Filo and a strange woman were standing at the entrance of the kitchen and I was in a compromising position on Willem's lap. I immediately jumped up, turning away to put my exposed breasts back where they belonged.

This had to be the most embarrassing situation I'd ever been in my entire life. I didn't know whether to run and hide or to turn around and face the two women as the adult I was. A twenty-eight-year-old adult exploring her sexuality for the first time.

Luckily for me, Willem took charge, helping me with my clothes. I looked into his grey eyes and he didn't seem angry or annoyed by the intrusion. His fingers touched the swell of my breasts as he fixed the romper over my bikini top and I did my best to ignore the flutter of butterflies in my stomach.

The women must have left because no one was talking. The only sound I could hear was the pounding of my heart and it was out of control. I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, hoping to calm my runaway heart.

How did I come from cussing Willem's guts out last night to this, to behaving like a wanton in a public kitchen in broad daylight?

I didn't recognize the woman I was becoming.

Oh my goodness, I was turning into a hussy.

"It's okay," Willem said, taking my hand and kissing the back of it. His golden curls fell over his forehead, softening his features as he stared into my eyes.

All I could think about were the effects of that kiss, placed so gingerly to the back of my hand, on my body and what it meant for our whole relationship going forward. At that moment, it felt like he could see me. Everything about me. My fear of ending up alone without a family to call my own... my deep intrinsic desire to love and be loved.

His pale eyes were disarming, confronting even, but I wanted to lose myself in them forever. And that, right there, was a massive problem. Willem and I were nothing alike and I wasn't even sure if he was my type.

"Are they still there?" I asked in a whisper.

He looked over my shoulder and nodded. "I'm afraid so. Look, Amelia, we're married and this is my house. I don't want you to feel a type of way."

I liked that he cared about how I felt, but the opinions of these women, especially Filo, mattered to me. I also wanted to confide in someone regarding this weird, but so far amazing development between Willem and me. And that woman with Filo, from the short glimpse I got of her, looked like she could be a friend.

"Do I look presentable?" I ran my hand over the front of my romper to make sure.

"You look like you were about to get properly fucked. Just ravishing. You're glowing." Willem smiled, showing that cute dimple of his. He leaned forward, and once again, his lips were brushing against mine, the kiss lingering long enough that I almost forgot about the women who had so far rudely interrupted our hot make-out session.

Willem pulled back slowly, smirking, taking his time to look over my shoulder.

Filo cleared her throat and spoke up. "I didn't mean to disturb you. Tessa's here about Bradley."

"Thank you, Filo, I'll take it from here. But before you go, I'd like to introduce you to my wife." With his hand on my shoulder, he turned me around so that I was facing the two women once more. "This is Dr. Amelia Miller."

The two women were an odd pair, Filo with her natural side braid while the lady next to her rocked her straight blond hair like it came right out of the front page of Top Salons magazine. Despite their differences, their facial expressions were damn near identical.

A series of emotions flittered across their faces at first, but in the end, shock dominated.

"When did this happen?" the blond asked, hostility dripping from her voice. And judging by her accent, she was an American. A pissed off American.

Willem kept holding my hand and I didn't know what to make of it. Were we a couple now? Did I want us to be?

"Amelia and I have been married for a while now, not that it's any of your business, Tessa." There was an edge to Willem's voice that I hadn't heard before.

Tessa's face turned red and the next moment she was standing in front of Willem yelling. "Not my business? How do you mean it's not my business? Are you crazy? Of course, it's my business. We have a s—"

Willem shifted his body, moving forward as if to protect me, cutting off Tessa's rant. "Tessa, please. Stop this immediately. Why can't you just be happy for us?"

"You're a fucking piece of shit reptile, Willem. You treat women like crap! I don't know what I ever saw in you." Tessa was in his face at this point, her acrylic nails snapping like hungry sharks as she made her point.

I was so mortified, I couldn't move an inch. Any illusions I had of being friends with that woman quickly evaporated. There was nothing friendly about her.

"If you insist on making a scene, I will have security escort you out," Willem said, his jaw tensed, his grip on my hand crushing.

I was not used to this kind of toxic environment. I was a pediatrician on a small island. I lived with my dad and my only real friend was a black and white cat named Oreo. Sometimes I hung out with some of the nurses at work and that crowd was everything but rowdy and loud.

And what was it with Willem and these atrocious women?

So far, I'd foolishly believed that he'd only had an affair with Jessie. But I was wrong. Tessa had also slept with my 'on paper husband' and it showed when she lunged forward and tried to grab the front of my romper. Willem blocked her path, saving my skin from her monstrous claws.

"You think you could just marry this low life aging cunt without telling me? Huh? We had an arrangement!"

This woman was losing it and I had no intention of taking part in the hysteria. I kept my mouth shut and I took a step back, out of her reach. Filo had gone quiet and she was standing next to the fridge watching the madness unfold. I could feel her wise owlish eyes on me and I felt bad for deceiving her. For not telling her the truth.

Willem grabbed Tessa by her arm and started dragging her toward the front door. Filo trailed after them and I decided to do the same, following them through the luxurious living room, wide entryway and then the front door.

Filo and I remained standing on the steps as Willem continued to tug Tessa toward a sleek red car parked in the driveway. Tessa was cursing, digging her heels into the pavement to avoid being totally dragged.

"You need to leave now. I won't tolerate you disrespecting my wife like that," Willem said. "Get in the car and drive away."

Once at the door of the car, Tessa snatched her arm back, rubbing at the spot where Willem's fingerprints were now visible. "I didn't come here to fight," she gritted.

"Then why did you come here?" Willem demanded.

"I was on my way to the hospital when I saw that your car was still here. I thought I would give you a ride and we could visit Bradley together."

