Kim did not need any more reasons to despise his marriage to Ariel even more. The girl did not have any atom of bravery in her. She talked underneath her breath, kept quiet when he expected her to talk back, and clearly could not face a crowd, she was scared to death of them. Her hands were so shaky and she looked like she was about to pee on herself when the DJ called them to dance.
Their first dance as a couple was something else though, if she had been a little more brazen, less wallflower he might have been attracted to her, at least that was what he told himself.
"It's over now," he whispered to her when the music stopped, she was still swaying a little, it was a bit comical. He chuckled a bit at her. Kim saw a bit of fire in her eyes at his laugh. He wanted to see more of that.
The rest of the wedding reception went smoothly, his father was happy that it was all over. It was quite obvious by the way he looked like a heavy load was lifted off his shoulders.
"Happy married life, big brother," his younger sister, Jessica said hugging him. Most of the guests had left, they mostly came to greet them before leaving, both of Ariel's parents already left.
It was during this process that Kim noticed none of Ariel's friends came for the wedding. Knowing her, he truly wondered if she had any friends at all.
His own friends, Patrick whom he had known from when they were children, and Ethan who he had met in business school had graced the occasion, even though it was not a real wedding.
"Thank you, Jessica," he replied her.
"See you around sister in-law," Jessica said, this time her comment was directed to Ariel, his wife. Kim shivered at the thought. He did not like the thought of having a wife at all, but then again, he did not have much of a choice.
"Enjoy your wedding night," Jessica said, suggestively wiggling her brows. Kim just glared at her. He did not want to think about the wedding night. He did not want his thoughts to wander to taking off that white gown from her body slowly, and getting blessed with the view of what laid underneath.
Ariel was cold on ground, she would most probably be cold in bed too. Kim did not imagine that she would be responsive at all.
"You can go now, Jessica," Kim replied his sister, hoping that she would go away. His wishes were answered and she finally left.
Kim looked at his wife, he had been expecting her to complain and so that they would leave and go home that she was tired, but she was mute for the entire time. Kim almost wanted to stay longer just so that he would see her breaking point, her limit.
"Shall we?" He asked, she stood and looked at him, with indifference before walking out of the hall, he followed her closely behind.
"You know, you don't talk very much. Why?" Kim asked when they were inside the car and she hadn't said a word.
Ariel smiled shyly at him, in a way that irritated the hell out of him.
"I don't like talking very much, that's why," she said after a while. Kim actually thought she would not reply.
"Well, that's fine. We won't be talking much anyway," Kim said, even if he hoped she would talk more.
"We just need to lay down some ground rules about this marriage."
Ariel looked at Kim, and then went back to studying her nails. There was a way she did it that made it seem her nails were more interesting than he was. He hated it.
"Can't it wait till we get home?" Ariel asked. Kim felt stupid for bringing up the topic in the first place. He should have known that she would be tired even if she didn't say anything. They had both been on their feet since that morning.
Home. Kim realized that his new wife called a house that she had only stepped in once, the time she came in to move her things, her home. It occurred to Kim then that they would share a home, that they would have to live together, for five whole years. The more he thought about it, the idea sounded more and more strange.
"We are here, Sir," the driver said. They were parked in front of the simple house his father had previously bought as a wedding gift to them. It was new beginnings for the both of them. Kim previously lived in the penthouse of one of his hotels right in the middle of town, he felt all the hustle, bustle and the life of New York.
This new house, was out of town, the area was much more serene and his father's excuse was that it would be perfect to raise children in. Kim did not negotiate on children, he had no plans of having any children with Ariel. It was out of question.
As Kim came out the car, he wondered if he would live in this house at all. It was too far from any activity, but he could agree that the arena was serene and it appealed to him.
Ariel felt into step beside him as they both walked into the house. Once again, her lack of words irritated him. He wanted to shake her and make her say something, anything at all. That wouldn't be very nice though.
Immediately they got into the house, she settled on one of the chairs, and took of her shoes, letting out a small sweet sound of relief.
Kim would have never guessed that her legs were aching before then, she didn't complain or say anything at all. She rubbed her small legs with her palms, messaging them a bit.
Kim cleared his throat loudly, and she looked at him with her big doe eyes.
"We are married now, and there is almost nothing that we can do about that fact, it is what it is. We need to get some ground rules out though," Kim said in an authoritative voice. If he was survive the five years, they just had to stick to the rules.
He waited for Ariel to say something, but she didn't.
"Well, rule number one is simple. We both know the reason why we are married, and we know the time frame, so no emotional attachments," he said.
"We are just married on paper, nothing more. Please don't get any ideas of love and romance in your head." Kim knew that he was sounding cold but he needed to get his words across.
"The second rule is easy. It's just like we are not married, you live your own life, and I live mine. I won't interfere in your life, your past relationships whatever. In return, you will keep your nose out of mine," Kim said. He figured that since he wasn't attracted to her kind of person, he should be free to have the type of women that he liked.
"The only exception to this rule is that you cannot do anything to spoil the family name. All eyes are on you at this point. So be very careful," Kim said. He looked at Ariel again, but didn't see any expression on her face.
"I think that if we follow these rules, our marriage will be smooth and hitch free," he said again, and she still kept quiet. Her silence was building up annoyance in him, and the stress of the past few days were telling on him.
"Will you bloody say something?" Kin shouted, and she flinched a bit, only to blink her eyes and retain her composure.
"Oh okay, sure," she replied in an uninterested manner.
Kim was about to walk out of the living room, when he heard a platter of footsteps. He was not sure he could stay with Ariel for one more minute.
"Good evening, Sir, Madam," a middle aged Asian woman said, bowing a bit to them.
Kim raised an eyebrow at her. He was sure that he had never seen her before.
"My name is Mrs. Choi, I am the new housekeeper, " she said, and Kim nodded, walking past her, he was sure that Ariel could deal with that. He was just tired.
He walked into his new room and took of his suit. Long hours socializing was not new to him, but this time, it was even more stressful. Kim thought about his new wife, Ariel as he took off his clothes and entered into the bathroom to have a shower. She was different that was for sure, but he didn't like her type of different.
She was too quiet, too demure, he liked his women able to talk back, and confident. It was weird that fate had brought him together with someone that was the direct opposite of what he wanted and needed.
He was drying his body after coming out of the bathroom when he heard a knock on the door. Kim figured it was the housekeeper wanting to ask whether he needed anything.