Days later...
The saying 'Time flies when you are having fun ' is wrong. Time flies when you want it to be as slow as a slug.
I won't lie by saying that I've been happy in this enormous prison of a villa even though Isabella has been keeping me company. The day I was supposed to get married to Don was closer than I expected and I wished time would have dragged on forever but you see, time has a mind of its own. It acts for the pleasure of man when it so desires.
In the blink of an eye, I found myself sitting in an armchair beside Don in a marriage registry. We were expected to bring two people each to witness me signing my own certificate of doom.
He gave Don the certificate a pen and some other papers.
He didn't even read the papers. He unhesitantly signed all the blank spaces in which the groom was supposed to sign then he passed the pen and papers to me.
I couldn't even concentrate on what each paper said. If I didn't sign them... well... Don had about four armed men standing right outside the door. He would just need to give an order and even Andrew would kill Dad on the spot.
With trembling hands, I held the pen, filled in every information I was supposed to give, signed all where I was supposed to sign, and that was it.
Though I had saved Dad's life, I as well as officially ruined my life.
I gave the papers back to the official who flipped them and dropped them back on the table.
"The witnesses should step forward" and all four of them did.
"Name?" "Nicholas Gambino" Dad answered, "Elizabeth Moore" Elizabeth followed, "Andrew Hastings" "Michael Smith" Andrew and Michael answered and all signed.
The official withdrew the papers and gave a smile. "Congratulations! You are now husband and wife" he congratulated and shook all our hands.
Only Elizabeth and Andrew showed happiness and excitement.
Dad wore a long, disapproving face, Don had his usual neutral face now laced with a smirk, and Michael... well, he didn't really care enough to show any emotion.
I stared daggers at Don, hoping to repay all this to him one day.
******************************************
I sat in silence on our way back home. This shouldn't have meant anything to me. Life had already shown me its worst right from a young age.
'This is nothing! I'll get through this too' I said to myself.
"I apologize for all that has happened between us," Don said out of the blue.
Stupid for him to think an apology would fix the damage he has already caused.
"Aren't you going to say something?" "What do you expect me to say? It's alright? You had to do this? It's not your fault? Don't apologize?" I snapped.
"Not to add salt to your wounds, but this wouldn't have happened if you didn't try to steal from me," he said bluntly.
I looked at him in utter disbelief. "In that case, I'm sorry I tried taking back what you stole from us" I replied and rolled my eyes.
"I stole?... Look, love, I'm not gonna be rough with you. Cooperate and we will get along fine. I won't touch you if you don't want me to, nor will I do anything that will make you feel uncomfortable"
"And I guess I'm supposed to believe that seeing as you kidnapped me solely for the sake of revenge" I countered as we drove into the house.
"Revenge wasn't the only reason I decided to marry you," he said as the car slowed down in front of the mansion, "I like you. Always have been since I saw you at the ball. You and your father's actions were just an excuse to compulsorily put you in my life," he said with a mischievous smirk and left the car.
I sat there in shock. "He likes me?" I reprimanded myself internally. All these feelings are distractions that need to be placed aside first.
I came out of the car too and entered the mansion for my room.
On my way to the elevator, I bumped into one of the servants who was holding a tray with a cup of coffee on it.
The coffee splashed on my white dress, making me jump a little because of how hot it was.
"I-I'm sorry Madam" the servant apologized and used a tissue to wipe the drops on my hand. I took another from him and swiftly patted the splash on my chest and neck.
My body was cool, except for my right hand which was red and was still stinging with burns. I rushed to the elevator tapped the button that took me to my room's floor and dashed into my room in urgency.
I entered the bathroom and began splashing cold water on my hand to reduce the burn. I hissed in pain as the water touched the hot area, hoping that the stinging sensation would now go, but no matter what I did, it continued burning.
"I also forgot to tell... What's wrong?" I heard Don ask from behind me. I could feel him examining the stain on my cloth and my red hand.
"Hot coffee splashed on me and now my hand won't stop burning" I complained.
He took my hand and brought me out of the bathroom to the room and sat me on the bed. He then walked over to a cabinet and removed a small first aid box.
"You should know that cold water alone won't help the burn," he said and gently took my hand in his. He began drying the area with a towel, then applied an ointment over the red area whilst simultaneously massaging my hand.
His caring gesture made my heart flutter. 'Was this what Isabella meant by him caring about people?' It felt nice to be taken care of like this. I couldn't remember the last time someone had done that for me.
"I can do it by myself though" I hmphed and he chuckled. "What's funny? I'm serious" I pouted.
"It's just how stubborn and strong you are" he replied. "You're injured yet you're still saying you can help yourself" "It's called being independent".
"Be independent when you aren't so close to having a serious blister."
He took out a bandage and loosely yet carefully wrapped it around my hand.
"Still hurts" I complained silently. He took out a blister pack of painkillers and handed it to me. I stared at them with sheer contempt.
"Swallow two of these" he ordered and gave me a glass of water. "I'm not gonna swallow this" "Why? They'll help with your burn."
"That 'thing' is no better than poison to me."
"Stop being childish and swallow it. It's not that hard" he said while trying to put the drug in my mouth. I kept dodging and turning away from that thing. Even the smell disturbed me deeply.
He held my cheeks, forced my mouth open, made me drink the water, and slipped the two tablets of the drug into my mouth before releasing me. I instinctively swallowed it but regretted it immediately. It had killed my tastebuds.
I frowned to show my disgust and annoyance at his actions, but he seemed unbothered.
"The burn will stop in a few minutes" he assured me and patted my hand. All the annoyance flew away instantly. His eyes immediately darted to my stained and damp cloth which was now slightly see-through.
I shuddered with his gaze and immediately picked a towel to dry my chest. "Stop looking pervert" "I'm your husband now, and a husband can't be a pervert when it comes to his wife" he smirked mischievously.
"Taking that drug on an empty stomach has terrible effects, so you need to eat immediately," he said and stood up. "I'll send a servant up with your food. Take care of your hand and don't stress it too much" he added and left the room.
I fell into the bed and buried my face in it. Confusion was the word I would use for what I was feeling.
What was this I kept feeling? The abnormally fast heartbeats, the fluttering stomach, the sudden freezing up and sparks when he comes in contact with my body, what was all that?
Whatever they were, they were all distractions. One day I will have to carry out my revenge on him and I can't have those sensations messing with my mind