• WATTYS 2022 WINNER •
When Iris Monet married millionaire Jared Darling, she had only one rule - that he could cheat on her with anyone except the household staff. This arrangement of theirs would have gone on quite happily if she hadn't caught him...
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BY the time I returned appropriately dressed, Akai has cleaned out the entire barn on his own. All that's left for me to do is wheel out the barrow of dung into the pasture. No problem – except the wheelbarrow is ten times bigger and heavier than a pitchfork, and after witnessing about two minutes of my haphazard driving, Akai quickly stops me.
"Did you use a lady's wheelbarrow at your old employers, as well?" he asks drily.
My face prickles from a combination of morning sun and sheer embarrassment. Luckily, the jangling of a loud bell saves me from having to give a response.
Akai looks at his watch. "Lunch hour now. Staff meals are ready in the kitchen."
Lunchtime! Maybe there's still hope for me to get that date yet. "Shall we have lunch together? We can eat by the lake; it's probably cool and breezy there ..."
"Sorry," he cuts me off, "but I already have a date."
"What?" I exclaim before I can stop myself. "Who?"
Akai gives me an odd look. "I don't see how it's any of your business, but if you must know, it's with Gacho. She's waiting – so, excuse me."
Gacho? Who the hell is Gacho? What kind of a name even is Gacho? It doesn't sound like any name of any woman I've ever heard.
Except ... it is a bit familiar. I'm pretty sure I've heard it before, and just recently. My mind flashes back to the day of Keroro the frog.
It hits me.
The freaking goose?
My love rival is a goddamn GOOSE?
I'm flabbergasted. I cannotbelieve it. And yet, it's true. He's turned me down for a goose. I've lost him to a waterfowl. At this point, I'm seriously beginning to think that maybe what Jared did wasn't so humiliating after all.
But I refuse to be deterred. It's only been half a day. Maybe he's a man who likes the long game. Playing hard-to-get. Very well. I'll play along and show him just how tenacious Iris Monet can be.
I've never been rejected by a man before, and I'm not about to start now.
£
We're in the stable, and Akai is brushing down a chestnut mare. I step close to him and place my chin in the palm of my hand.
1. Engage in easily flowing conversations.
"So, Akai. Do you ride a lot?"
"When I'm free."
"You like it?"
"I like anything that allows me to bond with the horses. Excuse me."
He steps around me to grab a small bottle of what looks like lavender essential oil.
