- 3.
<
- 3.
I quickly learned Jake was a massive
chauvinist.
In his book, women were a nuisance.
I was his new wife, so I had to play it cool.
Last time, Bethany had tried to force herself
on him and ended up bruised and battered.
He kicked her out of the bedroom on their
wedding night, making her a laughingstock.
I didn’t want that.
I slept in the bathroom all night.
Jake woke me up the next morning by
く
dumping a bucket of water on me.
“I need the bathroom.”
He stood there like a king.
“Sorry! Sorry! I’m out of your way!”
I didn’t even wipe my face before I scrambled
out.
Jake didn’t even glance at me before leaving.
I grabbed his arm.
“Jake, my mom wants us to come for dinner
tonight. You have to come.”
His brow furrowed.
く
“I’m busy. Can’t you go alone?”
I reached up and smoothed his brow.
“Don’t frown. It makes you look scary.”
It was an automatic reaction.
I used to do that for Ethan.
Frowning, in my family, was bad luck.
“It’s fine if I go alone,” I said.
“But in my family, if the husband doesn’t
come with his new wife to see her family the
day after the wedding, people think she’s a
widow.”
<
“That’s ridiculous.”
He shoved my hand away, but he didn’t frown.
Progress.
“Yeah, well, it’s no big deal. I’m sure I can
handle a few whispers.”
I turned toward the door, mentally counting
down.
Three…
Two…
“Fine. I’ll go with you tonight.”
He grabbed his coat and left.
<
I smiled.
I knew it would work.
Last time, I read tons of psychology books.
With guys like Jake, you can’t push.
You have to go with the flow, guilt–trip them
a little, and they’ll cave.
Bethany always tried to get him into bed to
win his affection.
That just made Jake hate her more.
You can’t rush things.
That was what I thought.
