I glanced across my lab, finding Henrik sitting at a smaller desk. His eyes were on his laptop as he typed quickly. His fingers moved fast, and his eyes tracked each movement he made.

My mind traveled back to the other morning and Henrik's phone call. It was only nine in the morning, and I was sitting at the island working on my coffee. I had finally gathered the courage to go back to work, but the council expressed their concern about me being alone.

Henrik came into the kitchen on the phone. “No, she doesn’t need a shit ton of people standing in the way of her at the lab. That’s not the solution.”

I glanced away from my coffee as Henrik stopped near the fridge. He ground his jaw together, and his nostrils flared. “No! I’m putting my foot down. I will be going, end of discussion.” He hung up, tossing his phone onto the counter.

I raised my eyebrows at him as he sighed heavily. “Who was that?”

“Derrick. He said that the Council wanted to have a group of security personnel to watch after you while you were at the lab, since you're a big asset and they can’t have anything happen to you. I argued that it wasn’t going to help.

You already have a small enough lab, and if you put a bunch of people in it, you're going to lose focus on your work. He argued with me that your safety came first, which I understood, but so does all the work you do.”

I was a little surprised that he argued with them so easily. I agreed that I didn’t want a bunch of people in my lab, but Henrik couldn’t do it either. I would lose focus.

“But why did you say you would do it?”

“Because I’m going to.”

I shook my head. “Henrik, you have an entire pack to run. You can’t just sit and watch me at the lab. It’s a complete waste of your time.”

“No, it's not. I do a lot of work on my computer, and in any meetings, I can just be remote. This is for your safety, after all, Katie. Once this is handled, we can go back to what you want, but for now, this is what we are going to do.” He softened his gaze. “It’s just for now.”

I sighed, staring at Henrik as he shifted around in his chair. He had taken up a corner of the lab I hardly used, so it wasn’t like he was in the way. I hardly noticed he was there, minus his typing, or if he was on the phone.

I found myself glancing at him every once in a while, wondering if he was regretting everything. Any normal person would be considering how much he had to protect me now.

“Do you need anything?” I asked, setting my test tubes down.

Henrik shook his head and glanced up from his laptop. “Nope, I’m good right here.”

“Well, it’s about lunchtime, and I was thinking of running down to the cafeteria. Do you want to go with me?”

“Yeah, let me finish this email, and I’ll join you down there. Should only take me a few minutes.”

I pulled my goggles off and slipped out of the lab. I headed down the stairs until I was back on the first floor and headed to the cafeteria. It was as busy as I had expected. I made my way to the salad bar and started getting everything I always ate.

I was a creature of habit. I enjoyed a salad for lunch with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, croutons, and a splash of Ranch. I had a small glass of milk with an orange. It was a light lunch, but filling enough that I could still focus.

I sat down and started to pour the Ranch over my salad when I heard someone talking at the table next to me. It was a whisper, but I heard my name and stiffened.

“I still can’t believe that he’s been in Katie’s lab. What a waste.”

I swallowed, trying not to let it bother me. It wasn’t like I hadn’t heard people talking about me before. Anywhere I went, my name seemed to be a topic of discussion at some point. Most of it wasn’t anything I wanted to hear.

I mixed my salad up and started to peel my orange when a shadow covered the table. My body tensed up but relaxed as Henrik spoke. “Is that all you're going to eat?”

I looked over my shoulder at him, finding that he had a plate of chicken with some rice. He’d grabbed himself a water bottle and an apple.

“I eat this every day,” I said as I peeled my orange back, popping a piece into my mouth. “It’s light but filling enough that I don’t get sleepy afterwards. You, on the other hand, are going to be tired after eating all of that.”

“As long as you're eating enough,” he said as he sat down.

I gave him a soft smile, but could hear the whisper growing louder.

“Just look at him. He’s beautiful. Stunning, and he’s with Katie? How does that add up?”

“It was a forced marriage, after all. Maybe her math was on purpose so she could fool a man to be with her?”

“Poor man. Doesn’t even realize that he’s been fooled.”

I took a bite of my salad, but my appetite was gone. I chewed slowly, trying to force myself to continue eating.

