“It’s the wrong colour.”

Your best friend smothered a laugh when you looked in her direction and away from the bakery samples. “Why, Y/N, anyone would think you actually want this wedding after all.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” you retorted, letting out a heavy sigh. “You and I both know I don’t. But if this is the only wedding I have, then I don’t wish for snot green coloured macaroons to be served at it. Jaebum and I agreed that green would be the accent colour, but definitely not this shade.”

“You mean to tell me that you’re more committed to a life as Mrs Im than you were a month ago?”

You gritted your teeth, close to grinding down a molar. “Tessa. Come on. This is me you’re talking to.”

“I know, and the woman I have known for half my life wouldn’t sell out for a marriage of convenience just to improve her career.”

“You wound me,” you answered sardonically, tasting the macaroon all the same. It wasn’t as off-putting as its colour was. Thankfully.

“Is his that—”

“Teresa,” you warned, looking across the sampling gathering to Jaebum’s mother. As if she knew you were talking about her son, Jaebum’s mother glanced in your direction, smooth indifference greeting you.

You could tell the last thing she wanted to be doing on a Saturday afternoon was tasting cakes and baked delicacies for the upcoming wedding. One that she wasn’t thrilled about in the slightest.

You and her both.

“I’m not going to discuss the details of my intimacy with my future husband so liberally,” you told Tessa, her second stifled laugh making you shoot her with a glare.

She already knew too much as it was. Everyone else sitting in this room believed you were smitten with Jaebum and had been secretly dating for two years. It was easy enough to talk about the timeframe – that was how long it had been since you had chosen to be exercise buddies. Stretching the truth wasn’t too hard either whenever you were with Jaebum. He looked at you as if he wished to devour you, and the feeling was mutual. Everyone who had come across you since the ruse seemed convinced you were totally in love with the way you were always looking at each other.

Physically, there was no way to deny that. You most definitely were in love with his body.

Yet there had been no way to fool Tessa, especially since she knew that you had been fooling around with Jaebum all this time. She had also been the first person you had spoken to after the meeting with Bumsoo, and you had been far too stunned that you had actually signed the contract you threw down on her coffee table with a shrill to hide any truths. She was your best friend. Tessa had been there for all your highs and lows, and now she was not only your maid of honour, but she was also testing the waters. With everyone. You wondered how much of a headache you would have after sitting here for another hour pretending you were in love with a viper’s son.

“Where is your son today, by the way, Mrs Im?” Tessa enquired when there was a lull in the strained conversation between your mother and Jaebum’s. “Does he not like things like this?”

“He’s much too busy for little excursions, don’t you think?”

You sure as hell were busier than Jaebum was. You had stacks of case files that you’d rather hold within your hands right now than fine pastries. When you first met Jaebum’s mother, you had been honest with how important your career was to you. Perhaps that’s when her dislike for you rose. Now, you knew better than to talk about those things with her, a self-proclaimed woman of the house. She, no doubt, had a lot to teach you about the running of an Im household.

Frankly, you had zero interest in learning. It was hard enough to come to terms with losing your beloved apartment to move into Jaebum’s penthouse once you were officially his wife. So much so that you were planning to merely rent it out for the following year.

You needed to ensure you had a backup plan for when this was all over.

“Busy?” your mother echoed, glancing sympathetically at you. You’d been receiving such glances since your first family get together a month ago. She knew that you were much too independent to live under the rule of a man.

“Actually, I’d rather be here,” a new voice announced, the sensual tone sending a shiver down your spine. You didn’t get a chance to look up before you were assaulted by a woodsy floral scent invading your senses, a kiss dropped upon your crown as a warm hand slid skilfully down your back. “Hello, beautiful. What did I miss?”

God, he was too good at this. Every inch of Jaebum was suave. He commanded the attention of everyone when he entered the room, not that many had a chance to look away voluntarily. It was the reason you had found yourself underneath his hard body out his name in the first place.

He was magnetic.

“You’re here?” his mother asked in surprise, her gaze flitting between you and her son as he took the empty chair beside you.

Jaebum nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be? This is my wedding I need to plan for too.” He picked up a macaroon and eyed it with distaste. “This isn’t the right colour.”

“I just said that before,” you admitted with a genuine smile, ignoring the snort that left Tessa. “But it tastes really good. Try it.”

Jaebum’s mouth hovered over your ear. “I bet not as good as you did for breakfast.”

You shot him a sharp look, the smug man shovelling the baked good into his mouth with a moan and smile that was bordering on bedroom worthy. He shot you a wink before reaching for a slice of chocolate cake next.

Perhaps being married to Im Jaebum wouldn’t be as incorrigible as you initially thought it’d be.