Ariel followed Gregory up a long staircase, stopping right at the first door of a long hallway.
"This is your room, his room is way back there," He pointed at the last door in the hallway.
Ariel remained quiet, she wasn't excited at all, and she would even have preferred to get a room entirely in a different space from his.
"Here," He handed her a black key card.
Ariel reluctantly took it from him, staring unexcited at the door.
"Everything you need is already in there, but if there's something else you'd need, please feel free to let me know, I'm at your service," Gregory said in a serious tone.
Ariel gently shook her head at him. They've already done too much, she could never bring herself to ask them for any other thing.
"Thank you, Greg. I can call you Greg for short, right?" Ariel asked politely as she scanned the key card on the lock.
"Yes," Gregory replied.
Ariel gave him a polite nod and pushed her door open, but before she could enter fully into the room, Gregory called her again.
"Ms. Ariel, I'm sorry, I almost forgot to give you this," Gregory handed her a brand new customized phone.
"Huh?" Ariel stared at Gregory's hand, looking at the Chaz Company's most recent products.
It was the hottest in the market now, and not even all rich people could afford it as it cost a fortune.
Why was he giving it to her?
"I-I can't accept this, don't worry, I'll get one for myself when I can," Ariel said and turned to enter the room.
"Please, Ms. Ariel, it'll cost me my job if you refuse to accept the phone," Gregory gently caught her wrist.
Ariel sighed. She knew she had to reconsider, she wouldn't be so insensitive by letting the poor guy lose his job just because she wanted to prove a point.
"Thanks, Greg," She took the phone from him and entered the room, closing the door with a soft click.
Ariel sighed and placed her forehead against the door, closing her eyes as she squeezed her hand around the phone.
She slowly lifted her head off the door and turned to face her room.
"Wow," Ariel exclaimed quietly as she stared at the queen-sized bed and the luxurious room.
In a nutshell, this room was the most expensive room she could ever be opportune to sleep in her entire life.
Even if she finally found a job, she could never afford such luxury.
She took off her shoes and gently walked over to the bed, running her hand over the pristine white and smooth sheets. She looked to the side and saw two adjacent doors; curiously, she walked over to them and pushed open the first one.
Ariel stood awed; she stared into a large rectangular room with clothes, shoes, caps, and everything one could ever need as a clothing accessory, they were perfectly arranged in their sections. She marveled at how someone could have so much money like Aiden Chaz; everything she saw inside her walk-in closet was designer and custom-made.
She shook her head and closed the door. She wasn't going to indulge herself; she knew her position in that house, and she wasn't going to try to change it.
But because she had nothing of her own with her, she was only going to get a few clothes she would be wearing from the wardrobe, others would be left exactly as they were.
After exploring the five-star bathroom and other areas of the room. She gently plopped down on the bed on her back and stared up at the white ceiling.
For the first time in her life, she was by herself, away from her so-called family, with no one to answer to, no work waiting for her to complete, and no one to yell at her for things that weren't her fault.
Thinking about it that way, this situation was way better than her previous one, just that she didn't understand why her husband seemed to hate her so much; this was the first time she was ever meeting him, right?
It had to be; if she hadn't known him from the Internet, she would have been totally clueless about who he was, so why the hatred?
Ariel sighed heavily; whatever the reason was, she had to find a way to get in his bed; her mother's property was at stake. She wanted to prove to her father and stepmother that they couldn't do whatever they wished because they had money.
She would rub it on their faces when she would ask them to pack out of the house because she would now be the rightful owner of the house.
Patience. Her journey required patience, and she would apply it every step of the way.
Her primary concern now was to act nice to her husband and endure all his harsh words until he finally started to see her for the woman she was. She would win his attention in the end.
She was still thinking about her life when she stretched to change her position and mistakenly hit her hand on her new phone beside her head.
"Oh, I almost forgot about this," She sat up on the bed and picked up the phone, pressing the power button to turn it on.
She watched as the screen flashed Aiden's Pear symbol before it finally showed the interface.
Ariel just stared at the phone, not knowing what to do with it. She didn't have anyone to speak with, and she wasn't in the mood to play games either. She suddenly saw a notification on her email icon and frowned slightly.
Did he already register an email for her?
She curiously tapped on the icon to read the email and was surprised to see a contract demanding her electronic signature.
She felt so cheap as she stared at the marriage Contract sent by her husband.
Was the signature she gave him not enough? Why was he trying his best to remind her that she was his contracted and unloved wife?
She bit her lips as she read through the contract.
Marriage Contract:
1. Never associate yourself with me, at home and in public.
2. Keep this marriage a secret.
3. Never interfere with each other's life.
4. Never expect love from me.
5. This marriage shall be effectively terminated by this time next year.
Below the page, she saw the highlighted sign to click and sign, but she didn't click it.
She stared at it for a while and suddenly closed the app.
She wasn't going to sign it. Signing it meant she was accepting all his crazy conditions, and she wasn't. She would be closing all doors for herself, leaving no room for her to warm up to him.
How, then, was she supposed to accomplish her goal of agreeing to this marriage?
She won't sign it. She has to learn how to stand up for herself and stop being pushed about.
After taking a shower and changing into the most comfortable PJs she'd ever worn, she put on her slippers and left her room. Her destination - Aiden's room.
As she neared his door, her heart was beating faster and faster, but she didn't stop, she needed to start from somewhere, at least, get him comfortable with her presence first.
She reached the front of his door and stared hard and long at it. She started to reconsider her decision, thinking back to the hateful looks he gave her throughout the day; it didn't seem advisable to go knocking on his door in the middle of the night.
She shook her head and quickly turned to return to her room but the door behind her suddenly opened, pausing her fleeing steps.
Before she turned, she could already feel the spiteful gaze of her husband behind her.
She slowly turned her body to face him, her cheeks turning blazing red in embarrassment as she took in his naked muscular chest and washboard abs.
She quickly removed her eyes from him and looked at the floor before it traveled down to his sharp V-line, "H-hi, I-I... I was j-just... Goodnight!" Ariel blurted out and quickly turned to escape into her room. This was a bad idea after all.
But, she suddenly felt the collar of her PJ shirt choke her around the neck as she felt herself drawn back to where she had just left.
"Where do think you're running off to, little wife?" Aiden asked her as he caged her between his arms on the wall close to his door.
Aiden was about to come downstairs for some warm milk when he found his new wife standing lost in front of his door.
He was expecting this sort of thing to happen; women never failed to be women; he knew she would look for a way to get into his bed even after he sent her the contract.
When she didn't sign the contract immediately, he confirmed his thoughts about her being a gold digger.
Ariel's heart was pounding, hard. She clenched her fists beside her anxiously, staring over his broad shoulders.
"Shy now? Not brave enough to seduce me?" Aiden asked in a deep and sexy voice, smirking down at her flustered face.