"What the hell is going on?" Adrian sat up when his maids kept trooping in and out of his bedroom with unfamiliar feminine belongings. "And whose permission did you take before walking into my room?"
No one gave him a suitable response other than, "We are performing our duty, sir."
They carried on in silence, making him more confused.
"You may all leave," Aurora said, barging into the room. They obeyed, took a bow and left, then she locked the door.
"So, it's you?" his face went pale.
"Were you expecting your mistress tonight?" Aurora asked, referring to Zoey.
"How dare you?!"
"I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry."
"Christ, I've lost count on your apologies today. I'm sick of you already, blondie."
"Tolerate me. It's our first night, remember?"
"Whatever," he sighed.
"Are we in good terms now?"
"Never," he said harshly.
"What's with your one word replies?" she paused arranging her clothes to look at him.
"You talk a lot. Just shut up, okay?" he said in a flat tone. She bit her lower lip, then nodded.
"Why did you move your stuffs to my bedroom?"
"Our," she corrected before going mute again.
"To be frank, you're the most annoying person on Earth."
"I agree."
"Wow. You didn't argue this time?"
She rolled her eyes. "Jeez! You got a problem with everything. Are you a sadist?"
"Much like you now," he said with a blissful smile.
"H-how?"
"You're one-in-a-million, but don't get me wrong— I mean, a crazy interviewer who makes me wonder how I'm going to deal with you everyday."
"Are you planning to spend the rest of your life with me?" Aurora asked out of the blues.
"Death will do us apart one day, but I'm not dying first. I guess you know what that means."
"You are going to be the death of me."
"The second time you're saying this."
"Mhm?" she hummed.
"It's nothing."
"Do you usually sleep shirtless?" she asked, staring at his bare chest, intensely.
"Most times, then I wake up with a terrible cold. It's my worst bad habit, but I can't stop it. I grew up like that."
"Me too."
He spluttered the water in his mouth on her face. "You what?"
"What the heck, Adrian?!" she yelled, grabbing a face towel.
"I'm not apologizing. Did you say that to scare me?"
"Well, I didn't mean to. But your facial expression was satisfying," she waved her phone to his face. "Take a glance, I clicked a photo."
"Fuck! Delete it… please."
"Oh my fucking gawd! Mr Arrogant is begging," she chuckled, but he wasn't finding it funny.
"You know, I won't pull up a childish fight with you. Do as it pleases you, but just know there's a limit to everything. You dare not cross your boundaries, else," he warned in a stern voice.
"We're in a new phase. Don't bore me with your silly rules. I'm not interested."
"Actions speak louder than words. Well, ensure to turn off the lights when you're done unpacking."
"Okay, I'm almost done. I don't want to cause any more problem, so kindly adjust."
"You can get yourself somewhere to sleep and stop tormenting my life," he sighed.
She glanced around the room. "But there's only one bed here."
His response took aback her. "Take the couch. Besides, other rooms are accessible. You could join Anastatia in her room," he offered.
Damn it! It's our wedding night, she wanted to scream.
She cried out, "For God's sake, we're married–"
He interrupted. "Not behind closed doors. Goodnight," he said, throwing her a pillow.
She was a strong woman, so she held herself from breaking down.
Her supposed wedding night turned out to be her worst living mare.
What did she expect? They made an agreement before proceeding with their marriage. The reasons weren't based on love– no feelings reciprocated either. She agreed to a loveless marriage and this was the outcome.
She was stuck in a one-sided relationship.
For a lifetime, who knows?
Walking over to the side he laid, she drew his duvet over his body. His brows were relaxed, smiling in his sleep. She ran her fingers through his hair, admiring his cute, sleepy face.
She placed her head on his chest, listening to the soft rhythm of his heartbeats and drawing circles on his albs with her fingers.
"Don't be tempted," she whispered to herself, getting on her feet. A pair of dark smouldering blue eyes stared at her. Her brown eyes stared back at him uncool and wavering.
"I-I shouldn't have touched you. I'm so… sorry–"
He held her back as he looked at her with deepened interest. "Please, don't go."
"But why?"
"Just whisper things in my ears, keep on tracing my albs, play with my hair. I love the way you do it. At least, I can have a good night."
"If it makes you happy, I will do it. Not only tonight, but all nights."
He hugged her to his chest. "Thank you, blondie."
"It's fine. I'm glad you appreciated my work."
"Don't drool when you get to appreciate my beauty every night," he winked and she was flattered.
Lol, she needed to hear that.
…
It was midnight when Adrian awoken. He switched on the lamplight and got up to use the restroom. Just as he had instructed, he found Aurora sleeping on the couch, by the window side. She was curled up like a baby, shivering as the cold wild breeze stung her skin.
Guilt struck him hard. He treated her badly but she still sacrificed her sleep to put him to bed. She wasn't a bad person after all. His eyes were filled with pity for her and that was the last thing she wanted from anyone, especially him.
First, he thought about giving up his duvet for her, but on the other hand, he'd be stranded. He couldn't also bring her to his bed and sleep on the couch. It would be discomforting and she wasn't even complaining. He could imagine the body aches she was going to have by morning.
Adrian found himself demarcating his master bed with pillows, then he walked over to the couch. Aurora laid asleep, hugging her pillow. She looked worried sick and prettier as the dim moonlight shone on her.
"Sleeping beauty," he whispered before lifting her in his arms. She was half awake when he dropped her on the bed, so he patted her back to get her to sleep. He wasn't ready to answer her unending, ridiculous questions if she woke up at that hour.
He tiptoed to the other side and laid down, then tucked her in the duvet before he drew it over himself. He spent almost all his remaining sleeping hours watching over her before he finally slept off.