Chapter 7 First Night as Married Couple

"I repeat. Who are you?!" An old brunette woman approached her; forehead creased and expression in grim.

"M-My name is Michelle," she said, still unable to move on from what she saw inside that red room on the second floor.

The woman's expression changed, and raised an eyebrow as she looked at Michelle from head to toe, and then gazed back at her. "So you must be Ethan's wife."

"I-I am," Michelle stuttered. "I-I apologize. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Yes, I was indeed surprise to see you coming down from the second floor," said the woman in distate. "I am Priscilla, the housekeeper. Did you happen to enter some rooms?"

"N-No!" she lied.

Priscilla narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms. "Well, please be cautious the next time. Ethan doesn't like it when people enter some restricted rooms, especially on the second floor."

Fuck, is she referring to that room? She thought.

Michelle couldn't help but swallow hard. Sure, she felt that Priscilla was the type of housekeeper that she shouldn't associate herself with, given the dryness in her behavior.

"Thank you for letting me know," she answered her voice low.

After her awkward conversation with the housekeeper, she was then guided into a king-sized bedroom. It was the first time she'd ever been into a luxurious room. It was amazing. However, she couldn't appreciate its elegance and cosy ambiance as her mind stayed in the secret room she visited a while ago.

***

Evening came. Michelle woke up hearing the knocks from the bedroom door. Scratching her eyes, she got out of bed and opened the door, only to see Priscilla standing outside the door, wearing an annoyed look.

"Ethan arrived. He's asking you to join him for dinner."

Michelle pressed her lips together before she spoke, "You can tell him that I'm not hungry."

"You must join him." Priscilla's voice was serious and firm. "Regardless of whether you feel hungry or not, please come down. He's the master of this house. You must obey his commands."

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Michelle inhaled sharply and offered Priscilla a thin smile. "I will go downstairs in a few minutes."

"Thank you." Priscilla cleared her throat and then went away.

She shook her head as she watched the housekeeper walk away. She already had a feeling that Priscilla didn't like her, given the grim expression on her face. However, she doesn't give a damn about it.

Michelle quickly washed her face in the bathroom and changed into comfortable clothes-a t-shirt and jogging pants. Needless to say, she still fixed her hair before she exited the room, as she wanted to at least look presentable in front of Ethan.

"What took you so long?" asked the familiar deep voice of a man sitting at the long table.

Her heart pounded aggressively, recalling those things she saw in the secret room. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked to the chair available on his side to sit down with. Michelle was completely aware of his stare at her, but she didn't entertain it.

"I just woke up," she replied dryly, avoiding his gaze.

"Don't be late for dinner time," he said warily.

"Fine." Her brows furrowed, thinking that her husband valued dinner time more than anything.

"Your father's debt was already paid, and as a gift, I gave him some money to use so he'd stop bugging you," Ethan stated, which made her glance at him.

"You gave him what?"

"I gave him money."

"What?" Michelle couldn't help but raise her voice. "How much have you given him?"

"Just an enough amount for him to stay out of your sight while you build your career in my company," he explained as if what he did was nothing.

She gasped and stared at him in disbelief. Ethan ate as if the conversation didn't matter, but Michelle thought he went too far. It was like Ethan was sticking his nose into something he shouldn't touch. And to be honest, it added to the humiliation she had been trying to ignore.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Her voice sounded offended.

"Because I have the resources and I wanted to help you," Ethan answered and looked her straight in the eyes.

However, Michelle couldn't find any hint of sincerity in his marble gray eyes. All she could see was cruelty and danger. Thus, her heart continued to slam into her chest.

"It's not part of our deal."

"Do you think your pride will make your father stop bothering you for money?"

"It's not your problem anymore!" she almost yelled in frustration.

Ethan's jaw clenched, staring down at her while his eyes narrowed.

"You're my wife now, Michelle. Your problem is also mine to resolve. End of discussion. Now, eat," he demanded.

Michelle sucked in a breath. She fisted her hand and wanted to punch Ethan in the face. It had only been hours since they married, yet she was already feeling the regret inside her chest.

