Bracing myself, I walked slowly towards our room where my husband was waiting for me, ready to unleash his rage on me. He doesn't get angry very often so whenever he does, it's not a pretty sight.

I took a long sigh and then entered the room, coming face to face with Evan who was taking off his tie. The white shirt was hugging his muscular arms, which I have grown very fond of these days. The top two buttons of his shirt were opened, increasing his attractiveness level to the highest point possible.

"Care to tell me why you invited him here?" he asked in a very irritated voice, stepping closer to me.

"Uh... I thought... You would want me to do that." I said honestly.

"And why in God's name would you think that?" he asked, taking another step closer to me. I gulped hard and took one step back, intimidated by his masculine scent and tall height.

"I mean, he sounded nice." I stammered.

"Nice..." he took a long pause. "He is a dick. And you know why I know that?" he asked and I shook my head. "Because I have known him since childhood. Same playschool, same middle school, same high school, same college. We had been rivals throughout my life so when he found out that his sister was in love with me, it shattered his fragile ego in small pieces and he acted like a big douche. Now tell me, does he sound like a nice person?"

His piercing eyes were observing my face keenly as he demanded the answer. He was towering over me and his tall height was making my thoughts jumble up.

"Well, it was... It was kinda expected. I am sure you would have reacted the same if it was your sister with your rival." I said and the next minute, I heard a deep groan.

He took another step towards me, not giving me time to back away. Our chests were almost touching and I could feel his hot breath on my face. "I hope you remember that you are my wife."

Hearing the word wife from his mouth did something to my heart. My gaze lowered to his lips few centimeters away from me and the urge to close the distance was dominating me.

"You said this marriage was just on papers." I reminded him.

His frown deepened at this and he leaned his head closer, until my vision blurred and I started seeing two of him. My mind stopped working and apparently, so did my lungs.

"Then go on, date him. You have my blessings." he whispered against my lips.

My face was heating up badly. I knew I was flushed like a tomato by now but I didn't want to back away and show him that I was the weaker one.

"God, don't exaggerate Evan. I don't even know him. Why would I date him? I just said Cara seemed cozy with him so maybe, he should stay." I reasoned although I was a little furious. Did he really think I would date anyone while being in this marriage?

"Whatever." he said and backed away. His mouth was thinned into a line and the temperature of the room had risen up, despite his cold attitude.

"Whatever," I mimicked, earning another scowl from him. Rolling my eyes at his bad mood, I walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

...........

I was in the kitchen, making pancakes for Cara who was settled on the counter beside me. She watched carefully as I poured the batter on the pan and waited for the bubbles to appear.

"What's it that smells like heaven?" I heard Nate's voice. He entered the kitchen with a mischievous smirk on his face. His hair was wet and slightly messy, indicating that he had taken a shower.

"Ooh, I love pancakes." he said as he walked towards me and peeked over my shoulder.

"I will make some for you." I said. The batter was enough for Cara, Nate and me because Evan always eats his toast and omelet.

"Thank you, Mia Cara," he said and I blushed profusely. He was a charming man and he knew how to make someone blush. Under normal circumstances, I would have developed a huge crush on him if the 'crush' spot wasn't already occupied right now.

He picked up Cara and took him outside while I stayed behind and made pancakes. After balancing all three plates on my hands expertly, I made my way outside. My feet stopped when I found Evan already sitting there, assessing me. He didn't look particularly pleased when I placed the plate in front of Nate.

"Wow," Nate said when he took the first bite. "It's like an angel cooked it and served it on my plate."

Before I could answer, Evan replied for me, "My wife is no less than an angel." My head whipped to his direction and I found him smiling at me with adoration in his eyes. I blinked my eyes to check if I was seeing right.

For the rest of the breakfast, I didn't have the courage to lift my head and look at him. I ate the pancakes in silence, feeling two sets of eyes on me. One belonged to my husband and the other belonged to his supposed rival.

After Evan was done, he stood up to leave. But instead of leaving, he walked behind my chair and leaned down until I felt his hot breath against my cheek. "Hurry up. I'll be waiting for you in our room." he whispered and what he did next knocked all the breath out of my lungs.

He kissed me on my cheeks.

I gasped hard at this and my face turned red. Nate's calculative eyes assessed our movements while Cara struggled to suppress her giggles at our PDA.

When I rushed inside the room, he was waiting for me on the bed. "What was that?" I asked, still flustered at what just happened.

"What?" he asked calmly.

"What? You just... You just... You just kissed me." I said and a corner of his lips moved onwards.

"If you think that was a kiss, I would love to see your reaction after a real kiss." he said and my tongue stopped working on hearing his comment. Was he planning on kissing me?

"You... You..."

"Don't worry, I'm not least bit interested in kissing you." he said and stood up to walk towards his study desk. He picked up some files and got ready to leave, while I burned in embarrassment. "We have to act like a happily married couple while he is here."

"But why?" I asked.

"Because I said so." he replied casually and walked out of the room.

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