Asshole.
I didn’t know if the cause of my sudden annoyance was regret. Regret that I flattered his ego by saying ‘thank you’ for something I'd asked for as a condition of marriage. Not that he fulfilled both conditions. Besides, it was only right for someone to honor their agreement. But I had treated him like someone who had done a noble thing deserving of knighthood.
Or maybe it was the fact that his reluctant answer felt like holding a treat away from a dog and letting it process the possibility of not getting it—and then giving it.
Why did he wait until I was almost out the door before opening that mouth in response?
Because he can, right?
Well, I could get out of his office and leave him to his stupid thoughts.
Getting into my room, I changed and went straight to bed.
**********
I took a moment before opening my eyes, trying to ascertain if the knocks I was hearing were real or just in my head.
“Morning, ma’am!” I heard Hans call from the other side of the door along with another series of knocks.
Not a dream, then.
“Come in,” I answered, hoping he could hear my low, groggy voice.
The door opened, and he came in, a small smile on his face just like the day before.
“I’m sorry if I woke you, ma’am. Good morning. I came for the plates from last night and to let you know breakfast is ready.”
“Good morning, Hans,” I greeted, my feet touching the cool floor. “And, please call me Alina. I’m nobody’s madam.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, madam,” he answered, his tone low like an apology. “You’re the boss’s wife.”
“You don’t say,” I mumbled as he went to retrieve the tray on the wide stool.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said, chuckling.
“Everybody seems to believe that.”
“It’s the truth, ma’am.”
I sighed heavily, crossing my arms over my chest.
His smile turned sympathetic as he said, “You should come down and have breakfast. It was specially made for you.”
“I’ll freshen up and then come down,” I replied.
“Okay, ma’am.”
He had opened the door to leave when I asked, “What about Kon—your boss?”
I didn’t want to run into him or even see him at all.
“He’s preparing to head out already,” he said and I nodded.
I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. The thought of having a bath, even though I could make it hot, on this cold morning, made me shake my head in refusal. So I changed into the same sweater I wore the day before and a pair of soft but thick black joggers. I added a pair of baby blue socks to my outfit before I stepped out of the room.
My room was the second on the left side of the hallway, which, as I realized the previous day, was much shorter than the main hallway it branched out of. Konstantin’s office was the firstdoor on the other side, and there was just one door after it. As I walked along the hallway, I wondered which was his bedroom. The one before or after mine? Or this one beside his office? Whichever one it was, it was still very close to my room. A room, I was sure, he must have instructed his workers to put my things in.
Should it mean anything that he didn’t assign any of the rooms farther along the main hallway to me instead?
