I was awakened by a knock on the door. I opened my eyes abruptly and realized that I had fallen asleep. I took two seconds to recover and I looked around. I saw a rectangle-shaped thing penetrated by sunlight on the curtains. I climbed off the bed and walked over cautiously. I moved the chair and opened a crack of the door. Outside the door, there was a smiling middle-aged woman. I opened the door completely and beckoned her in.
"Good morning, Miss Diaz. I'm the butler here. You can call me Maria." The woman came in with her hands full of bags. "These are for you." She put down the bags in her hands, then turned and walked out the door to bring in some more. "These are for you too." She came in and out five to six times, and the bags were all piled up in front of me.
I saw that some of the bags were filled with clothes, while some were filled with shoes and jewelry. I didn't know what was going on, but I just stood there and watched as Maria busied herself. She was quick, and it took her ten minutes to hang up all the clothes, shoes, and jewelry in the bags.
"I'm done. Miss Diaz, do you like them?"
I went to the walk-in closet and stroked one gorgeous piece of clothing after another while wondering what Ravi wanted to do.
"Why are they all gowns and high heels?" I asked Maria.
"I don't know. Ravi picked these himself." Maria shrugged. "Call me when you're done changing. I'll wait for you at the door."
I picked out an unadorned black negligee and put it on. Shit, the backless design of the back of this dress was too revealing and it extended all the way to the waist. I put on the white shirt that Ravi gave me yesterday and walked out the door barefoot. Maria led me downstairs to the dining room.
"Brunch is ready, Miss Diaz."
"Just call me Cecilia."
"Okay, Cecilia. Enjoy your brunch."
As I ate, I looked around. The sunlight was good today and it shone on the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The white sofa was arranged in a large U-shaped circle, and beside the sofa, there was a white piano. I put down my knife and fork, walked to the piano, and sat down to stroke the expensive piano.
I opened the lid and moved my fingers. I had just pressed two keys when I was interrupted by Maria's voice.
"Cecilia, you can't touch this piano," Maria exclaimed. She raced from the kitchen to the living room. "No one can touch this piano without Ravi's permission."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know." I covered the piano lid and turned to leave.
I glanced up to see Ravi standing at the top of the staircase and watching me with no emotion in his eyes. I didn't know how to react, so I just stood there awkwardly. He descended the stairs and headed in my direction.
If I did something wrong, I would have to be punished, even if it was unintentional. I was born in a Mafia family, so I knew this very well. He was getting closer to me and I took two steps back in fear.
"Cecilia?" His low voice terrified me.
"Yes."
"Why are you wearing this?"
"Huh?" I hadn't expected Ravi to ask such a question. "Those clothes are too fancy," I blurted out, then regretted it as soon as I finished. I wondered if my answer would infuriate him.
"No woman is able to refuse jewelry and fancy clothes." Ravi stared at me.
"I think a pair of jeans and a T-shirt suits me better." I looked at Ravi. His eyes were still emotionless.
He turned around and walked to the sofa to sit. He crossed his legs and placed his hands on the back of the sofa.
"From today onwards, you will be my woman. You must reply immediately when I send you a message. You must answer immediately when I call you. In short, you must appear in front of me whenever I call you. Otherwise, you know the consequences." Ravi threw a phone and a credit card on the coffee table.
"I understand."
"You can make a demand, but only one." Ravi raised his eyebrows and looked at me.
I just wished that I could reduce the time and opportunities to see him. How could I get him to agree? "I want to keep attending school." I tried to control my expression so he wouldn't see how panicked I was.
Ravi looked at me, but said nothing. I couldn't tell if he was angry or shocked. I didn't know what would happen next.
"Okay."
"Really?" I was so delighted that I almost laughed. "Aren't you afraid I'll run away?"
"If you want to die in the hands of your family or in-laws, feel free to try." With that, he got up and left. Just as he reached the staircase, he stopped and said with his back to me, "From now on, your name will be Irina."