Basilisk (Dark Ominis Gaunt x OC gothic romance)

Chapter 3: Bitterness

Look there she goes that girl is strange, no question

~~Ominis~~

Ominis was shocked by the sudden change in attitude, the quiet woman he'd married suddenly gone. This woman was fierce, and he felt a slender finger jab at his chest as she spoke rather forcefully.

"I had been quiet and meek for your benefit, Mr. Gaunt, but if you want a wife who will speak her mind I'm more than willing to provide." She snapped.

His head was spinning from the sudden change, but the way she jabbed at him made him angry. "I don't want any sort of wife!" He yelled back, his ire getting the better of him and grabbing her hand by her wrist, holding it at her back. He heard her gasp at the movement, and ignored the feeling of her breasts pushed against his chest. "You think I want to be married to some stranger I've never met?!"

"And you think I wanted this either?!" She shouted back, and shoved at him with her body to try and wrench herself free. She ripped her wrist out of his grip hard, but the action made her grunt softly. "I was perfectly happy at home! I could have stayed there! But no, I had to be married to an asshole who cringes while I'm talking like I'm trash!"

He was startled by that, because he'd never heard himself described like that before. His blood turned cold, because it sounded more like she was describing Marvolo than him. He wasn't like that. He wasn't like that at all...

Wasn't he?

He took a step back from her in confusion, feeling stricken.

"You'd rather not be here either." He said it as more of a statement than a question. He'd thought she'd been sent by his family... but what if she wasn't? What if she was trapped here too?

But she could be trying to trick him.

"No, I don't want to be here." She said, her voice wavering and her tone bitter.

Wait- wait wait wait- was she crying? Shit.

"Ariadne-" he started, but she gave him a hard shove that had him stumbling back against the table behind him.

"Don't pretend like you're worried about me!" She yelled through tears. "You don't give a shit and we both know it!" She growled angrily.

He felt bile rising in his throat. What if... what if she wasn't here to...

No, he had to keep his guard up! He knew his family, he knew how twisted they were. He knew how easily they could manipulate.

"And if I let you go?" He tested. He wondered what her reaction would be to the choice of freedom, something that he so desperately wanted.

"Oh great." She said bitterly, letting out another choking sound that made him think she was trying to keep tears at bay. "Our first day married and you already want to send me away."

"That's not what I-" he started, but she shoved him again, an angry pained sound accompanying the movement.

"I have nowhere else to go." She said in a small wavering voice full of pain and fear. "So unfortunately for both of us, you're stuck with me." She gave a soft sound of pain, and there was a quick rustle of skirts as she moved away from him to the steaming kettle as it hissed angrily from the stove.

He heard the clatter of teacups and a pot, then the clittering sound of them on a tray as if she was holding it with shaking hands.

"Do us both a favor and just leave me alone." She said angrily, storming out of the kitchen with the tray.

He listened for a long moment as her footsteps faded into the distance down the hall, leaning back against the table in shock at what had happened.

He tried to think through the conversation, but it just didn't make any sense. Why would his family marry him to a woman who wouldn't want to spy on him or turn him into their graces? He'd thought she had been here to manipulate him and try to change him. Yet she wanted nothing to do with him.