I returned to the tub, and he looked at me with keen observation.
“I'd love to join you.”
“No. Not today.” I said in retort. Not any day, actually. I was still finding it hard to open parts of me to him since he married me against my will.
“Not to worry, that would be a bad idea. I need to meet up with Dimitri and follow up on the case.”
I immersed myself in the water till I was sure that he was gone. I didn't expect Viktor to be this obedient. Maybe he wasn't in the mood, I thought. But no, Viktor was always in the mood for everything that pleased him. I guess I was lucky that the meeting was his biggest priority at the moment.
************
Mina knocked once, and the sound was as loud as the slam of a hammer on a nail.
“Good morning, miss.” She said, while she dropped the tray beside my bed. “Breakfast is served.”
I opened the bowl; it was half-filled with noodle soup. Scrambled eggs were set in a mini dish, and a plate of bacon was on the side. Another dish had hash browns, and yet another had pancakes with a cup of dark brown syrup.
“The boss said you should have some breakfast.”
“Have you had something to eat?”
“No, miss. I can't eat from the same plate as you. It's forbidden.”
“Well, that's nonsense. I want you to sit and have some breakfast with me.”
“I don't think so,” she said with a small smile. “My belly is full. I ate something already.”
I didn't eat the food. Instead, I let myself stand beneath the water that rained down from the faucet after I'd brushed my teeth.
I wore my blue jeans and T-shirt before I walked outside my room. The mansion was quieter than it used to be. The guards were still intact, standing like mannequins trained for war. And just when I alighted the staircase, the door opened, and Isabella walked in.
“There you are!” Her voice sounded slightly jollier than the first time we met. “Thank heavens I don't have to walk up the staircases.”
“So you don’t want to come up?” I asked.
“I want to, but the thing with the stairs, you know. Besides, my shoes are tight. I can feel the pain in the tip of my toes.”
“Take them off. We can get new ones.”
“No, darling,” she laughed. “These are my best shoes.”
Sometimes, I didn't understand Isabella. She gave off a vibe that was both confusing and cool, and she pulled it off with much style.
“But, I didn't come to talk about my shoes, sweetheart. If you don't mind, I would like us to talk outside.”
We walked to the fountain area, and Isabella kept reminding me of my wedding day with Viktor.
“The best wedding experience I've ever seen.” That's what she called it.
“Why do you say so?”
“Because it's the best wedding I'd ever seen. You looked like you wanted to take a swing t someone. You didn't smile, your vows were the worst I’d heard,” she laughed. “And you still managed to look beautiful, even in anger. That's the true definition of a queen. I wish I could have a marriage like yours.But the closest I know I'll ever come to it won't be real. It would just be an act.”
I didn't know how privileged I was to live that day until now.
“Before I stray too far, I heard about what happened to your father.”
“Do you know where he is?” I asked in retort after I heard her speak.
