[i]“Whatever it will take for you to forgive me, dear wife, tell me.” His words pained her. She didn’t want that title and despised hearing it. Being wed to him and not being able to properly get her job done were putting her in the worst mood possible this particular morning.[i] “Should I bite my tongue? Or should I let you tonight, when we have our house to ourselves?”[/i]

“By all means let me,” she said sarcastically with a wide grin that was all for the crowd they were about to meet, “that way I can bite it [i]off[/i] when there is no one in the house to hear you scream.” Yes it was crude, and certainly not the first thing a wife should say to her new husband, but Claire didn’t care. There was a rage still inside her, and to snap at him and leave his side immediately to get kisses and hugs from family was more than satisfying.

It was calming, she had to admit, to see her family members that lived hours away. Claire rarely saw them, and aside from the comments from the women on how attractive Nick was she enjoyed speaking with them. Eventually she was directed to his side again, and she wondered how much of a treat it was for him to get a congratulations from the queen. It was indeed special to her, much less someone with no title that had probably only seen her from a distance until now.

“Thank you, your majesty,” she repeated after her husband. As soon as the queen left they went outside to their own carriage. It was sleek and stylish, something she knew would catch the eye of everyone it passed. At first Claire only stared out the window while fiddling with her ring. It was a gold band with a number of small diamonds placed in a marquise shape as the gem; stunning, everyone at the reception would be talking about it.

“Well, we’re halfway through it,” she finally said in a false satisfied tone, looking directly at him for the first time since the vows. “When we get there I’ll cut the cake before handing it off to someone else. I, of course, am ready to leave whenever you are, so just let me know. Until that moment I would appreciate no more meaningless whispers of flirting. If you wish to speak aloud to me for show then so be it, but I will [i]not[/i] be subject to another one of your charming, breathtaking lies.” The fury was back in her eyes, the thin line that were her lips. “Then after today you can go back to your busy, busy life.” Every word was laced with the detestation that had formed over the past two weeks, building each and every day he had chosen to not visit. “Nick, if there is another woman who has your heart, and apparently your time, then fine, I don’t care.” She did care, but that wasn’t the point. “You do not have to tease me to play the loving wife at home who doesn’t know. So will you please, for the love of all that is holy, [i]stop[/i] acting like you care?”

Her words were shaky now, like she was losing the control she’d held so far. “You will not make me cry in front of all these people, Nicholas Rochford, do you understand me?”