I belong to a stranger (PUBLISHING) Belong Book 1 - Unedited

Chapter 8 - Mistress of the Master

Chapter 8 - Mistress of the Master

"Rose…Rose?"

I was woken by a gentle nudging to my sides. With a groan, I flipped over to face the intruder and cracked open my left eye. When I looked up to see Nathan in all his handsome glory, smiling down at me, I was left breathless and in a state of shock.

He was smiling at me, actually smiling at me! His face that was sculpted by Michelangelo himself looked a million times better when he smiled. It was as if my body had a mind of it's own as I could not help myself but smile back at him.

 Slowly sitting up, I looked around me, catching a glimpse of the time on the alarm clock beside the bed, it was already the late afternoon. The day was beautiful as the sun shown brightly through the window, illuminating the room and draping everything in a golden blanket of warmth. Everything felt just right. The best part of it all was the way I'd woken up today. Surprisingly, there had been no banging of the coffee table or slamming of doors. It felt different today, it was almost as if we were finally at peace, Nathan and I, and it was beautiful.

 "I'm sorry I had to wake you up," he said awkwardly while I looked away, not being able to meet his eyes just yet. As wonderful as all these felt, I knew him well enough to know it was going to change back to how it had been before.

 We sat in silence for a while, as I tried to come up with something to say, and him waiting for me to say something. When he finally realised that I was having trouble with starting the conversation, he continued, "Rose? I was wondering if you could make me some lunch?", which he emphasized with a loud rumble from his stomach. I found myself biting hard on my lower lip, trying to hold back my laughter.

 Sliding off the huge bed, I stretched my aching limbs as I made my way out of the bedroom. Considering how human he was being today, I didn't mind cooking for him at all. In fact, for the first time in forever, I was excited to cook for him as I wanted him to like what I made.

 Trying to figure out what to make him was a difficult decision but half an hour later, I plated up his vegetable and noodle stir fry. Balancing it on a tray with water and some juice, I carried it into the bedroom he was in. 

I walked in to find Hamilton sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard, watching the huge 52-inch Sony flat screen which was mounted onto his bedroom wall. He looked his age, sitting there casually dressed and watching the basketball game, instead of behaving like the uptight millionaire tycoon he actually is and usually behave as. 

"Your lunch is ready," I announced, proud of myself, as I handed him the tray of food. 

"Thank you, it looks delicious" he smiled. I was about to excuse myself to maybe take a shower or something, since staring at him while he ate just wasn't acceptable, when I felt his hand on my arm, halting my steps. Turning around, I faced him as he continued, "Also, thank you for taking care of me yesterday. I'm already feeling much better now." 

I felt giddy hearing that. Hearing him use words like 'thank you' and 'sorry' was still very new to me. It would definitely take time for me to get used to him actually being polite and not yelling at me all the time.     

 I smiled softly, nodding at him. When he let go of my hand, I turned and walk out of the room. I had barely left the room when the doorbell rang. Running quickly to the front door, I answered the door but I was not tall enough to look through the peephole so I opened the door without thinking, and what a mistake that turned had out to be! 

I opened the door to see a tall, beautiful, leggy blonde glaring down at me. She then completely ignored me as she pushed past me as she stalked into the house like she owned it, making me wonder if she is the other owner of the house. If Hamilton had forced me to marry him, it was only a question of how many others he had forced to do the same.

"I'm sorry but who are you exactly and how may I help you?" I asked while blocking her path, feeling annoyed at being treated with the same importance as a speck of dust. I was also feeling unfair at how I was at a great disadvantage seeing how she is towering over me, much like Hamilton, though not quite as much.

She ignored me again and headed straight for Hamilton's room, clearly knowing her way around the place. She pushed the door to his room open and then disappeared out of my sight into his bedroom. 

"Oh, my poor baby!" I could hear her squealing in her annoying high pitch voice from the corridor. I opened the door and stood in the doorway as I watched her run up to him in her ridiculously sky high stiletto heels. She sat on the bed next to him as she cooed at him. I was too busy glaring at this blonde giant to notice Hamilton or anything he was doing. She had just ruined my almost perfect day and I was most definitely not a happy camper.

 "Who are you?" I mustered up the courage to ask, crossing my arms across my chest as I stared at her and Hamilton. Saying that I am angry is most defiantly the understatement of the year. 

"Who am I?" She scoffed. "The question is, who the hell are you?" She sneered at me as though it was me who had barged in rudely. I was not the uninvited guest here.

At the sound of our raised voices, Hamilton noisily cleared his throat catching both our attentions. "Sarah, this is my... we ... we got married a few days ago,", he stuttered, avoiding her eye, which was a first for him, or at least the first time I have seen him like this. I had never seen him nervous in the entire time I'd known him, ever! "And Rose,", he turned to me as he continued, "Rose this is Sarah, she is ...."

"His girlfriend!", she cut in rudely, finishing her statement with a glare directed at me. If looks could kill, I would most likely be the ashes floating in the wind right now.

After her statement, the room fell silent. Sarah was glaring at me, I was glaring at Hamilton and he just kept his gaze glued to the floor. She was his girlfriend. He had a girlfriend. Of course he had a girlfriend. How can such a hot and successful man be single?

My head was pounding and my thoughts were attacking my brain from a thousand different directions. Sure, Hamilton and I were only married by name. But this entire sham of a marriage wasn't my idea.

 Why would he have wanted to marry me if he already had a girlfriend anyway? A hot one at that as well. Why didn't he just marry her if he wanted to get married so badly? I had no answers to any of those questions. All I knew for sure was that my husband had a girlfriend.

Despite how it should have not hurt me or affected me in anyway, it sadly did. I felt as though a knife had been plunged right through my heart, shattering my broken heart into millions of pieces. I recalled saying to him that we didn't have to be faithful to each other and I immediately mentally berated myself for that. Who was I to question him when I clearly told him he could have a girlfriend. He is a monster. I should be laughing happily at his girlfriend for having to put up with him. They say karma is a bitch and so she must have done some really bad things to deserve him, right? He was a monster, wasn't he? I should have been glad that she was there to keep him far away from me. However, all I could feel was intense jealousy. I wanted to yank that woman out by the hair and throw her out of the house and far far away from Hamilton. Oh who was I kidding, he isn't mine for me to feel the jealously and to do all that.

"What are you still doing here? Shoo!", she broke the silence, smirking at me. Hamilton remained silent by her side, so I followed what she said and left. I refused to show any emotions, refused to show her, especially him, that I was beyond hurt. With all the remaining dignity and pride still left in me, I walked out of the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind me. 

The only thing I could think of to do was to get out of there, clear my head and sort out my thoughts. I was in deep trouble because I wasn't thinking of Sarah as Hamilton the "monster's" girlfriend, but I was thinking of her as my husband's mistress.

Which one was she though? My husband’s mistress or the "monster's" girlfriend? Right now, I do not know where my heart lies.