THE D-DAY

Christiana’s point of view

“Hurry up, Christiana! You do not have much time. Anyways you do not have anything to do now except abide by me. Did you even bathe?” My stepmother rushed into my room with her orders.

I rolled my eyes listening to her. I had felt her selfishness the millionth time. But this time it was different. I wanted to spoil her plan, nevertheless, I was helpless.

“Stop it right now. We do not have time. Get ready for your wedding as soon as possible.”

She pulled me out of my bed by my hair, pushed me into the washroom, and shouted at me to get ready for the wedding.

Well, it was expected from her. Seldom she insulted me. It was her favorite time pass.

“Yes, I am going.” I snorted in response.

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I was nearly ready in a few minutes. My curly black hair was pulled up into a French braided bun, along with my mantilla tucked into it properly. My makeup wasn’t speaking up, I wanted to go natural instead of bold. It did not matter to me much; I was not excited about the marriage.

I would have tried different things if it wasn’t a fixed marriage. I was looking extremely pale and was sleep-deprived due to anxiety and stress. Even I did not have proper food for days, which made me look sick. My face was yellow, lips were white and peeling slightly. Forget about refreshments, I had nothing in the last few hours. Sadly, I did not want to quench my thirst or satiate my hunger.

Notwithstanding this fact, the only thing I liked was my eyes. They were looking beautiful naturally. There was beauty in my eyes and they were shining and speaking brightly. They had depth, and looked quite intense, if one wanted to feel, he would have drowned.

My eyes went down to my pretty white dress which I had worn. It was heavy and gorgeous. After my eyes, it was the only thing that was worthy of paying heed.

Eventually, I headed towards the place along with my mother where the wedding was about to take place.

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In a blink of an eye my world was to change.

“Do you, Christiana Grey, take Tiger Kelvin to be your beloved spouse, will you adore him, prize him, honor him and keep him in sickness and in health and forsake all others keep only unto him so long as you two shall live?” The father spoke loudly. His intonations rang in my ears.

This is supposed to be the happiest day of life for any girl. I was to get married!

Well, married the person who will never love me the way I wanted. That was one of those reasons of mine not to be so happy. I gazed at him with eyes full of hatred for him.

“Yes, I do. I accept him as my beloved spouse. I will love him, honor him, keep him in sickness and in health, and forsake all others, till my last breath.” I vowed before Jesus.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the Holy Joe said.

Tiger held my mantilla, moved it fast to let out my face and lowered his face, and pecked on my cheeks.

It was a short kiss, but I felt chilled down my spine. The moment his lips touched mine I felt heebie-jeebies in my stomach.

I should not have been comfortable with his touch but could not help myself and went with the flow.

We fake smiles as we look into each other’s eyes. I was not at all happy. But had to pretend to be as merry as a lark.

Tiger Kelvin, the sexiest and one of the wealthiest men alive, who happened to be my childhood crush too was my husband, finally. I was to live with him under the same roof, waking up every morning seeing his face, and cherish every night alongside him. How lucky I was, I wish could say that then.

The crowd cheered and congratulated us, and we exchanged a sweet smile in return. The cameras were at us, making sure to capture the moment from every single direction they could.

We held each other’s hand and made our way outside the church soon.

He opened the door of his black Bentley and told me to get inside. I quickly got inside and sat beside him.

There was pin-drop silence inside the car. We did not speak to each other. After all, it was a marriage of convenience. Also, I was not accustomed to his world.

Soon my eyes got stuck on Tiger, whilst he was talking to his client on the phone. He seemed so handsome; not less than a prince charming. I had never seen a guy as handsome as him. The light in his eyes was enough to hypnotize me. My eyes traveled down to his thin pink kissable lips and the urge to touch and feel its softness dawned upon me.

Since the first time I had seen him, I was not me. He made me feel things that I never knew my body was capable of. His presence was enough to turn my stomach into knots and insects biting all over my body giving me a pleasant sensation.

On the flip side, he did not even bother to look at me or have a convoy with me. I felt a lump in my throat with the mere thought of him never looking at me as his woman. The thought of he will never adore me shattered me in and out. I felt the bitterness of my reality on the tip of my tongue.

