4 days later
Knock, knock, knock, knock
Marigold was awakened by the sounds of knocking at her door. She pulled her purple covers off of her head, revealing her messy bed hair covering her face. She pushed her hair out of her face and mumbled, "Come in."
ERRRRRRR EEEEEEEK
Carls opened the door, holding a shiny gray metal tray of food. On the tray there was a fork and a knife sitting on top of a white napkin, french toast on a plate, orange juice in a tall glass cup, a small cup of syrup sitting on the plate (that had french toast on it), and two strips of applewood smoked bacon on a saucer (next to the plate of french toast). The breakfast aroma filled the room. Carls said, "Good morning, Miss Marigold." Marigold sat up, stretching her arms, saying, "Good morning, Carls." He walked over to her bedside, handing her the tray of food, asking, "Did you sleep well?" Marigold answered, saying, "I slept okay… Thank you for breakfast." She dug into her breakfast, and Carls said, "Well, I hope you like breakfast." Marigold swallowed her food, saying, "Oh, you know I love French Toast, and you make the best." Carls said, "Oh well, Master Beau only wants you to have the best, so I try to make you the best meals I can." She looked at her plate, staring at it, and said, "If 'Master Beau,' wanted me to have the best, he wouldn't have forced me to marry him." Carls looked at her and said, "Please Miss Marigold, Master Beau…" Marigold interrupted Carls saying, "It doesn't matter what Beau says or thinks… I don't really care but I will say Carls you are an incredible cook and I do appreciate you making me all my meals for the past couple of days." Carls said, "It is no problem at all, Miss Marigold… Now I do have something for you, Miss Marigold." Marigold's eyes lit up as she looked at Carls, saying, "You have a gift for me?" Carls smiled and said, "Yes, do you want it?" Marigold said, "Of course I do, please bring it in." Carls left the room and came back in with a big, flat, rectangular box that had bright shiny red wrapping paper covering it. Marigold placed her tray to the side of her as Carls handed her the box, saying, "I hope you like it." She took the box, thanked him, and ripped off the wrapping paper. She took the brown cardboard top off of the box, seeing purple tissue paper inside covering her gift. She opened the tissue paper and took out the clothing inside, seeing that it was a plain white, knee-length, a-line dress. She smiled at Carls, saying, "Oh, it's beautiful! I love it so much." Carls smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it, Miss Marigold." She said, "Oh no, Carls, it's more than like, I love this dress so much. It's one of the prettiest dresses I've ever owned. I always wanted a dress as nice as this. Really, thank you so much, Carls." Carls said, "Well, Miss Marigold, you really shouldn't thank me… Master Beau was the one who had it made and bought it for you. He really thought you would like it." A soft frown came to Marigold's face as she stared at the dress. "What's wrong, Miss Marigold, I thought you liked the dress," Carls said. Marigold tossed the dress on the floor, saying, "No, I absolutely hate the dress." Carls said, "But Miss Marigold you…" Marigold interrupted Carls, saying, "I hate the dress. It's ugly and plain. It's completely not my style, and I wouldn't be caught dead wearing such a hideous dress." Carls sighed, saying, "But Miss Marigold, I thought you loved the dress. Master Beau had that dress made especially for you and…" Marigold interrupted Carls once more, saying, "Well tell 'Master Beau,' that I hate it and to stop buying me gifts. I don't want anything from him, I don't even want to look at him! So he can stop attempting to try to get to know me because I have no intentions, no desire, in getting to know him." Carls said, "But when you thought it was from me, you loved it, Miss Marigold." Marigold said, "Look, Carls, I care about you, and I know whatever you get me is coming from a sincere heart and a place of love. When Beau gets me things, it's because he's trying to win my love, but I can't be bought. Beau is nothing but a sorry con artist, and I won't accept anything from him. So you can take that hideous present back and tell him not to bother me with any more gifts! You know what, tell him not to bother me at all. Tell him I said don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't even touch me, don't even think about me, and you can tell him I said that." She crossed her arms and looked away from Carls. Carls sighed, walked over to the dress, and picked it up while saying, "What are you going to do for today, Miss Marigold, when I'm not here to take care of you?" She quickly looked at Carls as she felt her stomach sink, and she said, "What do you mean? Where are you going?" Carls said, "I have something I need to take care of for my own health." She sat up saying, "Your own health? Are you sick, Carls?" Carls said, "Not exactly Miss Marigold, but I do have to take care of myself so I don't get sick, which means I have to take the