Chapter 2: Kayden

I adjust my tie, walking out of my room, reading the day’s schedule that my assistant sent me this morning. 

I hear laughter when I reach the kitchen which makes me look up from my phone to see Aviana laughing at something with the chef who was a kind lady in her late forties. 

Aviana notices me standing there and waves at me with a huge grin on her face

“Good morning!” Aviana says in a chirpy voice. Her smile is beautiful and contagious but I struggle to keep my face blank.

Aviana’s medium length chocolate brown hair is in loose curls as they reach her waist. She looks young and carefree in her skinny light blue jeans, plain black top and a pair of black sneakers.

“Morning.” I say with a slight nod of my head as I start eating the waffles that the chef places in front of me. I look at Aviana when I don’t hear her saying anything to find her frowning at me. “What?” I ask her, raising an eyebrow in question.

“I wished you to have a good morning and in reply, you just wished me to have a morning.” She says. “I am going to have a morning anyway. You were supposed to wish me a good morning!” She explains, pouting in mock-anger at me. 

I hear the chef chuckling at her and a small smile breaks out on my face at her cuteness.

“I am sorry.” I apologize. “Good morning, Aviana.” I greet her in the right way. 

She grins at me before turning back to the chef.

“Martha, you really have magic in your hands! I really love these waffles!” Aviana tells the chef as she takes a bite out of her waffles.

“Thank you, dear.” Martha replies with a smile. 

I haven’t seen my chef smile or talk to someone ever.

It’s… New.

“You have nothing to thank me for. In fact, thank you for making these waffles for me.” Aviana tells her. 

Martha chuckles a little as she watches Aviana eat her breakfast.

Who is this girl exactly?

“It’s my job.” Martha replies.

“I’m telling you, Martha, if I had met you before I got married, I would have eloped with you! Really!” Aviana tells her with a serious face which makes me chuckle. 

Martha chuckles at her too but I can see that she’s shocked to hear me chuckling.

Now, if it was someone else other than Aviana, I would have ignored them or thought that they were acting. But after all the times that I have seen Aviana during my brother’s wedding preparation, I know that she’s not pretending. 

She is what she is.

This girl will tell you to your face if she doesn’t like you. And I’ve seen her doing just that when she didn’t like how the manager at the venue was eyeing her. 

She is blunt and to the point and yet she’s kind.

“Okay, so, I am leaving now. I can’t be late on a Monday.” Aviana says as she gets up after finishing her breakfast. 

Martha takes her plate away as she picks up her bag from the foot of her chair.

“Where are you going?” I ask her, making her turn to look at me with slight anger in her eyes.

“If you don’t remember or if you didn’t know, I am a college girl. I have to go to college.” She tells me before she leaves after saying goodbye to Martha.

Okay, I should’ve known that much… 

I shake my head and try to focus on my work as I look at my phone screen but a certain brown headed young girl is on my mind, not letting me concentrate.

I had wanted to enjoy my life alone. I am 26 years old but I still wasn’t ready to get married. What would it have been like for Aviana, a 21-year-old girl who was still in college? She hasn’t even seen the world yet.

I enter my penthouse to find it completely dark. 

I switch on the lights. It looked the same as when I left it in the morning. 

Didn’t Aviana come back? Where is she? 

I look around the house but it’s completely empty. I am just about to call her when I hear the door of the penthouse opening. 

I hear her giggling.

“Yes, Caroline. I have entered the house. And now I am walking towards the kitchen.” Aviana says as I see her walking in the kitchen where I was standing. “Oh! Looks like I’m not alone. I’m safe now, Caroline. I’ll call you later. Bye!” Aviana says into her phone before disconnecting the call. 

She looks at me with a big smile.

“Where were you?” I ask her, my voice coming out more forceful than I intended it to be.

Why am I acting like a nosy husband?

“Relax! I was at my friend, Candice’s house. She needed my help with some lessons which she had to miss last week when she was sick.” She explains with a sigh.

“But weren’t you just talking to someone by the name of Caroline?” I enquire. 

“Caroline just wanted me to be safe so she insisted on talking to me till I got back here.” She answers.

“Oh!” I say.

“Yeah. But now that we are both at home, do you want to watch some movie or some TV show?” She asks me with a grin. 

I frown at her.

“You have a TV in your room. You can watch whatever you want.” I tell her. 

She pouts in disappointment.

“I was thinking that we could watch something together. Maybe get to know each other a bit.” She says. “Here’s a fun-fact about me, I love watching movies.” She adds with a smile.

“I am sorry but not today. Let’s just have dinner. I have to wake up early tomorrow.” I tell her. 

I have to go to the gym in the morning and then I have to go to work. And I am feeling tired right now.

And honestly, I’ve been thinking too much about our arranged and forced marriage. I don’t want to spend time with her right now…

“Okay. When will you be home tomorrow?” She asks.

“I don’t know. It depends.” I tell her as I loosen my tie and make my way to my room.

“I forgot that you were a workaholic.” I hear her mumbling as she walks to her own room after taking a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Good morning! What are you doing so early in the morning?” I am about to open the door to leave when I hear Aviana’s happy voice. 

I turn around to find her in black tights and a sky-blue sleeveless crop top. Her hair was up in a neat high ponytail. She was smiling at me.

“I was going to the gym.” I answer. “Why are you up so early?” I ask her, eyeing her outfit. 

“I have to go to my dance rehearsals.” She says as she smiles at me. Just as I am about to question her, her phone starts ringing and she looks at it with big eyes. “I am getting late. I’ll see you later. Bye!” She says as she runs out the door as fast as she can.

Well, now I know that she’s the same in the morning as she is at any other time of the day.

Happy and over excited as always…