River-rose thinks what her and her high school sweetheart has is love, but when she's told she needs to marry a complete stranger all of that changes.
Hayze is only 24 and owns his own thriving architectural business. After a business problem, his...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Hayze was in the shower when he heard a scream for him somewhere in the house. It was desperate and made him hop out and wrap himself in a towel before dashing out to his study, trailing water over the floor.
When he pushed the door open, he noticed River sitting on the floor sobbing and then... Merissa.
"What is going on?"
River looked up from the floor where she was cradling a limp snake. She immediately got up and ran over to him.
"I promise i was taking good care of him," she cried.
"Stop whining," Merissa mumbled. "Its just a snake."
"I was sitting in here and then she came in and she saw me putting Kiko down and so she came and crushed him with her heel."
Hayze's jaw clenched at Merissa's petty behaviour.
He quickly bent down and pressed a kiss to River's forehead. "We'll have to bury Kiko and put nice flowers around him, sì?"
"Sì," she sniffled. "I'll go find somewhere and bury him before he smells."
Hayze watched as his wife left and then he turned to Merissa with his lips pursed. "What are you doing here?"
Her eyes were trained on his wet chest so he snapped his fingers. "I'd very much like for you to leave. So go."
"Aw, but i can't do that actually. I'm here for business."
Hayze rolled his eyes. "You're never just here for business."
"Well, this time i am," she said as she turned and sat on his desk. Her posture was straight but her legs were slightly cracked open and it bothered Hayze - a lot.
"Why would you kill my wifes snake?" He asked angrily. "She adores him and i spent a lot of time searching for the right breeder."
"Snakes are not meant to be slithering around on a carpets. Their either supposed to be out in the wild or in one of my next fashion designs."
Hayze gritted his teeth in annoyance.
"And that thing looked like it was going to bite her, so i did your wife a favor."
"Her snake, was domesticated, and is used to being handled. River is the most gentle human being i have ever met and i know that snake would not harm her. You did that out of petiness."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. River came in and pulled Hayze aside. "Can you come put on some clothes please? I know that... witch Merissa is staring and the last time i caught you two in here alone, she was kissing you," she hissed.
"Of course, bella rosa. I will." He tried to hide his smile.
Without saying anything to Merissa, he quickly went back into his room and slipped into one of the new shirts River got him, boxers and basketball shorts.
