Page 244 of Falling for the Wife

The gift she exclusively gave me made me feel honored. And, though she hadn’t said the words I longed to hear, tonight had sealed what I believed—she was truly in love with me.

CHAPTER84

Two weeks later

Ava

Things became heated between Reiss and me. After that night I went to see him in the cottage, he and I hadn’t gone a day without becoming one. Although, he did strongly suggest it might be healthy for us to skip a day or two because he didn’t want me to be sick of him.

I appreciated his effort in trying to protect our relationship with abstinence, but it was me who had the toughest problem in curtailing my appetite. I couldn’t help it; I just wanted him like I had never wanted anyone in my life before.

It came to the point where he went out to the pub with his friends, and out of the blue, I had this inane idea of seeing if he truly was there. He was there … and so was his ex-lover.

I wasn’t daft enough to think I was his first. Of course I knew he’d had girls fawning all over him and clamoring for his undivided attention. One look at those crystal green eyes and one could never look away. I definitely was one of his hopeless victims.

Reiss wouldn’t break my heart—I knew that—but it certainly didn’t curb the feelings of insecurity when I saw his ex openly flirting with him.

I didn’t even hesitate in going inside the pub, bringing him to the nearest bathroom and letting him take me up against the stall. It was irrational; however, my primal instincts took ground, and I simply had to take action and declare what was mine. I was crazy for him, and sometimes I hated the fact that I was. So did my mother.

She too hated the idea of me possibly not ending things with Reiss, because she deemed him “bottom of the barrel” or a “filthy pig that was after money.”

“You can’t be serious about this abhorrent behavior of yours, Ava! I mean, what would my friends think if they found out my daughter—my only daughter—has been kissing a gardener? Our name would never be taken seriously again. We’d be the brunt of their jokes. I cannot have you ruining what your father’s worked hard for. He won’t tolerate this kind of shameful behavior.”

My mother’s cold, silvery eyes sharpened on me. “You better end this, or so help me God, I will tell your father everything.Do you hear me, young lady?I will tell him to cut your allowance, and you’ll be looking for a job to sustain your lifestyle amongst friends. We shall see how long you’d last without support from us.”

Her threats came daily, and I was on borrowed time. But, each time I tried to dwell on it, I couldn’t fathom letting him go just yet. Therefore, I endured her cruel words, and most of the time, I’d lash back at her, stating she didn’t know him like I did. But the other times, I had to wonder if my mother had spoken any truth. They did say parents knew better, didn’t they?

So, yes, I was guilty of pondering what she had planted in my head. At times, my mother’s never-ending, grueling sermons would turn to saving myself for the likes of Ashton Westwood, a long time close friend who happened to be my father’s closest comrade’s son. It was shameful to admit, but at those times, I would seek Reiss out for sex and avoid anything that dealt with emotions.

It was a cold-hearted thing to do; however, I couldn’t help it. My mother’s warnings had injected themselves deep into my psyche, and at the same time, I was fighting this indescribable connection I had with Reiss. It was rather tough to be in this position, but I couldn’t sacrifice him just yet. I wasn’t ready to let go, even though I knew the time would come when I eventually would have to. Because, if I was honest with myself, I had meant for this to be a summer fling, no strings attached. It wasn’t right to think that way, yet when I had first seen Reiss, I just couldn’t stay away. I had to do everything in my power for him to notice me and make him mine.

Even if my brain was giving me warnings, I didn’t pay heed, because my body was in charge. It felt as though we had a magnetic pull, and I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Him treating me like I walked on water was merely an added bonus. Never in my life had I had a guy give me such love and attention to the point that it made me feel guilty for leading him on, for leading us on without giving him an idea that I didn’t have any plans in continuing this relationship once I headed back to boarding school.

In the very beginning, when our relationship was blossoming, I had attempted to tell him a few times. However, each time he gazed at me with such pure affection, I couldn’t bear to break it to him. I just couldn’t. It was cruel to keep him in the dark yet even crueler to break his trust.

Either way, I couldn’t get away from this unscathed. As much as I avoided having the discussion with him, I knew I had to one day. Summer was halfway over; there wasn’t much time left. But as the days went on, it became harder to even think about.

Then, one day, life decided to step in and give me a glaring reason to follow through.

It was on a Saturday afternoon when things started to go downhill for me. Ashton along with several common friends came to see me for an unexpected visit. All five of us, consisting of three guys and two girls, had grown up together since our parents were all interconnected through friends and family.

My instincts were screaming at me to drag them away to the nearest hotel or volley back to London and spend the weekend there. However, seeing how my friends looked pleasantly comfortable, lounging about the sitting room, it would be rather impossible to drag them out. Maybe I should wait a few hours or so until I brought up the brilliant idea of spending time somewhere else.

Appearing bright and cheerful, I immediately played the perfect hostess, offering refreshments and tea sandwiches. We were in the garden room that was decorated in white with a lot of glass panes and a wide French door that led to the well-tended gardens. It served as our receiving/lounge room because it had quiet elegance, and the view was quite magnificent. It was one of my favorite places in the house and one I had used to gaze at Reiss as he went about his business.

Reiss. Drat.

“Did we catch you at an awful time? You don’t seem too ecstatic to see us.” Ashton comfortably sat next to me, gazing at me as if he had missed me.

Feigning a smile, I appeared gleeful enough, yet deep down, I was a nervous wreck. “Of course I am happy to see you all. I just hadn’t expected it. I thought we were meeting in London in two weeks. You could’ve at least warned me about it.” Had he done so, I could’ve had time to mentally prepare myself instead of being panicky about the situation.

“And what?” He beamed. “Ruin the surprise? I think not.” His fingers caught a stand of my hair before aimlessly twirling it around.

Ashton’s habits consisted of always trying to touch me whenever he could. He had been my first kiss, after all. He and I had been on and off for as long as I could remember. We wereonwhen we saw each other andoffwhen we didn’t. My holidays always had him in them, and this time, I was almost positive he was thinking we were back in theonphase. It would have been fine except Reiss was still in the picture. As a result, I was back to my dilemma.

“I’ve missed you, Ava.”

Giving him a weary look, I tried to say something that would dispel him from gazing at me with adoration, but nothing came to mind. The thing was, I had missed him, too. I considered Ashton one of my closest friends. He and I were quite alike, and that was why we got on so well.