Immediately Rin drove to the mansion where Toga, Izayoi, Inuyasha, and Kagome awaited her. This would be painful, but she had to suffer through this.
Once she got them seated at the dining room table she sighed heavily before stating, "Sesshomaru and I are conning all of you. We are married, but it is not for the reasons you all believe. When he heard that Toga was dying and was threatening to cut him out of his life, Sesshomaru proposed a deal with me to marry him and pretend to be a happy wife. In exchange I got to keep my job and he was going to help me get a new job."
They stared at her, all of them bug-eyed, except for Toga. Toga instead slammed his fist on the table and then left the room with all the strength he had left after his chemotherapy treatment from that morning. Rin noticed that the other three had not changed their expressions, so she looked at the table in shame. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, and this time she would allow them to flow. Izayoi was the first to move, and she got up and put her arms around Rin. Kagome followed suit while Inuyasha watched them.
Fifteen minutes later Sesshomaru burst into the house demanding to know where Rin was. When he found her he pried the women off of her and kneeled down to look her in the eyes. "What happened, Rin?"
"I told them the truth."
He stood up and left the room going in the same direction as Toga's study. Minutes later he reappeared and demanded that she go with him to the study. She followed behind him trying to rein in her emotions. Toga sat at his desk and stared at the young couple before him. "How could you?"
"It is my fault," Rin said before Sesshomaru could reply. "I was going to get help finding a better job and get some of Sesshomaru's inheritance. I was the greedy one, and Sesshomaru just went along with it." 'I just lied. Please, Lord, forgive me for protecting Sesshomaru.'
"No, it was my fault." Rin looked at Sesshomaru wondering why he didn't take advantage of allowing the blame to fall on her. "I was the one who came up with the idea. I wanted my inheritance, and I was willing to go to any lengths to get it."
"He's lying, Toga. He wanted to make you happy more than he wanted the money. I could see it in his eyes."
"I pretty much bribed her to go along with this."
Toga's eyes darted between Sesshomaru and Rin until he sighed and said, "It is apparent to me that if I let you continue all night, you will still be here in the morning blaming yourselves." A slight smile started forming. "I will not punish either of you since determining what you will do now will be enough of a punishment on both of you." The couple bowed before him. "I would recommend that the both of you take some time away from each other before you make your decision."
The other three were standing in the hallway waiting for someone to exit the study. Rin was the first one out of the study. "I am leaving now," she announced.
"Where will you stay?" Kagome asked.
"I'll find a hotel room until Eri gets back from her business trip."
"No, you will stay with us." In the past month Inuyasha and Kagome had bought a house near the mansion.
Inuyasha hissed, "Kagome!"
"Oh, Inuyhasha, stop it. We have plenty of nights alone, but Rin needs us more right now. Besides, you were the one who said that if he did anything to her she could ask us for help."
He was about to argue back, but he stopped, probably at the realization of what he had said. "I don't want to be a bother for the both of you."
"Nonsense. Besides, our security system and Inuyasha's brawn will keep Sesshomaru from getting anywhere near you until you so desire."
They left immediately after the conversation so as to avoid Sesshomaru. When they got home Kagome put Ayumi to bed and they all sat down to talk. Inuyasha started, "I can't understand why it is that you would make a marriage deal with my brother."
"I wasn't going to at first, but when he said that Toga was going to cut him out of his life should Sesshomaru not think about marriage soon, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. I believed then that he was doing this more to please his father than to get his inheritance."
"What were your terms?" Kagome thoughtfully asked.
"I would get to keep my job; he would please Toga; he would help me find a new job; I would go to functions where his wife was needed, given that he paid for the fancy dresses; and I would be able to write about him in my column without using his name. We would marry and then shortly after Toga died we would divorce due to 'irreconcilable difference'. Sesshomaru would get his inheritance by then, and he was going to provide something for me."
"Sounds like a decent arrangement," Inuyasha stated. Kagome hit him upside the head. "Ouch! What was that for?"
"I can't believe that you would agree with their plan."
"I wasn't saying that I agreed with it, wench. I was saying that I thought it was a well-structured plan."
"What do you know about plans? You have almost botched up every contract you've made."
"And you're so perfect?"
"I am your supervisor, so, yes."
Rin was growing impatient with their fight and excused herself for the night. They had carried her bags into the guest room. When she was ready for bed, she shut the door and lied on her stomach so that she could cry into her pillow. Suddenly she wanted Sesshomaru to ask her to stay married, but she knew better to expect that, especially now that she had ruined their deal. She was thankful that Toga had forgiven the both of them, but Sesshomaru would be different.
A week later Rin was baptized in a private ceremony. Her in-laws, Eri, and Sota were all in attendance, but what surprised her was the fact that Sesshomaru was watching from the very back of the sanctuary, his family unaware of his presence. She knew that he saw her look at him since she could see the edge of his lips slightly curl upwards.
