Virgin Marriage by Alexa Riley
Chapter 2
Aiden
Ilook down at the wedding band on my finger and wonder if I’ll ever get used to it. I’m sure all husbands feel that initial shock of wearing a ring if they’ve never worn one before. Savannah seemed nervous when she gave it to me, but I told her I’d do whatever I could to make sure she was happy.
Savannah has been my best friend since we were born. Our families have done business together for decades and created an empire from the ground up. The two of us were always close, but our bond became stronger when we lost my little sister. We all were inseparable for most of our childhood until her family sent her to a private all-girls school not long after my sister’s death. We were still able to spend summers together, and when we got into the same college it was our chance to get out from under our families and finally live our lives. We were so wrong about so many things and it’s how we ended up here.
I’m sure people assumed we’d end up falling in love and getting married one day, but as I look at my wife across the breakfast table, all I see is the girl who cried for three hours because I wouldn’t do *NSYNC choreography with her. Or I see the brat who pretended to break her arm at my birthday party so she could get a present too. The girl who grieved the loss of my sister as hard as I had.
“What?” she says as she narrows her eyes at me.
I shake my head and laugh. “Nothing, just thinking about my tenth birthday.”
She rolls her eyes and goes back to staring at her phone. “I got my own Xbox, didn’t I?”
She’s an only child and the sole heiress to her father's fortune. On paper you can see why he was so careful with how he raised her and who he let her be around. But he kept her in a golden cage her entire life, and the second she thought she had a chance at a normal life, he snatched her back and made her get married. To me.
What was I supposed to do? She was like a sister to me, and our parents made this arrangement. I never once in my entire life thought of Savannah in that way. Not even as a teenager, and I was so horny I could have driven my dick through a solid wood door. She means the world to me, and I love her, but there just wasn’t that spark. I felt the same for her as I felt for my own sister.
When her father found out that she applied to college behind his back, he brought her home right away and gave her two options. She could be cut off from him entirely or she could agree to join our families and marry me.
I tried to plead with him and with my own parents, but they decided what was best for us. I was able to finish college, but I felt guilty the whole time. I had to leave Savannah behind, but she told me that if I didn’t go then I would be wasting the chance for both of us. I knew that if I didn't agree to the marriage, who knew who her father might find. He always put his own interests first.
We talked a lot about our options and decided that being roommates and pretending for our families would be easier than trying to fight them. My family hadn't pushed like hers had, but they liked the idea of it. I think more than anything my mom wanted a daughter again and marriage was a way for her to get that. Mom and Savannah used to be close, but Mom’s single-mindedness only pushed her and Savannah apart. I think now she’s holding out for grandchildren. That will never happen.
We have separate wings of the house and live our own lives, but mostly we just hang out like friends would. She’s still trying to figure out what she wants to do now that her father blocked her from developing any real marketable skills other than working for him. He owns the majority of textile manufacturers in America and even more throughout Europe. Savannah knows a ton about fashion and I’ve been trying to talk her into becoming a buyer for the family business, but she’s still not interested. He’s spent so many years trying to shove it down her throat that she’s against anything to do with it even though she’d be amazing at it.
My side of the family does the import and export of the textiles and we own the rights to the entire distribution seaboard on the east coast. Basically, I manage a lot of moving parts, but I’m good at it and it’s a way to keep the business in the family. It’s not something I would say I’m passionate about, but there’s really not much that gets me excited. Savannah would say I’m laid back or boring, but I like to think I haven’t found my spark yet.
“Do you want to go to the Humane Society Benefit? They called to thank us for the donation and wanted to know how many tickets to send.”
“If you want to,” I say as I eat my toast and shrug. “You said last time you wouldn’t go back because they didn’t have real live animals there.”
“It’s a humane society. They really missed an opportunity for the best night ever.” She scrolls through her phone again before she begins to type. “I’ll tell them to send a couple. But only if I get to hold a puppy.”
“I’m sure you’ll get your way,” I say, then take one last sip of coffee and stand up.
“Don’t I always?” She gives me her best snotty smile and I laugh.
“You do.” I grab my keys off the kitchen counter and thank Rita our housekeeper for breakfast. “Will you be home tonight?”
Savannah thinks for a second then shakes her head. “I’ll be back late. I’m seeing a double feature with Angie at the Starlight.” She smiles and then pretends to swoon. “We’re watching two Tom Hardy movies in a row.”
“I’m not going to pretend to know who that is,” I say before I throw a wave over my shoulder and walk out of the house.
We got this place because it was close to our parents and in a neighborhood they deemed worthy of our status and wealth. I don’t really care because it’s just a house and we didn’t have to pay for it. Savannah’s father had what he called a dowry in place for the man that married her, and I guess he felt better that it would be me getting the money. I just opened a personal account for Savannah and dropped the money in it for her and handed her the checkbook. It doesn’t even have my name on it. I wanted her to be able to have the freedom of choice.
I think being controlled your whole life makes you used to that kind of treatment. Freedom can be scary if all you’ve ever known are walls. I think in time she’ll figure it out, but if I know one thing about her it’s that she can’t be pushed.
I drive through the neighborhood and then it’s just a quick drive to downtown. When I get there I park my car in our building and then take the elevator up to my office. It’s always nice and quiet this early in the morning and I like the silence and calm at this time.
Living with someone has taken some getting used to. I didn’t have roommates before Savannah, and I realized that I liked being by myself way too much. It’s probably good for me that we live together now, because otherwise I might go crazy from the solitude.
When I sit down at my desk I open the drawer, then take off my wedding band and put it inside. It’s not that I have to wear it, but Savannah wears hers at home and I feel like it’s a point of solidarity for us. And we never know when our parents might pop in. Since my dad retired he hasn’t set one foot inside this place so I don’t have a fear of him coming in my office. My assistant is an older lady who worked for my father and I told her I thought it might be too tight. The truth is, I feel like this ring carries a lot of weight with it and I don’t take its meaning lightly. I’ve done all this for Savannah so that she can have the life she wants, but until she’s ready to step out and take it on her own I have to try and navigate this the best I can. And that includes not wearing the ring while I’m at work.
The sun is barely up and I look out the window to the park nearby. In a few hours it will be filled with dogs and people playing with their animals on this beautiful day. I envy their ability to lose themselves and just play. I can’t remember the last time I did something because I enjoyed it, and not because I was obligated to do it.
This isn’t the life I had pictured when I was in college and thinking of my future, but it’s not bad. I have so much more than I ever dreamed of and I have opportunities most people never get. I just wish I could find that one thing that makes me light up inside. The kind of thing that gives me passion and makes me want to be a better man.
It’s out there; I just have to find it.
