Chapter 45 *
Damon's POV
I just got back from the office. I heard noise coming from the kitchen. Voices. Laughter from a TV show.
I walked in and stopped.
Scarlett was sitting at the kitchen island. Legs tucked under her. Wearing an oversized Columbia T-shirt and gym shorts. Hair in a messy ponytail.
She had a huge bowl of cherries in front of her. Was watching something on her iPad. Some cooking competition show.
She didn't look up when I walked in.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey." She popped another cherry in her mouth. "Leftover pasta in the fridge if you're hungry."
I walked over. Reached into her bowl. Grabbed a cherry.
Her hand shot out. Smacked mine away.
"Get your own."
I almost smiled. I opened the fridge. Pulled out the pasta container. Noticed she'd made extra. Like she knew I'd be hungry.
Small things. Domestic things. They felt... good.
I grabbed a fork. Leaned against the counter. Started eating cold pasta straight from the container.
Scarlett glanced up. Saw what I was doing. Shook her head.
"You have plates, you know."
"Too much work."
She turned off the iPad. Swiveled to face me.
"We need to talk about those shopping bags."
I stopped mid-bite. "What about them?"
"I need you to return them."
Direct. No preamble. Very Scarlett.
I set down the container. "Why? You don't like them?"
Genuinely confused. I'd had my personal shopper pick out everything. Top quality. Classic styles that would last.
"It's not about liking them or not."
She paused. "This is too much. Too fast. We barely know each other."
Her eyes met mine. Steady but cautious.
"I don't need designer clothes to feel... whatever you wanted me to feel."
The words hit wrong. Like I'd done something offensive instead of generous.
I walked around the island. Sat down across from her.
"I wasn't trying to make you feel anything."
My voice came out more defensive than I intended.
"It was just a gift. That's all."
"A gift?" She leaned back slightly. "Damon, that 'gift' is worth more than most people make in ten years."
She wasn't angry. Just stating facts.
"That's not normal. That's not how normal people celebrate test scores."
"We're not normal people."
The words came out harder than I meant.
I took a breath. Tried again.
"I wanted to do something for you. Is that so wrong?"
The hurt in my voice surprised me. I hadn't meant to let that show.
Scarlett's expression softened slightly. But she didn't back down.
"It makes me uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable how?"
She hesitated. Like she was choosing her words carefully.
"Like you're trying to... I don't know." She looked down at her hands. "We're just in a contract marriage, Damon."
My jaw tightened.
Contract marriage.
I stood up. Put both hands flat on the island. Leaned forward.
"You think that's what this is?"
My voice was cold now. Controlled. But the anger was rising.
"I don't know what this is, Damon. That's the problem."
She held my gaze. Didn't flinch.
"We got married for the baby. That's what we agreed to."
"Is that all this is to you? A transaction?"
The question came out sharper than I intended.
"You give me a baby, I give you my name, and that's it?"
My frustration was mounting. I could feel it building in my chest.
"That's what made sense. That's what was practical."
Her voice got quieter. But still firm.
"I didn't think... I didn't expect you to want more than that."
I pushed away from the island. Walked to the window.
My hands were shaking slightly. From anger. From hurt. I couldn't tell which.
I stared out at the dark gardens. Tried to get my emotions under control.
Several seconds passed. The silence was heavy.
I turned around.
"There's no such thing as a fake marriage, Scarlett."
My voice was low. Steady now.
"Not legally. Not in any way that matters."
She was watching me. Her face unreadable.
I walked back toward her. Stopped a few feet away. Kept distance between us.
"I married you because I wanted our child to have both parents. Yes."
I paused. This next part was harder to say.
"But I also thought... maybe we could make this work. As a real marriage."
I looked away. Couldn't meet her eyes while saying this.
"Not some cold arrangement where we live separate lives under one roof."
The vulnerability in my own words made me uncomfortable. I wasn't used to this. Laying my feelings out like this.
Scarlett's POV
I stared at him.
My brain completely stopped working.
Wait. Wait wait wait.
"Real marriage?" The words came out strangled. "What do you mean real marriage?"
Damon's jaw tightened. He looked away. Then back at me.
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Oh my God.
Oh my GOD.
He's been serious this whole time.
My mind raced back through everything. I thought this was all... temporary. Practical. A legal arrangement so our baby wouldn't be illegitimate.
I thought we'd eventually divorce once the kid was old enough.
You know. Like normal people who marry for practical reasons.
Divorced parents are way more respectable than a bastard child, right? That was the whole point!
But Damon...
Damon thought this was REAL?
"You—" My voice cracked. "You've been treating this like a real marriage? This whole time?"
"Of course I have." His tone made it sound obvious. "What did you think I was doing?"
"I thought we were just—" I gestured wildly between us. "—solving a problem! Making the baby legitimate! Not actually being... being..."
"Husband and wife?"
I stood up so fast my chair scraped loudly against the floor.
"Damon, we barely know each other!"
"We're having a baby together."
"That's biology! That doesn't mean—"
"It means everything."
He stood up too. Walked around the island. Stopped right in front of me.