Matrimonially Yours: A Fake Marriage Romance (Astor Family Series Book 3) Read online

  Matrimonially Yours

  Hayley Faiman

  Hayley Faiman Books, LLC

  Contents

  Also by Hayley Faiman

  Stay Connected

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Matrimonially Yours

  Copyright © 2021 by Hayley Faiman

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Designer: Pink Ink Designs. Cassy Roop. http://www.pinkinkdesigns.com

  Editor: My Brother’s Editor. Ellie McLove. http://www.mybrotherseditor.net

  Proofreading: My Brothers Editor. Rosa Sharon. http://www.mybrotherseditor.net

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Visit my website at: http://hayleyfaiman.com

  Created with Vellum

  Also by Hayley Faiman

  Men of Baseball Series—

  Pitching for Amalie

  Catching Maggie

  Forced Play for Libby

  Sweet Spot for Victoria

  Russian Bratva Series —

  Owned by the Badman

  Seducing the Badman

  Dancing for the Badman

  Living for the Badman

  Tempting the Badman

  Protected by the Badman

  Forever my Badman

  Betrothed to the Badman

  Chosen by the Badman

  Bought by the Badman

  Collared by the Badman

  Notorious Devils MC —

  Rough & Rowdy

  Rough & Raw

  Rough & Rugged

  Rough & Ruthless

  Rough & Ready

  Rough & Rich

  Rough & Real

  Cash Bar Series —

  Laced with Fear

  Chased with Strength

  Flamed with Courage

  Blended with Pain

  Twisted with Chaos

  Mixed with trouble

  SAVAGE BEAST MC —

  UnScrew Me

  UnBreak Me

  UnChain Me

  UnLeash Me

  UnTouch Me

  UnHinge Me

  UnWreck Me

  UnCage Me

  Unfit Hero Series —

  CONVICT

  HERO

  FRAUD

  KILLER

  COWBOY

  Zanetti Famiglia Series —

  Becoming the Boss

  Becoming his Mistress

  Becoming his Possession

  Becoming the Street Boss

  Becoming the Hitman

  Becoming his Wife

  Becoming her Salvation

  Prophecy Sisters Series —

  Bride of the Traitor

  Bride of the Sea

  Bride of the Frontier

  Bride of the Emperor

  Astor Family Series —

  Hypocritically Yours

  Egotistically Yours

  Matrimonially Yours

  Occasionally Yours

  Esquire Black Duet Series –

  DISCOVERY

  APPEAL

  Forbidden Love Series —

  Personal Foul

  Kinetic Energy

  Standalone Titles

  Royally Relinquished: A Modern Day Fairy Tale

  Stay Connected

  Website: http://hayleyfaiman.com

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  A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.

  Jane Austen

  Prologue

  LUCINDA

  They say we’re all destined for something… right? I mean, what’s the point of living if you’re not destined for something. Maybe it’s being a successful businessman, maybe it’s being an amazing humanitarian. Maybe it’s having children and being a wonderful mother.

  But what happens when it seems like all you’ve been destined for is a body for men to use and abuse?

  Because that’s what it feels like to be me.

  Lucinda Astor.

  I don’t believe that I was born into the wrong family, maybe just to the wrong mother. Or perhaps it’s even worse than that. What if I’m so much like her that what’s happened to me is just my karma coming to bite me in the ass?

  I shiver at the thought.

  The last person I ever want to be like is my mother.

  Brian, my boss, grips my throat tight, his fingers squeezing. Lifting my hands, I scratch at his wrists as I wriggle and try to get away from him, but it doesn’t work. His grip is too tight. He squeezes and squeezes.

  Then he shifts his arm when he isn’t getting it done the way he wants and presses his forearm against my throat. It makes it worse. I don’t know how or why, but it does.

  My vision blurs and I know that I cannot go down like this. I refuse.

  “You’re going to make me a lot of money,” he rasps.

  His breath is hot against my face. I don’t understand what he’s saying or why. I open my mouth to scream, to beg for help, but nothing comes out.

