Page 91 of Single Dad's Fake Bride
The conversation continued around me, but I could feel the careful distance Sadie maintained. She'd been doing it all week, ever since losing her job.
Dinner was strained despite Eloise's chatter. Sadie responded when spoken to, helped serve the meal, cleaned up afterward—all the motions of domesticity without any warmth. Just like this was the arrangement we agreed upon. It felt awful after having such intimacy with her before. I felt gut-sick after she was fired. I never meant for this to affect her in any negative way, but I failed to realize some of the consequences. I'd been so focused on myself. It was very selfish of me.
After Eloise had been tucked into bed and Janet had settled in the living room, I found myself outside our bedroom door. Sadie sat on the edge of the mattress in simple cotton pajamas. Her thick hair was loose around her shoulders, and she stared at her hands.
"The lawsuit," she said without looking up. "Theodore called today?"
"Yes." I closed the door and leaned against it. "How did you know?"
"You get a particular look when dealing with your family." She finally met my eyes. "How bad is it?"
I sat in the chair by the window, keeping distance between us. "My sisters are claiming the marriage is fake. Theodore thinks it might make the papers."
Sadie's face went pale. "The papers?"
"Wealthy family drama. Contested inheritance."
"And what happens to us? To Eloise?"
"I don't know." The admission tasted bitter. "I'm sorry, Sadie. I never meant for things to spiral out of control."
She stood abruptly, pacing to the window. "I lost my job, Harrison. The only job I've had in years that actually meant something to me."
"I know?—"
"No, you don't know." She turned to face me, fire flashing in her eyes. "You don't know what it's been like to work my entire adult life for scraps, to take whatever job I could get just to survive. That position at Hawthorne was the first time I felt valued."
I stood, wanting to close the distance between us. "You are valued. You're incredible with Eloise, with your mother?—"
"As a caregiver. As someone useful." Her voice cracked. "But not as myself. Just as the woman who can be counted on to handle whatever crisis comes next."
"That's not true."
"Isn't it?" She crossed her arms. "You married me because I was convenient. Because I was already in Eloise's life and wouldn't cause trouble. Because I needed money badly enough to agree."
Her words felt like an accusation, but I kept my voice quiet so we didn't disrupt Eloise or Janet. "Is that really what you think?"
"What else am I supposed to think? You sneak in after I'm asleep and leave before I wake up." Her face scrunched up in confusion and she rubbed the crevices in her forehead away. "I mean…"
"I was trying to give you space."
Sadie didn't respond to me yet again. There was something really bothering her that she wasn’t saying and I wished she would open up. But I understood that I didn't know her as well as I should. I didn’t even know how she handled stress. All Iknew was she was perfect in my eyes and I would do anything for her.
"I thought you were upset about the job?—"
"To accept that I'm completely dependent on you now?" Her voice rose, then dropped to a harsh whisper. "To accept that I'm exactly what I never wanted to be—a kept woman?"
The accusation stung. "You're not kept. You're my wife."
"Am I, Harrison? Because we agreed this was just an arrangement, but we can't stop sleeping together. But we don't know each other, and I'm just really confused." Tears welled up in her eyes, but her whisper-shout didn't calm down.
"You're right on all counts… I've been selfish."
"And what about me, Harrison? What about what I want?"
I stared at her—cheeks flushed, hair falling across her shoulders. Even angry, she was beautiful.
"What do you want?" I asked quietly.
