Chapter 11: Jude
1332 Words
The first thing I noticed when I woke up……was warmth.Not the warmth of sunlight spilling through the curtains.Not the warmth of the thick duvet wrapped around me.
It was… him.
I blinked slowly, still caught between sleep and reality.The room was quiet, washed in the soft golden light of early morning.For one terrifying second, I forgot where I was.Then I saw the unfamiliar ceiling.The grand bedroom.The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking endless gardens.
The wedding band on my finger.
And the man sleeping peacefully beside me.
My husband.
The word still felt strange.
Last night, we’d talked for hours until our voices became sleepy and our eyelids heavy. Somewhere between sharing stories and comfortable silences, we’d simply… fallen asleep.
Nothing more.
He had kept every promise he’d made.
He hadn’t rushed me.
Hadn’t expected anything from me.
Instead, we’d shared the same bed with nothing but a respectful distance between us.
Oddly enough…
I’d slept better than I had in months.
I turned my head slightly.
Adrain looked younger while he slept.
The sharp lines of his face had softened.
His hair had fallen over his forehead, making him look less like the intimidating businessman the world knew and more like… someone who’d finally allowed himself to rest.
Without thinking, I smiled.
“You stare quite a lot.”
I jumped.
His eyes opened slowly, amusement dancing within them.
“I wasn’t staring.”
“Oh?”
“I was…”
I searched desperately for an excuse.
“…checking if you were awake.”
A quiet laugh escaped him.
“If you say so.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
“I wasn’t staring.”
“I believe you.”
The smile on his face said otherwise.
⸻
After breakfast, he stood beside the front entrance with one hand tucked into his pocket.
“Ready?”
“For what?”
“A tour.”
“A tour?”
“You’ve married me.”
He smiled.
“You should probably know where you live.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
“I suppose that’s fair.”
⸻
The mansion was even larger than I’d imagined.
Every corridor seemed to lead to another beautiful room.
A library with shelves stretching from floor to ceiling.
A music room with a polished grand piano.
An indoor swimming pool surrounded by glass walls.
A cinema.
A gym.
A conservatory filled with flowers from around the world.
Every room seemed to tell another story.
“This house is enormous.”
“It is.”
“Do you ever get lost?”
He looked genuinely thoughtful.
“When I was six.”
I laughed.
“You actually got lost?”
“For three hours.”
“What happened?”
“I fell asleep in the library.”
I stared at him before bursting into laughter.
“You?”
“My mother searched the entire estate.”
“And where were you?”
“Asleep behind a bookshelf.”
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
He looked almost offended.
“It wasn’t funny at the time.”
“It is now.”
“I was traumatised.”
“You were napping.”
“I was strategically resting.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t believe you.”
He smiled.
“I know.”
⸻
As we continued walking, members of the household greeted us politely.
“Good morning, Sir.”
“Good morning, sir .”
Every single member of staff bowed respectfully.
The titles made me uncomfortable.
Adrain seemed to notice.
He stopped beside an elderly woman wearing a neatly pressed uniform.
“This is Mrs. Evelyn.”
She smiled warmly.
“I’ve worked here since he was eight years old.”
She looked at me fondly.
“I used to chase him around this house when he’d steal biscuits from the kitchen.”
I blinked.
I slowly turned to look at him.
“You stole biscuits?”
“I was a child.”
Mrs. Evelyn laughed.
“He’d deny it every single time while crumbs were still on his face.”
I couldn’t stop smiling.
“I would have paid to see that.”
Adrain sighed dramatically.
“I see my reputation is being destroyed.”
“It absolutely is,” I replied.
Mrs. Evelyn smiled.
“It’s lovely seeing him smile this much.”
The words caught both of us by surprise.
She gave a polite bow before excusing herself.
I glanced at him.
“You smile more now?”
He looked ahead quietly.
“I didn’t realise until everyone started pointing it out.”
⸻
The housekeeper wasn’t the only one with stories.
The head gardener proudly showed me a giant oak tree.
“He broke his arm climbing this.”
I looked at the Adrain
“You climbed trees?”
“I lost a bet.”
The chauffeur smiled.
“He learned to drive in that field.”
The chef laughed.
“He once tried baking his mother’s birthday cake.”
Adrain groaned.
“We’re skipping this story.”
“It exploded,” the chef said with a grin.
“It exploded?”
“The oven survived.”
“The cake didn’t.”
I laughed until tears filled my eyes.
Adrain rubbed the back of his neck.
“I was twelve.”
“I wish I’d known you then.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
He looked at me with an expression so soft it almost made my heart ache.
“So do I.”
⸻
The afternoon passed quietly.
We had lunch on the terrace overlooking the gardens.
No meetings.
No guests.
No reporters.
Just the two of us.
Afterward, we wandered through the rose garden, where he told me about his parents.
“My mother loved these flowers.”
He gently brushed his fingers over a white rose.
“Every spring she’d spend hours out here.”
“You miss her.”
“Every day.”
His voice carried a sadness I’d never heard before.
Without thinking, I reached for his hand.
This time…
I was the one who closed the distance.
He looked down at our joined hands, then back at me.
Neither of us spoke.
Some moments didn’t need words.
⸻
As evening settled over the estate, we watched the sunset from the balcony outside our room.
The sky turned shades of orange, pink and deep violet.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
He wasn’t looking at the sunset.
“I know.”
When I realised he was looking at me, I felt my cheeks warm.
“You’ll make me embarrassed.”
“I suppose I will.”
I laughed, shaking my head.
“You really are impossible.”
“So I’ve been told.”
⸻
That night, after changing into comfortable clothes, we climbed into bed once again.
The room was dark except for the glow of the moon filtering through the curtains.
I hesitated only briefly before lying down.
The distance between us was smaller than the night before.
Not because he had moved closer.
Because I had.
He looked at me questioningly.
“Is this alright?” I asked softly.
A smile spread across his face.
“It’s more than alright.”
We lay side by side, listening to the quiet sounds of the night.
After a while, I whispered into the darkness,
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For waiting.”
He was silent for a moment.
Then he answered just as quietly.
“Some things are worth waiting for.”
The words settled gently in my heart.
I closed my eyes.
For the first time since this unexpected journey had begun, the mansion no longer felt like a place I’d been brought to.
It felt like somewhere I might, one day, truly belong.
And as sleep slowly claimed us both, I realised that peace didn’t always arrive with grand declarations.
Sometimes…
It arrived in the quiet space between two people who chose, day by day, to learn each other’s hearts
- Writer
