The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

Rosalie slowly rose from her chair as she processed what Cole told her. "I am not allowed to see her? You speak as though you are my father, not my husband. It is not your place to decide who I consider a friend, and who I go to visit."

"I am your husband, so I have some say in what you do. I have a lot more say than you think, but because I love you, I am always patient and allow you to have freedom-"

"Cole, if you use the word allow once more, I shall lose my mind," Rosalie interjected, disliking the lone word.

Cole remained adamant about his feelings. He had let Rosalie do as she liked for far too long.

Cole sighed, expecting this to put a strain on their marriage, but it needed to be done.

Rosalie couldn’t go on being so spoiled.

"It is the first time I have put my foot down and told you what to do. For the sake of our marriage, respect it," Cole said, a surge of confidence coming over his body.

For the first time in a while, Cole felt like a man in his home. The true head of the house.

Rosalie chuckled, but it lacked the usual warmth. "You are telling me to respect it? You, Cole?"

"What is that supposed to mean? Because my father isn’t a duke or some nobleman, I am not to tell you what to do?" Cole asked, his eyes challenging Rosalie to say how she truly felt. He always knew that deep down, Rosalie thought she was better.

"No. Our marriage has been built on respect. I don’t order you around, and I expect the same respect from you. My husband isn’t going to tell me which ladies I can and can’t meet with. Just as I won’t tell you which gentlemen to meet with. I will see Eloise again," Rosalie said, her mind made up.

So far, Eloise was the one Rosalie believed wasn’t hiding a secret or a plot to betray her.

"Rosalie," Cole sighed, annoyed by Rosalie’s behaviour. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself. "I don’t want to argue about this with you."

"Neither do I. This matter could easily be put to bed if you would stay out of my decisions concerning Eloise. My family has always been close to the Hawthornes long before you and I wed. I am not going to spoil it now," said Rosalie.

Cole placed his hands on his hips and turned away from Rosalie. "I didn’t rush home for this."

"And I didn’t start this. So what if they are wary about setting foot in our home? They are allowed to want to hold off on visiting. Even I am uncertain of what is happening within my home," Rosalie said, the early confession making her eyes widen.

Cole faced Rosalie, his brows knitted. "What do you mean? What are you uncertain of?"

Rosalie bit her tongue. "Where are the servants my father sent to work here? Where are the maids I let follow me from my father’s home?"

Now that Rosalie paid attention, she noticed the changes in her home. There were many servants either fired or simply left and never came back. Servants all loyal to her father.

"Answer me," Rosalie demanded. "Where have they all gone?"

"I did what I thought was best for us, Rosalie. Those servants would only report to your father and bring trouble to our marriage. We should start fresh with servants who belong to only us. I did it for us," Cole said, reaching for Rosalie’s face.

Rosalie avoided Cole’s touch. She no longer felt safe when he touched her. "Then you should have informed me. I could have spoken to my father and sent the servants back to him. It should have been handled better."

"If you cared for them, you should have noticed they weren’t around sooner. You can do without them."

Rosalie stared at Cole, seeing him as an imposter.

Where was her real husband?

Rosalie shook her head, refusing to believe the man before her was Cole. This wasn’t the man she married or the man she fell in love with.

Rosalie turned her back to Cole. "It makes sense why the servants have been ignoring me. During my own gathering, they wouldn’t so much as glance at me. I don’t know any of them, and I’ve been so focused on my marriage that I didn’t notice they were gone. I am awful."

Rosalie stared at her reflection in the mirror before her gaze went to Cole’s pathetic expression. The one he always made when he wanted to have his way.

"I want all the servants back. I don’t care if we have to send off all the new ones who are kind. You don’t fire anyone without speaking to me first. I am the lady of this home, and all that concerns the servant does through me. Do we understand each other?" Rosalie asked, her anger reaching new heights.

"I am your husband-"

"And we have this home thanks to me. Thanks to my father," Rosalie reminded Cole. "You may change the servants, but you cannot change our home."

"I can," Cole said, stepping towards Rosalie. "And I will if you bring this up again."

"You may change homes, but I will not. I like our home as it was handed to me, and all the servants who were here. I will do what is right, and have you know that tomorrow, I will remove half the servants I am not familiar with, and employ half that I know. That is only fair," Rosalie said, brushing by Cole.

Cole grabbed Rosalie’s arm. "You cannot do that."

"I can and I will. I don’t know what’s troubling you, but I would love for my husband to be normal. For the sake of our marriage, I think you should take a moment to ponder what was said here. Do it outside of my bedchamber," Rosalie said, folding her arms, unwilling to be the one to leave.

Cole calmed himself, realising how silly the argument was. "Rosalie," he sighed. "We are at odds over maids. We shouldn’t allow this to get between us. We are to be focused on having a child."

"Until we come to an understanding, I will not bring a child into this mess. You went behind my back," Rosalie said, speaking of both the maids and the affair. "That was a grave mistake. Until I am ready to address you, make yourself comfortable in another chamber."

"Rosalie-"

"Out!" Rosalie yelled, pointing her finger at the door. "Do not look at me like that, Cole. When this all settles, remember that you started this."