Kate’s lips trembled but she could not speak; she stared at the old lady for a moment;
''I… I just took my bath. ''
She explained; pursing her lips.
“You don't want me to repeat myself. Do you? '' milly said, raising her brows. Kate bowed her head low and turned towards the bathroom; the maids looked at her with pity as though she was a lamb taken to be slaughtered; they could only imagine what evil she must have done to their boss to attract his venom.
After taking her bath; the elderly lady pointed at some specific lotions on her vanity table; and she applied it; after which, a maid dried her hair, and after applying a sweet-smelling oil; let it fall to her back. A light makeup was applied to her face which stressed her beauty, but beauty was the last thing she wanted that night.
After her makeup was applied, she was given the basket;
''Put those on and follow me. ''
Milly instructed; Kate stared at the basket for a moment; his lips thinned into a straight line; inhaling sharply, she took out the long maroon robe. She was already putting on lingerie, so when she tied the robe, it covered her whole.
Her heart slammed against her chest as she was led upstairs. When they approached the second floor, the three maids turned and went back downstairs; although they didn't provide any safety, she was more scared now that she was left alone with milly.
Milly led her to the third floor and Kate was stunned; it was as though the third floor was a different house altogether. In contrast with the bright colors and furniture in the first two floors, the third floor was fixed with grey color; there were dark paintings on the wall which sent chills down her spine;
Everywhere was so quiet that she could hear the echoes of their footsteps on the floor; milly suddenly stopped by a large door at the end of the long hall, and she knocked lightly; there was no sound from the other side, she took her time and knocked again;
''Come in.''
She remembered his voice, it was impossible to scrape the sound of it from her memories. milly pushed open the door and led her inside;
As expected; his room was painted with black color, and it was vast. There were many partitions in the room; Kate accessed her surroundings briefly;
There was a Grey curtain covering the glass wall which faced the east; he had a mini siting area in his room and there were so many dark drawings on the wall, and in the middle of the large room was the enormous king bed.
Kate s eyes fell on Liam, who was sitting on a couch on the east, just beside the glass wall; he had his eyes glued on her as he inhaled a cigar; she noticed that there were about four cigarette butts on the glass tray sitting on a stool beside him.
''I've brought her. '' milly spoke solemnly; she was no longer fierce as she was when she spoke to her, even though her face bore no emotions, there was a drastic difference from how she always looked and spoke to the maids and how she was now, in front of him.
Liam didn't respond; he tapped on the butt of the cigar in his hand, letting the ashes drop onto the ash tray. He didn't say a word, but milly bowed a little and left. Kate became more fearful after Milly closed the door behind her. this was the husband she was to leave with for two years. Will she manage this life?
She could feel beads of sweat dripping from her face and her hands were fisted behind her as she tried to appear calm; he was far away from her, but his aura permeated every inch of the room. He had not spoken since they entered the room and even now that Milly had left, he still did not speak; keenly smoking one cigar after another; the smell was repulsive, but that was the least of her problems at that moment.
Liam shifted his gaze from the lighter in his hand to the woman standing right beside the door; she had her hands behind her and from where he sat, he could tell that she was terrified. Who wasn't scared of him?
The room was getting too stuffy by the second; the man on the couch hadn't spoken since she entered the room, his dark eyes kept keen on her body, as though she was a bird he was aiming to kill.
The light in the room was bright so she could see his face; he looked tremendously angry as though he needed to vent his anger on something or someone;
''Come here… '' His voice was cold and stern; he continued puffing the cigar as though he had said nothing.
Kate stood for a moment before she dragging her legs from the hard tiles underneath her and walked towards him; she stopped several feet away from him afraid of getting any closer; her heart was pounding against her rib cage, and she could hear each thud on her ear;
Her hands fell to her sides, but they were still fisted;
Liam raised his eyes to look at her, she was still far off but he didn't ask her to come closer;
''Take your clothes off… ''
He said, picking a new cigar and lighting it. Kate heart skipped a bit; if she had not heard wrongly, he just told her to take her clothes off.
He would indeed sleep with her! Just the mere thought of it sent bile rising to her mouth; and she forced herself not to gag.
Her hands were stiff, and her throat tight, although she didn't want to do so, she knew she didn't have a choice, that was what she had bargained for. Liam was still smoking as though he had said nothing; and she was still staring at him, reluctant to do so.
