CHAPTER 51: HOW?

In Ian’s room, he casually rested his eyes on the bold ’little girl’. She was cute in a laughable way.

"Age is just a number?"

Ian smirked at the statement. "It seems like you are really here to have me, little girl!"

"I am not a little girl! ...." she chimed. A pout formed that she was unaware of.

’She looks adorable!’

A confused and startled look crossed over Ian’s features over that thought. ’Cute, adorable? What kind of ridiculous thoughts were those? I need to get myself checked out to erase this nonsense from my mind!’ Her crisp, sweet voice interrupted his thoughts.

"...and I know you are forty."

That brought Ian back to his bearings, and he couldn’t help but instinctively say the words,

"...old enough to be your fathe-!"

"Do not complete that statement. One, you are not my father! Two, I detest that word itself, so please keep your sentiments about what I may be in relation to you and my age. All that matters is that I am legal, and so are you!"

A smile crept to his face. He felt good being reprimanded and put in his place by her.

’She is one stubborn one. She has a smart and almost sarcastic answer for every single thing that comes out of my mouth. It’s going to be interesting living with her,’

He found himself thinking. At that moment, Ian could feel like his emotions were tethering off the edge of a cliff. His expression was dazed and slightly relaxed. Of course, this was unlike anything he was feeling on the inside. Ian was literally freaking out! His current world and sense of security, he had constructed to protect his mind and self, looked to be crumbling from all that was going on with this girl who was supposed to be his wife.

She stared straight at him; her eyes were like that of a pure, innocent child with expectations and no disappointments from the world. They were shining but still held a hint of desolation that he could not grasp.

"I do not want to be here anymore than you do, but this is where I find myself!"

At this statement, Ian felt all his chaotic thoughts pause.

This statement should have brought him glee. She did not want to be there. That was what he wanted, right? Yet, that one statement was enough to make Ian feel like his world had been swept out from underneath him.

He opened his mouth and closed it again, totally confused.

"Do you really not know about this whole contract marriage arrangement?" She asked, holding his gaze, but then she answered the question herself before he could,

"Never mind, as usual, that was a silly question. You’ve been in here all this time; how could you even know what goes on outside this door?"

Ian had really wanted to answer, but he did not like himself then. He had wanted to say, ’Yes, I know of you, but I do not care for any other person who is not Aliya,’ However, as he thought of how that would make Shelby feel, he could not bring himself to say anything. His mouth felt heavy, unable to form the sounds he needed for those words. Ian’s line of thoughts kept getting out of hand until he found himself saying,

"Little girl, forget about whatever ceremony you have gone through. I am sorry for making you come here. And before you say anything, and also, whether it was a contract or not, I am the reason you are here... I will never be able to go all the way to give you the happiness nor that heir you look for.... And I am sorry for earlier..."

His eyes spoke with such sincerity, but these stung her deep! As he said what went against his very thoughts, he also had no idea how affected she was by his statement.

Shelby felt her eyes prick with threatening tears, which was baffling for her. She thought back and remembered the words he had uttered in his fever. He was indeed smitten with his lost love and felt guilty about something, too.

This would definitely make it hard for him to forget about this person. But then, at least the one person who could control his mother and get her out of the contract was Ian, who was not on board with this. This should have been happy news for her, but she felt her heart tremble as if she was losing something major, especially when he added,

"For me, it is Aliya and will always be h-"

He let his voice trail. In an actual sense, Ian could not bring himself to complete the sentence.

His thoughts were a mess, and he did not want to accept these words. His tongue felt heavy as an equally heavy silence fell upon them in the room.

He could see her struggle with her inner thoughts from exchanges of the emotions and her facial expressions. In fact, it felt like he could feel her sadness and distress, and Ian’s frown deepened.

The frown that had unknowingly spread across his face caught Shelby’s attention, and she misinterpreted it.

She pushed the blanket aside, revealing her long, smooth legs as the large top she wore had ridden up a bit. Ian’s eyes unwillingly followed her, forgetting what he was talking about earlier.

Shelby crawled across the bed to where he was perched. He could see a bit of her white flesh from where the top hung loosely on her frame, making him try to avert his eyes to no avail. His wary eyes followed her movement wondering what she was up to until she stretched her hands towards him.

He leaned back instinctively,

"What are you doing?"

Shelby sighed and went on her knees on the bed in front of him. She opened her mouth, but Ian felt blood rushing through his ears just as she reached out her hand again. He could see the gesture that she was speaking, but he could not hear anything, for he froze again in shock! This time, it was for a different reason. His eyes widened, and he grabbed her small hand in his larger one,

"How did this happen?" He whispered to himself. He was stricken and too astonished to realize that he was clutching Shelby’s hand painfully.

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