CHAPTER 12
The wedding ended in a jiffy.
Immediately Richard and I walked down the aisle together, Abigail pulled me aside into the room and brought out another outfit for me to change into. Reading the confusion on my face, she told me it was a wedding gift.
I wriggled out of the tight wedding dress and changed into the flowy maxi dress with delicate floral prints and paired it with platform slippers.
She led me to the mansion driveway where Richard and Mrs Crest stood beside a Rolls Royce, conversing with each other.
We walked toward them and they both turned their attention to us, stopping their discussion midway. Mrs. Crest hugged me and said her goodbyes and was led by a man who I assumed was another driver to the SUV behind the Rolls-Royce.
Richard opened the car door for me, and without having an idea of what was happening I slid into it. He closed the door and followed in soon after.
Abigail waved at us as we moved from the driveway and waved back at her even though she could not see me from inside the car because the windows were tinted.
"Where are we headed?" I asked Richard, my face masked with confusion.
"To the airport." noticing my still confused state. "Well, technically, we are going to Italy" he paused, reading the expression on my face. "Wedding gift from Abigail. She planned it all."
"Oh! But I don't have any luggage. I couldn't pack."
"You don't have to worry about that, we'll have to get you new outfits there."
"Okay," I said, turning away from him to stare out the window.
The rest of the journey passed in silence and soon we were at the airport.
"This is a private airport?" I inquired in my state of bewilderment.
"Yes it is," he said as he climbed out of the car. He walked around and opened my door. The sun had already sunk slowly, there was a linking of brilliant orange hue in the sky. Dusk is upon us.
Taking my hand Richard led me into the plane. I was astonished to see Eric on the plane. He wasn't at the wedding but made it to the airport to go on with his assistant duties. He greeted us and helped us settle in.
I have never been in a private plane before, and I do not know what they consider a big plane but this one seemed pretty big to me. The interior of the plane was what struck me the most. The leather seats and carpet are light tan color and dark brown polished wood-trimmed around the seating. Handles for seating and adjustments of seat belts and nozzles that controlled the air quality were all gold highlighted. Fitting Richard's personality.
A female flight attendant offered me a glass of sparkling white wine with words of congratulations. She was so friendly and accommodating, but still, I was nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.
This was my first time flying and I did not know what to expect. I held my breath, waiting_my fingers tensed on my lap.
From my peripheral vision, I saw that Richard had already settled with his nose digging into a file. My eyes trailed over his body, then I realized I hadn't fastened my seat belt.
In my failed attempt to fasten it up, I felt Richard's hands on mine, stopping me from probably injuring myself. The contact sent sparks across my skin. He hooked up the belt gently and tapped it in place before going back to his position.
"Thank you," I muttered, after recollecting myself.
The plane took off smoothly in a few minutes. I looked out the window, nothing but white clouds darted my view.
My stomach rumbled loudly, I clutched onto it my face burned with embarrassment, I peered at Richard, hoping he didn't hear, but his eyes were already on me.
I was starving and I hadn't eaten a proper meal since yesterday's dinner and the sparkling wine I had just taken did little or nothing to tame the hunger.
"Let's have dinner," he announced, passing the files to Eric.
We ate dinner in silence and Richard encouraged me to go sleep at the back because we still had a long flight ahead of us.
I was led to the back by the flight attendant. She opened a door, turning the doorknob slowly. It was a bedroom, dummy lit in yellow color.
She motioned for me to enter the room. I entered the room gingerly, scanning the cozy space.
"Have a good night's rest." the flight attendant said with a smile on her face before closing the door.
I touched the end of the bed, running my fingers on the soft linen. Then I sat, inhaling the smell of the room. It smelled like Richard.
I lay on the bed, stretching my body extravagantly like a kitten, and yawned. It was a soft bed and I suddenly felt sleepy. My body was tired anyway. I couldn't get much sleep because of the thought of the wedding and the aftermath of it in my mind.
***
I was awake in bed, as usual staring at the ceiling fan. The street lights outside of my window illuminated my room. I turned my head to glance at my alarm clock, the number 3:10 bright red, reflected onto the surface of my nightstand. I silently prayed for the dirty blonde-haired man not to come home. I pulled the comforter up higher over my long-sleeved nightgown.
Had I fallen asleep? I wasn't certain. This became one of my habits. Lie on the bed for hours staring at the ceiling fan, too afraid to let sleep consume me.
The sound of the footsteps coming from the living room should have been hard to hear, but I was integrated with it as the sound of my heartbeat, the last mentioned started thudding loudly in my heart like it wanted to Jump out of my skin.
With each step the floor creaked, the closer he was the louder the creak became. The creak came to a halt just outside of the bedroom and I prayed that he would slump to the ground just like he would when he was overly drunk. My hopes were dashed when I saw the doorknob moving. No, no, no I pleaded in vain, my fingers digging into my skin.
The door opened with a creak. The creak was like a siren, alerting me of his presence. The door swung open, his face exposed by the streetlights coming through the window.
His grin turned into a scowl as he walked closely to my bed. "Why did you leave me Marah?". His voice was hoarse and sounded like it didn't belong to him.
"Why did you run away?"
My vision became blurry with tears, nonetheless, my eyes were transfixed with horror, unable to look away no matter how much I wished to.
