THE CONTROL: An Arranged Marriage Romance by Elena Monroe (ebook reader android .txt) 📕

Knowing how much you are willing to kick some ass, I need you to leave this alone.

She didn’t text me back, she wasn’t great at having a phone and honestly I got used to being around her 24/7 so we didn’t need one to communicate. She was supposed to be here for our daily lunch date in an hour—that’s how little time we had to ourselves. I figured out how to make the Clave pay for lunch with my wife too.

Kicking the skateboard next to my new personal assistant’s desk, I felt my hands pulse with the lack of control I had in this situation. The animal inside me wanted to claw its way to my surface and the anxiousness I haven’t been able to kick was egging it on.

“What’s wrong with you? Starburst?” Kennedy, my childhood homie, former girlfriend, and now new assistant, offered me a band aid for my visibly bleeding heart.

“I need to intercept Eve. There’s an issue and I need to get her alone before Bowen does.” I pressed my hands together praying... pleading, really.

 

 

EVE

Grace had a daily standing lunch date with her husband, my childhood enemy turned ally, and it was hard not to smile at that commitment.

She quickly became my favorite new friend, constantly sending each other voice texts as we got to know each other better, but I never told her much about my marriage. It felt too personal to have it tainted by repeating it to someone else.

Maybe I just didn't want people who villainize Bowey to have more ammo.

Just wanting to help my obvious mood change, she showed up after she knew Bowen had left to capture me for a girl’s day complete with a driving lesson. The way she was spontaneous felt child-like, and it was easy to see the connection between her and Khaos.

Instead, she saved me from reliving the trauma my own mind had hidden from me.

The car ride was gravely quiet, neither of us saying one word. I didn’t even know what she thought or if she judged me for what it may have looked like. When we were almost there I mustered up the courage to speak, out of character for me when I enjoyed seeing the swiftness in people’s features when I misbehaved in unexpected ways.

“It wasn’t what it probably looked like… He - I, I don’t want Bowen to worry. I’m handling it.” I started fumbling my words before I ended strong.

“Not my business, babe. But, I learned the hard way that honesty makes shit easier. These guys have the power to fix things.”

I instantly wondered about the story behind that statement. I didn’t ask, my mind was clinging to Elias and my new memories.

Once we were in the Clave’s parking garage and I saw Bowen’s car, I was able to take a deep breath, knowing this was a safe zone as much as it normally wasn’t.

Riding the elevator up, we stayed silent, both of us digesting before seeing the two people on this earth we don’t have the heart to lie to.

The elevator doors opened smoothly and the first thing I saw was Khaos standing there on his skateboard.

He knew.

I could see it on his face that he knew. I could feel myself cringe inward just pushing my eyes up to his.

His thumb lifted Grace’s chin, and I watched him dip his head enough to plant a kiss on her lips. “I’ll meet you in my office. I gotta talk to Eve.”

Grace locked eyes with me like a verbal confirmation it was okay to leave me alone with him. Little does she know her husband was already marked by me.

Standing on his board, he crossed his arms. “Him moving here changed my plans. I like to slowly push people to the truth, but I have a feeling the truth found you.”

I appreciated him not saying his name. Not in my safe haven.

“Understatement. Probably the only one you’ll make.” I retorted to his confession that everyone was part of his games.

Hopping off his board, he stepped on the end and it flew upright. “The only question is what kind of princess are you? The kind that slays her own demons or the kind that lets a knight in shining armor do it? His armor might be a little banged up, a little rusty.”

I felt my teeth grind down on each other. “I don’t need saving.”

Bowen had his own demons to slay, and I needed to be the strength he remembered.

Twisting on my heel, I walked away from Khaos when he bounced in front of me, forcing me to halt. “He’s not the same person, Eve. If he finds out from anyone else, he will implode all over us.”

“Then don’t say anything. Problem solved. If you’ll excuse me, I'm going to visit my husband.” The old me was back in full force, but the parts of me I didn’t want him to see were still buried under a pretty princess demeanor.

Smoothing down the long vintage band shirt I had on, I made sure it was covering the parts of me that Elias ate up earlier. Ironically enough, this ratty shirt was all I was comfortable in after being felt up by my stepbrother.

I was smoothing down my shirt but in reality I was trying to smooth out the wrinkles he left on my expression. There was only one way I was going to iron out my wrinkles and it was going to be by the flames of Bowen, the devil himself.

Wanting to replace the memory crawling my body like small insects, I found a restroom on the way to Bowen’s office. Everything was sleek and black, a kind of sinister that made you wonder what they do here to earn all the impeccable