07

Ariana

I opened my eyes when I received the feeling of slight burning. I looked at the source which was causing me to feel burned; it was the searing heat of the sun penetrating my skin. I groaned when I came back to my senses. I slept on the cushioned bench last night with curtains wide open. I looked up towards the wall clock, it was six in the morning.

I stood up from the bench and made my way to the bathroom and as soon as I entered the bathroom, I gasped out loud. The bathroom was huge, it was almost the same size as the room. Floor tiles were shiny white, giving the feeling of glass. A large modern bathtub is placed at one side of the bathroom and a glass-walled shower beside it. Some indoor plants are placed on the side making the bathroom more beautiful.

I brushed my teeth and then I stripped out of my wedding gown and headed into the shower; I was not a fan of a long bath. I turned the knob of the shower and stood below the stream of water flowing from the shower. I let out a breath when water touched my head. I did not wet my hair daily but today I needed it… to calm my head for some time from the thoughts swirling in my head otherwise I would have gotten a headache. After showering, I took a towel that was placed neatly in the cabinet and towel-dried myself then wore the robe and stepped out of the bathroom. First, I shut the curtains of the room with the remote control. Yeah, curtains were controlled by a remote. I knew I was in the room on top of a tall building and no one could see me from outside but still, I wasn’t feeling comfortable changing my clothes without shutting the curtains.

I opened my suitcase and I took out black casual sweatpants, t-shirt and wore it. I didn’t feel like wearing jeans when I knew I’d not be going out. Sweatpants are more comfortable.

I air-dried my hair then combed my waist-length hair, my hair is deep brown-almost black, anyone could misjudge it as black, especially at night. I put my hair into a bun. I never leave it open, all the time either my hair is braided or in a bun. My hair is super smooth, silky, and straight. But Scarlet always used to bully me that my hair looks hideous, I always felt self-conscious of my hair that’s why I always tied it up. I don’t even put it in a ponytail.

After getting ready, I sat on the bed, contemplating if I should go out of the room or not. What if I came face to face with him and he would get angry at me? But I needed to eat breakfast, I was hungry. What should I do?

The ring of the doorbell echoed in my ears, making me flinch. Someone was at the door. I looked at the wall clock which indicated 7:30 am. The doorbell rang again. Why isn’t he opening the door? I wondered. When the doorbell rang the third time I stood up from the bed and made my way outside. I reached the living room. He wasn’t there, maybe he’s still sleeping. I should open the door before his sleep gets disturbed.

I opened the door to come face to face with a middle-aged lady. “Yes..?” I asked politely.

“Good morning Mrs. Knight, I am Molly Cooper, cook for Mr. Knight. He called me last night and asked me to come here at this time.” She said in a very sweet voice.

“Oh, please come in,” I said and opened the door wider for her. She entered inside with two other females.

“These girls came to cleaning the house. They will clean the house and in the meantime, I will prepare breakfast for you,” She said, pointing towards the females standing beside her.

“Umm… Xav… Xavier is still sleeping, let him get up then you can make breakfast for him” Ugh…why I stammered speaking his name.

“Oh, no Mrs. Knight, he isn’t here. He left for a business trip early in the morning. He informed me last night” she replied. Oh.. he isn’t home.

“Oh!” I said feeling embarrassed, what she must be thinking that I didn’t know the whereabouts of my husband?

“I should start preparing breakfast, you must be hungry,” She said and dismissed other ladies to do their work. She made her way to the kitchen and I followed her.

“Umm…Mrs. Molly, you don’t have to take any trouble for me. I can make breakfast for myself and I can even do the cleaning work.” I said politely.

“Oh, nonsense. You are now a Knight darling, you should take advantage of being a Knight. And I am the cook here, I came to cook for you. So just sit and let me know what you want to eat” she said

“I insist…Mrs. Molly.” Before I could say anything else she cut me off in between.

“Scrambled eggs and toast…good for you?” I sighed and said yes. She was not going to listen to me anyway.

“Coffee or tea…Mrs. Knight ?” She asked.

“Neither one… I can’t handle caffeine” I replied. Well, it’s true, the doctor has advised me to stay away from caffeine due to my severe headache issues.

“And please Mrs. Molly, call me Ariana, you are older than me. It doesn’t feel right you calling me Mrs. Knight”

“Okay… Ariana…I will make fresh juice then.” She replied, smiling.

I sat on the barstool placed against the counter. After a few minutes, she placed a breakfast plate and a glass of juice in front of me.

“You are just the way Mrs. Knight described you. Beautiful, polite, and well-behaved. They have chosen the best for Xavier. Eat your breakfast, dear. If you need anything else, please let me know.” She smiled, patting my head in a motherly manner.

I just nodded my head and started eating my breakfast. I didn’t know what else to say.

∷∷∷∷∷:

It had been four days since I got married and four days since I last saw him. I didn’t know where he was, with whom he was, and when he was going to come back. I knew nothing.

In a very short time I had grown closer to Mrs. Molly, she was a sweet, bubbly, and caring lady. She told me that she had been working for Xavier’s family since he was two years old. Basically, she started working as a nanny for Xavier but after that, she started working as a cook there. She told me that she was second mother to Xavier. He was pretty close to her. If he was in NY and not in any business meeting, he only ate food prepared by her or his mother.

She told me that she lived in Knight mansion with her husband David Cooper, who is chauffeur to Mr. Rupert Knight. She had two children, a son, and a daughter. Her son worked in a finance company in Florida, he lives there with his wife and five-year-old daughter. Her daughter also lived in Florida who is a fresh graduate searching for a job. She told me that Mr. And Mrs. Knight funded her children’s education. She was also very close to Mrs. Knight.

What should I say about Mr. And Mrs. Knight? They are a really sweet couple. They both came a day before yesterday to check on me if I was okay or not. Mrs. Knight told me that they were going on a vacation as they needed some free time from their hectic life. So, before leaving they came to see me. I was really touched by their gesture because no one had ever checked on me.. after my father.

Mrs. Molly would come to prepare breakfast and dinner. After a lot of requests, she agreed not to come to make lunch. I was really feeling disabled when she was not allowing me to do anything. At least now I could move my body a little and make lunch for myself. She didn’t allow me to clean the house but I told her that I would clean my room myself to which she agreed. Cleaning means only making my bed or putting things in the right place because not even slight dirt could be seen in the house.

I thought of finding a new job since I had to quit from the last one. I had to find a job for my mental stability. I decided to talk to Xavier about this when he comes back.

But would he listen to me? And if by chance he agreed to listen to me then would he allow me to do the job? Though he shouldn’t have a problem with that since it would be better for both of us. I would not see him and he would also not see me.

I didn’t know how would I talk to him, he seemed very intimidating. But I had to gather the courage to talk to him because I had to prove to him that I was not a gold digger. He was suspecting me to be one, I would show him who I actually was.

My whole day went into my thoughts. I spent my whole day thinking about how would I initiate the talk with him.

I changed my clothes and went to bed to sleep. I let the lamplight on because I couldn’t sleep in complete darkness. I was scared…I was scared of nightmares… I was scared of them who haunted me in my sleep too.

I drifted my mind to Xavier and my future with him. Mrs. Molly knew what was going on between us. She asked me to give time to Xavier. She asked me to have faith.

But she doesn’t know that he has already crumpled all my hopes.

Shutting all the thoughts off from my mind I went into slumber.

I hope tomorrow will be a different and productive day.