He gripped my neck tightly with a hand and by reflex, both of my hands flew to grip his in an attempt to wriggle from his hold.
"You dare leave me and get married to another. He doesn't love you like do! He would never love you like I do!" He growled loudly in my ear.
My breath became jagged, uneven gasps, my lungs struggled to draw in air amidst the suffocating grip, each inhalation a battle against my panic.
"I'm coming for you."
My eyes flew open.
I sat up in bed, I wrapped my hands around my neck protecting myself from the deathly grip of the nightmare.
My eyes scanned my surroundings, I was no longer in the plane but in my room in Richard's villa. I craned my neck and stared at the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bush. The moon glistened off the surface of the pool.
With shaky hands, I lifted the sheets off my sweat-soaked body and stood up, padding across the floor to the door, I opened the door widely and closed it again. I have no reason for doing that, not that I lock my doors anyway.
I heaved out a sigh and brushed the hair that had clung to my forehead. I hadn't had a nightmare like that in a while. A year or so. In spite of the confidence I had deluded myself into having, moving in from that part of my life, some days were still occasionally traumatic for me.
The pictures of my wedding will be out in front of the papers and magazines soon, latest this morning. I did not doubt in my heart that he would see them. He practically knows about my whereabouts now and he will come looking.
The block on the nightstand read 5:00. I took a quick shower and wrapped myself in a bathrobe since I had nothing else to wear.
By the time I made it to the living room, Richard was already on the dining table, trays of dishes placed on it. He was wearing a white linen shirt with similar pants and his hair looked like he just came out fresh from the shower.
"There you are," he gleamed at me, his lips twitching into a smile. "Good morning."
"Good morning." I returned his greeting while walking along to join him at the dining table. "It seems like you were waiting for me," I said, as I settled in the chair beside him.
"Indeed I was."
" You could have sent someone for me."
"I didn't want to interrupt your sleeping. Hope you had a good night's rest."
I shrugged with a tight lip smile as a response.
"Did you?" I asked, biting on the fluffy cornetti. It tasted exquisite. The best cornetti I have ever eaten.
His eyes lingered on mine for a while before moving down to my body. "You'll be escorted by Eric to any boutique of your choice to get everything you need." He dug his hand into his pocket and brought out a black card. "Here." He said placing it on the table in front of me. "It's for your use in the meantime."
"What about you? What are you going to be doing?"
"I have a conference call in about an hour."
"Oh!" my heart sank in disappointment. I know this was supposed to be a contract marriage but I was hoping we could build some sort of friendship.
"What do I wear? I can't wear a bathrobe out to a boutique now can I?" I said, with raised eyebrows, pointing out the obvious.
"Eric should be here any moment with a dress. Is that okay?"
"It is. Thank you." I was between bites of cornetti. I sipped on the cappuccino while peering at him intently. I couldn't help but notice the way he chewed. Even his chewing was elegant. How come I haven't noticed all this while eating with him?
"You have to thank me for every little thing."
I wrinkled my nose. "It would be weird if I don't."
"I've been wanting us to talk about you." his voice brought me out of my daze.
I shot him a quizzical look and asked, "Me? What is there to talk about?"
"What do you think about enrolling in college? It's just that Abigail mentioned you never went to college. So I was thinking" his voice trailed off then he added the next sentence as if choosing his words carefully. " I think it's best if you do something worthwhile."
"Something worthwhile." the words came out of my mouth slowly, trying to process them.
"It's your choice by the way," he said quickly. "I wouldn't want to coerce you into doing what you didn't want to."
I would be lying if I said, the thought of enrolling into college had never crossed my mind because it did. At some point in my life. Ever since I graduated high school and got out of the foster system, it lingered in my mind. I was willing to take all the shifts at work if that was what it took for me to afford it. That lingering passion got lost in an abyss when I met him and he made sure it never returned. Now the opportunity has presented itself and I was going to grab the bull by the horns.
"I will do it. I want to."
His expression was as if I had taken him by surprise. "Wonderful. I'll make sure to reach out to an old friend of mine for your admission process," he said, bringing his cup of espresso to his lips.
"Umm_Richard"
Focusing all his attention on me "Hmm?"
"I would prefer it if it was an online program."
His brows knitted together. "May I ask why?"
"It's just that, I'm your wife now and it would be weird for me to walk around college premises. That would be me deliberately calling the attention of the media. It would make me very uncomfortable."
He tilted his head as if, running his thoughts through it "If that is the way you want, then it's fine."
The reason I had given to him was just one of the many reasons I wanted to study online or should I say, not the crucial one. Prancing around the college is me begging him to find me quickly. Opening more chances to get me in a vulnerable spot.
"But I also want to keep working."
"That could be arranged."
"You are_" I was cut short by the blaring sound of his phone.
"Excuse me, it's work," he said, standing up from his chair and bringing the phone to his ear. "Hello Stella, what was so urgent that couldn't wait."
Leave it to Stella to call her boss when he is on his honeymoon. Even if it's a sham nevertheless she should know when to call and in the morning at that.
I watched his retreating figure until it disappeared from my view.
What is wrong with you Marah? Why is the phone call getting you agitated? He is not yours.