Renting Hearts

fifteen- strike a deal

Jadesola

Fake-marrying Jonathan wasn't really as weird as I thought it was going to be. It had already been two weeks since the court wedding, and I had long decided to focus just on myself for the duration of my marriage with him.

Things had been normal; we had already established an unspoken routine which involved Jonathan and me rarely crossing paths. Each morning, by the time he was done with his workout, I would be having my breakfast and ready to leave for work. But before I continue, let me tell you about the first time I saw my husband's, no, fake husband's after workout sweaty muscles. I temporarily lost hold of myself at that minute, and now, even though I had seen it enough times, I still wasn't used to it.

The sight of Jonathan with sweat rolling down his muscled arms was a sight which would be perfect for a bottled water ad, where a hot-looking model has water running down his toned body after a race. That was the man I was sharing a home with, an ad-hot model-worthy. And I wasn't sure if I would ever get used to that.

Well, my hot, model-worthy fake husband and I rarely talked. Something I was contented with, especially since he called me a talkative two weeks ago.

By the time he was back home each night, I was already in my bedroom, preparing myself to get some sleep. We didn't really sit down to plan out a routine like this, but it seemed like we were both comfortable living it.

That was why, when I came out for breakfast this morning and met Jonathan seated at the dining table all dressed up for work, I abruptly halted at my steps to take in the sight in front of me.

And if you ask me how long I had been standing here, I would say it had been for over two minutes now, staring at my husband who was dressed in all black. Black dress shirt and trousers with a pair of black oxford shoes. The only different colour fabric on him was his dark blue coloured tie.

"Are you going to just stand there and stare at me the whole time while I eat?" He asked, not taking his gaze away from his breakfast. His voice was as deep as it had been stored in my memory.

Slowly, I walked to the dining table, and halting at the seat across him, I pulled it out and slowly lowered into it.

"Good morning," I muttered, glancing down at the cup of chocolate milk tea in front of me, and next to it was a plate filled with slices of bread and scrambled eggs.

"Hm." That was his reply before he took a sip of his tea.

Hm. I repeated in my head, mentally rolling my eyes before reaching for a piece of bread.

Perhaps there might be something that got him sitting here by this time, maybe there was something he wanted to discuss with me. Even though we were as good as strangers sharing a home, there would be times we would need to discuss something as a couple.

"My mother wants to sponsor our honeymoon."

There, he said it!

I knew there must be something that would make Jonathan want to have breakfast with me. He never gave off a hint that he wanted us to have conversations, eat meals together or get to know each other, so I knew there must be something.

But the weight of his words had not only dropped like a bomb in the room, it had pushed the bread I was munching on into the wrong passage. Right now, I was on a coughing feat, trying to keep myself alive.

After I recovered, I stared at him wide-eyed. "What did you just say?"

Jonathan had been quiet all through the time I was coughing, he had only been staring at me with slightly narrowed eyes. When I coughed yet another time, I reached for my tea and took a large sip. Dropping the cup on the table, I rested my gaze back on him.