GHOST GROOM

NIRELLE

The man who has yet to introduce himself to me led me into the house. The entire house was gloomy but not bad; it had an ancient feel to it. Almost like an abandoned castle. The interior had gold- and silver-plated walls with huge art frames lining the hallway. I stare at them as I try to keep my step in line with the man ahead of me. The portraits in front of me do not tell any story; they look abstract, like they had no place there. The hallway was littered with abstract pieces of art here and there.

"He must like art," I murmur to myself as I walk ahead. Finally, the man with me stops, and I stop a few steps from him so I do not run into him. He turns and inspects me like he has never seen me before.

"I am Theo," the man said suddenly, causing me to wonder what my reaction should be. I let go of the hem of my dress that I had held up and dragged through the long hallway.

"I am Nirelle Thamore," I replied, sticking my hand out to him. He looks at my hand and with a frown on his face, he looks up at me.

"Not Thamore but Vexley," he corrects, and I realise that I am now married. I had known it, but the truth was lost on me. It seemed like I was watching myself get married, but I was not the one getting married. For someone who hated Enoch, I could not seem to let go of the name so easily.

"Oh," I let out with a gust of air from my mouth. He nods and makes an undecipherable sound.

"There are rules here," he begins, and I almost roll my eyes at him. It would be strange if there weren't. For a person like Lucien living this kind of life, I was sure that there were rules to be followed. I wait for him to tell me before I say anything to him.

"First of all," he begins, his eyes looking around as if he were making sure we were alone. "You do not go to the third floor of this building." I am tempted to ask why, but then he looks like he won't be interested in entertaining any questions I might have. "For any reason at all," he adds as if his emphasis was not clear in the first place. I nod my head because I plan to live in the shadows here; after all, if they wish to have chains on me and lock me up in a basement, I would agree as long as we do not have to speak on the matter of sex.

"You are free to go out whenever you want, but you must make sure you use the assigned driver and bodyguards with you, and you must make it back home every night."

"I am allowed to go past the gates?" I ask him and he nods, looking at me as if it were a strange question. It feels surreal that I would be allowed to walk in the outside world all by myself. "By myself?" I ask again, and he nods. This time, I can see him running out of patience, so I press my lips together and nod slowly.

"You will hear the rest from Mr. Vexley later." He stops himself from whatever it was that was bubbling in his chest.

"Is that all?" I ask because I was expecting him to lay down twenty commandments of things I could not do while I lived as his wife, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in anything he said. "Are you sure you aren't leaving anything out?" He seemed irritated by my sudden interruptions, but he was trying his best not to show it to me.

"Come here," he said instead of answering my questions, and before I could tell if he was addressing me, two ladies dressed in uniforms walked towards me. "They would be attending to you and everything you need," he says, and I turn my gaze towards them. "Take her and make her ready for dinner."

"Am I not going to meet Mr. Vexley?" I asked when he turned to leave.

"At dinner," he said and disappeared from sight.

"I am Nirelle Thamore..." I pause as I realise that I should get used to my name being changed. "Nirelle Vexley, but you can call me Nirelle," I say, trying to smile at them.

"This way, Mrs. Vexley." The older one of them leads me away; we climb the stairs and finally come to a halt in front of one of the rooms. "This would be your room," she said as she opened the double door. I gasped at the sight before me; it was the kind of beauty we see in movies and I think it must have been exaggerated to look like that.

"This is mine?" I choke, and they nod.

"You can get changed into something more comfortable for dinner, and I will come to get you ten minutes before dinner time."

"I don't have anything to wear," I say, but both of them take a step back before disappearing from sight. I walk into the room, closing the doors behind me. I had not had the luxury of a big room, even though the Thamore mansion had enough. Enoch did not believe that I was worthy of it, and Yvette followed with whatever he ordered.

I try to get familiarised with the room and as soon as I open the closet door, I stand in awe; it is loaded with enough clothes to make a store. I walk in and run my hands across the dress. "Are these for me?" I ask myself, as there is no one left to answer my questions. I enter the bathroom and take a long shower.

Once I am done and I sit in front of the mirror, I wonder if I am supposed to cover up the bruises on my face or if I am supposed to show up with my bare face. I dress in a red dress, which seems to be the least of everything that is in there. I do a double-take in the mirror; the dress seems extravagant against my skin. I feel a bit small and unworthy, but I know that I do not have anything else to wear, so I manage it.

The older woman comes in and leads me to the ground floor and then to the dining table. I see his back from where I stand. I do not know what is about to happen, but I know this encounter is going to seal my fate for life. I take a deep breath and walk over so I can see his face. I stop in my tracks, and my hands fly to my mouth.

"You are handsome?"