The Bosses Pretend Bride

The next morning, Rory woke to the sounds of one of the maids bringing in a tray of food for her. She couldn't help thinking. 'I could get used to this.' Rory then recalled the conversation between her and Mr. Carrow yesterday evening.

'Oh my goodness, did I really agree to pretend to be his fiancé for his family?' Her mind screamed in disbelief. Was it a dream? Had she taken too much medicine, and it was a hallucination?

The maid left, and Rory threw back the covers before carefully stepping down onto the floor. She had not left the bed in a few days, so she knew her legs were going to most likely be weak at first. She didn't want to overtax herself. Rory had just begun to stand up and take a few steps when she suddenly felt her knees buckle. She didn't even have time to let out a cry before she hit the wooden floor.

A sharp pain entered her side at the impact. She lay there dazed and hurting when suddenly the bedroom door flew open and loud footsteps were rushing towards her.

"What on earth are you doing?" I heard the voice of Jason Carrow, and he didn't sound pleased. Rory was not sure if he was angry at her for trying to get out of bed or angry that she hadn't waited for someone to try and help her.

"I am sorry. I just wanted to stretch my legs, and I didn't realize I was going to be this weak." She said it by way of apology as he lifted her up in his strong arms and set her back on the bed.

After he released her, Jason took a step back, trying to be respectful of her space. He sat down across from her in his usual seat. "You have to be more careful. Now that we are going to be engaged for the time being, you have to take care of yourself and let the staff help where they can." Jason told her sternly but calmly.

His words confirmed to her that the conversation did, in fact, take place last night.

Rory felt herself blush as she was chastised, much as a child would be. "I am sorry." She murmured. "I thought I could handle it on my own. I have been for so long that it didn't occur to me to ask for help."

The look on Mr. Carrow's face softened at her admission. "I understand, but you are not alone anymore, and there are people here to help you." His words seemed to lift some of the weight off her shoulders that she had been carrying for so long on her own.

"Thank you." She said softly. Rory watched him smile slightly. It wasn't much, but it seemed to soften the edges of his stern face a little, and it made him even more handsome if that was possible.

"Would you like to try standing up again, but this time with support?" He asked kindly.

Rory nodded. She really did want to get out of this bed and possibly go use the restroom and maybe even wash up some.

"Yes please."

He nodded, then stood up and reached out a hand towards her in an offer of assistance. Rory was a bit surprised. She had thought he would call for a staff member and not offer to help himself.

She reached out her hand in acceptance of the help. The moment their fingers touched, she felt a tingle race up her hand. It made her breath catch in her throat. Rory looked up at him to see if he had noticed the same feeling. His gaze was indistinguishable. She could not read his emotions at all.

She chose not to say anything, so things wouldn't be awkward between them. She shook off the feeling and instead focused on him helping her up. Once his fingers curled around her own and began to lift her to her feet, Rory felt a little more sure of herself than before.

"Alright, you are standing now. Let's see how many steps you can take. Remember, if you begin to feel tired or like you are going to fall, tell me, so I may catch you."

She nodded after his instructions. They began to take careful steps forward towards the bathroom. After about ten slow, moving steps, Rory felt her knees start to shake, and she began to sweat from the exertion.

"I don't think I can go any further." She panted softly.

Mr. Carrow must have noticed because he was suddenly lifting her in his arms once more and carrying her the rest of the way. Rory wanted to protest, but she was honestly too tired, so she let him. He carried her into the bathroom, then set her down gently on the toilet before leaving her to take care of her needs. He told her when she was done calling out for him.

As she did what she needed to, Rory was unaware that her benefactor was retrieving a new nightgown for her to change into. When she finished, she called out to him, and he returned, picking her up once more and carrying her bridal style back to bed once more.

After setting her down, he let her get comfortable before handing the next gown to her. Rory felt her heart skip a beat as she pictured him helping her remove the dirty one. Instead of doing what her imagination supplied, he instead turned the other direction, facing away from her, until she changed properly.

Rory had to admit that being in clean clothes did make her feel slightly better. She blushed lightly as she removed the nightgown she currently wore and slipped on the other. Even though she knew he couldn't see her, it felt strange to be undressing and redressing in front of a man she barely knew.

She supposed she would have to get used to it, seeing they were going to pretend to be engaged for an extended period of time.

Rory was so lost in her own musings that she jumped when he suddenly spoke up.

"I wanted to let you know that I am going to be getting in contact with Maronies tomorrow and taking care of the department so you can relax and recover without the added stress.

Rory felt such relief that, for a moment, she thought she might start crying. She fought back her tears, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. Instead, she thanked him profusely again.

He just held up his hand to stop her barrage of thanks. "I honestly feel like I am getting the better end of the deal." Mr. Carrow smirked slightly at her.

"If we are going to make this believable, then perhaps you should call me Jason to start with. Don't you think, Rory?"

She could only nod because her tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of her mouth with the way her name rolled off his tongue.

'Heavens, has my name always sounded that good coming from anyone else?' She thought to herself. Or was it just when he said it? 'This might be harder than I thought.' She couldn't help groaning internally.

Sorry, it took me so long to update. I was planning my birthday vacation and a surprise party for someone.