CHAPTER FIVE

The ride home was silent, they sat beside each other without saying a word.

Vanessa wondered who the woman was and what she meant by she once carried his child.

Was she his former lover?

Did he promise her marriage?

Did she loose the baby?

She had so many questions but she couldn't ask him any.

He was visibly angry, his right leg vibrating, he kept clenching and unclenching his fist.

His phone rang and he immediately picked the call.

“Is it done?” He asked the person on the other end 

“Good” he said after a moment of silence before ending the call and placing his phone right back into his pocket.

What has he done?

Did he do something to the other woman?

Is he going to do something to her?

The driver announced their arrival, and he immediately left the car once it stopped.

She came down after a few minutes of struggling to get her wedding gown through the door.

 She stood before a magnificent building. It was a duplex with monotonous colours, it stood high with beautiful wall to wall windows and well cut lawns.

An array of expensive cars packed.

He sure loves his cars.

She lifted her gown, following him into the house.

Her new home for the next 11 months and 29 days. 

The countdown has began.

She stood stunned as she took in the interior designing of the house.

The living room was lit up with venetian chandeliers made of Swarovski, the crystals shimmering with over a thousand lights displaying over the room and reflecting off the floor. From the flooring materials of parquet oak floorings, the mosaic tilings, the incandescent bulbs, and not to talk of the Persian carpets.

He wanted whomever came in here to know that he was actually wealthy because the beauty before her was insane.

“Vanessa!” He called snapping his fingers at her which brought her back to reality.

“Yes” 

“Your room is down the hallway” he said and she nodded in reply still in awe of the place.

“Rule number 1: do not encroach into my personal space or any of my stuff

Rule number 2: you are here as a guest, so behave like one, do not get too comfortable. 

Rule number 3,do not ever let anybody know that this is temporary.

 And finally rule number 4: never ever disobey me, is that clear?” 

“Yes” she replied with a tiny voice.

He moved to the drink cabinet at the end of the living room and poured himself a drink, downing it all at once.

Is he a drunk as well?

Then came a loud noise from above, followed by doors opening and then a petite blonde lady appeared at the top of the staircase, clad in a see through lingerie.

“Adrian!” she shrieked, running down the stairs and to his side, he look unfazed as he continued to pour himself a drink.

“You've been gone far too long, I missed you” she said batting her lashes at him without so much as sparing Vanessa a glance.

The lady wrapped her arms around his, pressing her cleavages into him.

He still looked unfazed,but didn't stop her either.

She whispered something into his ears and a look crossed his eyes, he picked her up instantly bridal style, a giggle erupting from the lady and they headed up the stairs.

Her laughter echoing through the halls and faded off.

She just stood there, in the middle of the living room, in her wedding dress.

This was supposed to be their wedding night.

It wasn't like she was expecting them to spend the night together but he had to respect the fact that it was their wedding night and just 

She stood still for a while, tears gathered her eyes but she wiped them off immediately.

She had to look at the bright picture and keep her distance until the marriage was over, until then she was going to help her family the best way that she could.

She slowly made her way upstairs to the room at the end of the hallway.

Well this was it

What her life was going to look like for the next year.

Curling herself up into a feotus position, she slept off. 

*******************

She woke up the next morning around 11am still dressed in her wedding dress, and she slipped it off into something more comfortable after having a bath, taking whomever it was that brought her suitcases up to her room.

She finally left her room to find the house empty.

And then she wandered around for a while, admiring the beautiful masterpiece he owned, grateful that he wasn't in the way, so she could breath properly and actually enjoy the scenery around her.

She moved from room to room.

There were so many empty rooms for only one person.

Well he wasn't technically alone, if she thought about it.

Not with his troop of women, he wasn't.

The view she loved the most was the pool and the trees and forestry it overlooked from his backyard.

It was so incredible.

She went back to the living room and into what seemed like the kitchen.

She almost screamed, at the sight of the kitchen .

It was so spacious and elegant,

She couldn't remember the last time she made a meal without someone else's elbow in her face or someone shoving into her.

Honestly kitchens at restaurants were the worst.

The kitchen looked so pristine, like those in cooking shows she's been binge watching ever since she was a kid.

She walked to the refrigerator and opened it up,only to be greeted by bottles of water and cans of beer.

She closed it and went over to the cabinets

Empty

She moved further going through all the kitchen cabinets and they were all empty.

He didn't even have the basics, like plates, or spoons or even cups.

How did he live here?

Then she heard the sound of the door

Someone was at the door, inputting the pincode 

she crept quietly out of the kitchen to see who it was.

Is he back?

Should she run back to her room and lock herself inside?

Well that actually wasn't a bad idea, lock herself up for a year and come out when the deal was up.

Only if it were that simple. She sighed to herself

The door opened and in came a chubby middle aged woman, who used her leg to close the door behind her.

she carried grocery bags which seemed too heavy for her and yelped when she saw Vanessa, the items contained in the bag flying in all directions.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry “ Vanessa said running after the rogue orange rolling away.

“Are you the new wife?” She asked, eyeing her briefly.

