The Stranger's Wife | Rewritten

14 ~ Curiosity Seduced The Cat

* Amelia *

I had no choice but to listen to Willem as he talked. He never spoke in a rush and his deep accented voice got to me every time.

At least that's what I told myself as I allowed myself to drown in his words. . . and in his wolfish grey eyes.

The man was irresistible and I was drawn to him like white on rice. It disturbed me that I couldn't pull away.

His very presence demanded my attention. I sensed a quiet authoritativeness in him and I was both delighted and troubled by it.

"My mother left us a couple of letters, " I told him. "I haven't opened them yet."

"Any idea what they're about?"

"Not really. She meant for us to open them on our first and fifth wedding anniversary." I looked down at my left hand where my wedding ring was desperately trying to make a statement.

Willem followed my gaze and his eyes rested for a long while on my hand before he spoke. "Marry me for real, Amelia, and then one day, a year from now, we could make opening the letters a realization."

My head snapped up and my eyes narrowed at the words coming out of his mouth. "We are married for real and I've decided I no longer want to be."

"Your mother always believed in this relationship — in me. She trusted me to take care of you and I won't let her down. We owe it to her to at least try."

"That's not fair. Don't bring my mother into this."

"It's not about fairness." He plated a slice of red velvet cake and handed it to me. "Francois makes the best cakes. Actually, I don't think Francois knows what bad cooking is."

"You're lucky to have him," I said, cutting a small piece of cake with my dessert spoon.

He took a bite of the cake. Chewing slowly, he closed his eyes and smiled. And just like that, his face changed. Softened. I wanted to see more of that side of him.

"He's expensive, but he's worth every penny." He opened his eyes and they appeared nearly translucent in the sunlight. "Aren't you the least bit curious about where this might lead?"

"Curiosity killed the cat," I said, falling back on a phrase my mother used to say a lot.

"No, he didn't. He seduced her. That's all."

I laughed. "I know where this leads. I'm just another notch on your bedpost and soon enough this excitement will wear off and you'll go back to ignoring me like I never existed."

"You don't let go easily, do you? Do you know the arrangement I made with your father all those years ago? Why he let me marry you?"

I paused, the spoon suspended in midair on its way to my mouth. "What arrangement? My parents told me that your father wouldn't pass the business over to you unless you were married."

"That's partly true. After my brother died of cancer, my father wanted me to take over the company. Two months into the job, some partners managed to embezzle about 5 million dollars right under my nose."

"That's a lot of money."

"It is. I had to come up with a plan and your father, he had those restaurants, but they weren't doing well."