“Do I look that handsome?” I was in a daze but his words brought me back to factuality.

“What? No…”

My cheeks turned red because for sure he had taken me as his ardent stalker. I tried to escape his view though.

Soon he started the car and I did not ever bother to question him where we were heading.

In the next fifteen minutes, finally, we reached the outskirts of the city, it was the signal that we were to reach our destination.

Soon I could see bodyguards heading towards our car and opening the huge gate of the ‘Kelvin Villa’.

A maid came running in my direction to help me out of the car. And as soon as I was out, I heard him start the engine again and he was gone. I was disappointed seeing him leave me there all alone with people I was not familiar with.

Nevertheless, this was ironically what my stepmother had fated for me.

“Madam, this way. And do not worry, the master will be back by dusk.”

Was the disappointment so evident on my face that the maid could also figure it out?

To escape her, I asked her name.

“Daisy here, madam. One of the housekeepers of this great mansion. You can approach me whenever you want my help. I will assist you, lady.” She told me with respect.

Soon she gave me a short tour of the villa but I was already exhausted. So, I asked her to continue it some other day.

The villa had a huge hall with giant chandeliers, ancient paintings, and plush furniture, the staircase from the hall led to the first floor. There were four to six rooms with a huge master bedroom which belonged to Tiger, my husband.

But the real question which stroked my mind was, where was I supposed to go?

“Madam, this way. This is your bedroom. As you are married to our beloved sir this has to be your room.” The maid uttered.

She opened the door of his room and left, he had a king-sized bed with long black curtains, I noticed that everything in his room was either black or white, how unromantic! His room had the same scent as his.

I got rid of the long wedding gown immediately and went to the washroom to take a quick shower, his bath even had a jacuzzi, I will try it some other day, the warm water hit my senses and I felt relaxed, as he was coming by evening, I was free to do whatever I wanted to, I used the towel to drape my body and walked out of the washroom singing to myself, and then it hit me.

I was not alone; he was standing right there with his hawk-like eyes ready to devour me.

His eyes were on me as soon as I turned around in shock. I was stunned by his presence.

He was so taken aback seeing me there in his room. His face holds no amusement when he sees me.

Well, the room was dark as the lights were off. I did not want him to switch on the lights.

But he did exactly the contrary to that. Tiger turned on the blue lights of his room, only enough to see each other. And

“What are you up to?” He immediately muttered.

His voice was enough to give me an adrenaline rush. That was not good. His voice penetrated my ears and went down through my body, giving me chills. He had one of those voices. Very deep, confident, and a little bit like butter.

When I did not answer him, he got closer to me.

My heart started accelerating, I was speechless. I glanced at him in confusion. I was pretty shocked seeing him there. I thought he would be back in the evening. Nevertheless, he was there in an hour. In fact, within half an hour.

Soon his eyes traveled toward my body wrapped in his towel without revealing a single thought. He gazed at me narrowly with his mouth very tight. He looked like art by Vincent Van Gogh.

I felt uncomfortable and shy at the same time whilst managing to escape his sight.

When I did not answer him again, he just hit it on the table next to him.

“Umm, I was…” I finally said. I hate my voice. I stammered. My voice was too weak to reach his ears and make him feel the intonation.

“Will you please change?” He shifts his eyes a little bit saying that.

“Please move.” He turned a little like he could not look straight at me. Well, it was more of an order from his side. Despite the fact, he used the word, please.

I noticed his posture. I knew he would not come closer to me. He stood straight looking here and there. Almost as if he was avoiding me. He knew how to play his cards.

It was my wedding day. A day when two souls become one and free each other from every pressure. A day of oneness and unconditional love. An intense altruism that breaks physical, spiritual, and emotional boundaries and celebrates love.

Albeit, things were completely different in our case. Nothing was perfect. We did not find each other.

I travel opposite him, nudging my head away from him. I knew he would not touch me. He did not love me!

That marriage was nothing but trading for Tiger. A marriage that was not built on the principles of love, trust, and companionship. Eventually, we did not steal that moment.