Thank you to Morgan and Steph for beta work and to Melissa for teaching me how to curl my hair that one time.


Chapter III: Keep Secrets Just to Keep You

When Caroline had gone to bed the night before, she hadn't really thought about what would happen when she woke up. Sleeping in the same bed with someone was weirdly intimate, and she hadn't done it in a long time. She preferred to leave one-night-stands as soon as the sex was over so that she wouldn't get trapped by weird questions, and because she'd learned that she was an accidental snuggler.

She got cold, okay?

Despite knowing that Klaus was not a nice person, or even like, an okay person, she knew that all her dumb instincts would detect was a source of warmth. He'd signed the safety part of the agreement without comment, so he couldn't exactly stab her for sticking her ice-cold feet on his thigh, but that didn't mean he was going to be nice about it.

She was annoyed but not surprised when she woke with her face pressed against his chest. Her arm was slung over his waist, her leg hooked around his thigh, and she was honestly a little surprised about how comfortable it was, and that he wasn't awake either, so he probably didn't mind.

She was so comfortable. He was breathing slowly, the puff of air against her temple somehow reassuring, and his grip tightened around her when she shifted against him as though he didn't want to let her go.

Still, she tried to disentangle herself as casually as she could, hoping that he was still asleep. Morning cuddling would not convey the "don't fuck with me" vibe that she was going for. Klaus, however, tightened the arm he had around her waist, mumbling something under his breath and burying his nose in her curls.

"Klaus?" she whispered, poking him in the chest a few times. His eyes opened slowly, and it seemed to take him a moment before he realized where he was and what was happening.

"Morning," he grunted, not loosening his hold on her at all.

"I have to get up for work," she said, gently pushing him away. This time he let her go, rolling to lie on his back and rubbing his face with his palm. "I'm going to take a shower unless you need it now."

"Not at all," he said, waving her off in a way that she tried not to take as dismissive, and she slipped out of bed, gathering her clothes for the day from her side of the closet before entering the bathroom.

When she came out, she saw Klaus with his shirt unbuttoned and his slacks on reading the Daily Prophet. She stopped for a second to admire him, hoping that he wouldn't notice, before reaching for her outer robe that she'd hung on the door. "What time do you get back from the office today?"

"Around six, most likely. Why?"

"I think we should go out again. I'm not sure that people will buy that we're together for more than an arrangement."

He turned to her, smirking. "You want to go on a date with me, love?"

She huffed. "I don't want to. I just think it would be a good time, since I have kind of a light workday."

His lips twitched as though he didn't believe her, but he didn't respond to her barb, simply folding up the paper and letting it lie beside him on the mattress. "Ordinarily I would enjoy nothing more, but unfortunately I have plans tonight."

"You can turn off the charm, you know," Caroline said, gathering her hair into a ponytail and glancing in the mirror to make sure she'd smoothed out all of the lumps. "What are your plans?"

"Just gathering some potions ingredients for work. They need to be picked at night."

"Okay," Caroline said slowly, unable to shake the suspicion that he was lying to her. "Well, then I hope you have a good day, I guess."

"And you as well, love," Klaus said as he buttoned up his shirt with nimble fingers, looking her up and down as he adjusted the cuffs. "Don't wait up, all right? I'll be back rather late."

Caroline was surprised at the pang of disappointment in her chest at the brush-off, though she tried to fight it off. Why should she be hurt when it was a fake marriage? Klaus had no reason to open up to her. She certainly hadn't to him.

His sole job was to keep the family in the public's good graces and occasionally take care of some of the messier hits. She needed to remember that even though they were sleeping in the same bed to prevent gossip, they weren't friends or lovers. This was a business arrangement.

XXX

"Do you know what time we'll get back from the party?" Caroline asked, her eyes glued to her reflection as she wound a strand of her hair around her wand to curl it, waiting for a few moments before letting the curl fall. She could feel Klaus's eyes on her as she methodically went through each section of hair, and she repeated the question again impatiently, finally snapping him out of his daze when she stopped moving.

"Not sure," he said, busying himself with straightening his already-straight cufflinks as though he hadn't just been staring at her like a creep. He was still sneaking glances at her as she continued primping, apparently fascinated by her completely ordinary routine. "We can likely make excuses around ten o'clock or so. Say you have an early morning meeting."

"I do have an early morning meeting," she said. She knew that going to a few events as a couple was important and that with her schedule there was never really a "good" time to do it, but that didn't mean that she wanted to. Knowing that this would be the first time they'd be accessible to people other than the few dates they'd done for show was making her nervous. What if people figured it out?