"Why? I don't like being in the same room with you, what makes you think I'd ride with you for the fun of it?"

Tessa's eyes narrowed. "Did you not get a message from the hospital this morning? Bradley's condition is getting worse. I didn't want to go by myself. I'm not strong enough to face him alone."

Willem scrubbed his hand through his curls and sighed. "Dammit. I didn't check my phone."

"Of course not. You were too busy screwing that scalawag over there." Tessa turned her head toward me, her eyes bright, evil beams directed right at my skull.

"Could you not? Get in the car. We're going," Willem said, his voice gruff.

My heart clenched in my chest. Was he leaving with that woman?

He spared me one last longing look before getting behind the wheel of Tessa's fancy car. I held his gaze up until the moment he turned the key in the ignition and the powerful engine purred to life.

Yup. He was leaving with that woman.

The two of them belonged together. They were an attractive couple. Willem had the face of a movie star, all chiseled jaw, clear grey eyes, a strong straight nose, curly blondish hair, and a ladder of abs. Tessa was Gigi Hadid and Hailey Baldwin Bieber smashed together. Long torso, straight blond hair, and confidence for days. They both also had a thing for fast cars.

Despite the warmth of the early morning sun, my body shook, a chill running through me. The car took off down the driveway and I watched it go with tears in my eyes. As soon as they slipped through the gate and were out of sight, the tears ran unchecked down my cheeks.

I felt like a fool. I should have gone with my instincts and not let Willem anywhere close to my heart. Even though I came here wanting and hoping I could have made this marriage work, it was obvious it couldn't be saved.

Maybe my father was unto something when he made the unilateral decision to keep Willem out of my life. The red flags so far were dropping from the sky like dead birds in a horror movie, sound effects and all.

I stood on those steps, numb to my core, sniffling, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. I didn't get to wallow too long in my self-pity when Filo threw her arms around me, a hen protecting her chick, allowing me to rest my head on her bosom.

She smelled like lavender green tea. Just wholesome. I clung to her thin frame and there was so much warmth there, so much love. The kind my mother had in abundance.

"I can't believe I'm crying over a man," I half cried, half laughed into her blouse.

Filo rubbed my back. "Oh, that's nothing. Happens to the best of us. Even Michelle Obama."

"I doubt that."

"Come on, I'll make you some tea and I'll tell you about that one time I cried because of a boy and then ended up marrying him."

I smiled despite everything. Filo was a grounded woman and I just couldn't imagine her crying for just anything, let alone a man.

Before heading back into the house with her, I looked at the gate Willem had driven through with that woman and I prayed that he didn't come back before I had my bags packed and I was sitting on a plane with a glass of wine in my hand.

Something moved to the right of the gate and it caught my eye. There, on the wall, I spotted a person with a binocular watching us. Before I could open my mouth to tell Filo, they lowered their head and slinked away into the shadows using the trees and plants to protect their identity.

I grabbed Filo's hand. "Did you see that?"

"See what, child?"

I kept staring at that spot beyond the wall, but there was nothing there, just leaves rustling in the sea breeze. "It's probably nothing. I think it was a bird."

Filo laughed. "You think? How can you be so smart, a doctor, and not know what a bird looks like?"

I knew Filo was only teasing, so I played along. "It's the tears. My visions a little blurry right now."

"Or you just didn't pay enough attention in medical school." Her gaze scanned me from head to toe and I tried not to jump to conclusions about what her thoughts about me were.

"I think you're right. I definitely missed the chapter on birds." I sounded defeated and I hated that side of me right now.

I was the shit. I was the boss in my field, the youngest pedestrian in the Caribbean with a mortality rate of less than one percent. I was the Maggie Pierce and Meredith Grey combined of pediatrics. Brains in abundance. I had a body that could rival Tyra Banks's and as far as I knew, I was fertile, my hips wide, made for bearing children. I loved to laugh and plain old have a good time. I was also too forgiving at times.

And if Willem couldn't see me for the diamond I was, that was his loss.

"Come on now," Filo said, ushering me inside. "What kind of tea do you like?"

"Green tea mostly, preferably flavored."

"Coming right up." We entered the kitchen and Filo got right down to business. "Tea is good for the brokenhearted."

I scowled. "I'm not broken-hearted."

"You are. You just don't know it yet."

I crossed my arms. "That makes no sense."

"It will. Would you like some cookies to go with the tea?"

I shook my head. "No, thank you."

"They're ginger cookies. I baked them myself." She grabbed the glass cookie jar sitting on the counter. "Here, try one."

So insistent.

"Who's Bradley?" I asked, taking the offered cookie.

"Tessa's son, dear." She said it as if that was something I should have known already. "He was tragically hurt by a car, knocked him off his bike."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

She placed a steaming cup of tea in front of me and the scent of mango's drifted up to my nose. "Willem will make sure he's getting the best care. He cares so much about that boy."

I nodded. "Is Tessa Family?"

Filo shrugged. "You can say so. Willem said the two of you have been married for a while now, but I guessing that's not the truth."

"It is, on paper at least. We just don't know that much about each other."

"Obviously, because if you did, you wouldn't have married into this family. They're power-hungry and you don't seem like the type. Willem is the nicest one by far and that's because I practically raised him."

I smiled, one of those sad smiles because I realized that my marriage to Willem was a powerplay on both ends. My father had sold me to the highest bidder. "He's still a wolf and I'll always be a sheep."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay. I know I just got here and Willem dropped that bomb on you about us being married, but I have to leave."

"Leave? Willem is not going to like that. He seems very taken by you. Where will you go?"

The teacup was warm beneath my palm and I focused on that instead of the heavy feeling sitting on my chest. "I don't know yet. Somewhere that's not here."

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