Two

An ugly clown.

Me?

Why did I ever think he was good-looking? Truly, beauty was only skin-deep.

I frowned as I opened my mouth to tell him off but no words came out. My lips only quivered as more tears came out.

He shuddered and turned to the priest as if my sole appearance was threatening his life. How bad did I look? My mother had made sure I had a full coverage make-up before I got here. Did he think I was that ugly, or was he just not prepared to like me?

"She can't even speak," he said to the priest in disgust. "Just wrap this up, already."

"Why do you have to be so rude?" I asked, getting my voice back. I wished I could have thought of something more clever, like an insult.

He gave me a once over, the displeasure on his face increasing.

"Your dress, the shoes, the step, ugh," he said, more to himself than to me, like I was some bad artwork he was being forced to purchase. "How am I supposed to show you off to people? They'll laugh."

Fortunately, no one else could hear him. I felt so ashamed. A part of me had wrongly assumed I'd be the one to settle, to look at him and approve, but this felt much worse. No one had ever said such things to me before.

"Do you Davis Monroe," the priest spoke, his voice bringing me out of my self-pity. "take Cassandra Richardson to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, in…"

"I do," he responded sharply. "Let's get this over with."

That was…rude.

How could anyone cut off a priest?

Wasn't that like, punishable?

However, the priest only cleared his throat, nodded, and turned to me.

"Do you Cassandra Richardson take Davis…"

"She does," he cut in again. "Let's just wrap this up. I feel silly in this suit and I need to go get a drink to wash off what I'm seeing."

He just kept getting worse and worse.

The priest cleared his throat once again.

"I now pronounce you, husband and wife," he said, and the congregation erupted in cheers.

How they could cheer for a wedding between two people who didn't even know each other, I wondered.

Davis turned away immediately, walking toward the door. I followed him, trying to keep up with him in my shaky high heels. I knew he didn't like me but he didn't have to make it so obvious to everyone that he couldn't stand me.

I was quick enough to get into the car with him and fortunately, he didn't lock me out or ask me to leave. He only gave me a once-over, shook his head, and signaled the driver to drive away.

I couldn't take it anymore. What was it about me that made him feel so disgusted? I didn't want to flatter myself but I knew what I looked like. No normal person would see me and shudder. Unless maybe he wasn't normal.

"What exactly do you hate so much about me?" I asked, my pain of letting my boyfriend go replaced by the anger of being degraded by him.

He looked at my face for a moment longer as if he was trying to find something.

"Look at yourself," he said, pulling me so I could see the mirror in front of me.

Oh. My. God.

I looked like something out of a freak show.

My tears had made my mascara smudge down my face and my blush, contour, and powder mixed, making me look like an actual clown with deep-set dark circles around my eyes.

"I need something to clean my face," I said, searching for wipes while covering my face at the same time.

He still had that disgusted look on his face and I could tell it wasn't just the make-up that upset him. It was my whole presence.

"How's that my problem?" He asked.

"Well, you're the one who keeps complaining about my face and you're the one who is going to keep seeing it."

He shook his head at me.

"I honestly don't care anymore. It's not like I'm going to be seeing you for long."

Before I could ask him exactly what he meant by that, we pulled up into a huge mansion with a compound space that could fit several airplanes.

This was…his house?

There were about seven people whose uniforms ranged from maid uniforms to guard and butler uniforms. They stood in a straight horizontal line in front of the house with smiles on their faces, waiting to welcome us.

I didn't know how to feel.

A smartly dressed man who I assumed was the butler came over to my side of the car and unlocked the door for me. He gave me a hand to come down from the vehicle as he flashed an unwavering smile at me. If he noticed my makeup, he didn't let it show.

I stood by the side of the car, waiting for him to come down as well, but to my surprise, the car started again and made a U-turn.

I waved in confusion, wondering where he was going without me.

I noticed him sigh as he wound down the glass to address me.

"I have better things to do than stay here cooped up with a girl who looks like she has a lot of baggage I'm not willing to deal with," he said.

Each time I thought he couldn't say something more insulting, he surpassed my expectations.

"So what am I supposed to do here? All alone? With all these people I don't know?" I asked, fear creeping into me.

He simply shrugged.

"Whatever you decide to do here is none of my business. I already agreed to the wedding. Entertaining you was not part of the contract."

Before I could say anything, he wound the glass back up and signaled his driver to drive off, which he did.

I stood there in my wedding dress, still holding my bouquet which I had forgotten to throw in my hurry to catch up with this man who wanted nothing to do with me. I knew I looked ridiculous, especially with my clown makeup, and I couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on in the minds of the butler and the other uniformed people.

I felt my resolve breaking again as I fought to remain steady on my feet.

No, I chastised myself. I'd cried enough for one day and it had gotten me nowhere. If this was how my life was to be from now on, I had to make the most of it.

Lifting my head high, I allowed the maids to lead me into the house which was even more beautiful on the inside than it was on the outside. I was taken into my room, and I struggled to mask my amazement at the intricate details of every part of it.

The maids went to work immediately, cleaning my makeup and helping me take my wedding dress off. They would have also bathed me if I hadn't stopped them. They even kept complimenting me and addressing me as 'lady', which soon began to feel weird.

No wonder he was so rude. If this was the treatment he was used to all his life; where everyone did his bidding whenever he wanted, it only made sense.

"Your dinner has been prepared, my lady," one of the maids announced, curtsying when she spoke.

I followed them down the stairs and into the grand dining room which I'd somehow miss on my arrival here.

They watched me while I ate, which was quite uncomfortable, but I managed quite well. I didn't want them to know I wasn't used to this life.

My parents had been extremely wealthy for most of my life and I could say I grew up somewhat privileged, but I never had maids watch me eat my dinner before.

Was this what my life was going to be from now on? I wondered as I ate the very wonderfully cooked dinner. All of this felt surreal. It was all beautiful but it all seemed unnecessary. The house was way too big for only two people and the service was too much for me.

I didn't even know my husband, I thought sadly as I ate my food. I froze suddenly. That was the day of my wedding, which meant that night was going to be my wedding night.

My heart began to pound.

I hoped he wouldn't ask me to perform anything… I shut my eyes, trying not to think that far. For the first time, I was thankful he didn't find me attractive. At least that was guaranteed to keep him away from me for a while.

But still. I had to know something.

At least have an idea of what to expect.

"Hey," I called one of the maids and she came running even though I was just about two feet away.

"Yes, my lady," she curtsied.

"Sit down," I said, pointing to the seat opposite me.

She eyed the seat for a while as if she was questioning if it was proper to accept my invitation.

"I said, sit!" I said in a firm voice, getting frustrated.

She did.

"I need you to tell me all you know about Davis Monroe," I said.

At her sharp intake of breath and the slow shaking of her head, I knew something bigger than I could imagine was going on.