"Well, I'm sure we'll be back in time for you to get plenty of beauty rest," he said dryly, nodding at the veritable mountain of products stacked on her vanity.

Caroline huffed, letting her last curl fall and combing her fingers through her hair to tousle her hair attractively before picking up a mauve lip pencil, leaning forward to get a better view as she began to use it to line her lips, going slowly than she normally would just to annoy him more. Predictably he frowned after a few seconds, checking his goblin-made watch for what felt like the hundredth time in ten minutes. "Can't you use magic for that? Our portkey leaves quite soon."

"No, I can't," she said, forcing her tone to remain patient. Ugh. Men. "You know that I can't leave looking less than perfect. Everyone will gossip about me, and that's the last thing we need when I'm bringing you along for the first time."

"All right, then. How much longer do you think you'll need?"

She shrugged. "What time is it?"

"Almost six. Our portkey will leave at 6:30."

"Okay. I'll try to finish up," Caroline promised, watching out of the corner of her eye as Klaus sank down on the bed, looking bored. It was still uncomfortable to have him in her space, though she had to remind herself it was theirs now.

"Okay, all done," she finally said, standing up and inspecting herself one last time before turning to go to the closet. "Turn around so I can put on my gown."

He obeyed without comment, though she had a feeling that he'd wanted to make one, likely something walking the line of lewdness with innocent eyes that he could use to deny her accusations of him being legitimately disgusting. The silk clung to her curves as she pulled it up and arranged the off-the-shoulder collar, looking at it in the mirror to make sure that there were no stains or lint. "Can you zip me up?"

She could see his eyes darken when he looked at her as he approached the mirror, his gaze raking up and down her body. He made eye contact with her as he dragged her zipper up, moving so slowly that she felt a light brush of his knuckles against her spine that made her skin stand on end. "You look ravishing, sweetheart," he whispered, his breath hot on her ear.

"Thanks," she said, giving him a small smile that somehow didn't feel forced and gesturing for him to follow her.

Her heart was pounding in nervous anticipation. She had been stressing for the whole week about how she and Klaus could possibly act like a couple when they'd barely even interacted since they were seventeen other than a couple of dates over the past few weeks. Arranged marriages had been founded on less, but it was still nerve-wracking, especially since she was such a perfectionist. Everyone had to think that they were in love for Klaus to be able to wield the influence of the Forbes name the way he wanted to. The way she needed him to.

Caroline swallowed when she saw the golden hoop lying innocently on the counter waiting to transport them to the party, her breathing shaky. "So," she said softly, reaching to tuck her hand into the crook of his elbow. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. If anything, he leaned into her touch. "I was hoping we could talk. It's important."

"Now?" Klaus asked, his eyebrows raised. "We have barely ten minutes before our portkey."

Caroline sighed. "I know. But...I just wanted to double check a few things, because the dates have been in public and stuff, but this is different. Like, we'll have to talk to people and be near each other the entire time, and-"

"Caroline," he interrupted, an infuriating smirk growing on his face, though it was slow enough that she suspected he was trying to suppress it. "As I've said, love. It's no hardship for me to pretend to adore you. They'll eat it up."

She felt heat building in her cheeks and cleared her throat quickly. "Are you saying you're a good liar? Should I watch out?" Caroline asked, trying her best to keep her tone teasing and distract from the way her heart had skipped a beat at the warmth in his words. She already knew he was a fantastic liar. He could play everyone around him easily, had spent all of their time at Hogwarts controlling the school with an iron fist and a charming smile.

"Would you be marrying me if I wasn't?"

She raised her eyebrows, surprised at how bitterly he'd said it, and he seemed to realize it too. Klaus wasn't often forthright with his emotions, at least in her experience, and the window into his thoughts was strange. Why was he so upset? Did he not want to marry her?

"The only thing we'll have to worry about is Aurora," he said. "She has a way of making everything about her, and depending on whether she feels slighted by how quickly I've moved on, she could be a problem."

That was a weird change of subject. Was that it? Had he cared about Aurora after all and felt like he couldn't turn down Bill's offer?

"You think?" she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral. Aurora often came to functions, and she was the sort of person who would turn up more just to be a nuisance if she felt slighted.

"Have you met Aurora?"

"We haven't talked lately. We don't really run in the same circles," Caroline said delicately, trying not to say what they both knew.

