His Little Wife

Chapter 17

For the next couple of weeks Lucian kept his hands to himself... apart from our combat sessions in the gym.

I even got my own horse to ride when we went out to do that, so physical contact was at a minimum. It gave me a chance to slowly warm up to him without having to fight my base urges. We'd still go to bed together, but he doesn't touch me and by the time I woke up he is always gone. A small part in the back of my mind told me I must of done something to upset him or maybe he was bored of me already, so I would spend my days trying to make him smile, so he didn't just turf me out onto the street or lock me in a dungeon somewhere. But despite the lack of touching he seemed ok. He would smile and joke with me, more so than he used to. It was weird. I didn't understand the change and one morning when I woke I was determined to ask him what had changed? What had I done? So I climbed out the empty bed and gathered some clothes before venturing downstairs for breakfast. He was sat there at the table, typing into his phone and before I could open my mouth, he spoke.

'Ali will be coming around to see you today.'

'Who's Ali?' I ask, having never heard the name before.

'The dress maker.'

'Oh.' Is all I could say as my throat starts to close up.

Somehow with everything that was going on around me I'd forgot about the wedding. My wedding. My eyes drift down to the ring on my finger and I wonder how I'd ever forgot with that colossal reminder sitting proud for everyone to see. How has it already been 3 weeks since he'd taken me? How is the month almost over?

I'd been too wrapped up in the distractions. The horse riding, combat sessions and swimming. Not to mention my art studio that I would spend hours on end in. How could I be so stupid? I hadn't been thinking about escaping because I'd become too comfortable.

Suddenly not feeling well I excuse myself from the table and make my way to my art studio just so I could be alone. After a few hours of painting there's a tap at the door.

'Yeah.' I call over the top of my music, not stopping as I continued to paint.

Lucian walks in, looking around as he approaches me.

'Here.' He says, passing me a plate of food. 'You didn't have any breakfast and Ali will be here soon.' He reminds me, like I could forget.

I take the plate and set it on the side as I turn back to my painting.

'Is it your father?' He asks.

'Yeah, it's not finished yet.'

'It's good. Really good.' He tells me, admiring my work. 'Would you like him there?' He asks, pulling my attention away from the canvas.

I hadn't put any thought into it. I hadn't seen him since I walked out on him, but I did miss him. Did I want him coming to this wedding? This fake wedding that didn't feel like my own. The wedding that I was being forced into.

'Can I think about it?'

'Sure. Now eat some food and clean yourself up. Ali will be here in half an hour.' He commands as he turns and leaves the room.

I let out a sigh of defeat as I give into my stomachs demands for food. Before I know it I'm sat in a reception room having just met the woman who's been sent to help with my dress selection.

The room has been transformed into a massive closet of pure white covering every surface. Rails upon rails run from wall to wall, harbouring lace, silk and any other material you can think of.

'What sort of style did you have in mind?' Ali asks as she rummages through the dresses.

'I don't know.'

'How about length?' She ask, peering over her shoulder at me.

'I'm not sure.'

'Princess? Mermaid?' I shrug my shoulders at her questions, not knowing what any of those words meant.

'Well, looks like I have my work cut out for me.' She chuckles as she starts pulling dresses out and laying them on the sofa next to me.

I watch as she stacks the dresses, picking out different styles and patterns.

'If you want to start trying these on my dear, or we'll be here all day.'

I stand in the centre of the room and take my clothes off before sliding into the first dress.

'Hhmm, no.' Ali says as she passes me the next one.

We must of tried on near to 30 dresses before she pulls out another.

It catches my eye as soon as she pulls it off the rail. It's floor length and elegant. There's no puffy parts. It's just simple. It has a lace skirt with a corset style top with an open back.

I pull it on and look into the mirror, turning to see it from every angle. The skirt clings to my hips, showing my small figure and the corset accentuates my cleavage, making me look fuller.
It makes me feel beautiful. It is beautiful. It's perfect.

'I think that's the one.' Ali practically sings.

'Yeah...'

'What's wrong? Don't you like it?' She asks as the smile drops from her face.

'No, no. It's amazing.' I tell her.

It's not a lie. The dress is everything I could ever of wished for. It's the circumstances around the dress. It's the wedding. My forced marriage to a murderer. To someone I hardly know.

But the more I dwell the more emotional I feel myself getting, letting a tear roll down my cheek.

'I know what this is.' Ali exclaims. 'You're so happy and excited you can't contain it.' She smiles.

I don't say anything more to her before I slip out the dress and hand it back over to her. But then a tag catches my eye and I turn it over out of curiosity.

'£6,000?' I mutter under my breath in disbelief.

How can anyone justify spending that much on a dress for just one day? But I suppose that's the world I live in now. A world where people don't look at the price of things. A world where people just take what they want. My new world with Lucian.