Doctor’s Fake Fiancée

by Charlize Starr

  Liam removed his finger and then slowly stood up. Isabel stared at him, confused. What was he doing? How could it be over? What about him? But she didn’t dare ask.

  He caught her staring as he straightened his back. “What did you think was going to happen? I wasn’t planning on taking your virginity before you were married,” he said. With that, the smile on his face was gone.

  Chapter Eight

  Isabel blinked her eyes open. She wasn’t quite sure when she had finally drifted to sleep, because as far back as she could remember, she had been awake the whole night. After Liam had made her – forced her t0 – come, he had taken off his clothes in the darkness of the room and laid down on one side of the bed, his back turned to her.

  Isabel had remained sitting up, naked, for several minutes until she realized that he had no intention of having a conversation with her. He only intended on going to sleep. She tiptoed over to where her nightdress lay discarded near the mirror and she slipped into it. Eventually, she walked back to the bed and lay down beside him at the other end, facing his back.

  She watched his body rise and fall, his breaths deepen. She could hear the crickets outside and realized that it was dark. Darker than she could have ever imagined night to be. She had gotten used to the streetlights of New York, the sounds that carried in through her apartment window. She couldn’t sleep in the stillness of this night. It was unbearably keeping her awake.

  Thoughts that she didn’t want barraged her brain. Thoughts about New York. The last few weeks she spent there. The life she left behind. That she might never return to. She tried to banish them from her brain, but they kept flooding in.

  Eventually, Liam’s even breaths calmed her down. Just his presence in the room, even though he wasn’t touching her, even though he wasn’t encouraging her or stroking her hair… just his very presence beside her seemed to make her feel that she was safe.

  She had borne her soul to this man. She had allowed him to touch her in places nobody else had just because she had decided that she was going to be his wife. A wife to a man she knew nothing about.

  Even a year ago, a prospect such as this would have made Isabel laugh. She would have considered the suggestion that she would find herself physically spent and sexually satisfied lying next to a man she had just met (who she was trying to prove to that she could be a good wife to) utterly crazy.

  When she turned over in the morning, Isabel found that Liam had already gotten out of bed. She couldn’t see a clock anywhere in the room and she panicked, jumping out of bed in a rush.

  The bathroom wasn’t an en suite, so she rummaged in her suitcase for a dressing gown which she enveloped herself with before stepping out of the room. She rushed into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, splashed her face with water, and then, at the last minute, decided to take a shower.

  The water calmed her even though she felt like she hadn’t slept in years. When she had looked in the mirror, she noticed the dark circles under her eyes. Her face didn’t look fresh even though she had just woken up. She dried her hair with a towel hanging behind the door, slipped into the dressing gown again, and walked back into the bedroom.

  Liam was still nowhere to be found.

  In the bedroom, she changed into a cotton maxi skirt and a red crop top she found at the bottom of her bag. Her hair was still damp, but it was the best she could do. No makeup necessary, she thought as she stepped out of the room again and descended the stairs.

  “It’s eight.” Liam’s voice greeted her as she reached the landing. He was sitting at the kitchen counter and drinking a glass of what could have only been fresh milk. Isabel wasn’t sure if she was late or early. His face was expressionless, although it was still devastatingly handsome.

  “Sophie needs to wake up by seven thirty. She’ll be late for school now,” he said. Isabel turned on her heels and started climbing the stairs again. “You will take her to school from today. She needs to get there by eight thirty,” he called after her. Isabel turned around to only nod her head.

  To say she was sleepy was an understatement. She was tired as hell. She could feel her limbs ache and creak as she climbed up to Sophie’s room and knocked.

  “Time to wake up, Sophie,” she called out to her and heard her own voice crack. The heat of the day was already building up. Isabel was beginning to feel faint again. She cracked open the door and found Sophie still bundled up in bed.

  “Sophie, it’s time for school,” she said in a louder voice and walked over to the window to pull the curtain open.

