Chapter twelve

Ava quickly changed into more comfortable clothes and headed down to join Elias at the dining table. He was already sitted and started eating without her. She sat on the chair across him while Mrs Linda came forward to dish out the food.

The food tasted bland to Ava, maybe because she was not yet comfortable with her environment.

They both ate in silence while Mrs Linda retreated to the kitchen. Elias finally broke the silence.

" Living with me comes with strict rules which you must follow if we must coexist." Elias said as he picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth. Ava immediately put down the cutlery in her hands and looked up to face Elias.

" And what are those rules?"

" The first thing you must know is that I don't have any family members apart from my grandfather, and so you must treat him with respect and you must never let him know that this marriage is a contract marriage."

Ava nodded her head in compliance and asked " what happened to the rest of your family members?", Silence followed after she asked the question and for a moment she began to regret why she asked the question.

Maybe that was a topic he never wants to tell anybody. After a while Elias said something.

" My parents died in a plane accident when I was young and my grandfather was the one who raised me. I have no siblings,I'm the only child of my parents. Does that answer your question?" He asked looking at Ava with cold eyes.

Ava could feel the atmosphere freezing around her and just nodded her to answer.

" Good...another rule is that you're never allowed to come to my private study at any time or else I ask you to,you can go to every other part of the house" he said with a serious tone.

" You're also not allowed to interfere with my business and my relationship with other people,but be rest assured that I'll stay loyal to this marriage." Ava didn't utter a word whilyhe spoke she only nodded to show that she was following. She didn't actually care if he stayed loyal to her or not,she just wanted her revenge....so she thought.

When Elias saw that the little woman in his front was following he continued. " You have access to all the cars in the garage except one,the white Porsche, it's my personal car and you're not allowed to go anywhere near it for any reason". He said.

" You're not allowed to bring any visitor or friends into this house without my knowledge and approval." Elias said. Ava was not happy with that,what about her friend Jane,but she didn't say anything about it.

" And finally, you're not allowed to come to my office except with my permission. I'll make sure to provide everything you need, just follow my rules and be a good wife and this marriage might just work."

" Do you have any questions?" Elias asked Ava after he was done listing his rules.

"Yes." Ava replied," you didn't say anything about my reason for agreeing to this marriage at the first place, which is getting my revenge" she said.

Elias poured himself some wine,drank a mouthful before replying her. " Just leave that to me, I'll handle it myself. Or do you have any plan in mind?" He asked her.

Ava shook her head and said " no I don't...but I do have a request for you" she said.

" And what could that be?" Elias asked with brows furrowed.

" I don't want anybody to know about our marriage...I want to keep it a secret for now. Elias looked at her with suprise.

" And why do you want it that way?" He asked. He was surprised by this little woman. If it were to be any woman in her place who got married to him,they would have broadcasted it to to the whole world.

He was Elias Ward and being with him was every woman's dream but this little woman thought otherwise. He couldn't wait to see what this little woman is up to.

" I don't have any particular reason for doing that,I just want it that way... when the time is right we can then announce our marriage" Ava replied.

" As you wish...but I have to tell my grandfather about it. And also prepare yourself, you're going to be meeting him very soon." After he said that, Elias picked up an apple from the table and stood up. " I'll be heading out now." He then walked out of the house.

Ava could hear the sound of the car engine turning on, and soon it faded as he drove away from the house.

She was all alone in the house,it became very quiet and lonely. Ava didn't have the appetite to keep eating so she prepared to leave the table. Just then Mrs Linda came in to clear the table. She looked at Ava and smiled.

" You look so young and beautiful...my boss sure has good taste in women." Mrs Linda said to Ava.

" Thank you ma" Ava replied.

" Don't mind his cold and emotionless attitude,he isn't always like that. He can be very sweet and jovial at times,you just have to give him time to warm up to you. I believe you can both make things work out." Mrs Linda continued as she packed all the plates and leftovers.

" Thanks Mrs Linda.. I'll see to that." Ava said and went back to the room.

Very soon it was dark outside and Elias was not back yet. Ava didn't give it much thought, believing that was how he usually kept late night. She took her shower and changed into a clean nightwear and headed to bed.

She couldn't sleep,so she just layed on the bed wide awake.

Not long after Elias returned,he went straight to the room and saw Ava laying on the bed her back facing,he couldn't tell if she was asleep or awake. He headed to the bathroom to take a shower. All this while Ava was wide awake.

Her heart began racing as soon as Elias stepped into the room. It was their first night together as a married couple and she didn't know what to expect. She fell asleep still in thoughts even before Elias came out of the shower.

Elias wore his pyjamas and layed on the other side of the bed.

They both went to sleep with their back facing each other.