Jayden's POV

She perks up and her eyes pop up in surprise while I am still sitting like nothing is wrong with what I just said.

I really do not know why I said that too but it shouldn't be a big deal to her. This is just a pretense but we need to make sure it looks real, as long as we both know deep down inside that it is nothing but a facade.

What if my mother is still behind the doors peeking or eavesdropping on our conversation?

My mother is an amazing woman with foresight. When she asked Isabella to undress me, I knew something was up and I have a feeling she already knows that this marriage is fake or probably she is suspecting that it is.

Whatever it is that is making her have these suspicions will be cleared soon. I will make sure to clear it but Isabella has a lot to do here.

"Never mind!" I wave her away when she is still watching me with shock.

She gulps loudly as I rise from the sofa.

This is when I remember how my body ached so much this morning because of how I slept on this sofa. I regretted not sleeping on the bed.

Suddenly, it dawns on me that Isabella won't be able to move her things to her own room now that mother is here and we might have to put up with sleeping in the same room again tonight.

Shit! I curse inwardly.

I really do not know what my mother is doing here. And how long she is going to stay here.

What should I do? Should I leave this room for Isabella and find another room for myself just for tonight?

What will happen when she finally moves and then my mother appears from nowhere only to see that we aren't behaving like couples?

Sleeping in different rooms is enough evidence that we aren't real couples and I really want to clear my mother's doubts and suspicions. I need to make the best out of this so my mother will be fully convinced that marriage isn't for me.

I am not the problem here. Marriage is. The women are the problem.

Should we just demarcate the bed like last night and sleep on the bed?

Why didn't she even move in the morning? Even though it worked to our benefit, I want to know why she hasn't moved her things yet and why she canceled the shopping appointment with Anna.

"Why haven't you moved your things to the other room since morning?" I ask her, as I stand in front of the mirror, taking off the half-loosed tie and my suits too.

"You also canceled the shopping appointment, is anything the matter?"

She is silent and I furrow my brows, turning back to see her still sitting on the bed, her head down.

I stroll close to her, my shirt unbuttoned as I lean down to take a look at her face. "Isabella?"

She jerks out of her reverie and stares at me. A pleat of her hair falls across her unhappy face, making me want to tug it behind her ears.

Why is she looking sad? Did I say something wrong?

"You said what?" She questions loudly.

"What's the matter with you?" I ask her, straightening up.

"Nothing", she shakes her head vigorously, the unpacked hair falling off in multiple pleats. "I'm fine. You are asking why I canceled the appointment, right?"

I watch her, arms folded and curiosity up. "And why haven't you moved your things yet?"

"Oh!" She murmurs, "I went to see Grandma."

"Your grandma? And you just came back?" She nods and I raise a suspicious brow at her.

The last time I checked, Isabella and her Grandma argued last night and I am sure that woman is still mad at her.

How could she have gone all morning to the place when the woman is obviously pissed off and not ready to give her a listening ear?

Was she able to convince her?

"Did you two talk?" I ask her to buttress my point and know if what I am thinking is right or not.

"No", she shakes her head sadly.

No? Yet she spent all day with her. Why do I find it hard to believe that she actually went to her Grandma's place?

"Are you sure that is where you went to and that is why you canceled the shopping appointment with my secretary?" I let out my thoughts and she glances at me in silence for a while.

"Of course."

I raise my hands in surrender. "Ok."

I really don't want to give this much thought but I won't appreciate it if she is seeking to start dating now. It is too early and should be kept private from a lot of people. I won't appreciate it if it is now and if people begin to assume that she is cheating on me.

This would have been a good ground on which we can lay the foundation of our divorce but I won't do that.

I want the divorce to shock everyone so my mother would know that marriage isn't for everyone, especially me.

If Isabella is said to be a cheat, my mother might use that to her advantage and call her a cheat and probably assume that this is why we will be getting divorced in a year. But if Isabella is good till the end, the reason for the divorce will be unknown to no one, except our housemates.

Thinking about housemates, isn't it high time we pretended to be real to them too?

Maybe mother has a spy amongst my maids or guards and they already told her that Isabella has a room to herself which I asked them for prepare before her arrival.

This is going to be harder than I thought but I will think of a solution to it. It is just for a year after all.

"Is your mother staying for dinner?" I hear her ask from behind as I begin to undress in front of the closet.

"I guess we would have to find that out by going downstairs for dinner too. I'm famished."

"Ok." She rises from the bed and I am thinking she is about to go out and meet with my mother, giving me the privacy to get dressed into something simple after taking a shower, but she stops in the middle of the room.

Just then, an idea stuck me.

"Do you think I should go shopping with her tomorrow", she asks me, pulling me out of my thought. I shrug at the question.

"It depends on you. Mother can be a handful…"

"Yes, I know", she replies and falls silent again.

"You will spend the night here tonight, but you can move first thing in the morning", I tell her, taking off my trousers before searching through for a towel to wrap around my waist.

"Yes", her voice is low.

I am expecting her to go now but she is still standing as if she isn't done asking me questions.

I wrap the towel around my waist without taking off my pants and then twirl back to face her squarely.

Her gaze shifts from the floor to my face then drops to my naked broad chest and I hear her gulp loudly.

I begin to feel uncomfortable because it is apparent she is uncomfortable seeing me half naked. This is why I don't want us to share a room. We need privacy. We need our space.

I am about to tell her to go when she says. "Jayden, why did you marry me?"

Confusion skates my expression and I burst out. "What?!"

****

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