day off. I only came this morning to make sure you were alright and to get you some breakfast." She said, "Oh please, Carls, don't overwork yourself for me. I don't want you to get hurt." Carls smiled at her and said, "I won't get hurt, child. I'll make sure I take care of myself, but because I can't take care of you today, Master Beau said he would." She said, "No, I'll be fine on my own." He said, "Miss Marigold, you know better than I do that you don't know your way around this big house. Besides, you are an heiress now." She grumbled, saying, "That doesn't mean I can't do things for myself." Carls said, "It would make me feel better if you would at least let Beau help you even if it's quick." She said, "For you Carls, I'll do it, but you have to promise to get better and take care of yourself." Carls placed the dress on a chair and said, "I will Miss Marigold and please try not to give Master Beau a hard time and tell him whenever you need something as you would if I was here. You shouldn't have to struggle because I'm not here." Marigold rolled her eyes, saying, "Fine, but I won't talk to him unless I have to." Carls said, "Alright, deal," and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Sitting outside the guest bedroom door wearing black jeans, a white round neck t-shirt, and white socks sat Beau. Beau glanced up seeing Carls leaving the room, stood to his (Beau's) feet, and said, "So what did she think about the dress?" Carls said, "She was ecstatic. She loved the dress. Her eyes lit up when she saw it… But I told her it was from you and now she won't wear it." Beau rubbed the back of his (Beau's) head thinking, 'Of course she hates it coming from me, she hates me.' Beau looked at Carls and said, "Did she like the french toast?" Carls answered, "Yes Master Beau, she did, might I say the way she talks about your cooking, you would think you were a pro chef." Beau grinned, saying, "Well, I-I try to do my best cooking for her. I at least want her to help her somehow." Carls said, "Well, today's your day Master Beau." Beau asked, "What do you mean?" Carls answered, "It's my day off Master Beau. I have to go take care of my health today, so you'll have to look after Miss Marigold all day." Beau's cheeks turned red, and he (Beau) said, "But she hates me." Carls said, "She won't give you a hard time today. Just be there for her when she calls and remember Master Beau. She is your wife. So take good care of her and treat her better than you would treat yourself." Beau nodded, and Carls left while he (Beau) watched him leave.
Beau paced back and forth next to Marigold's door, thinking, 'Okay, how can I help her if she hates me so much? What if I say the wrong thing… What if I do the wrong thing? She's going to hate me even more than she already does… Okay Beau, pull yourself together she's your wife, you can do this.' Beau knocked at Marigold's door, and she opened it, holding the white dress in one of her hands. Beau said, "G-Good morning M-Marigold, I was just l-letting you know…" She interrupted him, saying, "I don't care what you have to say, I'm not interested in hearing you I just wanted to let you know that I don't need your help, so don't bother me." Beau said, "But Marigold I…" Marigold gripped the dress, interrupting Beau once more, saying, "I'm not interested in hearing anything that you want to tell me. I don't care what you have to say, and I really don't care about you. I want you to leave me alone and not bother me ever and take this ugly dress back." Beau said, "But I…" She threw the dress at Beau saying, "I don't care Beau, I really don't. You took everything from me and you think some presents are going to make me fall in love with you? Well, they aren't. I hate them just as much as I hate you, and I want you to know no matter how hard you try or what you say, I will always hate you, Beau! I can't stand the sight of you or your phony feelings towards me. You disgust me, Beau Bax. You make me feel ill, and the only thing that is keeping me from shouting at you is the promise I made to Carls. So don't even try to talk to me. Just leave me alone, and I will leave you alone. I can manage on my own." She slammed the door in his face and locked it while he stood there thinking, 'She's completely bitter towards me, but how can I blame her? It's been less than a week. I can't expect her to come around and like me after I buy her a few gifts… It's going to take time before she can even talk to me, let alone trust me.' He picked up the white dress, sat next to Marigold's door, and thought, 'But she's worth the wait… She is worth waiting for.'
The hours passed, and soon it was lunch time. Beau pulled out his phone, saw the time, and thought, 'Lunch, she's got to be hungry by now.' He stood up, knocked at her door, and said, "Hey, it's lunch time and I know you're hungry so…" Marigold interrupted him saying, "Go away, I'm not hungry nor would I eat anything you made for me." Beau thought, 'Why does she have to be so difficult,' and went to the kitchen to make her something to eat.
