Married to my suspect

DANIELLE'S POV

The bakery door closed behind me and I went to the display case to decide on what would be my lunch for the day. I chose an apple pie and a croissant and placed them in a tray and ordered a cup of coffee from the vending machine, something the bakery also had, and placed my order to the bakery owner, Mila, smiling in greeting. I'd quickly gotten close to her since we saw each other daily since the office cafeteria was no longer an option for me. I started bringing out my card from my purse to pay when a familiar voice sounded behind me.

"I've got it." Lucas said, giving the woman his card and adding his own order to mine. I was tempted to argue, but this was the first time we were seeing each other since the wedding and we were in public, so I gave her a slight smile, and she collected his card and ran it through the machine.

I avoided Lucas eyes intentionally, turning all my attention to the card reader like I was seeing it for the first time. Mila returned the card and receipt to him and smiled, winking at me.

"He's handsome." She mock whispered, her eyebrows fluttering. I shook my head and gave her a tight smile.

"He's a friend. I'm married." I told her and felt Lucas flinch and move. I followed his movement with the side of my eyes and saw that he had moved because he had gone to get a seat for us. I hadn't really planned to eat here, though.

Her eyes widened. 'Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood" She leaned closer to me and gave me a glazed doughnut, something she claimed to give regular customers. I think she just liked me, the only thing was I couldn't imagine why. "Is he single then. My daughter may like him. Heaven knows, she needs to be in a relationship, or I'm going to die of bleeding ears." She laughed at her statement, and I laughed with her, shaking my head.

"He's also in a relationship."

She frowned. "That sucks then. The good ones are always taken. If only my daughter could be like you. In a committed relationship this young, rather than jumping from losers to losers almost half her age." She shook her head. "I'm sure your parents would feel so reassured."

I forced my lips to lift in a smile and peered at my wristwatch, giving her an apologetic smile. "My lunch hour is running."

She nodded, understanding me. "It's fine. Go and eat with your handsome friend." she laughed loudly like she had said something funny, and I nodded and went to meet Lucas, where he was seemingly staring lasers into me from where he was seated.

I had come across the bakery a few days ago and despite the fact that she loved to chatter, most times about things that were meant to be personal, the bakery was very close to the office. She also offered healthier options than other normal bakeries, and they were just as delicious if not more, so it had been a no-brainer to keep coming here even though I easily grew frustrated after talking with her. It had been a prioritizing factor in why I never ate at the bakery, but it was obvious Lucas had something to say to me and honestly, I had missed my friend.

I wasn't of the opinion that once you got married, old friends were to be abandoned and since I was in a fake marriage, I was more determined to keep my friendship.

I sat down on the chair that had been pulled out for me and took a sip of my coffee. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Lucas dropped the bread he had started eating and sat straighter. "Since your wedding, I've felt bad about the way I had acted, and I really wanted to apologize, but I've been so busy. I finally got some free time today and luckily ran into you here." He placed his palms flat on the table. "Danielle, I'm so sorry for the way I acted at the wedding. I lost it, not because of you or your husband, but Lillian and I had been in a very bad argument earlier so it sort of turned out like that."

I studied his apologetic expression. "Are you and Lillian okay now?"

I saw the smile he tried to hide. "Yeah. You know how we can be. She was the one that even suggested that rather than calling you to apologize, I should see you physically."

Since they had started dating over two years ago, they were always on and off with each other but thankfully, their off season never really lasted long because of how much they were in love with each other. If not that I had given up on marriage and romance in my lifetime, I would have loved to be in a relationship like theirs.

I smiled and took a bite of my bread. "There was no need to." I waved my hand dramatically. "I should remember to call her to relay my thanks to her because I was determined to not see you again." I joked and we both laughed.

"You shouldn't. She said she feels bad about what happened since we had gotten in an argument because she had been overly emotional which had turned your wedding into an almost disaster. When she gets her courage, she'll call you to talk to you."

I nodded. That wasn't strange for Lillian. She usually took a long time to forgive herself for the silliest things before she apologized, but I was used to it now. She had explained it was a remnant of a childhood trauma. I knew what trauma could do to a person, so who was I to try to force my opinions on her. She knew it wasn't the best option, and I was aware she was actively working on it.

"Alright. Tell her there's no pressure. I don't blame her and thankfully, the misunderstanding was well taken care of, and it didn't spread to affect him. It was just a rumor from his ex-girlfriend."

He smiled. "I know right. On the way home, I couldn't stop worrying about both of you and feeling guilty of my involvement, especially since the press was around. Your husband must be very influential for nothing about it even going out. He treats you well, right?"

I nodded as an affirmation to his question. "Yes, he treats me well." It wasn't particularly a lie, since he wasn't treating me awfully either. I still hadn't been able to get my mind off what I had seen in his room and since he had returned, he had been so busy, which meant I'd also been busy as his secretary. Going to meetings, scheduling and rescheduling appointments, taking notes, making reports, just my secretarial duties, which meant we'd barely shared ten conversations that didn't have to do with the company.

The sound of Lucas' fists on the table brought me back to the conversation. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

He stared at my face. "You were gone for a while. A penny for your thoughts?"

I shook my head and smiled. "Not really. Just got a little distracted with work." I checked my watch. "That being said, my lunch hour will soon be over, so I have to hurry."

He nodded and continued eating. "Yeah, me too. But even if you're late, your husband should be able to give you a little leeway, right?" He said with a teasing smile.

I shook my head, trying not to smile, so I wouldn't encourage him. Lucas was one of the worst partner to have in a teasing game. "I'm still his secretary regardless, and I have great pride in my job."

Lucas hid his smile in his food, and I rolled my eyes. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything in my disposal I could use to tease him to get back at him. It had been like that since we were in college, too. After I had started tutoring him, even though we had been in different colleges, we had started hanging out like that, much to my dislike, and since our likes and dislikes had been similar, he had kept at me until I couldn't ignore him again, and so we had become friends.

He finished eating but still remained seated. I lifted my eyebrows. "Won't you be late? Your job is farther than mine."

He shrugged. "I took a half day since I wasn't sure I would be able to see you today and thought I would have to camp in your company before you answered me."

I rolled my eyes. "All that could have been solved if you had sent a message or called."

He shrugged again, looking sheepish. "You know me. Always taking the harder route."

I laughed. "That's not a lie. But since you've apologized, and I've accepted your apology, what will you spend the rest of your day on? Didn't it end up being a waste now?"

He stretched and stood up. "Oh, my friend. What do you know? I'm going to see my girlfriend now. What do you mean, a waste?"

I wiped my hands with the napkin, having finished mine as well. "You're right. In that case, I'm going back to work, so do well to have fun with Lillian. And send my regards to her."

We walked out of the bakery together, and I ignored the woman's suggestive wink. We stopped at the gate, said our goodbyes, and I returned to the company with a lighter heart. I hadn't really stopped to think how bothered I'd been because of the way he had behaved. I knew it had been out of protection and how much he cared for me since it was the first time I was in a relationship since we'd met, and he wanted the best for me, but Jonathan had almost succeeded in putting false thoughts in my head about Lucas. Thankfully, I was pretty good at filtering what I wanted to hear and what I wasn't interested in, and Jonathan's opinions fell in the latter category.

JULIA'S POV

I showed the picture I'd taken solely by chance to Jonathan, basking in my success. Now there was no way he was going to blatantly ignore what was staring him in the eye. I was going to make sure he got rid of the skunk before I started taking action. It was his fault for throwing me away in the first place.