Dinner
1084 Words
By evening, Maple had settled the last of her mother’s belongings inside the wooden box.
She carefully folded the letters and placed them beneath the photographs before arranging the jewelry on top. She wanted everything to stay exactly where it belonged. These things were precious to her, not because they were expensive, but because they were the last pieces of her mother she had left.
She closed the lid carefully and placed the box on the small table beside her bed.
For a few seconds, she simply stared at it.
The room was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Maple sat on the edge of the bed, looking around the unfamiliar bedroom. Everything was beautiful, the large bed, the expensive furniture, the huge windows, but none of it felt like hers yet.
She still hadn’t gotten used to the fact that this was where she would be sleeping from now on.
Her new home.
Her new life.
Her new husband.
The thought made her sigh.
She had never imagined her life would turn out this way.
A few weeks ago, she had been worrying about finding a job and figuring out what she wanted to do with her life. Now she was married to a man she barely knew and living in a mansion she had never even dreamed of entering.
She wondered if things would have been different if her mother were still alive.
Maybe she would have known what to do.
Maybe her mother would have held her hands and told her everything would be fine.
Maple shook the thought away before the sadness could settle too deeply.
She stood from the bed and left the room.
As she walked downstairs, she noticed a few members of the household staff preparing the dining room for dinner.
One of them noticed her and approached.
“Mrs. Kingston, dinner will be served shortly.”
Maple nodded politely.
“Thank you.”
She continued into the living room and stopped when she noticed Devon sitting on one of the sofas.
He had changed out of his suit and was wearing a dark shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A laptop was open in front of him, and several documents were spread across the table.
He looked completely absorbed in his work.
Maple hesitated before walking closer.
He noticed her almost immediately and looked up.
“You settled in?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes.”
He nodded and returned his attention to his laptop.
Maple stood there for another second before taking a seat on the couch opposite him.
The silence between them wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn’t comfortable either.
They were husband and wife, yet they still felt like strangers sharing the same space.
Maple picked up a cushion and placed it on her lap.
She glanced at Devon.
He was typing something on his laptop, his expression serious.
She quickly looked away.
A few minutes passed.
Then one of the maids entered the room.
“Dinner is served.”
Devon closed his laptop.
Maple stood as well.
They walked into the dining room together.
The staff served their meals before quietly leaving.
Maple looked around the enormous dining table.
There were enough seats for at least a dozen people, yet only two of them were sitting there.
She couldn’t help thinking how strange it was.
Such a huge table.
Such a huge house.
And yet everything felt so quiet.
She picked up her fork and began eating.
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke.
Maple tried to concentrate on her food, but she kept feeling aware of Devon sitting across from her.
Eventually, he broke the silence.
“You don’t have to sit so far away.”
Maple looked up.
Devon nodded toward one of the empty chairs closer to him.
She glanced at the chair before looking back at him.
“I’m comfortable here.”
He studied her face for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“All right.”
He didn’t argue.
They continued eating.
Maple found herself glancing at him occasionally.
Devon ate quietly, occasionally checking his phone between bites. He didn’t seem bothered by the silence at all.
There was something strange about how composed he always seemed.
Even after what had happened at her father’s house earlier that day, he hadn’t complained or acted irritated.
Instead, he had simply stepped in when he saw her being mistreated.
Maple’s fingers tightened slightly around her fork.
She still couldn’t understand him.
He was cold most of the time.
He barely spoke.
He seemed to have an answer for everything.
But then, there were moments when he surprised her.
She looked down at her plate.
Maybe she had judged him too quickly.
After a while, Devon looked up.
“Your cheek.”
Maple instinctively touched it.
“What about it?”
“The mark is still visible.”
She shrugged.
“It’ll disappear.”
His eyes remained on her cheek for a moment.
“I know.”
He paused.
“Does it still hurt?”
Maple was slightly surprised by the question.
She shook her head.
“No. Not really.”
Devon nodded.
“Good.”
She wasn’t sure what else to say.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
His eyes lifted to hers.
“For what?”
Maple hesitated.
“For earlier.”
Devon leaned back slightly.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I still wanted to.”
He stared at her for a moment before looking away.
“Just be careful next time.”
Maple frowned.
“Careful?”
“With your father.”
Her expression fell slightly.
“I thought he would listen to me.”
Devon didn’t respond immediately.
“People don’t always behave the way we expect them to.”
Maple looked at him.
There was something in his tone that made her wonder if he was speaking from experience.
The rest of dinner passed quietly.
When they finished, Devon stood from his chair.
Maple watched as he walked toward the stairs.
He stopped halfway and turned around.
“Maple.”
She looked up.
“Tell the staff if you need anything.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
He gave her a small nod before disappearing up the stairs.
Maple remained seated for a moment.
She looked around the dining room.
The house was still unfamiliar.
Her marriage was still strange.
And Devon was still a mystery she wasn’t sure she wanted to solve.
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