Permission [3]

Author's POV

Revealing a large, walk-in closet with row after row of neatly hung clothes, the clothes’ pristine look almost mocked her.

The shine caught her attention as she hesitated, but her numb heart refused to let her go inside. Her heart whispered this wasn't what I was looking for.

Walking a little farther in the room, she opened the second door; a relief left her lips. It was the bathroom.

It was massive, the marble floor glowed in the white light reflecting her state, a cruel image in it as her eyes got moist. Her heart twisted painfully; turning her face, she looked up only to come face-to-face with a large mirror hanging on the entire wall, showing her scattered self.

Her eyes got stuck on her image as the blanket loosened from her grip, falling on the floor.

The girl in the mirror was unrecognisable; she looked like a total stranger to her, a chain around her neck hanging, telling her she was married, with those hickeys on her collarbone bearing the proof of last night’s actions.

Her lips looked like the life from them was sucked out chapped, swollen, and marked with cuts.

Her throat tightened with emotion; her vision started to blur as tears gathered in her eyes. They slowly started to flow. At first, they fell slowly, but soon the choked sob broke through her. Her body fell on the floor, sinking into the cold marble. Her face burned into her hands.

Her cry grew, echoing in that luxury bathroom; she looked small, burying herself more into herself. She looked out of place in that shiny bathroom.

The weight of everything crashed down on her. At that moment, Aria felt powerless and alone.

Aria sat on the floor, her cries echoing in the empty walls. Tears streamed down as her thoughts ran wild.

What am I doing…

Her arms moved, hugging herself. Her grip tightened around her body; the weight of reality crashed on her. She was married, to a total stranger, not out of love, for money. It was just a show, everything that was happening was real.

In her entire life, Aria never imagined in her wildest dreams herself in this situation, but now she was living it.

She knew after six months she was never going to be the same Aria again.

Her thoughts cut through her, leaving an ache behind that nothing could wash away.

After crying for hours and washing away last night’s sins, Aria stepped into the room; her eyes were more swollen and red now.

Her hands were wrapped around the towel in which her body was wrapped.

The more cruel reality pressed on her as her gaze landed on her wedding dress which was torn, and she had no clothes to wear.

She needed to meet Rowan, she needed to ask about her mother's surgery. He had promised her that he would take care of her mother’s surgery. Her mother was the only thing that kept her standing through all this; if it wasn’t for her, she could have broken by now.

She remembered the room full of clothes she had seen earlier. She hesitated at first, but then, having no option, she opened the room with no choice, stepping inside.

It was filled with expensive and luxurious clothes of a man, rows of tailored suits, watches, shoes, and jewelry. There were no women’s clothes in her view.

Her finger touched the clothes before she could stop herself. Her eyes caught a shirt as her finger ran over it lightly; the scent touched her sensory buds, her heart skipped, and immediately she took her hand back.

It was his, the thought crushed her mind. She was hesitant; at first, she thought to wear anything she got and meet Rowan to know about her mother.

He wouldn’t mind if I wore one shirt from all this… she thought, giving herself a slight motivation, trying to convince herself.

What if he gets angry? She thought. But she had no option.

She decided to wear his clothes, her heart filled with fear.

Aria picked out one of his shirts with a pair of track pants.

The shirt hung loosely around her frame, reaching just above her knees. The pants were too big for her as she forced them tight around her waist. She rolled the shirt sleeves; she glanced in the mirror in the closet.

She looked almost drowned in expensive fabric, looking like a beggar in expensive clothes.

But that didn't matter now. She needed to see her mother.

She stepped outside as her wet hair clung to her face. She grabbed a pin from the table where she had put them; she had lots of them, the makeup artist had used dozens of pins in her hair yesterday.

She pulled her hair back and pinned it messily. Aria swallowed all the anxiety.

As Aria stepped out of the room, gripping her oversized shirt in her wrist tightly, she saw a maid passing by her.

Hesitation gripped her throat. She used to work in this mansion, and now she was the wife of the owner. Maybe they would judge her, but she swallowed. She remembered the friend Aria had made while working here. She didn’t have worked much time to know everything, but she remembered her friend telling her:

“If you want to find Rowan, just ask any maid. He’s always around them flirting.”

Taking a deep breath, Aria walked toward the maid. “Excuse me… can you tell me where I can find Rowan?”

The maid paused, looking at Aria shortly. Aria expected an unwanted expression from her, but it showed nothing, like they already knew everything. It made her feel uneasy, but Aria pushed it aside.

The maid answered, “He’s in the kitchen.”

Aria thanked her as she walked in the direction of the kitchen. As Aria walked down, she noticed something odd in their behaviour.

They weren’t staring or whispering as she had expected to hear from them, like they had seen this coming.

She shook her thoughts because there were many workers in the mansion and she had only met a handful of them.

Aria entered the kitchen; she spotted Rowan standing, drinking his coffee while talking with one maid. The flirty look was in his eyes.

He didn’t notice her at first, but when he did, the coffee cup slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor with a crashing sound.

Aria froze for a moment at his reaction. Concerned, she walked towards him and asked him gently,

“Are you ok?”

Rowan didn’t answer her question. His eyes moved, scanning her as he asked a question:

“Are you wearing Vincent’s clothes?” His tone filled with disbelief.

Aria stood confused as her mind repeated the word. “Vincent?” She murmured that name on her tongue, her mind ran as the realisation hit her Vincent was her husband’s name.

“Your husband, Vincent,” Rowan clarified, watching her expression carefully.

Aria’s heart raced, gripping the edge of the shirt.

“I am sorry,” Aria whispered. “I didn’t have anything else to wear… I just want to meet my mom. Can you take me to her?”

Rowan shook his head. “I can’t take you to her. You’ll need permission from Vincent first.”

______

Aria moved her hand to knock on the door, hesitation gripping her hand as she pulled back.

Her heart beat fast, her breaths short; she didn’t have the courage to face Vincent,his dangerous aura and those cold grey eyes that terrified her to her core. They seemed to strip her bare when he looked at her.

She took a deep breath, reminding herself why she was here as she whispered to herself she needed to do this. I have to see my mother.

She told herself and forced herself to knock.

She knocked, as the door clicked softly and opened automatically. Her chest tightened as she stepped inside.

And then, she saw him.

The grey eyes met hers, freezing her in place.