His Marriage Trap
Authors: Sheena Morrish
Contents
“Gabriella, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Nik asked as he pressed a key on his laptop and gave her his full attention.
“You know damned well what. You scared off my lawyer,” she accused and he shrugged one broad shoulder as he ran his eyes lazily over her slender frame.
“Among other things,” he confirmed and she glared at him. How dared he? Just who the hell did he think he was to be taking control of her life like this?
“You had no right!” she shouted and that snapped him to attention as he leaned forward and offered her a dark and forbidding look.
“I have every right where you’re concerned Gabriella. It is my job as your husband to protect what is mine even when that means protecting you from yourself,” he informed her coldly and she gaped at him in disbelief.
“I am not some possession that you can own Nik. I am a real person with real feelings and I want out of this marriage!” she told him firmly and he raised one brow at that.
“Tough!” he said and Gabby could barely register that this harsh unfeeling man was the same one she had once adored when she was younger.
“I don’t need your permission to leave our marriage and I don’t even need a divorce,” she informed him and without a further word she spun on her heels and marched right back upstairs.
Gabby relaxed her head back against the headrest and allowed herself a genuine smile as the taxi headed closer to her house. This was probably the last time she would be heading back there and it felt like all her stress was melting away at the realisation that this time tomorrow her divorce papers would be ready and she would finally be free.
That was until the taxi pulled up outside the large house and she gave a gasp of dismay at the realisation that she had completely forgotten about the party that had been planned for weeks. It was supposed to be her anniversary party but was more likely a chance for her husband to make more business contacts under the guise of a party.
Nikolai Kostas was the only part of her plan that could go wrong. He was her husband but he was also a rich and powerful businessman who didn’t like to lose. Their marriage might be a sham but if he had any idea that she was planning on leaving him then she had no doubt that he would use all of that power to stop her. She just had to survive one more night under his roof acting like things were normal. She couldn’t do anything to arouse his suspicions which meant that she had to go in there and act the part of devoted wife.
Gathering herself together she realised she didn’t exactly look the part at the moment. Reaching back she removed the clip from her hair and shook out her long dark hair so it fell in waves across her shoulder. Digging through her bag she gave a triumphant smile when she found some lip gloss. Swiping a little over her soft lips Gabby spared a moment to be grateful that she had dressed up for her divorce lawyer and wouldn’t look out of place at the party in her black form fitting dress.
Gabby watched the taxi drive away and continued to stare after it for several moments before she straightened her shoulders and pinned a smile on her face. She forced herself to open the door and walked in to the middle of the party that was heaving with guests though most of them were strangers to her.
She made her way through the house and stopped to chat to a couple of people she recognised. With such a big party going on hopefully she would be able to avoid her husband altogether until it was over.
“There you are Gabby. We thought you’d forgotten us,” said a tall blonde with a stick thin figure who looked like she’d just stepped off the pages of the latest fashion magazine. There were several of these women at the party who all looked alike and Gabby had to wrack her brain to remember the woman’s name.
"You know me, I just lost track of time. But thanks for coming, Emily," Gabby replied in what she hoped was a regretful tone and when the girl smiled Gabby breathed a sigh of relief that she'd gotten the name right.
“It’s a wonderful party darling,” said a second skinny blonde as she approached their little group and Gabby sent her a smile.
“Thank you. I’m sure our party planner will be thrilled to hear it. She put a lot of effort in to this,” Gabby replied and the two blondes exchanged a look.
“Well I’m sure that you must be very busy what with all your charity work and such a high profile husband,” the second blonde said and Gabby simply smiled.
“You two are still the perfect couple even after a year of marriage. Shame your parents never got to see you get married but I expect they were thrilled when you got engaged. They did know before the accident didn’t they?” Emily asked and Gabby’s smile faded as she thought back to her parents who had been taken so tragically in a car accident just over a year ago.
Gabby had always been close to her parents and it had devastated her when she had lost both of them in one foul blow. She had been left all alone in the world and she hadn’t known how she would carry on without having them in her life anymore.
“Yes my parents knew. You could say it was down to them that Nik and I ended up together in the first place,” she said dragging herself back to the present.
How these society women would laugh if they discovered the only reason they'd married was because of a stipulation in her father's will. And wouldn't they be shocked to know that she had never even shared a room with Nik, much less a bed.
