7: Arm Lock

I just stared at his face after that mind-blowing kiss.

My mind was empty.

My heart went straight out of my chest.

My breathing ceased.

I was tricked.

No. I was bewitched. By this total stranger.

"Breathe, wife. Breathe."

I snapped and blinked repeatedly upon hearing Marcus' voice.

"Let me go!" I quickly stepped back and released myself from his strong arms. I filled my lungs with all the air I could get at that moment. "What did you do to me? Why did you do that?!"

He smirked.

"Do I have to KISS you again for you to remember? We are husband and wife, woman." He stepped forward attempting to cross the thin space between us.

"No!" I stepped back again, searched for Matt and pointed my index finger to him. "Matt is my husband. Not you, rude man!"

He smiled sarcastically.

"You called me rude before too and see us now, we are married to each other."

"NOOOOOO!!!"

I ran towards Matt screaming words of disbelief and hid behind him. "Matt, do something! It isn't true, right? I am married to you. I am your wife. I cannot be married to that rugged doppelganger of yours."

Matt patted my shoulders and calmly said. "Look, why not you get some rest first. We had a long trip anyway."

I nodded like an obedient kid still seeking shelter behind his arms.

The last thing I wanted to do at that minute was to stay close to that rude Marcus.

How dare he? He just kissed me like that and claimed that he is my husband? Is he deranged?

Even Matt never took advantage of my advances last night and with all gentleness took good care of me the whole time we were together.

"Madame Jo, is the room for Lady Ruth ready?" Matt asked the directress.

"Yes, Lord Matthew. Everything's in place at the lady's chamber."

Madame Jo took my hand and we walked towards the grand staircase.

"Let me lead you to your room, milady."

A couple of servants followed me and the directress while the others went back to their individual duties.

We walked past Marcus whose expression became grimmer by the minute.

"I hate you!" I squealed at him and quickly ran towards the grand staircase.

He was about to blurt something but Matt was quick to stop him.

They were totally identical. Less Marcus' impeccable facial hair and sexy man bun hairstyle, they utterly looked the same.

Wait!

Did I just compliment that rugged and rude doppelganger?

I shook my head and closed my eyes for a second.

I took a deep breath and tapped my already burning cheeks.

I really need a good rest.

I'm not in my right mind right now.

…

Marcus watched Ruth's presence completely disappear as she turned to the right-wing corridor on her way to her room. He can still hear her voice echoing from the second floor of the manor.

"You okay?" Matt hooked his arms around his neck and faked an arm lock.

He punched his twin brother's stomach.

"That's for bringing her back."

Matt let him go and pretended to be in pain.

He gave him another blow.

"That's for pretending she's your wife."

His twin brother coughed in pain and raised his arm in full surrender.

"I did what I needed to do, brother. She won't come with me if I tell her that I'm just her brother-in-law. That wouldn't make any sense."

This time, he was the one who grabbed Matt's neck and captured it for an arm lock.

"What did you do to her? Why is she acting like you're her real husband?"

"I swear, brother. I did nothing out of context. I was well behaved with her. You can ask her if you want."

"But she seems to like you!" He hissed.

Matt sensed a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"She tried to kiss me last night." he teased his twin.

"What the heck?" He stiffened his arms around his brother's neck. His nostrils suddenly flared up. His face looked more cross than earlier.

Matt repeatedly tapped his arms. His face was turning red and his blood vessels around his neck were constricting fast.

"I dodged her, okay. Nothing happened. So, stop acting like a jealous man."

He let him go.

Matt stroked his reddening neck.

"You came out too early than I expected, brother. Can you not make it so obvious?"

He understood what his twin brother meant.

His behavior was the total opposite of what he had planned to do in the first place.

He screwed his own revenge plan against his run away wife in a heartbeat.

He succumbed to her charm, right there and then.

He took her heart out of his chest the second time around.

God!

He misses her like hell!

…

I had a look around in the bedroom when Madame Jo and the manor servants left. With my knees felt like trembling, I slumped on the fluffy queen-sized bed and clutched my chest. I filled my lungs with oxygen and opened my mouth to exhale all the negativities running around my entire system. I did it for several times until I felt at ease, alone in that great boudoir.

The enchanting bed allured me to finally close my eyes and lay down my body against its most comfortable and expensive sheets.

The soft mattress against my back promises a lifelong guarantee of good night sleeps and fresh summer mornings. It felt so good I thought of staying like that forever.

But something flashed in my mind. Someone's face, rather.

I quickly opened my eyes and an enormous mural on the ceiling welcomed me with floods of colors and emotions I couldn't fathom at that particular moment. I stared at the details closely and felt something familiar in it.

There were stars over a moonless night sky. The starlight illuminated the navy-blue sky and the Palladian bridge below it. I noticed shadows inside the bridge, like a couple, kissing.

I rose on my feet, never leaving my eyes from the ceiling, trying to decipher what I was seeing beneath the colors of the mural when the door behind me opened.

"We need to talk." Marcus husky bedroom voice echoed the room.

Is it just me, the bedroom atmosphere or does he really sound so sexy inside my own bedroom?