  Sophie slowly blinked her eyes open and then stretched her arms. When Isabel turned to her, the little girl smiled. “Hi,” she said in a low morning voice. Isabel was amazed at her enthusiasm. A ten-year-old who was happy from the instant she woke up! Sophie was precious and Isabel was beginning to understand why she was the apple of her father’s eye.

  “You must get ready for school. You’ll be late,” Isabel said, walking over to sit by Sophie’s bed. She stroked her shining blonde hair and couldn’t help but smile, as much as her body hurt.

  “Did you sleep well, Isabel?” Sophie asked and she nodded.

  “Of course. I slept very well,” Isabel declared, trying to keep the smile on her face.

  “Will you please take me to school? I want you to take me to school,” Sophie said and flung her small body into Isabel’s arms.

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Isabel said, patting Sophie’s back. It was good to get a warm morning hug.

  Chapter Nine

  Thankfully, Sophie’s school was only a ten-minute walk from the ranch. Isabel walked Sophie to the gate of the small school building where, according to Sophie, only ten other kids from the town attended. Isabel stayed back at the gate. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to introduce herself to the teacher.

  Then, Isabel walked back to the ranch, dragging her feet and wiping the sweat off her forehead. She felt like her body was ravaged. As she walked up the dirt road towards the porch of the house, she thought she heard Liam whistle. Then he appeared.

  He was on a horse, a mighty chestnut-colored horse with a chocolate mane. They galloped towards her and she felt like the ground was shaking underneath her feet. He didn’t seem to slow down as he approached her, but rather came to a sudden halt beside her. Isabel shaded her eyes with the palm of her hand to look up at him.

  The sun was behind him so that his face was darkened and a bright orange light silhouetted his dirty blonde hair and cowboy hat. He looked regal and masculine on his horse. She imagined him with his shirt off, as she had seen him the previous night.

  “Isabel, meet Henry.” He said and it took Isabel a few seconds to realize that Liam was introducing her to his horse.

  “Oh. Well, hello Henry,” she said, still keeping her distance.

  “Have you ever worked with horses?” he asked and she bit down on her lip in reply.

  “Have you ever ridden a horse?” A grin formed on his face. He was mocking her.

  She remained silent. Liam rolled his eyes and she got the sudden feeling that he was annoyed with her. She began to worry again. That she wasn’t good enough for him – good enough to be his wife. “I can learn. Tell me what to do and I’ll try my best,” she said eagerly while Liam glared down at her. The grin on his face had vanished. He looked like he wasn’t sure what he was meant to do with her anymore.

  “Just carry the chopped wood to the back of the house. The nights are going to start getting colder than usual and we’ll need to get the fireplace going,” he said dismissively.

  Isabel gulped and nodded her head.

  “Where is the wood?” she asked, tucking in stray strands of her curls behind her ears. She was uncomfortable under his gaze, especially now that he had seen her completely naked. He knew what she looked like without any clothes.

  Liam pointed into the distance where Isabel could just about make out a pile of wood in response. “Carry in a week’s worth. Then you can start making my lunch. I
’ll be in by one,” he said and, without waiting for a response, he turned around on his horse and galloped away.

  Isabel was left standing in the sun, staring at him as he disappeared into the back of the ranch. She wiped her face with her hands, sucked in her stomach, and tried to calm down her nerves.

  It was December already, she tried to remind herself even though it felt hotter than the middle of summer on the East Coast. She lifted up her skirt with her fingers and started walking towards the spot that Liam had indicated. Carrying chopped wood back to the house, cooking meals, dressing a ten-year-old for school. None of these were tasks she had ever performed in her life before, and every step she took made her nervous.

  She couldn’t understand why she was so desperate to please Liam. He hadn’t even accepted her as his wife yet. In fact, she was free to just leave if she wanted to. It actually seemed like Liam would prefer if she did. He didn’t give her any indication that he was happy to have her here. Rather, it seemed like he had changed his mind about having a mail order bride altogether.

