Angela looked at Beau and Marigold staring at each other and said, "Goodness you two look like you've seen ghosts." Marigold looked down and said, "U-uh," Nathaniel interrupted saying, "She's just staring because she thinks Beau is handsome. Isn't that right Marigold?" Marigold gripped her dress while Beau stared at her thinking, 'She's my wife… she's so beautiful but she's way more quiet than she was this morning… I wonder…. I wonder what my father has done to her. How can she go from being so witty and bold to being timid and shy?' Nathaniel said, "So my boy, how did you get production sales up?" Beau ignored his father, continuing to stare at Marigold fidgeting in her seat. Nathiel said, "I've never seen you so distracted in my life Beau," but Beau continued to ignore his father. Angela looked at Marigold starting to shake and said, "I know you're in love Beau but stop staring at her, you're making the poor girl nervous." Beau quickly looked away and Nathaniel said, "Oh nonsense, he just thinks Marigold is beautiful, isn't that right Beau?" Beau stuttered, "I-I…" A waiter with a black tray that had 4 steak dinners on it walked over to the table interrupting Beau. Beau sighed in relief and Angela said, "I hope you don't mind, I already ordered for all of us… I hope you like steak Marigold, it's the highest quality in the country." Marigold said,"s-steak is wonderful…" The waiter put the food in front of Angela, Marigold, Beau, and Nathaniel and left while saying, "I hope you enjoy the dinner." They said their Grace and Angela said, "Now let's eat." As they ate Beau continued to glance at Marigold while she looked down at her plate eating slowly. Angela looked at Beau to see him glancing at Marigold and said, "Son, you haven't kept your eyes off of her." Beau looked down at his plate and Nathaniel chuckled saying, "Oh Angela let the boy enjoy his young love. Marigold is a beautiful sight isn't she Beau." Beau said, "S-She is beau-beautiful." Marigold's face turned red and Beau sighed saying, "She's a sight for sore eyes with a beauty unmatched." Beau thought, 'Why did I just say that, of course I think she's stunning especially in that dress but… she's clearly uncomfortable, I need to put my own feelings aside and stop making it worse…' Beau glanced at Marigold once more to see her hiding her tears and gripping her dress. He thought, 'She's crying… Something had to have happened to her and I don’t know what to say to cheer her up. All I can do is sit here and look like an idiot.' Angela said, "My goodness dear, are you alright? Are you nervous?" Marigold thought, 'I can't believe he's Beau Bax… Why is he doing this to me? I thought he said I was ugly… Why, why is he trying to ruin my life… Still it doesn't seem like Mrs.Bax knows anything that's going on. She seems so nice but would she side with Beau and Nathaniel if I told her what was happening? It's best that I don't take that chance… I don't want my life to be over and besides, it's not worth the fight and energy. I just have to pretend until I can get out of here.' She glanced up to see Nathaniel glaring at her, held back her tears, faked a smile, and looked at Angela while saying, "Yes I'm fine I'm just happy to be here and Beau is so nice. He's the kindest man I've ever met on the planet. I never would've pictured that he and I would ever in a million or even 10 million years be a couple. It's almost like destiny is paying… I mean playing games." Nathiel clenched his jaw and Marigold glanced over at him thinking, 'I think it's for sure Mrs.Bax doesn't know and Mr.Bax sure doesn't want her to find out.' Marigold looked at Beau still with a fake smile on her face and said, "Thank you for the compliment I could use 10 million more." He thought, 'What are these games she's playing?' Beau examined her face looking at the slight redness in her eyes and the puffiness underneath them and thought, 'Her beautiful eyes didn't look like this before, she's been crying a lot.' He touched her face as she looked away and said, "Isn't Beau just handsome. Something I've never seen before. He could've had any girl he wanted yet he just… had to have me…" She looked down and Angela said, "Well… That's one way to put it." Nathaniel said, "Yes… I can say I've never heard my boy talk about a woman the way he talked about you." Marigold said, "He must've had a lot to say for the short time we've known each other right Beau?" Beau jumped in his skin and thought, 'What is she getting at?' Beau said, "Uh Y-yeah…" Marigold gripped her dress as tight as she could and Nathaniel said, "She's a fair prize for any man." Beau glared at Nathaniel and Angela said, "She's not property, she's a human being. Calling her a prize is so degrading." Beau looked at Marigold seeing her holding back her tears and said, "You know uh it's getting kind of late I think we should all turn in for the night…" Angela said, "Oh… your father didn't tell you, me and your father are going on a 2 week vacation to give you two newlyweds time alone." Marigold's eyes widened and Beau glared at his father saying, "Oh that's not necessary…" Nathaniel interrupted saying, "Sure it is, you two need to spend some time alone, possibly consummate the marriage." Marigold's face turned pale while Beau coughed and tried to catch his breath. Angela slapped Nathaniel on the chest and said, "Leave the kids alone, those types of things are between a husband and a wife and it's nobody else's business." Nathaniel said, "I'm sorry I'm getting ahead of myself. You two have fun alone." Marigold stood up and began breathing heavily. Beau stood, said, "Well we must be going," grabbed Marigold’s hand, and led her out the restaurant to a white sports car. He put Marigold in the front passenger’s side seat, got into the front driver's side seat, and took off.