  Growing up, I was always a spoiled brat and a mean girl. Being the only girl of two brothers and a doting father, I’ve never had to lift a finger for anything. I’ve been given every luxury in life.

  My mother wasn’t always the nicest, not that I minded, because my dad and brothers made up for it all. But since my parents’ divorce
, she’s been downright cruel in ways that I could never imagine.

  But with this man’s forearm against my throat. I’m done. I am beyond done. I’m not going to be the shrinking violet that this asshole can abuse.

  Fuck.

  That.

  I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s never acted like this before, but I’m not going to just stand here and let him kill me.

  When he doesn’t let up, no matter how much I claw at him, I do the next desperate thing that I can think of. Lifting my knee, I slam it into his balls. Something I should have done at the beginning of this whole thing.

  He makes an oomph noise and stumbles backward, releasing me. Gasping for breath, I try to gather my wits about me so that I can run. I wait too long.

  “You cunt,” he shouts.

  Lifting my head, I look at him and watch as his fist comes flying forward. I wish that I had that flight instinct inside of me, but I don’t. Instead, I stand there frozen in fear as his fist slams into the side of my head.

  Everything goes completely dark.

  If he does anything else to me, I don’t know and I’m grateful. I don’t think that I ever want to know either. I’m not sure how many minutes, hours, days, pass. As soon as my eyes open, I look around my apartment, dazed.

  I can’t stand up. My body is in too much pain to even try. I don’t know how or why I’m even still in my own apartment. The way that Brian was talking, I thought that he would have dragged me out of here over his shoulder.

  Crawling, I go in search of my phone that I dropped during the scuffle with him. When I reach it, I call the only person that I know will be right here, my dad. He’s the one man that I know will save me. My brothers would too, but I want my daddy. I need him.

  “Dad?”

  “Lucinda?” he asks, and I can almost hear the worry in just the one word he says. He says my name again, but this time he sounds almost angry. “Lucinda.”

  “Something’s happened,” I whimper, not sure exactly what has happened or how to describe it anyway.

  “Talk to me right now,” he demands. I can hear the worry in his voice and for whatever reason, that comforts me.

  “He’s hurt me, Daddy,” I whisper as tears start to fall down my cheeks. Then I decide that he couldn’t have meant to hurt me. It’s just not possible. “I didn’t think. I mean, he’s my boss. I never thought …”

  “Lucinda,” he snaps again.

  “He hit me,” I confess. “I told him no, and he hit me.” Closing my eyes, I realize just what’s happened. He was coming on to me and I told him no. I said no, and he attacked me for it. I’m not a shy virgin, but I didn’t want to do anything with him. “He slammed me against the wall and put his forearm against my neck. What do I do?” I ask.

  “Call Laurent, Lawrence, and the police,” he grinds out.

  “Where are you?”

  He’s quiet for a moment and I hear him let out an exhale. “I’m in Oklahoma. I’ll be home soon, but I’m going to be here at least until tomorrow evening.”

  A fresh wave of tears fills my eyes and falls down my cheeks. Oklahoma. That’s where his girlfriend is from. No doubt he’s doing something there for her. It’s selfish of me to ask him to come back, but I do it anyway, because that’s just who and what I am.

  Selfish.

  “I’ll call Laurent,” I whisper.

  “Call the police first, Lucy. I’ll come back to you as soon as I can.”

  “Okay. Hurry.”

  I call the police, then I call Laurent, then I close my eyes and wait. I can’t move. I can’t do anything. I stay there on the floor, crying like the big useless baby that I am.

  SAVAGE

  Staring at my reflection, I wonder how this has become my life. How am I fifty-five years old and single? No kids, no fucking real future ahead of me. I work and come home. I work some more, then come home again.

  I honestly am at the point where I have no desire to try and find someone to share my life with again. I’ll be that grumpy ass old man who scowls at everyone who walks by. Because what’s the goddamn point of it all?

  Turning on the water, I drop my head and splash water on my face a few times, then grab a towel and dry myself off before looking directly into the mirror at my reflection again. Nothing has changed and honest to fuck, I think I look older.

