Chapter 6

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of others."

-Charles Dickens-

***

Once they had arrived home, the first thing Vian did was to turn on all the lamp and rushed into the bathroom to take the first aid kit. She knew it might have been too long for her to start mending on his wound but she thought it was better than nothing. She pulled the drawer and took the box out of the shelf and brought it to their bedroom.

Adonis was seated on the edge of their bed when she returned, he had taken off his suit and changed into a casual t-shirt and shorts for bed instead. His eyes were staring at the full length mirror right across him and saw the bruises on his lips and cheek from Carson’s punch earlier. He did not like how it looked because he knew they would only darken overtime, maybe turned a bit green and odd looking, but there was also a part in him that felt a bit proud of the bruise because it was a mark of his protection of her.

Vian noticed this and could not help but sigh, she took a seat right beside him with a small bowl that had been filled with ice water, she pulled out a thin handkerchief and dipped it inside the water, gently compressing the bruised area. He flinched a bit but she told him to just bear with it. He watched as she carefully treated him and felt the same warm fuzzy feelings inside all over again. He had no idea what she was thinking at the moment as she remained silent but he knew deep down she had a lot of things to say.

Once she was done compressing it, she pulled out some arnica solution to treat the bruise. She added a bit to her fingers and gently rubbed it against his skin. The warmth of her hand melted the products and allowed full absorption.

Eventually, she was done and asked him to put everything away because she needed to take off her makeup and get ready for bed. He nodded and did as asked, he put everything away to its original place while Vian did her night beauty routine. It was something she had never missed. Adonis before bed routine was quite simple in comparison to her, He went to wash his face with cleanser and that was pretty much it.

Soon they were done and both were resting on the bed. There was once more an awkward silence between the two of them. Their night was always like that, ever since they got married they did not have much time to learn about each other, or at least in this case Vian never really had any chance to get to know Adonis because she was busy with work and simply did not care. Their marriage was conducted as her escape from her ex and as a way to appease her mother. As long as both of them knew their part all was good. At least it was what she had said. Adonis in a sense was slightly different. He was a secretly a hopeless romantic inside. Growing up in the countryside had given him a more conservative and traditional mindset. He believed in love and devotion within marriage. So he never expected the kind of arranged marriage that he had at the time.

He thought that night would be just like any other night, pure silence before bed, however that night it was different. To his surprise, she decided to start a conversation that night.

“I don’t know why you did what you did today, however I have to say that I do appreciate what you did for me. Carson was an asshole and you did not deserve that. It was not fair on your part. I know today my family gave you a lot of pressure, but that is just how the way they have always been. Don’t worry, they don’t just hate you, they hate me too. They have always hated my family.” He could have sworn he nearly saw tears gathering on her eyes. He did not think she was the type of woman who would easily cry, but seeing her like that caused him pain.

He leaned in closer to her and placed his thumb underneath her eye rim. She widened her eyes at him but he didn’t seem faltered.

“Don’t cry, I hate seeing you cry like this. Don’t shed your tears for the people who don’t even care about you. Your tears are too expensive, Vian.” She was bewildered by his statement, she never thought he was a man capable of saying such words. He retreated his fingers and stared at her once again, this time with a smile on his face. Without saying anything else, he pulled her in an embrace. Burying his face on her neck.

“What are you doing?” He begged her to stay like that just for a bit without saying anything. He was tired. He really was. The day had taken quite a toll on him and he needed to rest on her. She did not understand it at first, but eventually she understood. Slowly she lifted up her hand and rested her palm on his hair, gently caressing him.

It was the first time she had ever treated him like that, yes, in nearly one year of their marriage, she did not think she ever fully allowed him to rest on her like that. She could feel his body against her skin. He was warm, his breathing was even and the way he held on tightly to her marked the security of his soul whenever he was with her.

In the middle of it, suddenly Adonis asked her a question she never thought he would ask before. It was a question he had tried to bury inside him, but after that day he really needed to ask her, otherwise he might explode from frustration.

“Vian, do you think I am useless? Everyone keeps on calling me a good for nothing. They call me a disgrace to your family. I know I am just a jobless man who can offer you nothing but my service, I can only please you through my body. I know you deserve so much more, you deserve so much better. I know I am not the man you have wished for, but please tell me, do you really think that I am a bad man?” Vian’s heart was pierced upon hearing his question. It was as if he was re-enacting everything her family members had thrown at him.

Initially she had thought those words had not gotten to him at all, but she was wrong. The whole time he was just keeping it inside himself. For a moment she had forgotten that he was human with feelings and emotions. She could have blamed her family members but she forgot that at one point, she too, had had those thoughts about him.

“You are a very unfortunate man, Adonis. I have heard about your family background from my mother and I do not blame you at all. However, you also know that when both of us decided to get married, this is the kind of life you would live. I am sure one of my parents has given you a warning about this family. I know it’s hard for you, but you have to endure it until you can prove your worth to them.”

“No, I don’t need to prove my worth to them, Vian. I don’t care about them at all, what I want is proving my worth to you. You are my wife and I care for you. I want to give you the ebst life you could possibly have. I know right now I am a nobody, but I promise you, soon I would make something, I will, I will make you happy eventually.” She could hear determination in his voice. For the first time ever she felt her heart skip a beat and she had no idea where it came from.

“Okay, I trust you. Prove yourself to me then. I have faith in you.” She had said those words without a smile but Adonis could tell there was no doubt in her voice which meant she genuinely believed in him.

“Alright, now we need to sleep, it’s getting really late and I need to go to work earlier tomorrow. Goodnight Adonis.” She released her hug and pulled her blanket, slowly closing her eyes and pretended their conversation just then never happened. However, for Adonis, her words almost worked as an encouragement. He was filled with a newfound hope and purpose.

Yes, for his wife and future family, he was going to do his best. It did not matter if he failed a hundred times he just had to try one more time. No one could possibly have that bad of a luck to never succeed at least once in their lifetime. Such was the strange way fate works, but God is a fair God. He went to sleep that night with a peculiar peace.

Little did he know that soon his fate would take a turn for the better.