BOUND BY HER NAME

THE NIGHT AFTER

Serena’s POV:

When we arrived at the mansion, there were so many people. It seemed like another wedding but for only special guests. The house was decorated beautifully and it was in the same colour scheme as the hall.

We were greeted by a lot of people, older ladies came alongside Mrs Elena. They congratulated us and pulled me aside for some “womanly” advice.

“Look my dear this is the honeymoon phase of your marriage when it expires don’t disturb him for attention, you just have to accept your reality ”.

One of them said.

“When do you plan on having kids?”

Another asked.

Mrs Elena saw the discomfort on my face and she cautioned them to stop scaring me. They walked off and Chris called me to take some pictures.After that, he was greeted my business partners and they congratulated us. He seemed genuinely happy to be married and he made sure to always ask if I felt comfortable.

Shortly after, we were called in for dinner. I had never seen the dining area look this beautiful. Being served by the very people I worked alongside felt very weird. It was a new experience and it made me feel sick because I know how much stress they had gone through to make everything perfect and they weren’t thanked enough.

Mr Blackwood decided to raise a toast to announce the beginning of a new era and with that we started feasting.

The atmosphere was warm and it was filled with people laughing and sharing stories,

Mr Ashton shares a funny story about Chris and I could see the embarrassment on his face.

“Dad did you have to”

He says

“Oh come on son, it’s all love” Mr Ashton replies and everyone continues laughing.

“Armelia remember when you fell into the lake when we were like 12”. Chris says.

“She did?…um I mean yeah I did, I remember that”. I reply while trying to force a laughs “Remember when you jumped in to save her knowing fully well you couldn’t swim”.

Mrs Elena immediately jumps in to save the moment.

The whole table starts laughing.

“Why haven’t you touched your plate Armelia? “You know what don’t say another word. Finish everything on that plate.”

Mrs Elena adds trying to save me again.

“So you never outgrew the habit of not finishing your plate”

Chris says as he lets out a soft laugh.

After the dinner, everyone left and I was relieved.

Chris was outside saying goodbye to the guests that were leaving.

I used the opportunity to head to the staff quarters and talk to my mom.

“My beautiful daughter” she said while pulling me into a bear hug. “Mom did you miss me that much”

I said while laughing.

Even if I wasn’t gone for a full day I already missed my mom. I have never been away from her for more than a few hours.

“I can’t wait for Mr and Mrs Blackwood to find Amelia already.”

“Me too baby, Mrs Elena discussed with me that it won’t take much time and till then she would do everything in her power to protect you”

My mom said.

“She gave me some new dresses, some for you and some for me”

My mom added.

I wasn’t so excited about it. They did look really nice but the favour I was doing for them was worth more than these.

“They look nice”

I said trying to hide my dissatisfaction. “So how’s Chris, is he to you?” She asked changing the subject. “Yes mom he is, he’s quite affectionate”

“That’s really nice, Ms Armelia is so lucky”

My mom said.

“Yes she is”

Knock knock!

I’m coming.

I looked through the eyehole and it was Mrs Elena so I opened the door.

“So sorry to interrupt the moment but we need you upstairs.”

“Okay”

I said coldly. I was already tired and it was just the first day.

“I asked Chris to let you stay here for 2 days so I could buy some time before we find Armelia”

She whispered.

I was happy about that because I wouldn’t have to act anymore. “That’s fine”

We walked upstairs and I was welcomed with a warm hug from Chris.

“I missed you” he said.

“What?”

I said while trying to hold my laugh.

“What do you mean you miss me, we haven’t been apart for up to an hour”

“Well that’s too much for me and now your mom has asked that I leave you to stay here for 3 whole days”

“God forbid a mom needs to spend a little more time with her daughter before she leaves with her husband forever”

Mrs Elena says.

It made I and Chris laugh so loudly that Mr Blackwood came out to ask what happened.

“It’s getting late honey, wouldn’t you like to go to bed”

Mrs Elena said to me.

“Oh yes ma..mom I’ve had a long day.”

Chris asks if he could stay with me for 30 more minutes before heading back home.

We walk to Ms Armelia’s room and I couldn’t imagine sleeping on such a luxurious bed.

“I’m going to sleep so good tonight” I blurted.

“Oh why?” He asks.

I realized what I had just said out loud. I had to think of something quickly.

“Ohhhh you know I’ve had such a long day.”

“That’s true, wouldn’t you like to slip into something comfy?”

I realized that I actually had to take off my wedding dress and I needed some assistance. I couldn’t ask him to do it and I couldn’t go to Mrs Elena what if she was asleep by now. So I did what any girl would do, try to be independent.

I stood in front my mirror struggling to unzip my dress.

I felt Chris’ gaze on me and I tried even harder because it was getting awkward.

“Do you need some help?” He asked politely.

“No don’t worry I’ve got the hang of it”

“Still as stubborn as always.” He said as he walked towards me

He reached for my dress and helped me to unzip it. He kept his eyes away while undoing my corset which was so respectful,

“Now you can take a bath, all you had to do was ask for help you know right” He said while smirking.

My cheeks were flushed so I quickly ran to the toilet.

“I’ll be waiting for you love” he said raising his voice just enough for me to hear him from the toilet.

I wonder if he is actually willing to wait for me to shower.

After 30 minutes I came out of the toilet and I felt brand new. Although it did feel weird to use someone else’s toilet products but I had no choice.

Chris had already fallen asleep on the bed. What do I do now?

I couldn’t sleep on the same bed with him. I decided to just sleep on the couch and it was big enough to fit my whole body.

The next morning…

In the morning, I found myself on the bed. I remember sleeping on the couch so I was really confused. I felt like I had been dreaming until I saw a note in the side table.

“Good morning sunshine, you looked more comfortable on the bed. I hope you don’t mind that I carried you and since when did you talk in your sleep. I stepped out for a meeting see you later today, your husband Chris”

Chris was a really nice guy, I had to do my best not to slip up. I escaped a conversation yesterday only because he slept off, today might not be the same.

I headed downstairs for breakfast. I was the only one in the dining area and it felt lonely so I decided to head to the staff quarters to spend some time with my mom.

When I got there she was asleep so I decided to just sit beside her and eat quietly.

Buzz buzz

I received a notification from my phone and I checked. It was Chris

“Hello my love, I’m sure you’d be up by now. I have dinner plans for us with some of our old friends, Aaron and Steven. I sent you a dress to wear I’m sure you’d like it. Pick you up at 8, kisses”

I wonder what he had planned out. A dinner with some old friends, how on Earth am I meant to survive that.

I hope I don’t mess things up tonight. How do I even get ready? What do I do?