When she had gotten fully dressed again, she joined her family and friends, but Sesshomaru was no where in sight. "Where's Sesshomaru?" she asked them.
"What makes you think he would come?" Inuyasha asked in a snobby tone. "He's too good to be at anything like this."
"No, I saw him when I was getting into the baptistery. He was in the back of the sanctuary."
Izayoi said, "None of us saw him."
"Oh." Rin hung her head.
Toga tried to cheer her up, "He probably was here but had to be somewhere soon." Rin smiled at him.
An hour later Rin was back at Kagome and Inuyasha's home. Kagome and Inuyasha had to pick up some groceries before coming home, so Rin took the time to call Sesshomaru. The fact that he had shown up on her special day when she hadn't told him about it meant that he didn't think too badly about her. Perhaps there was still hope. It took three rings before a woman answered his phone, "Hello."
"Uh...sorry, but I must have the wrong phone number," Rin apologized.
"Kagome, don't you recognize my voice?"
"Uh," was all Rin could say.
"You aren't sounding very good. Your voice is a little higher pitched than normal, and I've never known you to forget someone you work with." Rin was too confused to speak. "It's me...Sally. I'm your secretary."
"I'm sorry, Sally, Ayumi needed me, and I kind of just blanked out there. How are you? What are you doing answering Sesshomaru's phone?"
"He left his cell phone here this morning. I should be asking you why you are calling Sesshomaru."
"I, eh...I need to speak to Sesshomaru about Rin."
"Oh? Has she finally decided to divorce my Sesshomaru?" Rin was about to faint at hearing this other woman call Sesshomaru 'my Sesshomaru'. "I realize you really like her, but she's not at all right for Sesshomaru. He needs a woman like me who can give him all the loving he needs."
"Excuse me?" Rin managed to say with her jaw practically hitting the floor.
"Kagome, I'm tired of being the other women because she won't sleep with him."
"Why are you telling me this again?"
"Why the sudden change in attitude? You and Inuyasha have known about Sesshomaru and I since our relationship started."
"I'm sorry, I'm just thinking about poor Rin. She doesn't know about this."
"You're the one always begging me to keep it a secret! You know very well that I would get my way if you'd only let me tell her!"
"I'm starting to have a change of heart."
There was silence on the other end of the phone before Rin could hear Sesshomaru's deep voice, which was quickly muffled. After a minute Sesshomaru said over the phone, "Kagome, I..."
"Save it, it's not Kagome," Rin told him in a agitated tone.
His voice sounded concerned as he said, "Rin?"
"Why don't you just fuck her in my bed!" Rin shouted into the phone before slamming it down.
Behind her, Kagome asked, "Why did I just hear you slam the phone down?"
Rin turned around to see Kagome, Inuyasha, and Ayumi walking into the house. "It doesn't matter anymore!" She stormed off to her room and slammed the door shut.
Kagome knocked a couple of minutes later and then opened the door. Rin was roughly shoving her clothes and other belongings into her bags. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No!" She rushed into the bathroom and grabbed her belongings in there.
"Where will you stay?" inquired Kagome as she followed Rin about the house.
"Why would it matter to you?" She stormed out of the apartment and threw her things into her car before speeding away.
Sesshomaru was not home when she arrived. It was likely that he would be staying at her place. She realized that she was wrong when she heard Sesshomaru enter their condo. He went straight for his room to not be heard from again that evening.
The next morning Rin woke up to the sound of the shower running. She had left her door locked, so he would not be entering her room until she was prepared to confront him. When the door to the bathroom opened someone knocked on the door. The footsteps headed toward the door and the voice of the woman who had answered Sesshomaru's phone drifted through the house, "Good morning, Sessy."
"You know that I hate being called by that," Sesshomaru stated angrily. Rin smirked at how ridiculous it sounded for him to be called by a pet name. Sesshomaru wasn't the type of male who would give his lover a pet name, much less receive a pet name. "I also told you never to come to my home. If the press find you, it will be even more devastating to Rin's reputation. Furthermore, I told you yesterday that our relationship cannot continue."
"Aw, why not? How many women would allow you to fantasize about your wife while you're with them?" Rin could not hear anything besides the sound of the front door opening and then slamming shut. Sesshomaru's footsteps moved down the hallway towards his room.
Rin immediately burst out of her room, her face heated red as her anger boiled within her. "You cheat on me, and then you imagine that you are with me when you're with her? What in the hell is wrong with you?"
He looked at her for what seemed like several seconds searching for something in her eyes. Finally he answered, "How can I resist you when you're as beautiful as you are?"
"You imagine being with me because you find me more attractive than your partner? You are truly sick, Sesshomaru!"
"I've been with her longer than I've ever known you." If he had thought that would calm her down, he was wrong because she only got more upset. With her keys and purse already in her hands, Rin stormed off and drove to Sacremento.