  Grunting, I stare at the gray hair that is no longer just at my temples. It’s now everywhere. I’ve got those fucking lines at the corner of my eyes too. Fuck this, I’m goddamn old. I look like my father, well almost.

  I don’t have the stomach my father did, but at the same time, I don’t have a wife and kids either. Not for the lack of trying. My wife and I tried for well over a decade. I don’t know if it’s what killed our relationship, though she would say it wasn’t that, but instead my lack of communication.

  Constantly she complained about communication skills and my lack of them. I didn’t change in the years we were married, become a different person or anything.

  I’ve never been one to share my feelings, my thoughts, or my desires. Life is about working hard, creating a good home, and having fun. That’s all I ever wanted to do.

  Whatever the case, I’m fifty-five, single, no kids, but my stomach is flat, so that’s one thing I got going for me. If that even means anything. I highly fucking doubt it does, considering I can’t remember the last time I even smiled. Not even the last time I got laid did I crack a fucking grin.

  My phone rings and I frown. I’m not even on call, but that’s the way it goes with these guys. They know I’m the one who is always available, so they call me. Reaching for my device, I slide my thumb across the screen.

  “Chenault,” I growl.

  “We got something here, you should come,” Ballard says.

  Fuck.

  I was planning on going down to the bar a block away and drinking my troubles away, maybe find a woman to drown my self-pity in for the night, then pass out. It’s been a long workweek and I’m fucking tired.

  “Drop me a pin. I’m on my way.”

  “Don’t you want to know what it’s about?” he asks.

  Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I let out a sigh. “Does it matter?” I ask. “I’m heading that way.”

  “It’s the youngest Astor, Lucinda Astor. Her father owns Astor Investment Bank.”

  I know who he is and now I realize why I’ve been called in. Rich elite families where something happens, they do not have the uniformed officers helping with the situation. They have the detectives.

  And this family is just that, rich. Beyond rich.

  So, they call in the lead detective of the assault unit at the Dallas police department—me. They want to make sure the best of the best is on the case and if I had to guess, they likely have a private detective on the payroll as well.

  “I’m on my way.”

  Ending the call, I grab a pair of jeans and a clean button-down shirt. It doesn’t take me long to dress. I slip my badge and gun through my belt and tug on my boots, then grab my keys and shove my wallet into my pocket.

  Running my fingers through my hair, I hurry out of the house. I don’t have a fancy apartment in the city. I have a condo. It’s got a gym and a pool, all the amenities that I thought I wanted when Anita left me.

  Now all I have is a goddamn homeowner’s association that I’m constantly having to throw fucking money at.

  Jogging over to the parking garage, I climb into my pickup truck and start the engine. It’s nothing fancy, although at one point it was. It’s an eleven-year-old Ford King Ranch, completely loaded. Now that I’m getting closer to retirement, I’m just happy it runs and it’s paid off. Got no plans to upgrade it at this point in my life.

  The text message comes through with the pinged address and I shift the truck into reverse before heading in the direction of Gables Park 17 luxury apartments. I don’t even pretend to know what it’s like to have that kind of cash. I couldn’t even afford to walk through the front door if it
wasn’t for work, let alone live there.

  It doesn’t take me long to get there. The traffic is light at this time of night. Once I’m in the visitor’s parking area, I head toward the grand entrance. It’s fucking insane. The lobby is like a five-star resort.

  “May I help you?” the woman behind the counter asks, turning her nose up at me.

  Inhaling a breath, I let it out on a sigh. “Lucinda Astor, I’m expected.”

  “Name,” she drones.

  “Detective Chenault.”

  Her eyes widen, then she picks up the phone and makes a call. With a nod of her head, she gives me directions and the apartment number. Walking toward the elevators, I close my eyes as soon as the doors slide closed.

  I don’t know what happened yet, and what blows about my job is that I am never called in when it’s something positive, when something good happens. It’s always fucking tragic. I have no doubt that this is going to be the exact same—tragic.