There is no response to her question for the first few seconds that make her wonder if he has slept off or something.
"Whoever the woman in that room was, is supposed to be my future wife. I could not let just any man or whoever, taint her body like that."
Mina wonders if she should be honored or should be feel reprieved because, it just happened to be her luck to have been the one that came that night.
Eric shifts in his bed and turns to face her. "If it had been Susan that came by herself, she would be the one on this bed with me right now. You are not special, you just got lucky."
Her feeling of slight happiness fades away at his harsh words. She curls into her gown and turns away from him, stifling the tears burning at the back of her eyes. She will not cry and she will not let him see her tears.
He had seemed sweet earlierĀ but now that they are married, he is showing her his true colors. Her eyes fall on the chamomile tea that has gone cold now and she bites her lips. All the little acts had just been something he would do because he is well brought upon man, not because he harbors any deep feelings for her.
Truly enough, what kind of deep feelings could he possibly harbor for a woman like her that he's only just met twice?
Summoning her courage, she asks the main question on her mind. "Why did you choose to marry me then? I am nothing special after all. Why did you choose me?"
Eric glances at her and pretends to not see her slightly red eyes. "I married you because I don't kiss and tell. Do you understand? I don't sleep around."
"Of course." She sighs.
On one hand, his responses are painful, on the other, she finds them relieving. Even though she is now married, she is still free to do her own thing without having to be worried about a man who apparently does not care so much about her being.
Fists clenched and eyes tightly closed, Mina finally falls asleep few minutes later.
Eric shifts as he hears her soft breathing. He leans up and sees her eyes closed in sleep, her breathing shallow and low, as though she is peacefully sleeping. He wonders what to do about the wedding gown she has on. It must be so itchy and uncomfortable for her, even worse that she has no piece of clothing in his house just yet. He would have to do something about that.
Standing up gently from the bed so he won't wake her up, he walks around her. Slowly and gently, he unzips the white gown from her body and when it comes loose, she shifts comfortably, still asleep."
"How the hell is she comfortable enough to sleep?" He asks himself in disbelief as he sees the tightly woven corset around her stomach. He unties the bow at the bottom part of the corset and the thick material comes loose. He pulls it out from her body, leaving her wearing her gown alone. He does everything with her back facing him so he does not see anything.
It's not like he hasn't seen it anyway, but he plans to keep her being comfortable for now.
Seeing her lay down comfortably on the bed, he chuckles to himself. He pulls the blanket over her before returning to his own side of the bed for the night.
That night, one of them, just one, has a peaceful night, for the other, it's not so easy with that woman lying beside him, with his self control on the line.