I Called Off The Alliance At Dawn Novel

Chapter 1 Some confessions should come with a warning label. "I was worried about hurting you our first time," James said. "So I found someone to practice with." I went rigid beneath the silk sheets. The blood in my veins flash-froze, my throat closed up, and for one long, awful moment, I couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak. Could only stare at the man I'd married hours ago like I'd never seen him before. "And?" The word came out strangled. His phone buzzed before he could answer. He actually answered it. Right there in our bedroom.

And the voice on the other end, saccharine sweet, dripping with false fragility, carried clearly through the speaker "If you don't come right now, I'm really going to jump." His expression shifted. Concern. Tenderness. The kind I used to think was reserved for me. He murmured something low and soothing, then ended the call and reached for his jacket. I sat up so fast the room spun. "James. Am I your wife, or just the prop you use to keep your sidepiece calm?" He didn't even look at me. Just kept buttoning his shirt with quick, impatient movements. "She's young. Emotional.

She found out we got married and literally cried all day." "You're exhausted from the wedding. Just let me handle this, I'll go grab the license with her, calm her down, and I'll be back before you even know I'm gone." He was already digging through his wallet, pulling out the ID he'd "mysteriously lost" right before we were supposed to file for our marriage license. The same one that conveniently meant his signature was nowhere on our paperwork. He walked past me like I was furniture. My blood didn't just freeze. It crystallized. I laughed. It wasn't a pretty sound.

"Let me make sure I understand. You have the wedding with me. But you get the license with her." He stopped. Turned. Took in my face, the wreckage he'd made, and for half a second, something Chapter 1 Lera INSTALL Cinco anos servindo a ele. Na noite passada, me entregou a um... 11.11% :. G flickered in his eyes. Then he sighed, sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled me into a hug like I was the one being unreasonable. "Babe. Come on. A marriage license is just a piece of paper. A wedding, that's sacred. That's real. Of course I gave that to you." His thumb traced my cheekbone.

"She's just for fun." He tapped my nose before he left. Like I was five. Like this was cute. I shoved his hand away. Said nothing. The door clicked shut behind him. I stared at the ceiling until the numbness receded enough to move. Then I picked up my phone and dialed a number I knew by heart. "Dad." My voice came out raw. Scraped clean. "Call off the merger. James Harrington is already married, and I'm not competing with anyone for the title of wife." *** The next morning, James looked surprised to see me outside City Hall.

He tucked the marriage certificate into his jacket and pulled me aside. "You look exhausted. Didn't you sleep? I thought you were gonna wait for me at home." He took my hand, wrapped it in both of his, and blew warm air onto my fingers. His voice was the same as always, like warm honey. Like I was the one he'd just married. I pulled my hand back and smiled. "I couldn't wait. So I came early." He blinked, probably expecting me to be furious. Then he wrapped an arm around my waist, his voice dripping with guilt. "She was a mess last night, threatening to jump and everything. I had to...

deal with it. That's why I didn't answer. Sorry you were worried, babe." Hearing him call me "babe" made me want to laugh. Once, he'd climbed Blackridge Mountains alone to save me, Nearly lost a leg to a bear, Now, he could cheat without a second thought and tell me about it like he was reading the weather. Handle her? Chapter 1 11.11% Lera INSTALL Cinco anos servindo a ele. Na noite passada, me entregou a um... By "handle her," he meant going at it all night, bedroom to living room, without stopping. I swallowed the ache in my chest and smiled up at him.

"James, did you ever..." Want to marry me at all? But before I could finish, Jessica Morrow, the woman he'd just married, stepped out of the restroom. She hurried over, leaned against his shoulder, and held out a hand to me with fake curiosity. "Hi, I'm James's wife. And you are?" "Ex-girlfriend." "My wife." James and I answered at the same time. Jessica pouted and shot him a glare. She waved the marriage certificate in his face. "Say that again, who's your wife?" James looked uncomfortable. He lit a cigarette with a sheepish smile. "Fine, fine. For the next three months, you're my wife.

Happy?" off. Watching them flirt right in front of me, the questions I'd wrestled with all night suddenly didn't matter. Whether he loved me or not, none of it mattered. What mattered was that right now, he belonged to someone else. Our families had too much at stake in this merger. Without solid proof, my dad would never let me call it But if James was already married? That changed everything. I pulled out my phone to snap a photo of them together. He grabbed it out of my hand, He pulled me aside, lowering his voice. "What are you doing, Emily? I told you, I only married her to shut her up.

Give it a few days. Once she's stable, I'll file." The way he said it, you'd think I was the one in the wrong. Chapter 1 11.11% admin