“I… well…”
She knew she was being presumptuous; well he had been presumptuous in thinking he would be marrying a wallflower but without the word flower attached to the term.
“Consider it done,” Alice said after a confused pause. “I’ll have Mickey and Lara take care of it immediately.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling. It was time she started to take charge and show Silas when she said she wasn’t his puppet she meant it.
She couldn’t walk out on the marriage. He might demand his money back immediately and that would set her father back again. But she could make her own rules in the house that was now where she would call her own and her husband was no longer welcome in her bedroom.
~~~***~~~
Her snack and her walk took up the whole of the afternoon. She was also introduced to Mickey, who took care of the outside of the house, and Lara who cleaned the inside. She was also introduced to Chef Ronnie, who Alice had just hired that very morning on Silas's instruction and who would be cooking all her meals. A Michelin star chef to prepare her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which is what she usually lived on as she tried to keep her expenses to a minimum.
“Does Silas ever eat at home?”
“On the rare occasion he hosts a business dinner,” Alice offered. “He usually eats at the office with his brothers. But speaking of business dinners, he has one next week and I’m sure he’ll be eager to show you off.”
“You mean with a spear to my heart because that’s how much he likes me?” That would probably be the only way he’d allow her to attend anyway.
Alice laughed. “Every marriage needs time to marinate, you know.”
Sadly the first step to that was having the right ingredients. She and Silas were the proverbial oil and water mixture. She didn’t say anything else on the subject.
She would actually prefer to forget him, but that seemed impossible. Everywhere she looked reminded her of him. From his perfectly structured house with nothing, not a single thing out of place, its character nonfrivolous, cold, demanding acquiesce without giving anything of itself in return, not even a smile, to her own body. She still carried a slight ache between her thighs, her ass was still a bit tender. Every other part of herself now reminded her of him. She couldn’t escape now that he lived in her head, in her body. But she would rather die than give him her heart.
She hung out with Alice the rest of the day and agreed when the older woman said she should go upstairs and change into something nice for dinner. There was no sign of Silas returning and Alice predicted it might be well into the night before he returned.
Trying not to feel slighted, she freshened up, changed into one of her pretty slip dresses, and even put on some makeup. She had pleaded with Alice to stay and have dinner with her and when the lady relented, she couldn’t hide her gratitude.
Chef Ronnie was a Master of Food, naturally. His dishes, some of the ingredients she couldn’t name, serenaded her palate and tickled her soul. She ate without pretense and by the time he brought in dessert she was floating on a cloud of culinary bliss and not even Silas could spoil her mood.
Satiated, she finally had to let Alice go back home. She thought she would feel scared being alone in the house, but Silas’ presence around was so strong, that she hardly felt alone despite him being the worst company ever.
By the time she arrived at what she would now refer to as her bedroom, she kicked off her shoes, stepped out of her dress, and slipped into bed in nothing but her bra and panties.
Her last thought before sleep took over was the undeniably victorious satisfaction of Silas finding the note, she left him, stuck on the door of her bedroom.
She had informed him his clothes had been relocated to his new slumber chambers and she even drew him directions in case he couldn’t find them in his own house.
She was a doer if nothing else. Starting tomorrow she planned to resume her normal life. She had books to return to the library which Silas’ staff had packed with her belongings and brought her. She needed to see her friends. And visit Jeanny and take her fresh supplies. But before she did any of those things, she needed to go and see her father.
He had assured her he would be perfectly all right on his own. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t even cook his own meals and would resort to takeout which wouldn’t bode well for his health.
She was going to carry on with her life as normal and Silas could do the same with his.