Chapter 133: A marriage of usefulness

Josie got home still carrying the disturbance from dinner.

She frowned as she stepped into the penthouse, irritated less by the memory of the video itself than by the way her body had answered it.

"What the hell is wrong with my body?" She asked the question in her mind for the umpteenth time.

Then she told herself she knew why she was reacting like that. She was convinced it was due to the months of neglect, Months of holding herself together. That had to be all it was.

The housekeeper met her in the living room, welcomed her and collected her bag.

"Is my husband home?" Josie asked.

"Yes, ma’am. He’s in his study."

"Alright."

"Will you be having dinner, ma’am?"

"No." Josie paused then asked; "Has he eaten?"

"He came in early and already ate."

Josie nodded at that and walked down the hall. The housekeeper followed her.

~~~~~~~~~~

In her bedroom, Josie freshened up and changed with a deliberate care. She had a plan in mind. She had tried to take her mind off the fire burning in between her legs. She couldn’t leave the feeling in between her legs unattended to so she decided to take care of it.

She chose a sexy underwear, but nothing loud then pulled a jacket over it to keep the intention contained. If she was going to confront the emptiness in her marriage, she would not do it looking desperate. She would do it looking like a woman who still had dignity left because she actually did.

She walked to Richard’s study and entered without knocking.

Richard Hale was thirty-five and he looked every bit of his age in an attractive manner. He was currently in his chair with a glass of wine and the day’s papers open in front of him. When he looked up and saw her, he flashed a sweet smile, warm enough to look practiced.

"How was your day, wifey?" he asked, the affection wrapped around the question was exaggerated.

Josie did not smile back.

She approached his table with a tight expression that was in between calm and angry.

"We haven’t had sex since our wedding night." she stated sharply, so straight to the point that it landed awkwardly.

Richard’s brows lifted slightly, more amused than startled. And now the smile he had on earlier had dropped, giving way to a smirk.

"It has been more than five months," Josie continued. "Almost six months. Six months, Richard."

He took a slow sip of wine, let a moment passed in silence as if waiting for her to say more then he replied; "Yeah. So?"

Josie’s eyes sharpened. "So? What sort of couple goes six months after their wedding without sex?"

Richard leaned back in the chair then shrugged nonchalantly; "Our sort of couple, obviously."

She exhaled hard, frustration breaking through her composure. "Then let’s go to the bedroom. Right now."

Richard tilted his head. "Is that a command?"

Josie stared at him, thrown by the turn. "What?"

He stood up, shook his head, and set the wine down. "You’re not going to stand there and command me."

"This is not a command," Josie said, exasperation roughening her voice. "This is what is right between a husband and wife."

Richard’s nostrils scrunched up in disgust as if the words were smelling.

"That’s your problem. You’re always quick to point out what is right and what is wrong." he spat out.

Josie frowned, thrown further off balance. "So this is how we are going to keep living?"

Richard’s voice softened, and somehow that made it worse. "Until you’re ready to do what I want, you can take this as your punishment." He looked at her directly as he delivered the next blow; "You’re being punished. And you’ll remain like this until you do what I asked."

Josie’s mouth opened in shock.

For a second she could only stare at him. Then she pulled her composure back into place, though anger now sat under it. "So this is what all of this has been about?"

"Yes." Richard’s mouth curved in mild mockery. "And from the look of things, the punishment hasn’t even been serious enough. You’re only now realizing what the problem is after six months."

Josie’s jaw tightened. She scoffed in disbelief then; "I thought you were busy. Or that maybe there was a health issue. I was trying to be understanding. I was trying to be patient... That was why I waited in silence." she swallowed hard after the words escaped her throat.

Richard let out a laugh that sounded openly insulting.

"No. You were just a proud woman who thought that because your husband needed your usefulness, you could refuse him and still be treated softly." he snapped at her.

"That was not needing my usefulness." Josie shot back. Richard glared at her.

"That was wanting to turn me into an instrument." Her voice hardened. "What you want to do with my hospital is illegal. That hospital is like my first child. It was my first company before I got the others in place. Before everything else. I will not allow a drug trial that can cause permanent damage to vulnerable patients just because you want to satisfy your biggest political sponsor."

Richard shrugged, already bored of the argument’s moral shape.

"Fine. Then keep the punishment." he said.

Josie held still for a moment, the truth settling into a colder form. "So that was why you married me."

Richard’s answer came sharp without any hesitation. "I married you for your usefulness. Just as your father arranged the marriage for my usefulness to your family."

Josie’s jaw dropped. She had hoped her guess wouldn’t be correct but getting faceslapped by it as the truth was so heartbreaking. She shook her head as she said quietly; "I agreed to marry you because I loved you."

Richard shook his head at once. "No. We married each other because both sides believed the arrangement was useful." He scoffed then added in a mocking tone;

"For a marriage your father arranged, hearing you talk about love is so rich..."

"So laughable!"

The words hit Josie harder than a raised voice would have.

Josie could not breathe properly for a second. Her lips trembled before she forced them still. She turned without another word, walked out of the study, crossed the living room, grabbed one of the car keys from the holder, and left the penthouse.

She had no destination in mind. She just needed to leave.