No choice

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When I got in from the walk I had no idea what to do. I knew what Artur would say 'start planning the wedding' but I was going to try and delay that for as long as possible. I still had a small piece of hope inside me that Adam would find us. I started wandering around the house not really concentrating on what I was doing. I turned around to see Artur behind me. It doesn't make me jump anymore when he does that, I just expect him to be there every time I turn around. It was scary how used to that I was already.

"Why, don't you look pretty." Artur said cheerfully.

"Thank you." I replied in the happiest tone I could fake. Did he not notice earlier? I know I wasn't meant to seek out his compliments but I looked exactly the same as earlier.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour," Artur explained "why don't you go upstairs to our room and get changed. The rest of your clothes the designers made are in the wardrobe." As soon as he said 'our' room I could feel something moving up my throat again. My body needs to stop reacting like this! This is my life now, I need to accept that it's 'our' room.

"I'll go do that now." I choked.

"Are you okay Julie?" Artur asked acknowledging my choking.

"It's nothing I just don't feel very well." I assured Artur, trying not to give away what's really wrong. God only knows how he'll react.

I rushed upstairs to get ready for dinner, well really to get away from Artur. As soon as I reached our room, I ran into the bathroom just in time to be sick again. After twenty minutes I was only sick once. I had to get past this, otherwise I was going to be sick every time I walked into the room. I thought I had managed to control it downstairs but obviously not. How was I going to control this? Once I had a shower and cleaned my teeth I went to the wardrobe to see what dresses had been made. There were many dresses, some were casual and some were fancy yet casual and then the rest were very fancy. I guess Artur goes to a lot of events that have a formal dress code. What does he even do? I picked a fancy yet comfortable dress to wear for dinner. It was a short cream dress that stopped above my knees. Luckily the dress was long sleeved so my arms wouldn't freeze. I wore thick black tights with the dress so my legs wouldn't be cold. I looked at the collection of shoes I had in the wardrobe and decided on the black pair of shoes with the little heels. I let my hair out of its ponytail and my thick curls bounced back onto my shoulders. Once I left the bathroom I found Artur sitting on the bed looking down at the floor. I noticed his back was to the bathroom. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a smart short sleeved shirt. Was he not cold? The shit let his biceps breath.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I apologize for last night." Artur announced.

"All I remember is you hitting me round the head." I replied giving him the chance to admit what he had done after that. Maybe if I heard it then I could move past being sick every time I walked into this room.

"Then I had my mother prepare you for bed," Artur claimed "then I went to bed. I must warn you I am a restless sleeper I probably kicked you a few times."

"That explains why the bed sheets looked scattered!" I whispered under my breath. Well that's if I was going to believe what he told me. But I'd rather that story than what I assumed earlier this morning. Especially for my mental health. Then why didn't Agna tell me? Why had she left me to think of the worst thing possible? Was Agna who she presented herself to be?

"What?" Artur asked.

"Oh nothing," I blurted "I forgive you."

"Thank you, Julie," Artur concluded. Then he stood up and turned around "wow, you do look beautiful!" Artur commented while walking towards me.

"Thank you." I gulped. Artur picked up my hand and kissed the back of it while looking deep into my eyes. Once he stood tall again,he leaned towards me. I stayed where I was petrified of what was about to happen. Then Artur lightly kissed my lips. It reminded me of every time Adam kissed me softly, it made my heart ache. After what seemed like a year, he pulled away. The whole time I wanted to pull away, slap him and shout at him for kissing me but I couldn't. I was meant to be his fiance after all.

"I will meet you downstairs." Artur demanded. Then he walked out of the room.

Once he left I tried to mentally prepare myself for tonight, of the possibilities of what could happen. I wasn't going to let anything go too far but how would I stop him without getting him mad? As soon as I felt ready I made my way downstairs. Artur was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. When I reached the bottom step he stuck his arm out, silently demanding that I take it. I linked arms with him obeying his silent order and he led me into a candle lit dining room. Once I had sat down he pushed my chair closer to the table. Then the chef brought us our dinner and left us alone. Artur kept asking me questions about my life in England through-out the meal. I didn't dare mention Adam! Just the thought of what he might do to him made me want to be sick. When Artur and I finished our meal I wanted to ask him questions about his life and get to know him but a man playing the violin came in. Artur walked over to me and gave me his hand. My dancing was a bit wobbly, I couldn't remember the last time I did the waltz. I think it would have to be for a dance exam.

"This will be good practice for tomorrow night." Artur explained.

"What's happening tomorrow night?" I asked.

"I'm hosting a ball to raise awareness of a charity I donate to. It's for preserving our endangering wildlife," Artur answered "see I'm not such a bad monster am I?" Does he know that's how I see him?

"I never said you were." I replied carefully.

"I can see it in your eyes when you look at me. I know our lives together didn't start very well but it will get better. Your parents will be removed from their prison cell when we're more comfortable. Everything will be perfect. That's all I want, for our lives to be perfect." Artur explained.

He must be mentally ill to think that the way he had treated my parents is justifiable. I bit my tongue out of fear for mine and my parents safety. We continued dancing in silence for a few minutes before Artur spoke up again "Most people coming tomorrow will be guests at our wedding."

I didn't know how to respond to that so I just kept silent. We danced for another half an hour till Artur was satisfied with my dancing. Artur let me go so I could 'prepare' myself for bed. As soon as I was changed I went straight to bed and went to sleep, waiting for the new day. That's all I could do, go on with this crazy life, one day at a time.