Chapter Four
Leaning against the door, Alex breathed out a sigh of relief that she was able to escape after she had let off that steam. She’d been determined not to let him get under her skin, and yet, he’d done it anyway.
Why did he have so many bad opinions of her? It made no sense unless they were all based around that stupid virginity test, which frankly was the worst thing she’d ever been asked to do. She had expected her father to demand she take it as well, and he’d surprised her by having her back. At least someone did.
Licking her dry lips, she closed her eyes, counted to ten, and then stepped away from the door. It had been a long day with far too many revelations. Someone wanted her dead or at least to kidnap her and use her against her dad. She doubted Roman mattered in this situation. If anyone had been watching them closely, they’d know he didn’t care for his young bride and would probably thank anyone for dealing with her.
Alex stepped toward the mirror and glanced over her reflection. Her eyes were a little red from trying to hold in all the tears. Thinking about little Stuart didn’t help. It was the only time she and her father had been on opposing sides. She’d hated him for taking her little boy away. The moment she’d found him and held him, she had wanted to take care of him. Her dad wouldn’t let her.
The only chance she got to see him was when she was with Millie.
She had to go and see him, but with this threat now imposed on her life, she doubted she was going to get the chance.
After stepping away from the mirror, she stripped off her clothes and climbed into the shower. She turned the water on and pressed her hands against the cold tiled wall as the icy jets splashed on her skin, waking her body up like it had been in limbo for far too long. She gritted her teeth and waited for the water to warm.
She often did this as a child. It helped her to focus, especially when life seemed to be more chaotic than she could handle.
It was moments like these when she wished she had a mom. Millie was the closest thing she had, but her loyalty would forever be with Liam. Alex understood that. It was why she wished she had her mom.
For the longest time, Liam had been everything, her dad and her mom, which had been hilarious when she had womanly problems to deal with. Thinking about her first menstrual cycle and looking back on her father with adult eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh. He’d been so far out of his depth that it was more a comedy show. They’d gotten through it. They had gotten through a whole lot, and she knew he missed her mother. They weren’t married at her mother’s request, but they were soul mates.
The moment the water warmed up, the pain slicing through her body eased. She hated thinking about her parents and Stuart. Focusing on them now helped her to deal with the other problem of potentially being killed or kidnapped.
Grabbing the soap, she lathered up the sponge and then quickly washed her body before reaching for the shampoo, followed immediately after by the conditioner. Hair and body washed and cleaned, she turned the water off and stepped out to grab a towel and wrap it around her body.
She avoided going into her bedroom by brushing her teeth and combing her hair. The length was long, and she liked it that way. Roman had asked for her to cut it, but she refused. Of course, she did. Just because she was married to him that didn’t for a second mean she had to do every single little thing he asked.
She had fought on her hair and lost on so many other things. College was being taken away from her, which sucked. She loved going to classes and being a part of that way of life. It was fun, exciting. Today, apart from nearly getting shot at and ran off the road, had been exhilarating just by seeing Bill and of course studying.
Grabbing another towel to prolong her time in the bathroom, she leaned forward and let all of her hair fall forward, and then she bound her hair up.
She wasn’t decent. Way too much flesh was showing, but for now, it was going to have to do. As she nodded at her reflection, it was time to face … Roman. Her husband.
She opened the door and found him standing by her desk, and of all things, reading one of her diaries.
Alex rushed over toward him, but Roman snapped the diary closed. Her father had given them to her as a gift so long ago, when she was struggling to deal with her feelings. He’d advised that she keep a diary and use it as a way of talking to … Mom. She didn’t use it often, just when she needed to unload. Like tonight. Like right now.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked, quickly closing the distance between them and trying to reach for her diary. He held it just out of reach.
“I will be taking this.”
“That’s my personal diary. You have no right to take people’s things without asking them.” She tried to reach for it, and in the process of jumping, the towel around her hair spun out of control and fell out. She couldn’t contain the wince as it tugged at strands of hair before it left her locks free, which did feel good.
Alex still had one hand on the towel wrapped around her body, and she kept trying to jump up to take the diary, but it wasn’t working. In the end, she let go of the towel, hoping the power of her boobs would keep it in place, and she used her hands to try to get the diary.
Roman was taller, bigger, and it was impossible. That diary was the last one she had written in. She hadn’t taken it to his place because she had worried he’d find it. The last entries were all leading up to their arranged marriage, and of course their wedding, the night before, at least. There was no other entry because she’d been with him, with no way of talking to her diary.
Her towel gave way, and Alex didn’t grab it immediately. The protection she had fell to the floor, around her feet.
She cried out and scrambled to get her towel, only to have Roman reach for it as well. Alex wasn’t entirely sure what happened, but they somehow managed to bump heads, and she ended up on the floor, not covered, and Roman stared at her.
Panic filled her, and she scrambled for the towel and her diary. Roman seemed to still as she got both and pulled away from him.
Within seconds, it became a tug of war as Roman grabbed the diary, and she had no choice but to turn her back and immediately wrap the towel around her.
Roman had never seen her naked.
No man had seen her naked.