Anna
I got home around 10 p.m. Of course, Oliver had someone drop me off — he was far too preoccupied with keeping Vanessa quiet.
My heart hammered in my chest the moment I noticed the light in the living room still on. I have to tell him the truth.How do I even begin to explain? Was I wrong to choose that much money? Maybe if I explained that we could still see each other... I'd have to play the part.
I pushed the door open and locked it behind me, my footsteps heavy. Peeking into the living room, I found him on the couch watching some fishing show, a beer in hand. His head turned toward me. I smiled nervously, but his face stayed stern.
"Hi," I said softly. My voice came out barely above a whisper.
"I thought you were going over there to end things. And now you're engaged?" His voice was rough, cold.
"Wait… how did you know?" My eyes widened.
"It's all over the news, Anna. Social media too." He shook his head and wiped a hand over his face. That went out that quickly?
"Simon, please — let me explain."
He stood abruptly, rage tightening his features. I reached for his arm, feeling the tension in his muscles beneath my hand. His eyes flicked down to my touch, then back up to meet mine — softer now.
"I did go there to end it," I said quickly. "He cornered me. I had no idea there was a party — and then he announced the engagement and offered me more. More money."
"I know you don't understand, but this is my opportunity to finally be free — to get out of debt, to have a home, to have everything I've ever wanted." Tears welled in my eyes.
"I'm not with him. I'm not planning to be intimate or act like a couple behind closed doors. He has someone else. This is just an arrangement — and he promised it'll be less than a year before the divorce."
I lifted my hand to his jaw, but he clenched it tight.
"Simon, I'm yours. Only yours."
I didn't even know why I said it — maybe because it was true, and because saying it felt like finally breathing. Simon was the kind of man who was possessive; I knew he wanted me all to himself.
As if those words flipped a switch in him, he whispered, "Fuck," before his mouth crashed onto mine.
Simon
The words that came out of her mouth — I'm yours — completely messed with my head. My lips crashed against hers, rough and hungry. I needed her. I had no idea why I was this obsessed, only that I was.
My hand encircled her tiny jaw; I could feel it working beneath my palm as she kissed me back. Her hands gripped my forearms, pulling herself flush against me. Then I lifted her, her slim legs wrapping around my waist as I carried her to my room, shutting the door behind us.
I laid her on the bed, my mouth still on hers. Her moan — soft and small, just like her — filled the room. I hovered over her, watching her chest rise and fall fast, like prey caught beneath its predator.
"You're so beautiful," I murmured. She smiled faintly.
My mind flashed back to the first time I saw her — the first time I heard her laugh and fell in love with it, the first time I saw her relax and let go. I wanted her. I wanted to protect every single part of her. She was mine — she had always been meant to be mine.
I kissed her again, slower this time, pouring every bit of patience and passion I had into it. I wanted her to know. To feelwho she belonged to. When I pulled back, her lips were bruised and her breathing uneven. She understood — I could see it in her eyes, sparkling as though she had never been kissed like this before.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the doorbell rang. We froze, staring at each other in silence. Then I shifted off the bed and headed out of the room.
Heat coursed through my veins — anger, frustration, and something deeper. I was pissed that we were interrupted, but maybe it was for the best. I wasn't sure she was ready for me yet.
I opened the front door to find Oliver standing there.
"Trust fund kid," I said flatly. His face hardened at my words.
"Not a kid. Where's Anna?"
"She's busy. You want to leave a message?"
"I know she's here. Why don't you be a pal and fetch her for me?"
That one sentence got under my skin more than it should have. He wanted to provoke me, to make her seem like something he owned — like she was his to command. She wasn't.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" I growled through gritted teeth.
"Her fucking husband," he shot back, stepping forward.
Before I could reply, Anna's hand touched my back.
"Simon," she said softly. Her eyes flicked between us — cautious, pleading.
"What's going on?" she asked, looking from him to me.
"I was just about to tell trust fund kid here that you're a person, not a dog, and I'm not here to fetch you," I said bitterly.
"Stay out of this, GI Joe," Oliver scoffed.
"Guys, stop. Simon," she said firmly.
I looked at her, then exhaled. Putting my hands up in surrender, I grabbed my jacket and walked out. She needed space. She wasn't ready for the possessive version of me — not yet.
Anna
"Why are you here, Oliver?"
"To speak to you about the arrangement," he said, stepping inside and glancing around. "And now I'm starting to think it's going to be harder than I thought."
"So when were you going to tell me you and the landlord were a thing?"
"We… we're not. We're just—" I struggled for words. We haven't even started yet. We're nothing yet.
"I'm a man, Anna. I can tell when another man is possessive. Men like that aren't possessive for just anybody."
"It's just Simon. He's protective of everyone — especially people in his circle."
"So you're telling me there's nothing between you?"
I looked down at my hands. Flashes of Simon's hands on me, his mouth claiming mine, his voice whispering my name.
"I want him," I said quietly. "And he wants me too." I closed my eyes. "That's what I came to tell you before. I think…" I paused, then looked up. "I think I'm in love with Simon."
Oliver sighed, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Well, then that's the end of our arrangement."
"It is?" I asked, stunned.
"Yes. I can pretend, because I'm not in love with anyone. But you — you wear your heart on your sleeve. It'll be obvious you don't feel the same for me. I need you to look smitten, and I don't think you can deliver that."
I blinked, my dreams — the house, the travel, the peace — shattering all at once. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Simon walking toward the lake, hands in his pockets, shoulders heavy. He almost looked… sad.
"That's fine," I said, turning back to Oliver with a faint smile. "You're right. I couldn't play the part with you, not when I'm in love with someone else."
"For what it's worth, you're an amazing person, Anna. I wish you the best."
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes," he said with a small smile. "I think it's finally time I grow up."
He leaned forward, kissed me gently on the cheek, and left.