Chapter Two
Opal went home to the house Tony had bought for her. He’d promised to protect her and keep her safe but to never love her. She let herself in the back door and put the kettle on. When she’d first moved in, he had wanted to put a housekeeper and gardener in. She’d refused. She liked the thought of being on her own and trying to find some independence when most of her life had been about what her parents wanted.
Her lips tingled from his kisses. She got a cup ready with some milk, sugar and a tea bag, then buttered herself some bread for a sandwich and went and sat at the table.
Why did he keep changing his mind? Her mind was confused with his mood changes.
She bit into her sandwich but tasted nothing. She’d been married for two years, and what did she have to show for it? Nothing. Every time she thought the same thing she kept coming back with the same answer.
Being alone wasn’t everything she thought it would be. At times likes this her wedding night came back to plague her thoughts. Unlike earlier where she shut the memory off, this time she allowed it to come.
****
After the small ceremony where they’d signed their names and pictures were taken, Tony took her to a hotel. Top of the range where he had a penthouse suite held for him.
He didn’t carry her over the threshold. They walked inside, and Tony took his jacket and shirt off.
“Go and get yourself comfortable. Have a bath, and relax.”
Opal nodded her head and left to go and wash. She ran a bath and worked her way out of the simple gown she wore. The dress was nothing like her wedding gown. There hadn’t been much time. Richard had rushed everything from the pre-nup to the wedding.
She lay in the water and rested her pounding head.
How would her wedding night play out? She’d read many stories, but nothing would ever be close to the real thing.
When she began to wrinkle like a prune, she got out and went through to her bedroom. Tony stood in the bedroom, and she yelped, wrapping the towel around her body to try to retain as much modesty as possible.
“Don’t worry. You’re safe with me. I don’t have any clothes for you, here. I’ll order some tomorrow, or you can fetch them from your parents’ house. I’ve got a shirt for you to sleep in.” He handed her an old looking shirt. “It was one of mine.”
“Will you be sleeping in the bed?” she asked.
“No.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Opal, this is not going to be a conventional marriage. I did this to help you. I don’t want a wife.”
“But you said divorce.”
“You’re my best friend’s little sister, Opal. You’re too young, and to be honest I don’t want to have to deal with the problem of your virginity.”
The words stung, but she understood what he meant. He left her, and the tears had fallen. She’d somehow pushed him into this marriage, and he didn’t want to have sex with her.
Her wedding night passed with her alone.
****
The wedding night had been awful. The look of disgust on his face would stay with her forever. She took a bite of her sandwich and was shocked as tears fell from her eyes. For two years she’d lived in a world where she felt nothing. Moving out of her chair she went and picked up the latest magazine with Tony in it. A model on the front page looked tall, thin and beautiful.
Was it time for her to call it quits?
****
Tony sat outside the house he’d bought her. The kitchen light was on, and he saw the outline of her through the window.
The kiss they’d shared still tingled on his lips. The taste of her was glorious to him. Two years he’d thought about many things. His friendship with Richard. The fear he had about his past.
Tony came across as the happy-go-lucky kind of man, but inside he was anything but. His two friends only knew parts of his unhappy childhood. On the outside everyone thought he lived a really good life. Two devoted parents who gave him everything. When the doors closed and dad came home, his life turned into a different story. His dad made millions by day, being the gentleman he wanted people to see. When he got home, the gentleman turned into a monster.