He glanced over at Marigold, looked at her tear soaked dress and said, "Look we aren't going to consummate the marriage anytime soon so please don't mind my father… I don't know what he did or how he got you here in this mess but I'm sorry…" She covered her face and began bawling her eyes out while stuttering, "H-how co-could y-y-you." Beau said, "Marigold I…" She interrupted him crying, "Just leave me alone." Beau sighed and said, "Marigold you… I'm sorry." Minutes flew by and Beau thought, 'Come on dummy, ask her something, try to make her smile.' He said, "You know I really meant what I said, you truly do look beautiful." Marigold ignored him, continuing to cry. He thought, 'How stupid can I be? She doesn't want to hear that she's beautiful right now, she probably already knows that!' He glanced over at her and said, "You know when my dad said he had a wife for me I never thought in a million years it would be you so I'm kind of glad that it was you he chose for me and not another girl… I wouldn't have been able to stand being married to some stuck up rich girl only after money." He saw her tears running down her arms and thought, 'I'm an idiot! She was probably forced into signing those documents and knowing my father he had to have made her sign a contract too. She doesn't want to hear that I want to be with her… I'm probably the last man she'd ever want to be with… At least for right now.' He said, "Alright Marigold, I'll leave you alone…"
They drove in silence all the way to The Bax Residency. Beau parked his car in front of the house and said, "Marigold I…" Before he could say another word, Marigold got out of the car, and ran inside while he chased after her, leaving his keys in the ignition. She ran all the way to the bottom step of the stairs case but before she could take another step Beau grabbed her arm. She tried pulling out of his grip shouting, "Let go of me." Beau said, "Marigold please you have to understand I had nothing to do with this." She pulled out of his grip, slapped him across the face, and said, "You had nothing to do with this? How so when your own father knew everything about me even down to my mother's death and the place I was going to start working at. So tell me Beau Bax, did you two come up with the crazy scheme to force me to marry you together or did you come up with it and tell your father what to do?" Beau said, "What are you talking about? What did my father say to you?" Marigold shouted, "Oh like you don't know! If it's not bad enough that my own father sold me for a 10 million dollar check because he's lazy… For you and your father to come up with the elaborate lie that I forged that check by getting it out of your car essentially ruining my life if I didn't agree to marry you! Who's idea was that huh? Was it yours?!" Beau said, "Marigold I never…" Marigold interrupted him saying, "The real icing on the cake was when he said to consummate the marriage with you and then you have the audacity to say to me 'We wont consummate the marriage anytime soon.' How dare you? How dare you and he ever think that I would ever do something like that with you. I hate you Beau Bax, you ruined my life!" Beau grabbed Marigold's hand once more saying, "Marigold please, I know how this looks but I had nothing to do with this." She shouted, "Let go of me right now!" He said, "Marigold please just hear me out for a second." Marigold shouted, "I don't want to hear what a liar like you has to say." He said, "Marigold, please listen to me." She broke out of his grip and he grabbed her once more saying, "Please Marigold." Marigold looked back at him, tears dripping down her face and shouted, "Don't ever touch me again, if you ever touch me I'll break your hand." She broke out of his grip and she ran back to the guest room that had all her clothing in it while he chased behind her. She ran into the room and slammed the door in his face, locking the door. He pressed his forehead up to the door and knocked on it while saying, "Marigold please listen to me… I didn't want this." He tried opening the door seeing that it was locked, he said, "Please let me in," but got no response. He put his back against the door and slowly slid down it sitting on to the floor, hearing her cry through the door. He thought, 'Why am I so dumb? I mean of course she wouldn't want to talk to me… She was forced to marry me so of course