“Yes I am, I'm Vanessa and you are?” She asked still picking food off the floor and into the plastic bag.

“I am Susan, the housekeeper” she replied before picking up the bags and heading into the kitchen.

“I don't know why I was so shocked, it's not a new thing meeting different faces whenever I come to work here” she grumbled 

“I'm so sorry for scaring you like that, I was expecting to see Adrian”

“Well that did put a jump in me for sure… I was ordered in by him, I usually do not work on Sundays” she said with a small smile.

“And this is the first time, I’ve been sent on grocery shopping for him… he's hardly ever around and when he is, he's either in one business meeting or in another meeting in his bedroom with one of his misses but that's none of my business, I just do what I'm paid to do“ she continued with a shake of her head.

Vanessa watched as the old lady walked round the kitchen, arranging the items.

She seemed bubbly and talkative.

Maybe that's just what she needed to distract herself for a while.

Talk to someone 

“How many days do you work in a week?” Vanessa asked as politely as she could.

“it depends, on weeks when he's not in the country, I just come by during the weekends to clean and on days when he's around. I do come by 3 times weekly but never on Sundays… I take Sundays as my rest days!”

“But you are here now?” she queried further.

“He threatened to fire me and told me to get groceries and hung the call on me” she said, her face forming a scrowl.

“well that's not nice at all” Vanessa said wondering if Adrian sent her grocery shopping because of her.

Was he thinking about her?

Maybe he didn't hate her after all

“Can I ask you something miss?” Susan the housekeeper asked 

“Yes go ahead?”

“Why did you marry Sir Adrian?... You do not seem like a gold digger to me.” 

The question shocking.

But she replied instantly without even thinking.

“Because I like him” she replied, lying through her teeth hoping susan would believe her.

Just as Susan was about to say something, they heard footsteps drawing closer.

Her heart flew to her mouth, she thought she was alone at home.

Then appeared the lady from last night, this time around she had on a large t-shirt twice her size.

She headed for the fridge and took out a bottle of water, before staring at the two ladies present.

“So you are the new wife… Mrs knight?” She asked Vanessa with a look of disgust on her face. “Sorry I took your man from you on your wedding night, he just couldn't get enough from me… I mean I hardly slept at all last night” she continued with a chuckle.

The silence that followed was deafening.

What was she to respond to that?

Was she to respond that the marriage was fake and she didn't care at all if they spent the night together?

“Ohhhhhhh… Adrian said he ordered for groceries, I heard you are chef why don't you whip me up something to eat, I am starving” she said and left the kitchen.

And all of a sudden she felt hurt and stupid.

How stupid was she to believe he ordered Susan to get groceries for her.

Here she was wishing that he had thought about her for a second, not that she needed him to, it would have just been nice of him to.

Nice?

He was anything but that.

Stupid stupid Vanessa.

“You like him huh” Susan said sarcastically when she was out of earshot.

All of this was insane and too much for her.

She had just encountered the worst week of her life and that was excluding the time she spent in France,lost.

The door bell rang bringing her out of her thoughts.

Is he home already?

Should she run back into her room and lock herself up?

Well he won't be ringing the bell, it was his house.

She moved to the door and opened it to see Adrian's mother Mrs knight standing on the other side, and a man holding large plastic bags behind her.

She had on a huge smile on her face,

Her pretty, slightly wrinkled face brightening up.

“Oh my dear daughter in law” she said coming in to give Vanessa a hug.

“You look so tired, I hope Adrian didn't wear you out so much last night” she said arching her brows, studying her face and looking her over.

Vanessa did look tired, with her hair tied up in a lazy bun, and heavy eye bags.

She only just washed off her makeup from yesterday this morning, and she was clad in PJs she pulled out from the first box, she opened.

Her mother in law gave out orders to the man standing behind her and he disappeared down the hallway.

“Pardon me for stopping by unannounced but I brought over some things to help you settle in nicely before your honeymoon, I just couldn't help myself, knowing the kind of man my son is…where is he by the way?” Mrs knight asked, her eyes trailing around the house and up stairs.

“He isn't home ma!” 

“Isn't home?... Where on earth will he be on the day after his wedding, if not snuggled in bed with you… and please call me Anabel” she said, the last part with a smile cupping Vanessa's face with her hands.

She seemed so nice.

“So about the honeymoon, I honestly thought you would choose Greece… it is a beautiful country and you would love it there!” She said but was met with Vanessa’s confused look.

“I still can't believe I have a daughter in law, I can already picture my grand-” Mrs knight started but was cut short by the sound of someone whistling.

“I thought you said he wasn't home?” She asked Vanessa.

The blonde lady from last night.

“Oh Mrs knight?... Is my breakfast ready yet, I'm starving!!!” She sing sang from the corridor upstairs. Her voice echoing through the house.

Vanessa could see the confused look on her mother in law's face.

Oh

no

What was she going to do?

How was she going to deal with this?

She appeared at the top of the stairs and stared down at them. A shocked look appearing on her face 

“who are you?, who is she Vanessa?” Mrs asked, a quized look on her face. 

Oh boy!