Aurora was old money, the kind that had the Malfoys 'round for tea and cared too much about Caroline's mother's pedigree and the fact that her father now had a muggle partner. Aurora wasn't exactly polite to her, but she also wasn't stupid enough to make an enemy of the Forbes family. Still, they were solidly not on good terms.

Honestly, Caroline still couldn't quite believe that the de Martels had allowed Aurora to date someone with non-magical family like Klaus. Aurora wasn't stupid though, and she had probably recognized that he would be a powerful ally.

"Of course," Klaus said, at least having the decency to pretend to look a bit ashamed of himself. "My apologies."

She would have been impressed at how genuine he sounded if she hadn't gone to school with his lying ass for years. "Yeah, okay."

Klaus seemed to want to say something else but thought better of it when the hoop began to vibrate, indicating that it would disappear in the next thirty seconds. He looked at her with a small smile, briefly laying his palm gently over her hand where she'd taken his arm. "As I said, love. It's no hardship to let the rest of the world know that you're mine."

"I'm not yours," she said quietly.

Not if she could help it, anyway. She'd promised herself that her marriage with Klaus would stay purely transactional. She couldn't let him suck her in, because he'd only break her heart. He didn't care about other people, and she wasn't about to let Klaus have that kind of power over her.

"Not yet," he murmured, soft enough that she almost thought she'd imagined it.

They were interrupted before she could say anything by the telltale jerk of the portkey before they landed in the lobby of a large mansion. The hoop was whisked away by a butler who also took their outer robes to the coat check and motioned for them to join everyone else in a large ballroom.

Klaus slid his arm around her waist and tugged her so that she was nestled against his side, raising his eyebrows at her exasperated glance. "You said we had to sell it, love."

She resisted the urge to growl. Yeah, she hadn't meant that she wanted him to smush her face into his shoulder. He smelled good. It was annoying.

Elves were walking around with trays of appetizers as people in dress robes, suits, or cocktail dresses mingled and laughed. She could see a dance floor in the middle of the crowd where a few couples were moving to the beat of the music the small orchestra was providing.

Caroline turned when someone called her name to see her sort-of-friend Gia, who she'd gone to a conference with about the latest trends in potions ingredients, heading over to them. "Caroline! It's so good to see you!" Gia said excitedly, giving Caroline a warm hug before turning to Klaus. "And you must be Klaus, right? Caroline told me you'd be her plus-one."

"I am," Klaus said with a dimpled smile, his hand sliding around her waist to rest on her hip. "I'm happy to meet you. You're Gia, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good to meet you, love. Caroline speaks highly of you; I've heard nothing but good things."

It was a lie. Caroline had told him exactly zero things about Gia. She was surprised that he even knew who she was. Gia seemed flattered though, blushing prettily and giving him a small smile. "Thanks! I'm happy to finally meet you. I heard that Caroline was finally seeing someone, but I didn't know it was you! You were in her house at Hogwarts, right?"

Caroline tried not to bristle at the light jab about how long it had taken her to start dating (privately feeling a bit pathetic that she hadn't even done anything; Klaus had just sort of appeared out of thin air for the status), instead answering Gia's question and letting her lead them into small talk about Hogwarts and what Klaus had been up to since he'd graduated.

"Do you want a drink, sweetheart?" Klaus asked during a lull in conversation.

"Yeah, that would be great!"

"What a gentleman," Gia said as soon as Klaus was out of earshot, giving Caroline a playful bump with her shoulder. "I can't believe you landed Klaus Mikaelson. You know that all the girls were obsessed with him, right?"

"Why can't you believe it?" Caroline asked, careful to keep her tone teasing, but slightly annoyed at the implication.

Gia seemed to realize her misstep, giving Caroline a rueful smile. "Oh, I just meant that I was surprised he was ready to have a committed relationship. I know he was dating that girl whose dad was the CEO of Cleansweep, but I heard through the grapevine that they weren't close at all. Apparently the relationship was mostly, you know..." Gia trailed off, looking around quickly before she leaned in, as though giving up a scandalous secret. "Physical."

Caroline resisted the urge to ask so what if it was, knowing that it would look weird as Klaus's girlfriend to be so publicly comfortable saying something like that out loud. She tried to think of an excuse that wouldn't make it sound like Klaus had been cheating emotionally or that she'd been pining away for him for years, finally settling on, "Well, we were together in secret a long time ago, but we had to separate. Things just sort of fell into place a few months ago."