After dinner, Michelle went back to her bedroom and threw herself into the bed. She let out a huge sigh. Her left arm was on her forehead as she looked up at the ceiling while trying to see the good things in this messy situation she got herself into.

"If only I was born rich, perhaps things would have ended differently..." she whispered, completely dismayed with all the decisions she made for most of her life.

Many thoughts whirled around her head when Ethan entered the room. She sat upright and gave him a wide-eyed look.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, annoyed.

Ethan leered at her. "This is our room, wife."

Wife his ass! She thought.

Ethan began to remove his necktie and unbuttoned his white long sleeves. Michelle panicked when she saw him strip before her. She turned away, scolding herself. Ethan only chuckled, and that doubled her heart rate.

"Can't you do that inside the bathroom?" She scoffed. "You are not in a live strip show or something!"

"We are married, and can basically undress in front of each other whenever we want to," Ethan said, his tone obviously teasing her.

"Undress? You wish! We're not even a normal married couple!" She hissed, wincing. "Please, be decent and go to the bathroom to change!"

Ethan could only grin from ear to ear. Seeing Michelle's cute reaction made him want to tease her more. "I didn't know I married a conservative woman. Take a chill pill, will you? It's not like you haven't seen me naked."

"Stop it!"

He laughed, and then proceeded to the bathroom. Michelle let out a harsh sigh. She even tapped her chest just to calm her heart that was violently thumping because of Ethan.

Minutes later, Ethan came out the bathroom wearing a white bathrobe and pajamas. Michelle couldn't stop staring at him, and the fact that he looked even better in pyjamas made her think God had favored this man.

"Eye-raping me?" Ethan smirked as he sat on the left side of the bed.

"Excuse me. You're not my type." Michelle rolled her eyes.

"And who's your type then?" He went on to tease her further.

"It can be anyone except you."

Ethan nodded his head and lay down on the bed, still staring at her. "Feisty."

Michelle's blood boiled in anger. She watched how the man positioned himself comfortably on the bed, and for a split second, she realized that they were sharing one bed!

"Are we going to sleep in one bed?"

"Yes." Ethan licked his lower lip, and Michelle blushed, thinking about how his lips tasted when they had a one-night stand, making her curse under her breath.

She gulped. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to share a bed with you."

"This isn't our first time sharing one bed," than reminded her.

"Oh, please!" Michelle palmed her face and stood up. "I thought this would be my own room."

"Since when did a married couple sleep in separate rooms?" Ethan asked, and then tapped the available part of the bed. "Lay down here, Mich."

Mich...

He called her by her nickname so perfectly. But no, she couldn't be swayed by it!

"I thought the room with a red door was your bedroom," she said, trying to corner Ethan, whose face turned a bit grim when she mentioned that specific room. "Isn't it?"

"No, it's not." Ethan's voice was firm.

Michelle noticed how he clenched his jaw and avoided her gaze. Her forehead creased, thinking that Ethan was not that vocal and proud about his unusual hobby.

"Then what is that room for?"

"Do I really have to answer that question?" Ethan suddenly sounded pissed off. "Did you enter that room?"

"What?" Michelle instantly shook her head. "N-No. I thought it was your room and it somehow made me relieved as I don't want to sleep on the same bed with you. We are not like the other married couples out there."

Ethan clicked his tongue, and let out a sigh afterward. "Are you worried that I'd do something to you?"

"No! I am just not comfortable having a man sleep beside me."

Ethan didn't seem to like her answer, but Michelle could not do anything with it. What she said was true. After what happened to them the first night they met, and with this messy set up they were in, she just wanted to have peaceful nights, without Ethan around.

"That room," Michelle referred to the secret room she invaded. "It looks nice. What do you have inside of it? Is it your home office, or entertainment room?"

Ethan jerked his head to the left and eyed her darkly.

Michelle stared at him curiously, trying to set the truth aside and wanting to corner the man to see if he would tell him about his unusual hobby.

Ethan stood up and gave her a glare.

"You're forbidden to go near that room. Defy me and you'll suffer the consequences," he said before he went away.