she's angry…. Why did I even make that stupid remark about consummation of the marriage… I didn't mean it the way that I said it… Why did I have to grab her like that? Why am I so nervous around her… I just want to make her happy and I've already messed everything up.' He slammed his hand on the floor thinking, 'She's already in distress, I have to do something… I can't bare to see her like this, hearing her cry… She's so different then the way she was when we first met… That wittiness and her bright smile are gone… To see her beautiful eyes filled with tears is breaking my heart every moment… I never want to see her cry again and I certainly don't want to be the reason that she's crying… I have to break this marriage off, she shouldn't be forced to do something she doesn't want to do…'
An hour passed and Marigold’s cries became quieter and quieter until finally silence hit the hallway. Beau pressed his ear to the door no longer hearing Marigold and thought, ‘At least she stopped crying, but I can’t allow her to continue being miserable like this.’ Beau sat on the floor, the back of his head pressing up to the door, and thought, ‘I never imagined my father would do something this cruel, this isn’t what I wanted… I should’ve never agreed to allow him to find me a wife to marry, I should’ve never signed the marriage certificate… The pain and fear she must feel, to be completely stripped from her home, not knowing where she is, but losing everything… I have to fix this now, for her sake…’ Beau pulled out his phone calling his father. He put his ear up to the phone hearing the phone ringing. BRIIIIIIIIING BRIIIIIIING BRIIIIIIING Beau’s phone rang until it reached Nathaniel’s voicemail. Beau hit the floor with his fist and thought, ‘PICK UP you’ve already dragged me int
Marigold stood by her window watching Beau's car fade in the distance and the black gate door close, slamming shut. She thought, 'I have to move and I have to move fast if I want to get out of here, but how can I make it through the gate without being detected?" She rubbed her chin with her hand and thought, 'If I can stay low and quiet enough, maybe I can stay hidden outside from any security… The only thing that's really lit up is the gate itself, not the entire wall. I can stay hidden in the shadows by the gate and wait until they open the gate for Beau, when his car pulls in I'll have to hurry and stay low but I'm sure I can sneak by without detection. Now the security person's station is on the left side of the gate, so I'll have to stay on the right side of the gate and make sure I stay on the right side of the car so I don't get seen… Alright… I need to get changed.' She looked through her clothing pulling out a solid black pair of high waisted jeans, black tank top, and a blac
At a gas station pump, sitting in his white sports car that had a black interior, sat Beau dialing up his father on his phone. He put his phone up to his ear, hearing it ring, until it reached Nathaniel’s voicemail. Beau tossed his phone on the front passenger's side seat, rested his forehead against the steering wheel, and said, "He's avoiding my calls, thinking I'll let this slide. UGH! This is ridiculous! He should have never tried to buy me a wife. Now all she is, is miserable and it breaks my heart." BUZZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZBeau looked over at his phone to see it vibrating. He quickly picked up his phone and looked at the screen to see Carls calling him. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and answered his phone saying, "Yes." Carls said, "Master Beau, you are needed at home." Beau said, "Home? Why are you at my house? I thought your shift was over already." Carls said, "I left my house key, but there is a bigger problem. So please Master Beau come home at on
Beau walked back to the guest bedroom (that Marigold was in) thinking, 'What did I just do? I lost my temper in a way that I almost never do but… Seeing what he did to Marigold killed me. I just couldn’t control myself. The fact that he would do that to a woman is bad enough and that alone would have made me knock out his teeth but the fact that he did this to Marigold… If Carls wasn’t there to stop me… I would have turned into a completely different person. I would have gone too far.’ Beau stood at the doorway of the guest bedroom (that Marigold was in) and saw Marigold sitting down, hunched over, covering her face while she cried. He walked over to her, kneeled down to her level, and said, “You don’t have to worry about Trad anymore, he’s gone for good…” Marigold stuttered, “I-I w-was so em-embarrassed and y-you just o-over powered m-me.” Beau asked, “What are you…” Marigold slammed her hand on her chair’s armrest, looked up at Beau as tears ran down her cheeks, and interrupted him,
