AN: I told yu I would spoil you. Now something light(er). YAY!
Chapter 9
William spent the next six weeks finally putting his father's lawyers to good use. He blocked all numbers to Lizzie's phone that were ever connected to George Wickham, they pressed charges, filed restraining orders. To William's surprise, all the clients that Wickham had recommended kept him on, but it seemed that Wickham was going to jail and was going to suffer for what he had put Lizzie through.
William also drove and picked up Lizzie from work every day making sure she was safe. Four months left on their arrangement and William was beginning to believe that not telling Lizzie he loved her was doing more harm than good. But the driving caused him to feel a slight pain. How could she not know by now? Isn't it obvious how much I love her? Lizzie still had nightmares, too, so most nights she would curl up besides him. He finally just told her that if they shared a room, it would be easier on both of them. And then the nightmares seemed to stop.
Admittedly, he liked seeing Lizzie's face first thing each morning. He liked Charlie barking every time someone came to the door. He liked the feeling he got when he held her around the waste at office parties and social events. He just liked the way being married to Lizzie felt. He also had arranged a special anniversary gift for her. He had contacted the family of Lizzie's daughter and the little girl (Jane) wanted to meet her. She wanted to know her the nine month count, when William opened the front door to their house, something new happened. When he opened the door, Lizzie jumped into his arms.
"Guess who has an art show in the city in two months!" He had never seen Lizzie so happy. Why wouldn't she be? Her dreams are coming true. He thought to himself. He spun her around the room laughing the entire time. Then Lizzie's face went sour. "But we won't be together by the end of that will we?" She let go of William's neck and walked back upstairs.
William looked down at an almost full grown Charlie, who was sitting on his foot. "What just happened?"
It took William a solid hour of thinking to realize Lizzie was right. They had been married for just over nine months. That was their deal. Separate after 10, divorce after 12. He patted Charlie on the head and closed the door to his office. The rest of the month passed in silence. Lizzie didn't stay with him at night, she drove herself to work. They even ate dinner at separate times. And then the art show came. And William hated the fact that it was the 10 month count, to the day of their marriage. He also realized that if he wanted to keep her, he had to tell her the truth. Why? Why did I choose my best friend? And why did I have to go and fall in love with her?