Cheating By The Rules | Harry Styles AU (ongoing)

chapter 10

Daydreaming about Harry wouldn't result in him showing up and rescuing me from my family. I had to accept that this was my life right now, and there was no way I could change how things were going.

While I was listening to Josie talk about her wedding and the dress she badly wanted, my father and Jace got back from the supermarket and began to prepare dinner. I tried to eavesdrop on my father and husband, but it was impossible because Josie's voice was intensely loud.

"Can you show me your ring again?" she asked me.

"Sure." and I moved my hand closer to her.

Her eyes had wandered to my ring several times during our talk. It was only a matter of time before she'd ask me about it. Josie held my hand and meticulously studied the ring.

"Can I touch it, too?"

"Of course you can." I told her.

Swiftly, I took it off and handed it to her. Her perplexed gaze showed me she was surprised to see how easily I got rid of it. I only reacted like that because it wasn't special to me anymore. It had become a reminder of the biggest mistake of my life.

Josie cautiously touched the ring before putting her hand next to it. To my surprise, she was comparing the differences in size and material.

"You're a very lucky girl, Ivy." Josie said. "I remember looking at it years ago and it's still as stunning as it was back then."

"It's just a ring." I shrugged seeing I wasn't impressed by it. "Only a symbol of my commitment to Jace."

"Well, I think it's beautiful." she addressed, smiling weakly.

Strangely, in the way she looked at my ring, I got the idea she compared hers to mine. I knew Jace had gone all out when he purchased our rings, but they weren't a representation of our love anymore – to me, at least. That's why I didn't want Josie to stare at it and make herself feel upset. To cheer her up, I knew I had to focus on how Charlie had put a ring on her finger.

"You never told me how Charlie proposed to you." I voiced.

The gloomy mood she had been in, began to disappear once she explained the night she said yes to Charlie's proposal in great detail.

Hearing her talk about it with happiness in her voice, took me back to the days I couldn't stop telling friends and family about it. It brought a humongous amount of joy to inform others and relive the feeling over and over again.

I just wish Charlie and Josie's marriage would turn out better than mine. Regardless of Josie's and my non-existent close friendship, she deserved her happily ever after.

Josie wasn't the only one who brought up my marriage. During every breakfast, lunch, or dinner that followed after our arrival, there was at least one family member who wondered how much I enjoyed being a wife and having a husband. It always resulted in me asking how their relationship blossomed and how they got engaged, which was my way of ensuring I didn't have to talk about Jace any longer.

Despite getting better at changing the topic during many conversations, I was unable to avoid Jace all the time. Each day ended with Jace and I returning to our room which was, thankfully, far away from the others. This meant I could retreat in silence without anyone wondering what we might be doing in our room, which wasn't enticing.

I bet they thought we were having the wildest of nights, which was obviously out of the question. I guess everyone assumed we were still in our honeymoon phase, seeing Jace could tell the most compelling stories after a drink or two. Sadly, he didn't lose his acting skills otherwise this getaway would have taken a dramatic turn (one I loved to see evolve).