While Beau went to the kitchen, Marigold sat at the bay window looking out the window at the view of nature. She felt her stomach rumble and thought, 'Man, I'm hungry, but I don't want Beau to get me any food. I wish I could just go to the kitchen, but I know he's out there by my door like some lost puppy. Does he really think that's the way to get me to fall in love with him? He's as delusional as his father… I just wish… I wish someone out there loved me like Mama did…'
She sat, deep in her thoughts, and began to have a flashback of her mother. In her flashback, she saw her mother and herself (Marigold) as a 5 year old girl. She saw her mother lifting her (Marigold) up in the sky, both of them smiling at each other. Her mother had long, loose, wavy, reddish blond hair and crystal blue eyes. Alana's (Marigold's Mother) skin was milk chocolate brown, and she had a beauty mark next to her rose red lips. Alana wore a plain red t-shirt and blue jeans. They rubbed noses, and Alana said, "You are my precious baby girl. My precious gift from God." The flashback ended, and Marigold thought, 'She would always say that to me before she died… I miss her so much.' Tears filled Marigold's eyes as she thought, 'Would mom approve of what dad did or would she have saved me?'
Knock, knock, knock, knock
Marigold heard the sounds of someone knocking on her door and walked over to her door. She opened it, seeing Beau standing there with a plate of soft shell tacos. Beau said, "I heard you liked tacos, so I thought…" Marigold interrupted Beau, saying, "You thought what? That I would be won over with some tacos because it's my favorite food? Hmph you really are crazy Beau. Tacos aren't going to make up for the fact that you locked me in a house and are keeping me here like I'm some type of prisoner! Tacos aren't going to make up for the fact that you forced me into a contractual marriage with you!" Beau said, "But Marigold, I was just…" Marigold interrupted Beau, saying, "I don't care what you were just trying to do. I want you to leave me alone and stop bothering me. Besides, I'm not even hungry."
GUMBLE ERRRRRR EEEEEK
The sounds of Marigold's stomach growling silenced Beau and Marigold. Beau said, "I can tell by the way your stomach is growling how not hungry you are." Marigold said, "So what if it's growling? Seeing your face makes me lose my appetite. So stop bothering me." Marigold tried closing her door, but Beau put his foot in the doorway, preventing Marigold from closing the door. Marigold looked at Beau, asking, "What are you doing?" Beau answered, "Listen, I know you hate me… But starving yourself isn't going to fix anything." Marigold said, "Listen, whatever I do is none of your business, so why don't you mind your own business and I'll mind mine. Stop trying to control everything I do. You've already done enough to me." Beau sighed saying, "Listen you don't even have to eat this, let me at least get you my Platinum Card and you can buy whatever you want to eat, just as long as you eat something it's on me." Marigold said, "Ugh 'Platinum Card,' who cares about a Platinum Card? It's just like a normal credit card. You know money doesn't buy me nor does it impress me. Beau, you're disgusting, and I wouldn't take anything from you, whether it be food or money. So stop bothering me and stay out of my way." Beau said, "UGH, you're the most frustrating woman I've ever met, and you're so stubborn too." Marigold said, "Well, you might as well get used to it since you wanted to marry me so badly! You wanted this. Now you have it. So I suggest you stop bothering me if I'm that frustrating to you, seeing that I told you to leave me alone." She pushed Beau out of the doorway, making him drop the food, and slam the door in his face. Beau closed his eyes thinking, 'Be patient, be patient, be patient, and don't yell at her no matter how ridiculous she's being.' He crouched down and began picking up the food that was on the ground. As he picked up the food, placing it on the tray, he mumbled to himself, "Why does she have to be so difficult? I mean I get she hates me but to this extent…" Marigold's soft cries silenced him and he sighed, thinking, 'I need to be more patient with her regardless of how I feel… Right now she's in this mess because of me so I need to try to fix this… I have to be patient.' He picked up the rest of the food, took it down to the kitchen, threw it away, came back to Marigold's room, and sat next to her door.
The hours passed, and Marigold's cries got softer and softer until they finally stopped. Beau pulled out his phone seeing it was 10pm and thought, 'The whole day has passed and she hasn't asked me for a thing… She hasn't even left her room and I bet she's starving in there. She is so stubborn.' He stood up, stretched out his arms and legs, and thought, 'Maybe I should just leave until the morning. She seems fine on her own, and hopefully, she'll at least try to leave and get something to eat.'
