CHAPTER 50: BACK TO SCHOOL

Alexia POV:

The smug jerk descended the stairs, looking oddly human for once. He was wearing sweatpants. Grey ones. With a white t-shirt. I never pegged him as the type to own something so... normal. And, of course, he somehow managed to look flawless in them. Annoyingly so.

I was mid-coffee sip when he caught me staring. His smirk widened, that irritating, know-it-all glint lighting up his eyes.

"Take a photo, it’ll last longer," he said, his voice dripping with smugness.

As if. My eyes were on the clothes, not him. The clothes.

It was way too early for his nonsense. I’d been biding my time, hoping he’d leave for work so I could crawl back into that bed he stole from me last night. But seeing him in those casuals dashed my hopes. Great, he wasn’t going anywhere today. Just my luck.

Before I could come up with a plan to escape his presence, the overly attentive servant from yesterday breezed in, her voice chirping. "Mrs. Lake... you’re not looking well. Do you need anything?"

Mrs. Lake. Ugh, I was still adjusting to that ridiculous name, it was a short form for his stupid long name for Timberlake. I shook my head, glaring at Mr. Lake, who had seated himself across from me, looking like the cat who swallowed the canary. "No, I just need more sleep. Someone didn’t let me sleep," I said, putting enough venom in my tone to make my point.

Aiden, naturally, wasn’t fazed. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, his smirk deepening. "Why would my newlywed wife have a peaceful sleep on our wedding night?" he said, his voice casual but loaded with innuendo.

I nearly choked on my coffee. The servant’s face went tomato red as her eyes darted nervously between us.

Was he serious? What the actual hell was he doing? I wanted to scream "It’s a lie! Nothing happened!" but how could I? We were supposed to be newlyweds, and the servants already thought we’d been... married in every sense of the word.

I looked at him, seething, while he looked back at me, thoroughly amused. This man was impossible. Absolutely impossible.

As soon as Aiden made his ridiculous comment, I decided two could play at this game. If he wanted to embarrass me, then he’d better be ready for the consequences. Channeling my inner actress, I stood up, placing a hand dramatically over my stomach.

"Well," I said sweetly, looking directly at him, "as you said, since you chose to be so thorough yesterday, I might as well go back to sleep. Who knows? Maybe I’m already carrying a little Aiden in me."

His reaction was priceless. He choked—actually choked on his coffee—his smirk vanishing as his face turned a shade of red I’d never seen before. The servant, still blushing furiously, looked like she wanted to sink into the floor.

Good. He deserved every ounce of discomfort after putting me on the spot like that.

Without giving him time to recover, I turned on my heel and made my dramatic exit, heading straight for the bedroom. Once inside, I locked the door with a satisfying click and leaned against it, letting out a laugh I’d been holding in.

The look on his face? Absolutely worth it.

I turned to the bed, which was now mine, all mine. "Hello, sweet bed," I murmured gleefully, throwing myself onto the plush mattress. Victory had never felt so soft.

I sprawled across the bed like a starfish, savoring the luxurious softness that practically cradled me. The pillows, fluffed to perfection, were a far cry from the lumpy excuse of a pillow I had back at my old place. This was heaven. Aiden might have been a smug, insufferable jerk, but his taste in bedding? Impeccable.

Pulling the covers over myself, I let out a satisfied sigh. The room was silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioning, and the bed seemed to cocoon me in warmth and comfort. I could feel the tension of the morning leaving my body, replaced by the blissful calm that only came with knowing you had nothing else to do.

As I lay there, my mind started to wander. Maybe marrying Aiden wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Sure, he was insufferable, but at least I wasn’t worried about where my next meal was coming from. And the bed—oh, the bed—was reason enough to stay married for at least another week.

With those thoughts swirling lazily in my head, sleep began to creep in. My eyelids grew heavier, and the weight of the comforter pressed down on me like a gentle hug. Before I knew it, I was drifting into that beautiful in-between space where reality and dreams start to blur.

In my half-asleep state, I thought I heard footsteps outside the door, but I didn’t care. Let Aiden knock. Let him bang on the door all he wanted. He wasn’t getting this bed back. Not today. Not ever.

Smiling to myself, I let sleep fully take over, sinking into the kind of deep, dreamless slumber that only comes when you know you’ve won.

After I had fully rested—or, more accurately, when my stomach woke me up—it was 1 PM. I made my way to the kitchen to find something to eat. Boy, was this life sweet. Lazing around, sleeping, and eating—those were my best pals. Honestly, I could get used to this.

There I was, enjoying another delicious meal when, out of nowhere, in walks Aiden. Yep, Aiden. He was holding a folder, which he put in front of me like it was some important business. "Choose which course you want to join. Congrats, you’re going to university."