"Aww, isn't that just so sweet? Your parents bought you together and here you are a year later, still together and happier than ever and still so much in love," a third blonde woman said and Gabby gave them all a forced smile but before she could offer a response she felt a familiar tingle spread its way through her body an instant before an arm wound itself around her waist and pulled her back against a hard male frame.
“More in love than ever,” Nik confirmed as he placed a tender kiss against Gabby’s slender neck and tightened his grip warningly around her waist. Like she wanted these airhead socialites to realise that their marriage was a complete sham.
“Absolutely. I was helpless against Nik’s charm. He’s just such a sensitive guy,” Gabby said as she leaned her head back to give him a mocking glance that made his nostrils flare in anger.
“Excuse us ladies. I have a present for my wife that I just can’t wait to give her,” Nik said silkily and the women practically swooned beneath his charm while Gabby fought the urge to scowl. Instead she pinned a smile to her face and allowed herself to be led away from the party and in to his private office where he finally released her as he locked the door behind them. The room was soundproofed and it felt odd for all the music and chatter to stop the instant the door closed. But she simply glanced back at him before sashaying her way across to lean against his desk where she sent him a curious glance and a faint smile. She hoped that by acting as though she had nothing to hide that he wouldn’t suspect anything.
“Your present couldn’t have waited until after the party?” she asked as she flipped her hair back over her shoulder and glanced at the locked door as she tried to hide her nervousness. She wasn’t a very good liar and she knew it wouldn’t take much pushing for Nik to discover the truth, which meant that she had to throw him off the scent and act like nothing was different.
“You’re late,” Nik said and she found his dark gaze trained firmly on her.
“I was having drinks with a friend and lost track of time. Not that I have to explain myself to you!” Gabby lied as she ran her fingers gently over his desk and a smile played on her husband’s lips.
“A friend that isn’t at our anniversary party?” he asked innocently and Gabby inwardly winced but kept a smile on her face as she rolled her eyes at him.
“Take a look at the party Nik. Hardly any of those people are my friends,” she told him and he frowned at that.
“Didn’t you give your guest list to the party planner?” he asked and she shrugged one shoulder.
“It must have slipped my mind,” she said softly and his eyes narrowed.
“So, what else did you do today?” he asked and Gabby’s eyes widened at his curiosity. They had been married for a year and he never asked what she did with her day. He had always accepted her vague explanations without question. She didn’t like that he was suddenly asking questions when she least wanted to answer them.
“Oh, you know. Just a bit of this and a bit of that,” she said vaguely and Nik moved closer so he was standing directly in front of her forcing her to tilt her head back in order to see his face.
“What bit of this? What bit of that?” he asked and she could hear the steely undertone of his voice that demanded an answer.
“I don’t see that it’s any of your business,” Gabby told him equally firmly and his nostrils flared again though they were the only thing that betrayed his anger and frustration.
“Everything about you is my business,” he told her and Gabby swallowed nervously before offering him a stunning smile as she slid from the desk and took a couple of steps towards the door.
“And on that note I think we should be getting back to the party. If you’ve finished your interrogation that is,” she said.
“Just one more question Gabriella,” he said from behind her and she spun round to face him.
“Can it wait until after the party? I don’t think we should be just leaving our guests,” she told him with a sigh and his eyes narrowed on her.
“Tell me Gabriella, why did you meet with Mr Cartwright today?” Nik asked and she froze in place. He couldn’t know about her meeting.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she told him in a haughty tone that she hoped would make him back off.
“This isn’t you then I suppose?” he suggested as he held something out to her. Gabby reluctantly took it from him and glanced down at a photo of herself exiting Cartwrights and Sons looking nervous.
“Where the hell did you get this? Were you spying on me?” she demanded as she looked up and found her icy gaze caught by his flame filled one.
“I am a very wealthy man and it is my right to hire protection for my wife,” Nik informed her and Gabby glared at him. How dare he spy on her and take away her privacy? It wasn’t like she checked up on what he was doing all the time and she had a lot more reason to, after all he was the one who was always away on supposed business. And it wasn’t her who had frequently been pictured in gossip magazines with a different model or actress every month. How dared he spy on her and then call it protection?
“Don’t you mean to spy on me?” she hissed angrily and he gave a long suffering sigh as though she were acting the drama queen.
“I’m assuming from your reaction that you were at a divorce lawyer for exactly that reason,” Nik said and Gabby glared at him.
