The Arrangement

Chapter 8

AnnaLeigh

The night of wedding and I had run out of my honeymoon suite as fast as I could. And then I slept in the bridal suite, alone. It wasn't enough that Christian was sleeping with another woman on the day he married me. No. He had to choose a woman I knew, a woman I had spent time with that very day. It was like he was purposely trying to hurt me, to punish me for marrying him.

Yesterday morning, after getting out of the hotel as fast as I could I had hid myself away back in my bedroom in Brooklyn. Sarah had gone to visit her mother so I had the place to myself. I had spent the past twenty four hours watching movies and eating take out, but when I woke this morning I still didnt feel better. Probably because I knew what today was....as much as I tried to convince myself otherwise.

Today was the day that it all became really, truly real.

Last week Mr. Cartwright had suggested we put off our honeymoon until Christain had closed the deal he was working on for the company, so he would be able to focus on the vacation and really enjoy it. And I had agreed immediately. The idea of spending quality time with Christian Cartwright was enough to make me nauseous.

But today - today, I was supposed to move into our new home. I was about to be spending a lot more time, quality or not, with my husband.

It was a penthouse in a exclusive building on Central Park South. Which meant the entire top floor was ours. It had sweeping views of the park and city, a private elevator, an indoor spa, and six bedrooms. The whole thing blew my mind.

I looked around the three hundred square foot place I had shared with Sarah. Sure it was cramped but it was homey. I had packed my suitcases and was nervously waiting for the taxi to arrive.

Once it did, the ride went by too quickly and before I knew it we were outside my new apartment. And before I could even get the car door opened a door man had already appeared to assist me.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Cartwright. "

I flinched but then I recovered. It wasn't his fault that was my name.

"Good Morning," I say. "What's your name?" He looks at me like I had done something wrong.

"David."

"Hi David," I say. I didnt know any of the unspoken rules that clearly ran rampant with these people but I thought it was silly not to know the name of someone I would be interacting alot with.

David took my suitcases and guided me through the massive lobby and the main elevators till we reached our private labeled elevator door.

"Do you want me to come up with the suitcases?" He asks.

"That's okay, I can take them."

"Whichever you would prefer Mrs. Cartwright. " There it was again.

"I will just take them," I say and he rolls the suitcases into the elevator and waits for the door to close between us. When it finally did, I tried to focus on my breathing. Inhale for three, exhale for three. Inhale for three. Exhale for -

The doors open and I see the palace laid out before me. And I step into the foyer of my new home.

Natural light streams in through the floor to ceiling windows that lined the wall. It was an open concept living room, which meant I could see the living room, library, and kitchen from where I stood.

The sprawling living room was decorated in tones of beige and cream and included two sofas and a couple armchairs plus a flat screen television that was as big as a movie theater screen.

The kitchen looked like a chef's dream. The fridge, the ovens, and the stoves all looked state of the art. The best money could buy.

And as I turned my head to start admiring the library, I heard a, "Hello?" from down the hall.

I pivoted and turned to see a soft looking lady, probably in her fifties, dressed in a maid's uniform, walking towards me. Her movements were so quick and coordinated it was mesmerizing to watch her.

"Hi." I say. "I'm AnnaLeigh Cartwright. I'm just...er...moving in."

"Yes. Yes." She says and turns on her heel and starts down the hallway. " I'm Linda. Come this way and I will show you your room."

I followed her, dragging my suitcases behind me. And after passing what seemed a handful of closed doors, we finally landed on the right one. She turned the knobabd let me walk in first. It was beautiful.

The floors were wood and covered in plush white carpets, the walls were eggshell colored and artfully shaped mirrors hung across them and the bed looked like a cloud, all fluffy and white.

"Its beautiful." I say turning back to Linda but she just walks out of the room.

Then I heard the sound of an elevator. There was no mistaking it. Someone else was coming up. All day long it had been just me and Linda, although she had been pretty much invisible. I had been busy unpacking in my room. But now someone else was here. I held my breath, hoping I could make out a voice as some indication of who it was.

"I dont know how many times I have to tell you..." a loud male voice thundered from the living room. Well this one wasn't too difficult. Husband is home.

"Of course. Sorry sir."

I thought about staying out of the path of fire and remaining in my room but I knew I would have to greet him eventually. Maybe it was best to get it over with now, to show him I was ready to start a civil realtionship. We were living together now, after all. So I walked out, into the hall and saw an angry Christain typing on his phone.

The man he had been chastising was dressed all in black, had a shaved head, and held aviator sunglasses in his hands. He looked effortlessly cool and incredibly intimidating at once. The man turned to me first, then cleared his thoart and looked at Christain. He looked up. He saw me, showing no expression whatsoever.

"Mark, this is my wife." The way he said wife, you could hear the contempt in his voice. And then he left, heading for a door I presumed to be his bedroom and slamming it behind him.

I turned to Mark. "Hi Mark. Nice to meet you. I'm Anna-"

"Hey." He says cool as ice, interrupting me and turns on his heel and walks into a different room. Leaving me to stand there all alone.

I decided to go to my room and try calling Sarah. And to my relief she picked up on the third ring.

"Hello."

"Sarah!"

"Hey Anna." She sounded distracted.

"Where are you? Is everything okay?"

"I'm just at the shop. What do you need?" What do I need?!

"Oh nothing. I just miss you. And the apartment."

"You just got there. And it's a penthouse, right?"

"Oh, it is. And its beautiful."

"Mmm..." She says, and this time I was certain she sounded distant.

"But it's nothing like sharing the apartment with you. I miss how cozy it is. How much fun we have."

"AnnaLeigh you have been there like five minutes. You will get used to it. Like everything else."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that....look, I'm happy you are happy, okay?" She kept saying that exact thing at the bridal suite and now she was saying it again. I was starting wonder if it was a disapproval disguised as a nicety.

"Thanks." Was all I could muster.

"Look I gotta go, okay? It's getting busy here." I knew that couldn't be true. It was past six pm on a Monday.

"Can I be honest with you?" I ask.

"Always." She says and this time she sounds softer.

"I dont know if I fit in here, Sarah. Its such a weird world they live in. Everybody's...cold. And there are these rules. Nobody tells you them. They just expect that you know - "

"Anna. Listen to me. You chose this life, okay? You decided to marry him. I cant keep holding your hand and telling you what you want to hear. This is the path you chose and you will get used to it - the cloud bed, the fancy shoes, all of it. Now I really got gotta go." And she hung up.

Sarah had never really hung up on me before or been as sharp with her words. Sure, we'd had our fights before, but never about major life decisions. And we'd always been able to talk it out before. So I re-dialed her number and it went straight to voicemail. She clearly didnt want to be talking to me. My life was in complete disarray and the only person I could blame was myself.

I sank further down onto my bed, throwing my hands over my face. My eyes opened then closed. And I wished this cloud bed would swallow me up whole.