"That's so sweet!" Gia said, her eyes sparkling, probably filing the information away to gossip about later. "You must like him a lot to go through that separation and then get together again."

"I always tell her that I'd have waited even longer," Klaus said from next to them, handing Caroline a glass of champagne and pressing a kiss to her temple, giving her an affectionate look that looked so genuine it almost made her mad. He was so good at this. If she didn't know that it was just an arrangement she'd have believed him herself, would think that the way he looked at her, almost like he wanted nothing more than to consume her, wasn't manufactured at all.

Klaus snuck glances at her as they chatted with Gia, the picture of a boyfriend who couldn't keep his eyes or mind off of her. He made excuses after a minute or two, leading Caroline over to an empty space by the dance floor. It was so weird to see all the couples around them, laughing and joking, and feel so out of place. Just a month ago she would have come to the fundraiser by herself and flitted around, networking and introducing herself to everyone and catching up before she came back to her house, completely drained and still with piles of work to do. Klaus was there to share that burden now, but she wasn't sure how comfortable she was with him doing it, even if she knew from her time with him at school and their occasional run-ins afterward that he was more than capable. He'd always been too focused not to be considered so. But he'd also had a huge lack of empathy and was a bit of a sadist, and she'd never for one moment considered that she could be happy in a marriage with him.

And yet, here he was, being the perfect date acting like he wanted nothing in the world more than her.

She couldn't risk letting her emotions get involved. Klaus was the last person she wanted to hold her heart. He was dangerous and unpredictable, and she couldn't allow him to have that kind of power over her, no matter how desperately she wanted someone to connect with. It was hard to accept that she'd never have the luxury of a partner who saw her as anything more than a checkbook and a strategic ally. Klaus was charming and could pretend to be a loving husband in public flawlessly until he was six feet under, but she could never let him close for anything that wasn't a business decision or a strategic move.

Was she destined to be alone for the rest of her life? She could always find a lover, of course. A lot of people in arranged marriages did that, but who would want to be with her when she could never give them all of herself? Who would want all of her, anyway?

Now, she'd never find out, now that she'd signed her future over to him.

It hadn't hit her until that moment how much she'd lost by gaining his allegiance.

"All right, love?"

Klaus was looking at her with thinly-veiled concern, his eyebrows knitted.

"I'm fine."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. I'm sure," she said with as bright a smile as she could manage, raising her glass to clink it with him. "To us."

He nodded in response, touching her glass with his, his eyes never leaving hers as they both drank. The moment her glass was drained he gently took it from her, setting both glasses to the side before reaching for her hand. "Dance?" he offered.

She nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor.

Her lips parted slightly when his hand wandered down from resting chastely on her hip to a nearly scandalously low pressure on her lower back, his warm, calloused hand clasping hers. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his, her breath catching at how he was looking at her–like she was the most desirable person in the world.

He pulled her closer so that she was pressed against his chest, leaning down to touch his forehead to hers. Whispers broke out around them, but Klaus ignored them, simply swaying with her, gazing at her so intently that she was sure that they looked like they were lost in their own little world, oblivious to everyone around them. She swallowed audibly when Klaus moved just a hair closer, his lips almost brushing hers when he spoke in a rasp so low that she almost didn't hear it.

"May I?"

"Yes," she breathed, tipping her head back slightly to let him catch her lips with his.

He groaned softly the moment they kissed, his hands solid at her hips to keep her pressed against his chest as she wound her arms around his neck. His tongue brushed against the seam of her mouth, coaxing an involuntary moan from her when she allowed him to deepen the kiss. She felt like she was on fire, every inch of her skin sensitive and hot, and she found herself aching for more of him when he finally withdrew, her lips chasing his when he pulled back.

She opened her eyes to meet his, her tongue darting over her lips when she saw the way his pupils were blown out, his lips slightly swollen.

She flushed at the gasps around them, resisting the urge to look at the gawking onlookers, though she couldn't resist an eyeroll when she heard someone to their left whisper, "That's so romantic."

Klaus quirked an eyebrow when he saw her reaction before giving her a dimpled grin and grabbing her hands. She was greedy for more of him, she realized as he pulled away to a respectable dancing distance, the heat of his body lost.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I couldn't resist," he murmured. The volume was low enough that it was believable that he'd meant the apology to be just for her ears, but she knew that he was playing the nearby couples who had their ears strained for gossip. She could almost believe that the look of affection she was shooting for was real, and it terrified her that someday she might fall under his spell.

