His Marriage Trap

CHAPTER FIVE

When Gabby awoke she was furious to discover that once again she was in Nik's bed instead of her own. It was getting ridiculous. Why wasn't she ever aware of him moving her? Surely her self-preservation should kick in and warn her that he was there but instead she never realised until morning.

With a growl of frustration she strode from the bed and collected some clothes before going back to her own room to get ready. She spent her time thinking of exactly how she could escape this predicament she found herself in. She had only coped with her marriage for the last year because she had Ramona Grove as her escape outlet and if that was taken away from her then she didn't know what she would do. She didn't want to be one of those women who spent their days shopping and socialising while their husband did all the work. She liked going out and doing something that made a difference. How could she abandon all that just to be a trophy wife? If Nik hadn't wanted a wife with her own thoughts and actions then he should have divorced her when she had asked. She had no intention of giving up on the small life she had made for herself just because that was what Nik expected.

She knew that it was now more important than ever for her to escape this ridiculous marriage. She also knew that Nik wouldn't just let her go so she would have to come up with a plan and she would have to do it soon. The longer she left it the more chance that she would never be able to escape.

The first thing she had to do was put her affairs in order, so with that in mind she dressed quickly in her black knee length skirt, white blouse and black form fitting jacket before gathering everything together.

She made her way down the stairs and wasn't surprised to find Nik waiting for her with his arms folded.

"We have to stop meeting like this," she quipped and he didn't even smile.

"We need to talk," he announced and she offered a faint smile at that.

"Of course we do. You're like a broken record," she told him and he shrugged. She expected him to lead her in to his office but instead he led her to the dining room and pulled out a seat for her.

"Eat something," he urged and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not hungry. I just want to get this talk over with," she informed him and just like always he completely ignored what she said. Instead he poured her a glass of orange juice and indicated that she should get something to eat. With a sigh Gabby selected a slice of toast just to shut him up.

"I think that we need to establish some ground rules since our conversation last night," he suggested and she glared at him.

"I don't think we need any ground rules. I think we're doing just fine as we are," she snapped.

"And I think that if you're not more careful then you're going to end up getting hurt," he said which made her both furious and wary. She knew on some level that he could be right but then wasn't that true for anyone? They could get run over by a bus while being much more cautious. So why shouldn't she live?

"I'm careful," she insisted and he sighed.

"No matter how careful you are that side of town is dangerous for anyone never mind about someone like you," he explained and she refused to listen to the sense he made. There was more to life than being scare of your own shadow.

"Well it doesn't matter because I'm going to work not to Ramona Grove," she insisted as she got to her feet but Nik stopped her before she could leave.

"I'm just looking out for you," he insisted and she took a slow breath to calm herself.

"I'm a big girl, Nik. I don't need you looking out for me," she told him.