“It’s none of your business where I was or what I was doing. I don’t ask you what you do when you’re not home so why should you care what I do?” she said furiously and his eyes narrowed.
“Be warned, my sweet Gabriella. I won’t allow a divorce and it would be wise of you not to even try,” he warned her firmly and she stared at him in disbelief. Just who the hell did he think he was? Things would have been different if they had a real marriage and actually loved one another but they didn’t and she resented him prying in to her business.
“You won’t allow it? I hate to break it to you Nik but you can’t control what I do and I don’t need your permission to leave this farce of a marriage,” Gabby informed him furiously which did not appear to make any difference.
“I wouldn’t ignore my warning if I were you,” Nik warned silkily and Gabby glared at him as she tossed her dark hair back.
“I must have missed the warning. All I heard was you ordering me around,” Gabby said sweetly and Nik let out a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Gabriella, I just want to protect you. Your father wanted us to marry so you would be safe from those that might hurt you and I’m just trying to look out for you,” he said and she glared at him.
“Well my father’s dead and so is our marriage. I don’t need anyone protecting me. I’m a grown woman and I can look out for myself,” she told him firmly but Nik looked sceptical at that claim.
“Honey, you have no idea what the world is really like. You’ve spent your whole life being protected and if you were on your own you would be an easy target,” Nik warned her but Gabby was in no mood to listen. She was sick of people always telling her who she should be and what she should do. She was an independent woman and she didn’t need some man telling her what to do.
“That’s great but you let me worry about that and you just concentrate on enjoying the party. If we can ever get back to it that is,” Gabby said.
“I’ll let it drop for now but remember what I said,” he warned as he unlocked the door and she offered a faint smile.
“If you’ll excuse me I have guests to mingle with,” Gabby informed him but he stopped her before she could leave.
“Don’t forget your present,” he said handing her a jewellery box. Gabby hesitated then lifted the lid and gasped at the stunning diamond necklace that nestled within. It was gorgeous and she knew it must have cost a fortune. But then she remembered that Nik was a very rich and very busy man who wouldn’t have wasted his precious time shopping for his inconvenient wife. That could only mean that his assistant Callie had been the one to buy her the necklace.
“Callie outdid herself,” Gabby said in an effort to prove herself right.
“Come on Gabriella, don’t make this in to a thing,” Nik said and she grimaced at the realisation that she had been right. It just proved that she was right to want out of a marriage where her husband couldn’t even buy her a gift without his assistant.
“Happy anniversary to us!” she said as he put the necklace on her and she flashed him a stunning smile before slipping past him and back in to the party unaware that Nik stayed where he was for a moment watching her as he wondered where he’d gone wrong in his plan. He was supposed to have been giving Gabriella time to adjust to a marriage with him not letting her simply bide her time until she could go back to life before him.
The party was supposed to be a celebration of a new start. Nik wanted to celebrate their first year of their forced marriage by beginning their marriage properly. He had known that Gabby wasn’t in any sort of emotional state to deal with a brand new husband and their new life together. Her parents had just died and she had found herself forced in to a marriage with him that was never going to work as long as she resented him for it. Nik had thought that giving Gabby a year to get used to everything would give them chance to develop some sort of friendship before they started their real lives as man and wife. He had thought that a year would be enough time for her to grieve for her parents and begin the process of moving forward with her life. He had wanted to be the person that she could count on no matter what and had foolishly believed that their marriage would become a reality as they grew closer. Instead his wife was quiet and secretive and barely shared anything. He hadn’t wanted to push her for things she wasn’t yet willing to share and so he had simply let her grieve in her own way. It had been so hard keeping his distance and not taking advantage of the fact that she was now his wife, it was one of the reasons that he had travelled so much. But Nik had really thought that today would be the start of a whole new chapter for them. He had been certain that after tonight they would start their marriage properly and had planned the whole thing out so that after the party they would talk and laugh like they used to and she would realise that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Instead he had discovered that his wife had not been spending the last year trying to get to know him but had actually been planning their divorce. It was a painful realisation that Gabby had no intention of giving their marriage a chance and trying to form a lasting bond with him. It also made him realise that he couldn’t simply let nature take its course anymore. If he didn’t want to lose her then he couldn’t wait for he to realise they could be happy together but instead he would have to prove to her that they were meant for each other even if she didn’t like the paths he took to show her.