4 days later Knock, knock, knock, knockMarigold was awakened by the sounds of knocking at her door. She pulled her purple covers off of her head revealing her messy bed hair covering her face. She pushed her hair out of her face and mumbled, "Come in." ERRRRRRR EEEEEEEK Carls opened the door holding a shiny gray metal tray of food. On the tray there was a fork and a knife sitting on top of a white napkin, french toast on a plate, orange juice in a tall glass cup, a small cup of syrup sitting on the plate (that had french toast on it), and two strips of applewood smoked bacon on a saucer (next to the plate of french toast). The breakfast aroma filled the room. Carls said, "Good morning Miss Marigold." Marigold sat up stretching her arms and saying, "Good morning Carls." He walked over to her bedside, handing her the tray of food and asking, "Did you sleep well?" Marigold answered, "I slept okay… Thank you for breakfast." She dug into her breakfast while Carls said, "Well I hope you
5 weeks passed and Marigold continued to ignore Beau and his attempts to talk to her. Beau stood in his father's office wearing a white button up dress shirt, black dress pants, a dark brown leather belt, and black lace dress shoes. Nathaniel sat at his desk looking at Beau. Nathaniel said, "So Beau, how's married life treating you." Beau glared at Nathaniel saying, "She absolutely hates me. She won't even speak to me. All because you forced her to marry me." Nathaniel said,"She's still bitter about that? Honestly the child needs to get over it. What's done is done and we did her a favor. She should be thanking us." Beau said, "We didn't do anything. You forced her to marry me against her will. You took her out of her home and didn't give her a choice or say in the matter." Nathaniel said, "No, I gave her options." Beau said, "You blackmailed her into marrying me. That's not options." Nathaniel said, "I gave her options and she chose the better option. If you ask me I say we saved he
Clank, boom, clankAngela looked through her pots and cooking wear on a lower shelf in her kitchen. "Ah, there it is," she said while pulling out a light brown wood cutting board and rolling pin. She placed the cutting board on the island, looked through her fridge, and pulled out the pasta dough she had made earlier. She placed the pasta dough on the cutting board, turned to Marigold, and asked, "Would you like to roll the dough?" Marigold nodded and walked over to the cutting board. Marigold took the rolling pin and began rolling out the dough while Angela went through her cabinets looking for flour. Angela grabbed the flour out of one of her upper cabinets, while saying, "I hope this pasta turns out good, I've never actually made pasta from scratch before and I hate looking up recipes. I just do trial and error, learning from my mistakes." Angela placed the flour next to the cutting board and said, "So my darling daughter in law, tell me about yourself." Marigold stared at the past
Angela said, "Now you known Beau for a little while but he's more than he seems. With you he's gentle and does whatever he can to make you happy, am I right?" Marigold looked down thinking back to when Beau brought her food and tried to help her. She (Marigold) looked back at Angela and said, "Yes… He's always buying me things and sitting outside my door, waiting for me to ask him for help… It's quite strange to me if I'm being honest." Angela smiled saying, "Yes my Beau Bear always tries his best to provide. It may not be in the best way but he tries to help and show he cares the only way he knows how. Now some may find his ways strange unless they know his background and trauma." Marigold said, "Beau had trauma… He didn't seem like the type to have dealt with trauma at all. He always seems happy." Angela said, "Yes, he tries to hide it the best that he can. He doesn't like to share what he's been through… He feels like talking about it, is pushing his feelings and trauma on others…