  Isabel walked slowly towards the pile of wood that Liam had undoubtedly chopped and stored there earlier.

  This was going to be her life now. Was this what she wanted? Did she want to be married to a man who barely even looked at her? Who dished out orders and expected them to be executed on his terms? Who wanted her around the house so she could do all the housework and take care of his daughter? She had a successful career in New York. She was a city girl. She had never known a life like this. Did she actually want to give all that up and lead this life of isolation with a man who rarely ever smiled?

  Then Isabel remembered the way he had touched her the previous night. The kind of pleasure he had given her in a way she had never experienced before. She knew she was curious to know more, to experience more. She wanted to see more of Liam… see him completely naked. Just the very thought of it stirred something in her belly. She wanted him inside her. Even if just for one night.

  It was going to be a test for Liam, just as he was testing her. He had teased her the previous night with his body, brought her to the edge, just gave her a taste of what was in store for her.

  And now Isabel was determined to find out the rest – what it would feel like to have Liam completely to herself. Even if it meant waiting and hoping that he decided she would make for a good wife. She could always change her mind later. She could always leave if she wanted to. Her life in New York was waiting for her if she ever needed to go back.

  Chapter Ten

  What Isabel hadn’t been expecting was for the wood to be as heavy as it was. She had no idea what a week’s worth of wood for the fireplace looked like. She tried to carry an armful first, but the logs were too heavy for her. Her limbs hurt, her back ached, and she walked slowly, sweating towards the back of the house with only a few at a time.

  In the distance, she could hear Liam with the horses. He whistled, clucked his tongue, and called out to them as he worked. She couldn’t see him, so she didn’t know what he was doing exactly, but it was a sort of twisted comfort that he was there. Although she was getting more and more embarrassed by her slow progress.

  It was just wood that she carried, and even this she couldn’t do quickly enough. She was worried about his lunch as well. She wanted to please him with a delicious hearty meal after his day spent doing hard manual labor. But she wasn’t sure what ingredients were available in the pantry for her to do this.

  Isabel could feel herself dehydrating slowly, and then she remembered that she hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink since the previous night’s dinner. Also, she had barely slept. Her body felt like a bundle of rags that she was only dragging around the place.

  Her arms felt sore, too sore to even lift up any of the wood anymore. She walked back to the pile of wood for the third time, feeling her breath catch in her throat. Her stomach felt empty and sore, as did her back. Isabel looked up towards the sun, trying to steady herself, but the bright light suddenly blinded her.

  When she looked away, she could only see darkness everywhere and then the ground beneath her started to swing and shake. She heard herself gasp and then a weak scream escaped her lips and then the world became completely blank.

  The next thing she knew, she was forcing her eyes open. She could feel a cold cotton cloth on her forehead and she was lying down. On Liam’s bed. She was in Liam’s bedroom. The curtains were pulled so the room was fairly dim and she could feel the gush of a breeze from somewhere beside her.

  Isabel tried to sit up and two large hands appeared on her shoulders. She looked up. It was Liam pushing her back down on the bed. “Stay still for some time longer,” he said. She thought there was a change in his voice somehow. She also noticed he held a fan. Did people actually use those anymore? But now she knew where the cool breeze was coming from. He had been fanning her.

  “What happened?” she tried to ask and realized that barely any sound came out from her lips.

  “Here, drink this,” he said and held a glass of milky-looking liquid to her parched lips. “It’s glucose in water. Just drink it, Isabel,” he said a little more authoritatively.

  She sipped from the glass, still in complete shock. Liam’s touch had been gentle, he had concern in his eyes. He looked like he was guilty.

  “You fainted. I heard you shriek and then found you by the pile of chopped wood,” he said after she had drunk half the glass of glucose water. He placed it back on the table beside her and started fanning her again. Isabel felt her curls fly around her face, and the sweat on her forehead was evaporating fast. She suddenly felt a lot better, more like herself.

