I clenched my jaw, staring at her. "You're jealous of an ex-boyfriend even though I'm your wife. Does that sound right to you?" "It doesn't sound wrong. You think married couples don't feel jealous?" "So you admit it was jealousy?" She smiled. I sighed, glancing at her office door to make sure nobody was around. She laughed softly, grabbing my shirt and pulling me forward. "Hubs?" "Wife." "You have no reason to be jealous." Truth be told, I wasn't jealous because he's her ex-boyfriend. I was jealous because I still can't trust her completely. I want to, I really do. But I don't know if she's in love with me yet, I doubt she is, it's too soon. Which means she might still be planning to hurt me. Which means I still can't trust her completely. Because of that, I have to keep my eyes open, watch who she talks to, and who she's closest to as well, which I think is Aria. "Do you want to know why he was here?" "No, I really have no interest in your little Frenchie ex," I mumbled, pulling her arms down when she wrapped them around my waist. "Ace," she said sternly. "What?" I looked down at her. "He's getting engaged. He came here to ask if I could make his wife's wedding dress. It's business too, not just friendship, Allister. He came here for his wife-to-be. Not to see me." I stared at her, grabbing her by the throat again. "And you couldn't just fucking tell me that?" She laughed, leaning forward. "No. I'm not kissing you after you just did that to me," I scoffed, letting her go and moving towards the door. "Oi!" She grabbed my wrist and yanked me back, locking her legs around my waist. "Don't walk out on me." "Don't fucking lie to me then." "That wasn't a lie, come on. But I'll apologize, I'm sorry. Okay?" I frowned at her. "I'm sorry, hubbie." She leaned up, pecking my cheek. "Are we still on for lunch or will you stay angry until we see each other at home later?" I leaned in, tilting her chin up, and kissed her. She smiled against my lips, kissed me back, and let me deepen the kiss. She chuckled softly, mumbling against my lips, "Lunch or no lunch, Allister?" "Lunch." I pecked her lips once and then pulled away. "Okie," she grinned, leaning over and grabbing her purse before pushing me back and hopping off the table. "Let's go then." I led the way out and she stopped behind me, locking up her office as I do with mine. "What did you bring today?" I asked, glancing at her purse pointedly. "The dagger," she whispered as we stepped into the elevator. When we got into my car and I started driving to a Chinese restaurant nearby, she asked me, "You were really jealous, weren't you?" "No, I wasn't," I said, blowing it off. "I was worried and concerned about myself and my wife and both our reputations." "And jealous," she said cockily. "I wasn't jealous," I huffed, parking the car in a free spot. I turned the ignition off and stared her down. "I was not jealous." "Same difference, my love," she sang mockingly. "You were, why is it so hard to admit?" She smacked my arm. Because I don't think I should like her. But I do think she should like me so that I can stay alive. "Okay, you know what, I'll drop it before you get angry. Have you gone into work yet today?" I shook my head, unbuckling my seatbelt and hers too, leaning over her to ease it back across her body. She leaned back in her seat, her head resting on the headrest while she watched me with a smile. "Why not?" she asked. I stared back at her, my eyes scanning her face. "What was the question?" She chuckled, holding one side of my face and stroking her thumb across my cheek. "Why haven't you gone into work yet today?" Because I… I just didn't want to. I wanted to come see her instead. And it was incredibly boring without her at home. "Allister?" "Yes?" "Did you miss me?" "No," I said quickly. "You answered that way too quickly." "Let's go eat." I pulled away and climbed out, rushing to her side and getting the door for her and she stepped out, smiling to herself. "Stop grinning," I scoffed. "Why? I can grin all I want," she teased, walking beside me. We got inside and took a table for two, sitting across from each other. Once we placed our orders and started waiting for them, she spoke up. "I'm sorry I have so much work to do." "Why are you sorry about that? It just means you're running the business well." She shrugged, leaning back in her seat. "Yeah. But it also means I don't have a lot of time for you. You took time out of your day to come see me today. I wasted some of that arguing with you, and now I only have a little bit left until I have to get back. So, I don't see till I get home five and a half hours later." I stared at her, sliding my coaster around. "Wouldn't you feel bad if you were too busy with work to spend time with me?" Would I? "Probably not." She didn't seem offended or hurt, but she must have felt at least a little bad with my answer. "Why not?" She propped up her elbow and held her chin in her palm. "Because I've spent my entire life working to get where I am. I know very well what I already sacrificed and what I may have to sacrifice in the future and I'm aware of it and I've come to terms with it." She nodded in understanding. "That makes sense, but can I ask you something?" I nodded in response. "A lot of men end up losing their wives to their enemies, don't they? My dad did." Her mother was murdered? "It's unfortunate but it's true." "So, what if someone was trying to kill me? Is that a sacrifice you'd be willing to make? Considering we've barely been married for two weeks?" I fell into thought and then slowly shook my head. "No, it's not. It's not a sacrifice I'd be willing to make. And if something were to happen to you, I'd fight for you. Blood for blood, life for life. I'd kill whoever hurt you, no questions asked." She was trying not to smile but she was still staring at me. "What about you?" She smiled then. "Who'd be stupid enough to try to kill you, Allister?" "Some people are. And they usually regret trying or change their mind halfway through. But if you found out someone tried. Someone other than you, that is, wife." She watched me carefully, her eyes narrowing a bit. "Then what would you do?" Our food was brought and we both thanked the waiter before he left. I lifted a brow at her in question. "Kill them. Whoever it is." "What if your brother was alive and he tried? What would you do then?" She sighed, getting a forkful of noodles and blowing on them to cool them down. "Honestly, I'd be on both sides." "Not possible. Your heart would betray one of us anyway." "You know what I think, Allister?" "What do you think, little Phoenix?" "I think my heart betrayed me when I saw you kill my brother and didn't tell anyone. And I think it betrayed me again when I met you at his funeral. And then again when I met you at the auction. And I think it's been betraying me since the very beginning. Does that answer your question?" It does. I shook my head slowly though. "No. But I didn't expect it to." I want to hear her say it. "I think my heart already betrayed me. I should have chosen my family. Blood is thicker than water, isn't it?" "And you chose me?" "I don't know. But I chose myself. Because I had no doubt in my mind that you would kill me if I told anyone. And if not that, you'd make me miserable. Wouldn't you?" I nodded. "I would." "Exactly. So I didn't do things right by my family, but I did them right by me. I kept myself alive. At least that's what I like to tell myself," she chuckled, looking down at her food and taking the first bite. She didn't meet my eyes directly for the rest of our lunch. It irked me, but I understood. I hit a spot I shouldn't have even touched. But I'm the reason that spot exists in the first place. I'm the reason she feels this way, she might even blame herself. Because of me. . . . . . Chapter 30