Hunted

Chapter 2: Marriage of Convenience

I awoke from my incredible dream, completely breathless. I could feel the wetness between my legs and my eyes widened. I couldn't ever remember having a dream that intense. I felt like I could still feel his hands on me and it left me wishing the dream had gone further. It might have if not for the change when he asked me to meet him.

Brains did strange things in sleep.

Rolling over towards the clock above the fireplace, I found it was six in the morning. I'd only slept four hours but I could hear Evan turning on the shower upstairs. That meant the bed was free.

I sat up slowly, wincing at the headache from too much drinking. I grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen before ascending the steps and plopping on the bed. Downing half my water, I stared at the door leading to the bathroom where Evan was showering. Another time, I might've snuck into the shower with him, back when we couldn't keep our hands to ourselves.

Then I got sick.

The same cancer that claimed my mother's life came for me. Being in medical school, I knew all the horrible things there were to know about cancer and it scared the shit out of me. I was at an even higher risk, having as many problems as I did. Auto-immune diseases, heart problems, hyperthyroid, I was a mess. Being someone whose body apparently gave up on life from the time I was born meant that cancer was especially threatening. My body couldn't fight anything or handle any illness, it was a miracle I survived the cancer treatments.

It was obvious Evan wanted to leave me once all my hair came out and I became nothing but skin and bones. I could tell. It wasn't just not having time for me anymore, he couldn't stand to look at me and he wanted to leave but he couldn't. I suddenly became beneficial for him. The politician, so loyal to his sick wife. My, did that do well in the pres. Everyone adored him for being such a loving, loyal husband.

Except he wasn't loyal. First, I found him fucking my caretaker. I mean she was hired to take care of me but apparently she added taking care of him to her job description. Then it was the maid his parents hired for us since I was sick and he was busy. I stupidly tried to get past it because I knew me having cancer wasn't easy on him.

I had been going to medical school before that but going back to finish seemed daunting after all I'd been through. I only had two semesters left but I didn't want to be back in a hospital, just to be reminded of how miserable I was during those months. So I never went back and instead I became something I never wanted to be.

A trophy wife.

That wasn't my intention. I was smarter than that. But after Evan came back from a long campaigning trip and saw how much better I was doing, that my hair was growing back and I was getting my figure back, things changed. He was happy to see me looking more like myself, but he wasn't happy in the way I wanted him to be.

He started talking about all the events I would go to with him, all the fancy dresses I could wear. He acted like it was about me, it was for me he had me get beautified every week. It was for me I got new clothes all the time so I could go out with him. It was for me I had a weekly mani-pedi, facial, laser treatment so I wouldn't have hair except where I was 'supposed to', nutritionist, personal trainer, personal gym. All of that was for me, he said.

But he was a fucking liar. He was molding me to become an even more perfect trophy wife and I fell for his lies. I just kept telling myself, once I get my figure back, once I get all my hair back, I can have my husband back, the man I fell in love with nine years ago at that stupid park.

Except, Evan wasn't the man I'd known since I was five and fell in love with. He was different now. He was a politician and damn, did he do it well. A master liar. A master manipulator. A master at making someone feel important until he didn't need them anymore.