  “When did you last eat? When did you last drink some water?” he asked her, almost like he was scolding his daughter.

  Isabel hung her head down, she was ashamed of herself. “I forgot this morning,” she replied, her voice still cracked.

  Liam shook his head and looked away from her. “I knew it from the moment I saw you. You’re not cut out for here, not for this ranch, not for this place,” he said, more to himself than to her.

  “I’ve just been tired. I just got here. I need some time to get used to all this.” Isabel heard the pleading in her voice. She was feeling desperate again. She didn’t want him to turn her away, send her back. She wanted to please him, to convince him that she was worthy. She wanted him to make love to her.

  She watched his piercing blue eyes turn to her again. His jaw was taut and strong, his hands still clutched the fan as he swung it. “You need some rest, Isabel. You need to sleep,” he said.

  She bit down on her lip. “I just need some time to settle down, Liam,” she pleaded with him again and tried to sit up.

  “Get some sleep. I’ll go fetch Sophie from school and make some lunch for all of us.” He stood up from his chair beside her and placed the fan on the table next to her.

  “Liam,” she called out to him as he walked towards the door. She didn’t want him to leave, but why should he stay?

  He stopped and looked at her. “Why are you so desperate to be here, Isabel? What are you running away from?” he asked.

  Isabel gulped, swallowing her words. They stared at each other and then he walked out when she didn’t reply to his question.

  She couldn’t bring herself to tell him. What would she even say? It was so petty, so silly. He would think she was a child. She would only give him more reason to turn her away, to think she was unsuitable for this ranch. To be a step mother to Sophie or be his wife.

  But now that he had left the room, it gave Isabel some time to think about what Liam had done. How he fanned her as she slept. How he was caring for her.

  Chapter Eleven

  Isabel must have been sleeping again because she didn’t realize when Sophie had come to sit beside her. “Daddy made you some soup, Isabel.” She heard Sophie’s soft voice as she opened her eyes. It was she who was sitting beside her and fanning her now. Liam was nowhere in sight.

  “Are you feeling any be
tter?” she asked when Isabel pulled herself up to sit. There were pillows arranged behind her for support.

  “Yes, I am. Much better. Thank you,” Isabel said, smiling at Sophie’s worried face.

  “Daddy said that you fainted. Will you be alright?” Sophie asked and Isabel nodded her head.

  “I just got a little dehydrated, sweetie. I’m alright now.” Isabel reached for the bowl of soup while Sophie continued to fan her. “I don’t need the fan now. Tell me about school,” Isabel said, dipping her spoon into the bowl of soup.

  Sophie still looked dismayed, like she didn’t trust Isabel’s insistence that she was fine. “But daddy told me to keep fanning you and also to make sure that you eat your soup and go back to sleep.” Sophie sounded worried, more worried than Liam did.

  “Your daddy is very kind, but I don’t need it. I’m feeling much better now.” Isabel smiled. The soup tasted surprisingly good. It was chicken broth, just like the kind her own father used to make for her if she ever got sick as a child.

  “Sophie?” The little girl looked dejected and sad suddenly. “What’s wrong honey? Did something happen in school?”

  Sophie shook her head, trying to avoid Isabel’s inquiring looks.

  “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m doing much better. As good as new,” Isabel said and reached for Sophie’s chin.

  “I think daddy is really mad at me now,” she said, still not willing to look Isabel directly in the eye.

  “Mad at you? Why should he be mad at you? What did you do? My illness had nothing to do with you.” Isabel smiled at Sophie, stroking her head now with her hand.

  “It does,” Sophie said in a low, meek voice. She didn’t look at Isabel, whose hand now stopped stroking her head.

  “What are you talking about?” Isabel placed the bowl of soup back on the table. She still wasn’t taking Sophie seriously. How could any of this possibly be a little child’s fault? She was imagining her own guilt in all this.