"It's okay," Caroline said, her voice still slightly shaky, trying to add a teasing note when she continued. "You're pretty irresistible yourself."

She hoped that would stay a lie, that she'd never let him reel her in, but all she could think of were the words Klaus had muttered under his breath when they left, ones that felt like a promise.

Not yet.

XXX

Klaus watched from across the room as Caroline laughed at something the man she was talking to said before raising her glass to her lips and taking a sip, her eyes warm. They'd been talking for a few minutes, and Klaus had found his temper growing as she continued to stay in the same conversation she'd been having for the last fifteen minutes. The point of the benefit was to show off their relationship before they announced their engagement, not to leave him by the appetizers to flirt with some plebeian.

He told himself that it wouldn't have bothered him if the man wasn't looking at her like he wanted to eat her, but he was self-aware enough to know that he would have been jealous no matter what. He didn't like how close he was standing to her, to his fiancée, or how she was gently resting a hand on his forearm, either, giving him one of her bright smiles that he wanted to keep for himself. Klaus doubted the other man was saying anything that could be as funny as she was acting like it was.

She was looking at the man through her eyelashes now, her lips twisting in a small smile as he told some kind of story, nodding along and asking a few questions. He studied them, feeling his blood begin to boil, trying to keep his magic bundled under his skin lest he scare the simple partygoers around him. It would be best to leave before he lost control.

Hadn't Caroline said she had an early morning meeting, anyway? Perhaps she'd lost track of time.

Mind made up, he strode towards them, intending to rescue his fiancée from a conversation from which she likely wanted to escape. "Hey, mate. May I borrow my fiancée for a dance?"

"Of course," the man said quickly, backing up a step. He could likely feel the magic beginning to prickle in the air around them despite Klaus's attempts to suppress it, though he could admit to himself that he wasn't trying all that hard now that they were close. He wanted the man scared off from her.

"What are you doing?" Caroline hissed, letting him lead her to the dance floor and beginning to follow his lead, their steps perfectly in sync. "I was about to get him to give me his contact information. He's an antiques collector."

"Owl him later," Klaus whispered, bending close so that she could hear, with the added benefit that everyone around him would think that he was whispering in her ear. "Didn't you have a meeting, love?"

"Yeah, but he could be useful," she hissed, a smile frozen on her face. "He seemed like a good resource for our plans to expand to clients in eastern Europe. He seemed pretty interested in the company, too."

"Then he'll likely respond to an owl," Klaus said, leaning down to brush his lips against hers before straightening and nodding at the lobby, where butlers were waiting with assigned portkeys back to an apparition point. "Let me get your coat for you, love."

XXX

"Why are you being so weird? He was a potential contact," Caroline asked as soon as the portkey landed just outside of their wards on the front lawn and stomping towards the door, knowing Klaus would keep up.

"There are mountains of potential contacts, love. I don't understand why you're so set on him."

She brushed past him when he held the door open for her, letting her purse drop on the front table as she kicked off her heels, shooting him an exasperated look as he shed his robe. "Maybe I haven't been clear with you yet, Klaus, but I know what I'm doing when I track down vendors. This is my job."

"I know. I just don't understand why you had to keep talking to him. Get your contact information and move on to the next."

She kind of wanted to strangle him. She knew what she was doing. Couldn't he see that? What was his problem?

"Talking is part of making relationships."

"Yes, he certainly wouldn't have complained about having one of those with you, I'm sure."

Caroline felt herself freeze, her mind spinning, and it took everything inside of her not to laugh at the absurdity. "Are you jealous? Seriously?"

"The entire point was to make it clear to the press and the gossips that we're together. I hardly think making eyes at him would help our cause," he bit out.

"Oh my god, Klaus. It's not a big deal. Sure, he was flirting a little, but I don't think it was obvious enough to get press attention or anything. No one's going to know."

"I don't care if they know. I know," he growled, loosening his tie. "I didn't like it. Seeing you with him."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't make it more than it is. We were just flirting a little. It's not like I made out with him in front of you," she said irritably, running her hand through her hair when she saw Klaus's unimpressed expression. "What? Why do you care?"

"Why wouldn't I care?" he shot back, following her into the kitchen and leaning against the counter while she pulled out two glasses, filling both with water and handing him one. He took it, setting it aside without drinking from it and giving her an exasperated glance. "You're my fiancée, Caroline."

