Page 114 of Bride By Initiation

"I can't get into it, and you know it," I assert.

He scowls. "Really? We're going to play this game again?"

One of my neighbors across the hall opens her door and steps outside.

I motion for him to come in.

He steps inside, shuts the door, and booms, "I need some answers. You can't just leave me hanging like that."

I shush him. "Keep your voice down."

He stills, then his eyes turn to slits. He glances at the door leading into the main room. "Why? Who's here?"

My heart races. I don't know what to tell him. I'm not prepared for this.

He jerks his head backward. "You're not going to tell me who's in there? Why not?"

I sigh and scrub my face. "I guess you're going to find out at some point."

"Find out what?" he asks.

I cross my arms and lean against the wall. "Zara's sleeping in my room."

His look of shock isn't surprising. He explodes, "You fucked Zara?"

I step closer, warning, "Don't talk about her in that regard."

Confusion replaces the shock. "What else do you want me to call it?"

"It's more complicated than that," I say.

He studies me momentarily and then his eyes drop to my left hand. Horror fills his expression, then he meets my eye. "Why are you wearing a ring?"

I put my hand in my pocket. "Don't, Brax. I need a good workout. Let's go to the gym and then we can talk about this."

"No, Sean. Tell me right now what the fuck is going on. Stop playing games with me," he snarls.

My chest tightens. I take several deep breaths and finally admit, "Zara and I got married."

His eyes widen. He gapes at me, but then his lips twitch. "You're fucking around with me."

"I'm not."

His face falls. "You're serious? You got married?"

"Yeah."

"Why would you do that? You two haven't even dated before. Or have you been sneaking around behind all of our backs?" he asks.

I shake my head. "No. It just happened."

He scowls. "It just happened? You got called away to whatever secret place you went to and came home married, but it just happened?"

My stomach flips. "Yeah."

"How do you even get into that situation?" he asks, his voice raising.

"Quiet," I reprimand.

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