His right brow arched, and his eyes shot daggers at her;Kate stepped backward twice; her head bowed low;''I'm sorry, I'm not prepared for this now, can we do this some other day?''She thought she was strong; she thought she would be able to let herself do anything but she was utterly wrong, it was that moment, she realized how hard it was to give yourself to someone you hate to your very bones! Yes, she hates this man to the bone, she took her life away from her.Liam brows eased, and he dropped the cigar on the tray; relaxing back on the couch;''I didn't ask for your opinion; I just told you to take your clothes off your body.it was a command not a request ''He said in a relaxed tone. Kate raised her eyes to look at him; if he wanted to r*pe her, he should at least have mercy on her virgin soul, and let her mind be prepared!He was still staring at her with venom in his eyes, it was as though she was just a fun toy, as though he
The next day was Sunday. She had stayed awake for the greater part of the night before she finally drifted off to sleep.After taking her bath that morning; she put on a long single strap dress, packed her hair up with a hairband, and left her room. She walked down the hall to the front porch; there were a few people insight and they were all busy doing one thing or the other; everywhere looked serene, so she guessed that he might be at home.Since she had nothing to do, she figured she might as well go check up on her sister and know how she had been faring.She passed by some workers and she greeted them politely; they replied with a wave, some with a smile. She knew the news of her being the master's wife must have spread among the workers, from the way they looked at her; she knew that they pitied her greatly.She hadn't reached the first gate when she saw him; her heart skipped a beat. She didn't expect to see him on her way out, so she was nervous,
Kate heaved a sigh of relief as she watched him walk away; thinking about it, she would have to remain in her room whenever he was home, to avoid him seeing a glimpse of her. Now, she can't ever leave the mansion without him knowing about it. Sighing, she stood up, unsure of where to go to.She hadn't taken three steps down the road when two guards approached her;''Miss, we were told to escort you out to the city this way Miss. '' The guard pointed towards the first gate, as though to tell her to go on first. Kate stared at both of them for a split moment before walking forward.At the first gate, a black car was waiting; the first guard sat in front with the driver while the other, sat with her at the back seat. Kate was almost suffocating in the car, she would have preferred to go alone but now, there were three men wearing heavy cologne suffocating her inside a car! She can't even breathe properly.''Where to? Miss '' The driver asked, and she told hi
Kate was surprised by what she heard, her eyes widening in surprise; if the rumors are true, then it was good news for her.''Yes, our boss hasn't been seen with any woman, so everybody presumed that he was into men, I think the rumors were getting too much so he wanted to silence it. I think his grandfather had got him a woman, but he didn't want her, so he got himself a wife so he could keep his grandfather off his matters for the time being.Kate thought to herself; the explanation really made sense; he could have chosen a million things to do with them but he wanted a wife; a wife whom he would never touch. Now she thought about it, he never looked at her body the previous night! The more Kate thought about it, the happier she became; if he was gay he would never ever touch her, right?And when everything had calmed down, he would let her go?That was the happiest she had been since she started living in the mansion.''… and the boss is
The next day, Kate woke up early and waited for Liam to come downstairs; the day before she had asked around and she was told that he goes to work by 8 am, so she woke up early and dressed properly and waited for him at the end of the stairs;She wanted to leave the estate, and he had told her she could not leave unless she told him about it; although she didn't want him seeing her often, she had no choice.She stood there for about ten minutes before she heard his footsteps on the stairs; her heart beating rapidly as his steps approached, he was someone who couldn't be comprehended, so she wasn't sure what his reply would be;Liam walked down quietly when suddenly, he saw someone standing at the end of the stairs; her head was bowed low. His brows creased, no-one dared to stay in his path whenever he was home, he wondered what gave that woman such audacity. Pulling his eyes away from her, he continued down the stairs, but just as he was about to walk past her,
After Irene had left, Kate took out her phone from her purse and tried to call him, but the call was rejected, instead, immediately she received an incoming call; and it was from him. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she stared at the number, hesitant to pick the call.She was still contemplating on whether to pick the call when it ended and he called again; this time she took in a deep breath and answered;''Hello? '' She said, unsure of how to start the conversation. If this had happened a month ago, she would have been shouting over the roof with joy, but she could only manage a hello which was still strained;There was a little shuffling on the other end and then he spoke;''Hello, Kate, are you there? '' He asked; his voice very sober. Kate inhaled sharply, her eyes closed; she had missed this voice, so much, that hearing it now, brought nourishment to her sad soul, but her heart squeezed tightly, knowing that she couldn't be with him now, no
Justin was beyond shocked when he heard what she said;He had not finished recovering from the news of her father's death and she threw a more shattering news to him;He could not believe his ears;''What do you mean? You are married? ''He asked; turning to face her; his eyes red and his face pale; Kate seeing his expression could not bring herself to go on; she wailed;''Talk to me, what do you mean by saying that you are a married? I don't talk to you for six months and you're already in the arms of another man? And worse even marred? ''''NO!! '' Kate blared, trying to justify herself;''Then what is it! What do you mean by saying that you are married? ''Justin was almost shaking from the pain, his heart was thoroughly broken; he had not contacted her because of his final medical exams; and as soon as he was through he came back and see her before his graduation, but when he arrives, she tells him this?''Father owe
''Miss, Mrs. Milly wants to see you. '' A maid approached Kate as she stepped down from the car; she remembered that Liam had told her to get ready, so she followed the maid; Milly was sitting on a couch in the living room, immediately she saw Kate come in, she stood up; ''Follow me. '' She commanded and Kate followed, walking behind her carefully; Kate was taken to her room; but she could barely recognize it, many clothes heaped on her bed; by the side, she saw boxes of shoes, handbags, purses, pieces of jewelry to name a few; there were two lavishly dressed people in the room; a man and a lady; As soon as the door opened, they turned towards their direction; ''Is she the one? '' The man who dressed like a woman's asked; Milly nodded and gestured for Kate to move forward; satisfied that she had done her part, she left the room, closing the door behind her. ''Well, good day sweetheart, I'm a makeup artist and she is a fashion designer, we are