Chapter 5
1185 Words
Stelli watched the man leave the room before she could find her voice and gather words.
The many questions she had, unanswered.
Not even his name.
Somehow, she managed to see the time on the clock hanging on the wall in the dimly lit room. Stelli knew she had time to get back to the Estate before dawn would come.
In a hurry, she picked her clothes from the floor, wore them, and hurried out of the room after checking to ensure nothing that belonged to her was in it. It wasn't the time to feel bad - although she felt bad, there were more pressing issues she must attend to.
Like her wedding.
Her f*****g wedding.
After a long time drafting a map in her head, while asking strangers who moped at her like she was a suspect, she arrived at the Estate.
Good for her, no one was awake.
Only the man who worked at the main gate. Essie was fast asleep in her room when she checked, and when she arrived at her own room, the large wall clock told her she had spent almost two hours finding her way back home.
Now that she was home, she had all the time in the world to think about the incident. Starting from how she arrived there, what she was doing before she got there, who that man was, and how he got there also. But she didn't want to think about these things. She didn't owe Xilox loyalty as the wedding was a situation on its own - but she couldn't stop thinking she'd betrayed their marriage vows they hadn't even said yet.
For a fleeting moment, Stelli ignored these thoughts and decided to have a shuteye before the time for preparation came.
She didn't have enough rest when someone knocked on her door. Essie, she concluded as she sat up. No one knocked on her door that way, she managed a smile to avoid suspicions.
“Good morning, bride.”
“Good morning.” She greeted while adjusting. “You're awake. How was your night?”
Although she said nothing, Essie could feel it; something was wrong with her best friend. “I know you don't feel good about the whole thing, but it'll be over before you know it.”
“Of course. I know.” Stelli got off the bed. It was a relief Essie assumed the wedding was the issue; although it partly was. “I'd take a bath and join you soon. Go get ready.”
“After you, Stelli.”
***
A while later, the real dawn had come.
“You look stunning, Stelli.”
“Thank you, Essie.” She got off the dressing chair and moped at herself. “I look stunning.” She did look stunning. “Have you seen or heard from Xilox? Since this morning?”
“No, I haven't,” Essie answered with a shake of her head as she moped at her reflection. “It's almost time to be at the hall. Are you at least ready? Or do you need some time?”
She wasn't ready.
She would never be ready.
But like Essie said, it'd be over. Maybe not, no one knew. “I'm ready.” She announced as she took one last glance at her reflection. She wasn't wearing a white dress - but it ate in its own way. Good for the kind of impromptu wedding she was having - after a non-consensual and unconscious experience with a man old enough to father her.
“Are you okay?”
“Of course, Stelli.”
On their way out, they saw no one except the housekeeper. “Congratulations, ma'am.”
“Thank you.”
Aside from the other things, keeping this away from Esaie bothered Stelli too much. Growing up, she's told everything about herself to Essie - the same way Essie told her everything about her own self. Now what?
“Watch your steps.”
She snapped out of her thoughts.
This was the last time she would think about the incident. Nothing was ever going to make her recall the incident at that hotel.
They stood in the compound after a long walk.
The gate of the field Stelli noticed on her first day in the compound, was open. She didn't need to be told, and now walked in the direction leading to the main gate.
From the field, they arrived at a hall.
It was well decorated.
More than she expected. No one needed to tell her, she knew all of it was Marvelle's doing. According to everything she's seen, read, and been told, Marvelle and Uncle Donn did almost everything in the Estate and Bethway Shipping. Even now she could see her aunt moving around, giving instructions to workers who did as they were told.
“Why do this much for a formal wedding?” She looked at Essie who was admiring everything.
“I hate it here, Essie.”
Greyhollow Orphanage was a better place.
“Shh. Don't say that. Have fun.”
“Right.”
At the front of the field was Xilox, her husband-to-be. He could see her from a distance; there was a welcoming smile he had on and his right hand was waving at her.
She caught up with him. “You look good.”
“You look stunning, Essie.”
“Thank you.”
It was a very awkward moment. She, getting married to a man she felt absolutely nothing for. Worse, he had issues with his legs. What more did the universe have in store for her?
Intercourse with a stranger.
What more? She's wondering when someone touched her shaky hand. “Are you alright?” Xilox asked. “I know you don't want this.”
“No, no. Let's not go there, really.”
She ignored him and continued thinking. While one part of her mind was worried, the other one told her it didn't matter what she did.
Or who she did it with.
Besides, it was one night. And it didn't mean anything, so long she wouldn't be seeing the man again. She had nothing to worry about.
She let out a breath and smiled.
It was genuine this time.
How much longer before the wedding started?
With Xilox by her side, they waved at their guests. Almost everyone who came in, Stelli didn't know who they were. Besides Barrister Reynolds, Marvelle who ran around to keep things in order, Uncle Donn, and her cousin, she didn't know any other people.
When it looked like the guests were complete, the wedding was about to begin.
But the hall's main gate opened.
Again.
This time, a man was walking through.
He's tall, unhurried, and dressed impeccably. At some point, he stopped to scan the hall; his gaze was fixed at the hall's front where the couple-to-be stood.
Stelli, on the other hand, recognized him.
Her body froze, and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she turned to look at Xilox who was expressionless.
“That's my father.” He says.
- Writer
