The second I got the call that they were finished, I handed her a key and had my driver, Charles, take her there. It was a total cowardly move, but I couldn't be anything but a coward in that moment.
Theo laughed, shaking his head. “You are unbelievable and in hiding. Drinking won't solve your problems.”
“I don't have a problem.”
He arched a brow. “You’re on your third whiskey.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means,” he said flatly, “you’re spiraling.”
I clenched my jaw. The music thumped faintly in the background, but it felt distant. Like I wasn’t fully in the room. Like part of me was at my house, watching Vani as she made herself comfortable and explored it. She looked happy, which made me happy. I sighed, shaking my head. I was so screwed.
Theo leaned forward. “You like her.”
“That’s not the issue.”
“Oh? Then enlighten me.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “She’s too… comfortable.”
“With being your wife?” he asked dryly.
“With the money,” I snapped quietly.
Theo went still.
I hated saying it out loud. It made me sound paranoid. Petty. Like some bitter billionaire who couldn’t fathom being loved for anything other than his bank account. But Vani had been honest from the start. Her honesty should’ve reassured me, but it unsettled me instead.
“If she hadn’t seemed so eager to marry me because of my wealth,” I muttered, “I wouldn’t be second-guessing everything now.”
Theo studied me carefully. “Did she say she married you only for your money?”
“She made me show her my bank account to prove I was a billionaire.”
“So? She wanted to be sure you weren't lying. Wouldn't you have done the same thing?”
“Maybe,” I ran a hand down my face, "but all her questions and hesitation went away the second she saw my bank balance."
He smirked faintly. “So your problem is that she didn’t hesitate enough?”
I shot him a look.
He chuckled. “Cal, you’re being impossible.”
I swallowed the rest of my whiskey, the warmth spreading through my chest doing little to quiet the storm in my head. “I just don’t know how to read her,” I admitted.
Theo’s expression softened slightly. “What do you mean?”
“She agreed to everything.” My voice lowered. “The rules. The arrangement. The only thing she voiced an opinion on was the timeline. She didn't want there to be an end date.”
“And that bothers you?”
“It should bother me,” I insisted. “I agreed to give her free rein so she could buy whatever she wanted. All she cared about was making sure I couldn't use the contract to divorce her sooner.”
Theo stared at me like I’d grown another head. “I'm sure that's not what she meant.”
“I don’t know what to think,” I muttered.