“How is your stuff coming along? You seemed to be pretty eager earlier when you started your day.”

I glanced at Henrik. They were right, he was stunning, and he was stuck with me. I wanted to blame the algorithm. Because how could we be together? We didn’t have anything in common. At least nothing that mattered.

“It’s going fine.” I took another bite. “Have you thought about having someone take your place and getting out of my lab?”

He paused his fork and frowned. “I thought you were fine with me staying in your lab.”

I shrugged. “I never said that. I simply said okay. You said it was for a while.”

Henrik frowned. “Are you saying you don’t want me in your lab?”

“I would like my lab back,” I snapped. He could get back to his work, and maybe I wouldn’t feel like such a burden to him. I knew he likely had to readjust his schedule to be here every day. As much as he said this wasn’t a burden on him, I didn’t believe it.

Henrik shifted in his chair. “Where is this coming from, Katie? You didn’t have a problem half an hour ago with me being there.”

I chewed on my lower lip and pushed my salad away. “I’ve got work to get done, and I don’t have time for this.”

I pulled myself up and started to head out of the cafeteria. I could hear him hot on my tail, but I didn’t bother looking back. I took the stairs and heard the door open behind me.

“Katie, stop running.”

“I’m not running,” I grumbled back marching up the stairs.

“Katie, could you please just stop and talk to me for a moment?”

I ignored him and continued to walk up the stairs. I pushed the door open, getting onto the second floor. I headed to my lab, and I pushed it open. It opened instantly, but Henrik followed. Henrik looked at me angrily. “Stop running!”

Anger boiled over and I curled my hands into fists. How could he not get it? “I’m not blind! And I’m not deaf! I know what people are saying!”

Henrik looked like I’d struck him and waved a hand at me. “I don’t understand. Did something happen?”

“Everyone is talking about how you deserve someone better. That I tricked you into being with me.”

Henrik frowned. I felt my shoulders drop. “I’ve become a burden, and I know that. You think I like hearing people talk about how much better off you deserve to be! How you deserve someone better. And you acting like this doesn’t screw with your life only makes it worse.”

“You’re not a burden, Katie. And I don’t care what people say about us because there is nothing wrong with you.”

I snorted. “Oh, please. This entire situation is a burden.” I threw my hands up. “You never wanted to be with me. You’re only with me because you have to! And you're only in the lab because I got possessed. None of this is your decision.”

Henrik stepped closer and I stepped back. His eyes hardened, and his voice dipped. “I have made every decision that has got me to this point, Katie.”

“Not because you wanted to!” I snapped back. “You were forced.”

Henrik stepped closer, and my ass pressed against the table. I had nowhere else to run. I swallowed as he invaded my space. His shadow fell over me and his face grew close to mine.

I swallowed, looking away, but Henrik grabbed my face, turning it to me. “You are my wife, Katie.”

“Not by choice!”

His face grew closer. His nose nearly brushing mine. “You are my wife,” he growled and a shiver ran down my entire body. “It may have been rocky, but you are my wife, Katie.”

I wasn’t even angry at him, but I was angry about the entire situation. I was angry at how this was all going. Henrik grabbed my wrist, pulling me against his chest. And suddenly, his lips were pressed against mine.

All the anger melted, and suddenly, that was all I wanted. His lips were rough as he pressed me against the table, his hands releasing my wrist and landing on the back of my head.

I moaned softly as his teeth pulled at my lower lip. My breath hitched and a shiver ran down my back.

“You have no idea how beautiful you are. How amazing you are. If the others don’t see that, it’s their loss.”

Henrik leaned back, his hands tightening on my head. “I’m your husband.”

I swallowed as his lips grazed mine again. “Say it.”

I inhaled softly. “You’re my husband.”

“Good.” He pulled at my hand a little tighter. “Do you know what that means? It means your problems are mine. Your insecurities are for me to help with. Your fears, your dreams, and your hopes are mine. Just as mine are yours.”

I wanted to argue, but how could I argue when he looked at me with so much hope and care that I knew he was telling the truth?

Logic went out the window.