His Collateral

Chapter 5

An hour had gone by since Alessandro and I were pronounced husband and wife. A small reception was being held there in the green house. There was a table filled with different kinds of food. There was even a cake I didn't remember cutting. I stood there in a corner, observing everyone and then my eyes wandered off to Alessandro and uncle Aldo who seemed to be having a heated conversation. Uncle Aldo held out his hands for a hand shake. Alessandro looked unwilling at first but finally returned the gesture and they both dispersed into the handful of people.

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Another uneventful hour went by, besides taking a few pictures here and there with Alessandro, I was exhausted and sat idly at one of the tables, my shoes already off.

I need to sleep.

I was still busy looking around when I noticed one of the security men approaching me. He stood beside my table.

"Ma'am, sir Alessandro has asked to inform you that we would be leaving shortly." He said. I slowly nodded and put my shoes back on.

I should say goodbye to Aunt and Uncle.

I looked around for them but they were no where to be seen. Neither were Luca or Marion.

Could they have left? Without saying anything to me?

It was expected coming from them but at least for the sake of the charade they were putting on. The security guard was still with me and he led me to a car parked outside. I was going to open the door but he did it before me. I gave him a slight nod and got into the car where Alessandro was seated. He didn't seem to acknowledge my presence and just typed away on his phone. The driver revved the car to life and began driving. The ride was silent and I felt tensed. I was in car with a man that was now my husband. I didn't know what to say or do.

Just sit quietly Bella.

A million thoughts ran through my head at once. One of which was the fact that I was now free from Aunt Theresa and her children. It felt like a breath of fresh air but then Marion's words still lingered in my head.

Jumping from the frying pan, right into the fire!

She was probably trying to scare me or something. I brushed the thought off and looked out the window. We were now in a different part of town. The part that screamed rich. The houses here were quite different from the ones I've seen. They were much more elegant, like the ones in the movies. The driver pulled up in front of a huge house and I stared at it in awe.

"Out!" Alessandro said not sparing a glance at me. I looked at him in confusion.

"I. Said. Get. Out. Of. The. Car!" He said more vividly, his focus now on me. I stared at him unable to utter any words, but then one of his security guards held the door open for me. I slowly stepped out of the car and he closed the door shut and the car zoomed off.

"This way ma'am." The guard said drawing my attention. He motioned towards the gates. We walked in and he pointed to the front door way in front of me. It was a big compound.
I walked for some minutes looking around before getting to porch. I held the door knob, twisted it open and made my way into the house, the door closing shut immediately behind me.

I walked around, slowly taking in the beauty of the place. It was nothing like Uncle Aldo's house. Not that Uncle Aldo's house was bad but this one was much bigger and everything in it looked expensive. There were a symmetrical set of stairs that started from opposite ends of the parlor and met at the top. I glanced up, squinting my eyes at the bright light from the glass chandeliers that hung right above the sitting room. The walls were all white and I was scared to touch them for the fear of staining them. To the left was a huge dining room and behind it was a lavish kitchen. Beside the kitchen were two hallways parallel to each other. I followed the stairs, to the top and the house seemed to part into two different ways. I walked up to the first the door I saw and opened it. My mouth fell open at the sight. It was an office.

His office.

The walls were all white as well, the tables, chairs and fur rug, black. To accentuate it were gold and glass figurines that stood beautifully on a white shelf in the corner of the room. I also couldn't help but notice the black and gray colored curtain behind his desk. Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I walked over to the curtain pulling them apart slightly. I came face to face with a beautiful view of the backyard. The lush green grass, spreading across acres and acres of land, I couldn't even see the end.

What a lovely view!

I stood there for a while admiring the beauty of the place when a lady walked in. She was dressed in a maids outfit. She looked to be in her late thirties.

"You shouldn't be in here ma'am. Mr. Alessandro doesn't like it." She said curtly

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't know." I replied.

"I'll show you to your room." She said moving over to the door. I walked out of the office and she followed suite, closing the door behind us, then she led me to another door on the other side of the stairs.

"Here ma'am." She said

"You don't have to call me that. I'm Bella and...thank you." I smiled briefly. She simply nodded her head with a small smile and walked away. I opened the door to another beautifully furnished room.
It was huge, probably four times the size of my room back at home. The walls were a mixture of white and gray. There was a king sized bed right in the middle covered in white bedding's and a black couch was beside it as well. There were two other doors in the room. The first door gave way to a large walk in closet and the second, a bathroom with a jacuzzi and a walk in shower.

"What do they usually call rooms like this again?" I thought looking around

"In..." no.

"Su..in.." no, it's not that.

"Umm...en-suite, yes it's en-suite!"

I walked into the closet, admiring how neatly arranged it was. I also noticed a few female clothes in the shelves but they weren't mine. A few pairs of nightwear and tops and gowns. His clothes were neatly arranged on the other side of the closet. I slowly scanned through the nightwear's and they were quite revealing. They were either dangerously short with a transparent front or a revealing back.

"Alessandro should never see the scars on your back." I thought about Aunt Theresa's words

I searched through the closet, looking for something more covered and then I spotted one with a robe. It was a short black gown with a lace in front that left nothing to the imagination and it had a robe making it the most suitable option. I pulled it out and decided to take shower. In the bathroom, I stripped out of my wedding dress and stepped into the shower. It was a bit different from the one I was used to, but I was able to get a hang of it. I made use of some of the products lined up there in the bathroom and washed myself clean.

After my shower, I dried myself with one of his towels before wrapping it around my hair. I looked at the nightwear once more, still a bit hesitant on wearing it.

It's not that bad.... you have a robe.

But still.

And he's not around. You'll probably be in bed before he's back!

That was true. I quickly slipped into the nightgown and tied the robe as tightly as I could around me. Satisfied with my appearance, I hung the towel back and exited the bathroom with my gown. I hung it in a corner of the closet and walked out, over to the bed before getting under the sheets. They had his scents all over them and it felt different, everything did.

I closed my eyes, letting my mind drift off and wonder through the events of the day and the ones to come, now that I was married. I tried to sleep but I couldn't. Not because I didn't want to but because I was waiting for him. I didn't know why but I found myself waiting for my husband.

It still sounds weird saying it.

I busied myself with thoughts of him. Why hasn't he said a word to me?

You haven't said a word to him either.

But it's like he never notices me. I'm almost invisible to him. Although in a way, I felt happy about that....
We could live like total strangers, he wouldn't even care, right?

I guess you're about to figure that out yourself.

I sat up to the sound of a door swinging open. I eyed his tall figure walking into the room and our gazes locked instantly.
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