Beau began walking down the hallway, but before he could get too far, Marigold's screams stopped him dead in his tracks.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH AAAAAAAAAHHHHH AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH," She screamed.
Beau ran back to Marigold's door, but before he could open it, Marigold swung open the door, falling on her bottom. She scooted away from the door, looking completely pale. Beau kneeled down to her level, grabbed her shoulders, and said, "What, what is it?" Marigold pushed his hands away, shouting, "Let go of me." Beau thought back to when he didn't listen to her, let go of her shoulders, and said, "Please Marigold, what happened?" Marigold began breathing heavily, and Beau stared into her eyes, saying, "Marigold, I know you hate me, but please, please try to calm down and tell me what you're so scared of. I can help you." Marigold stuttered, "Th-There's a-a b-big sp-spider in m-my room." Beau's face turned red as he tried to hold back his laughter. He said, "A spider? You're scared of spiders?" Marigold covered her face, saying, "Just please kill it." Beau smiled and went inside her room. He looked around, seeing a spider the size of a big toe sitting on her window. He covered his mouth, trying to contain his laughter, thinking, 'She's scared of this little itty bitty thing. She is so adorable.' He picked up one of her shoes, killed the spider, and walked out of her room saying, "There it's dead." She stood up, looking down, and said, "Thank you, Beau." She looked up at his face, seeing him try to contain his laughter. Marigold's face turned red, and she looked down as Beau burst out into laughter. Beau said through his laughter, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just you're so cute. You were that scared of a baby spider, and you're just so feisty I never expected you to be that scared of one." Tears filled Marigold's eyes, and she looked up at Beau shouting, "You're so insensitive, Beau! You're an insensitive jerk, and I hate you. I should've never asked you to help me." Carls walked up to Beau and Marigold, seeing her screaming at Beau and said, "What's going on here?" She turned to Carls, saying, "Why don't you ask 'Master Beau,' he's a complete jerk who has no regard for anyone but himself!" Beau scoffed and shouted, "I have no regard, I've been trying to help you all day, and you've been difficult and rude. If anyone has no regard for anyone by themselves, it's you." Marigold shouted, "Have you forgotten that you stole me?!" Carls said, "That's enough you…" Beau interrupted Carls shouting, "How many times do I have to say that I didn't steal you, I didn't even know that you were the one who was going to sign the certificate and contract!" Marigold screamed, "So if it wasn't me, it would've been another helpless girl?! Honestly, Beau, you are cruel and pathetic." Carls said, Miss Marigold stop," Beau shouted, saying, "At least I can kill my own spiders. AHHHH, AHHHH, help me! Come on, you're a grown woman afraid of spiders! Get over yourself." Carls starred at Beau with his mouth dropped, and Marigold cried, "You are heartless Beau, completely heartless, and I hate you so much! I never want to see you ever again, Beau Bax! Don't you ever bother me again." She ran into her room, pushing Beau out of the way and slamming the door in his face. Beau crossed his arms and said, "UGH, can you believe her?" Carls said, "Her, I can believe. You Master Beau, I can not." Beau looked at the expression on Carls face and said, "What? She has done nothing but be difficult all day, and frankly, she's a grown woman scared of spiders. How could I not think it's cute and crack a little smile?" Carls facepalmed, saying, "Aside from that being a normal fear that a lot of adults have Marigold's mother died of kidney failure and you want to know what caused her to have kidney failure?" Beau's eyes widened, and he stuttered, "F-From a-a…" Carls interrupted him, saying, "Yes from a spider bite. Her mother got bit by a spider trying to protect her, but they both wound up getting bit. Her mother later died, and Marigold almost died, which is why she is so afraid of spiders, especially the brown ones that live in her room." Beau turned his face up to the sky, shutting his eyes tightly and face palming. Carls said, "This could've been your chance to build trust with her but instead you made fun of her…" Beau looked at Carls saying, "But I was…" Carls interrupted him saying, "Master Beau I told you to treat her better than you would treat yourself. You don't yet know her Master Beau. She needs your understanding and compassion, not you yelling at her. You need to remember that she has lost her freedom in one day. It has been less than a week, and she hasn't yet adjusted. Of course, she's going to hate you, but you just made things harder." The sound of Marigold's cries hit Carls' and Beau's ears and Carls said, "I'm going to try to calm her down, Master Beau, you need to pull yourself together for her sake and for your own." Carls entered Marigold's room, closing the door behind him while Beau stood there thinking, 'I'm the biggest idiot on the planet.'