For the first time, Dashiell drove Thea to campus himself.
Thea had tried to refuse, but Dashiell hadn’t cared in the slightest.
This could turn into a serious problem.
She was terrified someone might see them together and start asking questions about her connection to Dashiell.
She didn’t want any gossip about herself circulating, anything that might make people curious.
She was especially worried that curiosity would lead people to start asking why someone as poor as her was involved with someone as wealthy as Dashiell Marlowe.
She couldn’t let that be the thing that exposed her secret, because there was always a chance Dashiell might hear the gossip himself.
“Why do you look so anxious? Don’t you like me driving you here? Or are you worried your boyfriend might see me?”
“Th-that’s not it. I don’t have a boyfriend!”
“Then why do you look so on edge, like you’re hiding some secret you’re afraid I’ll find out?”
“Don’t misunderstand, Dashiell. Can you please stop being so suspicious of me all the time? I just don’t want anyone to see you, that’s all!”
“And what if they do?” Dashiell pulled Thea’s hand toward him.
Her body jolted forward, catching her off guard.
“What does it matter if someone sees me? Don’t you want people to know you’re married?” His hand moved to rest under her chin.
“Th-that’s not it,” Thea tried to turn away, not wanting to make him any more suspicious than he already was.
“You’d better not do anything that damages the progress we’ve made, and don’t give me more reasons to be suspicious.” If this woman really wasn’t Saphira, then it made sense she wouldn’t want anyone to know about the two of them together, since after all, he was Saphira’s husband.
It seemed he needed to start digging for answers at her campus.
Someone there was bound to know something.
He was certain the strange pieces would finally come together.
“I would never do something like that, Dashiell. I just don’t want any gossip about the two of us because I’m trying to focus on my studies. I hope you understand what I’m worried about.”
“Alright, I understand.” Dashiell released her chin.
He wouldn’t push the matter, and he’d continue pretending he wasn’t suspicious of his wife at all.
“There’s nothing to worry about.” Dashiell pulled her into his arms.
“I won’t show my face to anyone. There won’t be any gossip about us.” In truth, there was no real reason for him to hide himself, but he let it go, just to keep his wife at ease.
“Thank you, Dashiell!” Thea leaned against him, a sweet smile spreading across her face.
For some reason, she felt like their relationship was becoming real. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Suddenly she found herself wanting more, and she knew she shouldn’t be thinking that way, not when Dashiell was her best friend’s husband.
“No need to thank me. Come with me after this.”
“Where are we going?” She lifted her face slightly to look at his handsome features.
Unfortunately, this man wasn’t hers, and she hoped Saphira wouldn’t end up throwing away someone like Dashiell Marlowe for a boyfriend who was nothing more than a freeloader.
“Just to pick up a few things we’ll need for Paris.”
“Alright, I’ll come with you.” Thea leaned back against him, wishing the drive would take longer so their time together wouldn’t end so soon, but unfortunately time wasn’t on her side, and they had already arrived.
Thea felt a small pang of disappointment, but eventually she had to step out of the car.
Before she did, though, she left a kiss for Dashiell.
If things between them stayed this good, perhaps she would keep doing this for the next six months.
“Call me once you’re done. I’ll send someone to pick you up.”
“I know,” Thea grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car.
Dashiell watched her hurry off toward campus.
From the way she moved, it was obvious she didn’t want a single soul to know about the two of them together.
“Drive.” He gave the order to his personal driver.
The car pulled away, and on the way to the office, Dashiell called his assistant.
He wanted to know whether his instructions had been carried out yet.
“Have you sent someone to follow my wife today?” He needed to get to the bottom of this strangeness as soon as possible.
“Of course, sir. He’ll follow her wherever she goes and report back on anything unusual, if there is anything.”
“Good. I’ll be at the office shortly, have the documents I need ready.”
“Yes, sir.” Dashiell hung up the phone.
He genuinely hoped his suspicions were correct, because that would mean he hadn’t married Saphira after all.
He carried on with his work as usual, waiting for the report from the man his assistant had sent.
He was desperate to know exactly where his wife had gone today.
A message came through, a notification from the bank informing him that his card had been used for a charge of five thousand dollars.
Surely she wasn’t using it to enjoy herself somewhere, was she?
“Where is my wife right now?” he asked his assistant.
“Why, sir? Has your wife caused trouble again?”
“No. I just want to know where she is. Is your man still following her?”
“Give me a moment, I’ll contact him.”
While his assistant was busy checking, Dashiell found himself preoccupied with what the money could possibly be for.
The amount itself wasn’t the issue, not if it was being used properly, but what if it wasn’t?
He needed to know, because he had no intention of letting that money be squandered.
“Your wife is at the bank, sir. It looks like she’s sending money somewhere.”
“Sending money?” A faint smile crossed his face.
“What do you think, Asher? Doesn’t this strike you as strange?” He wanted to hear his assistant’s take on it.
“It’s extremely strange, sir. Why would Miss Saphira need to do something like this? She’s never had to go through this kind of trouble before. Do you think she’s doing this quietly so it won’t get traced, because the money is meant for someone she’s keeping on the side?”
“I’m suspicious of it too.”
“Sir, you should really look into this. What if she’s secretly supporting a man behind your back, and she’s the one funding him? If she were using her own family’s money, that would be one thing, but what if she’s using yours? You shouldn’t end up losing money over someone you don’t even know.”
“You’re absolutely right, Asher. I have no intention of funding another man either. She just withdrew five thousand dollars of mine, so find out exactly where that money went, and be thorough about it.”
“Five thousand dollars? That’s an awful lot of money, sir.”
“Yes, have your men look into it, but I don’t want Saphira finding out. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” Asher immediately contacted his men, giving the order to trace where Thea had sent the money.
He had assumed Thea had sent it to some man, but it turned out the money had gone to a woman instead.
The bank account it had been sent to wasn’t even from that city.
Strange.
The discovery only deepened Dashiell’s curiosity even further.
He asked Asher to find out exactly who this woman was.
He was certain there had to be some unusual connection between them, and he believed everything would finally make sense once he learned her identity.