"Yeah, your fake fiancée," she pointed out. "I don't get why you're freaking out. It's not like you wouldn't do the same thing if you saw a cute girl."

He stared at her for a moment before pushing away from the counter, gently taking her glass from her and setting it aside before walking toward her, invading her personal space. "Oh, Caroline," he murmured, reaching to stroke her cheek with his index finger. She took in a sharp breath, leaning into his touch without even thinking about it, her eyelids fluttering. "You can't possibly think that's how this is going to work?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning. "We're going to be fake-married, emphasis on fake. I expected you to want to not be celibate for the rest of your life. I definitely don't want to be."

His eyes flashed, his posture stiffening. "Haven't you been?"

"What? Celibate?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. She kind of wanted to lie and say that she hadn't just to see the look on his face, especially since she had a feeling that him kissing her in front of all those people and looking at her like that was what her fantasies were going to be made of for the foreseeable future. She flushed, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. "I...yes. I have been. So far."

He leaned forward, his palm cupping her jaw to make her look at him, less gently than he had earlier. "Are you lying to me, Caroline?" he whispered.

"No."

"Be sure, love. I'll let go of the past if you confess, but if I find out you were lying I won't be as lenient," he said, his voice still low, tinged with an intensity that made her hackles rise, shouting 'Danger!' even as she felt the flush building in her cheeks and the skip of her heartbeat that seemed to come whenever he looked at her.

She licked her dry lips, wondering whether she should feel turned on by this, because she was. "I haven't, Klaus," she said. "Not since we signed the contract. I promise."

He stared at her, his eyes searching her face. She held her breath, terrified that he wouldn't believe her, but he seemed to relax a moment later, a small smile curling his lips. His hand stayed on her chin. "You're mine," he murmured. "The moment you offered yourself to me. No matter your intent, despite your expectation being that our marriage would be a farce, you became mine. I have no intention of allowing anyone else into our bed. I should hope you feel the same."

"Our bed?" she squeaked.

"Our bed," he echoed. "You can't have thought we'd sleep in separate rooms for the rest of our lives, ignoring each other unless we had to go out in public?"

She swallowed. That was exactly what she'd thought. She'd assumed that Klaus wouldn't want a real marriage, wouldn't want her. She'd been under the assumption that they'd do what everyone did: sleep in the same bed until they had an heir or two and then peacefully split the manor between them. She'd thought that he'd sneak in a mistress every now and then while she pretended not to notice, that she'd have to find a lover who thought she was worth the trouble, one who would keep her secret and keep out of sight.

From the start, she'd figured that after she popped out two kids, her only companion would be her vibrator. Apparently she'd been wrong.

"Kind of. Yeah."

"You'll be my wife," he said when it became clear she wasn't sure what to say. His tone was firm, as though it should have been obvious.

"I mean, yeah, but-"

She gasped when she felt her lower back hit the counter, not having realized that he'd been slowly cornering her in her–their–kitchen, his hands now moving to settle on her hips, burning through the silk of her gown. "Perhaps I was unclear from the start, but when I asked to marry you, I wanted all of you. Your mind, your sharp tongue, your loyalty...everything."

She swallowed. "Everything?" she asked softly.

He smiled slightly. "Everything," he echoed. "Whether you come to me for sex will always be your choice, of course. I'm not a monster-"

She resisted the urge to snort in laughter. If her theories were correct, he definitely wasn't not a monster...

"-But if you marry me, I will not allow you to go to anyone else. Not ever. Do you understand?"

Her first instinct was a hard nope to that. Klaus was dangerously charming, she knew that for sure now, and pretending to be in love with him could easily trick her heart into really being in love with him. That could get messy.

But what was she really losing by agreeing? She'd give him this win. For now.

"Yes."

She felt like her feet were rooted to the ground, her entire body frozen. She'd told him the truth. She hadn't seen anyone since they'd signed the contract, but her mind was still reeling from the fact that he cared whether she had. She could admit to herself that the idea of him touching someone else, letting someone else touch him, made her sick to her stomach, but if someone who knew of the situation had asked her whether she thought Klaus would be jealous, she'd have laughed in their face.

Klaus doesn't have feelings, she would have told them. He has obsessions, and I'm not one of them.

Perhaps she'd been wrong.


Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Do you have a favorite line or section? Any predictions? Please leave a review so that I get inspired to write more! It's the only way I know if there's interest in the story. I hope all of you are staying safe and well in quarantine, and I'll be back next Tuesday ;)