My Arranged Marriage Husband Was A Beast In Disguise Chapter 01

My Arranged Marriage Husband Was A Beast In Disguise Chapter 01

My dad married me off to what he called a nice guy. His logic was simple — I was too spoiled, so he found someone who’d put up with me.

After the wedding, I treated Arthur Vance like dirt. A country boy. Slow on the uptake. Not worth my time.

I bossed him around, snapped at him whenever I felt like it, and made it crystal clear he wasn’t getting anywhere near my bed. Then the comments started showing up.

[Girl, keep pushing your luck. You have NO idea what that nice-guy male lead is packing.]

[Go ahead. Bully him. The real female lead is about to swoop in and steal your man.]

[The second our MC grows a spine, this evil side character is going to pay for every last thing she did to him!]

I got the message. I stopped being a tyrant overnight.

That lasted until I caught him tailing me on a shopping trip. For the third time.

Arthur stood frozen behind a rack of coats, staring at the three good-looking guys carrying my bags. He looked like someone had just told him his dog had died.

“Please,” he blurted. “Y’all gotta stop flirtin’ with my wife!”

***

Late that night, I finished a killer ranked match and was ready to crash.

A knock at the door.

I opened it and found Arthur standing in the hallway with his hands knotted together, looking like he was about to confess to a crime.

The second he saw me, his pale skin flushed all the way to his ears. And God, the man was unfairly attractive — sharp jaw, cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass, the kind of face that had no business belonging to someone this awkward.

The hallway light hit him just right, and for half a second, I forgot how to breathe.

Then he opened his mouth. “Darlin’, I missed you…”

And just like that, the spell broke.

I pressed a hand over my heart, face blank. Good. Whatever my heart had been doing a second ago, it stopped.

“What do you want?” I said.

His whole expression crumbled. “I was back in Pine Ridge for a few days, and I… I missed you.”

My jaw tightened.

I couldn’t help myself. “Can you please just talk like a normal person?”

Arthur — six-three and built like a linebacker — bent down until we were eye to eye, all earnest confusion. “I can’t help it, darlin’. Been talkin’ like this my whole life. Can’t just flip a switch.”

“What, did your town not have schools?” I muttered. “Did no one there own a TV?”

He dropped his gaze. Just stood there, quiet, like a golden retriever after I’d smacked him with a rolled-up newspaper.

A pang of guilt hit me, but I reined it in.

“Okay. What did you actually come here for?”

His head snapped up. The tips of his ears went scarlet.

“Wifey, we’ve been married six months now, so… shouldn’t we… you know…”

“No.”

It came out louder than I meant it to. Arthur paled, and he stood there — embarrassed, exposed, completely lost.

I softened. “I’m not ready. Just… give me a little more time.”

I wasn’t sure he believed me.

He nodded anyway, mumbled goodnight, and turned to go. I watched his broad back disappear down the hallway.

Something in my chest tugged — a quiet impulse to call his name.

I didn’t.

Who would want to be stuck with this big, lovable idiot for the rest of her life?

I woke up parched sometime after two.

On my way downstairs for water, I passed the guest room — Arthur’s room. The door was cracked open, and I heard movement inside.

I frowned and stepped closer.

A muffled slap. Then his voice, low and strained.

“Useless. What are you getting all worked up for? She doesn’t even want you.”

I stood in the hallway, frozen solid, my brain struggling to catch up.