“She’s My Wife on Paper, Nothing More” — The Crime Lord Laughed… Not Knowing She Heard Every Word
Chapter 1
“She’s my wife on paper, nothing more.”
The words reached Clara Whitmore through the half-open door before she could knock.
She stopped.
Rain tapped against the tall windows of Blackwood Manor, and the candle in her hand trembled slightly.
Inside, men were laughing.
Then came the unmistakable voice of her husband.
Lucian Blackwood.
The most feared man in three counties.
A man whose name merchants whispered at taverns and whose enemies sometimes disappeared before reaching the courthouse.
Clara had been married to him for eleven months.
Eleven months of sleeping in separate rooms.
Eleven months of polite breakfasts.
Eleven months of hearing servants call her “Mrs. Blackwood” while her husband barely looked at her.
She had told herself there was a reason.
The marriage had been arranged to settle a debt between their families.
Lucian needed her family’s shipping rights.
Her father needed protection from men who wanted his land.
The marriage had saved them both.
At least, that was what Clara had believed.
Now she heard Lucian laughing.
“She knows what this marriage is,” he said.
Another man chuckled.
“And does she?”
“She has no choice.”
Clara’s fingers tightened around the candle.
She should have walked away.
Instead, she remained.
A third voice spoke.
“Then why keep her?”
Lucian answered without hesitation.
“Because her father’s name opens doors mine cannot.”
More laughter.
Clara’s eyes burned.
She had spent months trying to understand a husband who barely spoke to her.
She had defended him when neighbors called him a criminal.
She had even begun to believe there might be something decent beneath the ruthless reputation.
Now she knew.
At least, she thought she did.
She turned quietly.
But before she could leave, Lucian spoke again.
“Besides, Clara is useful.”
The candle flame shook.
Something inside her went still.
She walked back to her room without making a sound.
She removed her wedding ring.
Placed it on the table.
Then she began packing.
She would leave before dawn.
What Clara did not know was that the conversation inside Lucian’s study had not been what it appeared.
And the man laughing beside Lucian was not his friend.
He was the reason Lucian had spent the entire year keeping Clara at a distance.
Because Lucian knew something Clara did not.
Someone was planning to kill her.
And the only way he had found to keep her alive was to make her believe he didn’t care.