I stared at him. Wait, what? Was he serious? Was he really telling me to go to college now? Who even said that after you got married, you had to finish school?

Yeah, sure, I knew I was good at academics. In high school, I was always top of the class. But my life after that didn’t exactly scream ’college-bound.’ I had to work, take whatever job I could get just to survive. College was a luxury I couldn’t afford. But now? Now I’m married to a tycoon, for crying out loud! Poverty is no longer an issue. Why the hell would I go back to school?

I looked at the folder, completely baffled. School? Really? I had thought marrying him would be the end of that whole struggle-for-a-better-life thing. I was already rich. I had already ’made it.’

"Why would you do this?" I muttered, staring at the paper in front of me. "I’m already married to you. What else do you want? Do I need a PhD to be your wife or something?"

Aiden stood there, arms crossed, watching me like I was some sort of project he was overseeing. He was all business, as usual, while I was deep in my thoughts, fork halfway to my mouth, suddenly unsure whether I was even hungry anymore.

University. Really?

Sure, the idea of finishing my education had crossed my mind at some point. Who wouldn’t want to go to college when they were young and had dreams of becoming something more? But after everything I’d gone through, after the jobs I worked just to survive, and the realization that I was now married to someone who could snap his fingers and make all my financial troubles disappear—it felt kind of... unnecessary.

I gave Aiden a side-eye, the fork in my hand hovering as I processed what he had just said. You’re going to university

—like it was an order, not a suggestion. He was acting like it was a done deal, like I had no say in it. Maybe I didn’t.

"Really?" I said, trying to keep my voice level. "You think I’m just going to drop everything and go back to school like I’m some eager little student?"

Aiden raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by my reaction. He wasn’t going to back down. "It’s not a choice. You need to finish your education. You’re married to me now, and it’s part of the deal. You can’t just laze around and expect everything to fall into your lap. You need a future that’s not just me."

I huffed, the frustration bubbling up. "I didn’t ask for all this, you know. You’re just shoving all these plans for me down my throat. I get it. You want me to finish school. But it’s not like I’m sitting around twiddling my thumbs here. I’ve been through enough already."

But Aiden wasn’t fazed. He laid the folder down in front of me again, pointing to the different programs and courses inside. "Pick one. You don’t have to love it, but you need to at least finish it."

Fuck, this guy was relentless.

It wasn’t just about the school. It was about him trying to make me into something. He wanted me to be more than the girl he married out of convenience. And I couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed by that. I didn’t need another reminder that my worth wasn’t just tied to how good I looked on his arm or how well I could make his dinner.

But then again, this was Aiden Timberlake we were talking about. The guy who didn’t take no for an answer. The guy who ran the whole damn show. And I had to admit, he did have a point. I couldn’t stay in my bubble forever, could I? Maybe going back to school was a way to finally take control of something that was mine. Maybe I could make it work if I gave it a shot.

Still, it didn’t mean I had to like it.

I stared at the folder, annoyed, but I picked it up anyway. "Fine. But don’t expect me to be a model student or anything. I’m not going to just show up, be all cheery, and pretend I care about grades. I’ll pick a course, but you’re not going to force me to fall in love with it."

Aiden grinned, that smug smile of his creeping across his face. He knew he’d won.

"Well, we’ll see. I think you’ll find that once you start, you might actually enjoy it," he said, totally unconcerned.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, flipping through the course options. I had no idea what I was doing, but hey, if Aiden thought I was going to get an education, I might as well make it count.

I slouched back in my chair, feeling completely deflated. Here I was, married to a guy who seemed to think that school was still the key to happiness. Great. Now, not only was I married to him, but I had to go back to school, too.

Well, at least I could sleep through some boring lectures, right?

Still, despite my protests, I knew deep down I didn’t have a choice. If Aiden wanted me to do this, I was going to have to go along with it. After all, it wasn’t like I could just ignore him. He’d make sure I went to school. And so, the rest of my day was spent sulking over that damn folder, figuring out which course I’d pick.

Because apparently, having it all meant a degree, too.

As I skimmed through the options, I couldn’t help but wonder just how much of my life was truly mine anymore. Was I really ready to step back into the world I’d left behind? Or was I just going to let Aiden dictate every move I made? It wasn’t like I had a ton of options—my world had changed the second I said "I do," but that didn’t mean I had to lose myself completely, did it?

I sighed, picked a course, and shoved the folder back at Aiden.

"There. Happy?" I grumbled.

He only nodded, giving me a look that said he knew I wasn’t happy about it—but he didn’t care. This was happening whether I liked it or not. And at this point, all I could do was roll with it. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the ride, but I didn’t have much of a choice.