Chapter 2

As promised Mr. Williams helped them with the money and arranged the surgery for her brother with the best treatments while Eleonora signed the prenuptial contract. According to the contract she had to stay married to his son for at least 5 years and provide an heir within 2 years. Eleonora was shocked but still didn't object. It didn't matter what she had to do till her family was fine.

Mr. Williams and his wife adored Nora from the moment they met her. They wanted her to marry their elder son. That's why when Nora's father came to him for help he proposed Nora's hand in marriage with his son. They knew they couldn't find a better bride for their son than Nora.

Zanvil  was mad with his father's decision but Mr. Williams emotionally blackmailed him because he knew his son loved him a lot. He would do anything for him. He was guilty for forcing  his son to marry someone against his will but he knew he wouldn't find any better match for his son than Eleonora. His wife and other children were very happy with his decision.

Eleonora was sitting beside Lorenzo in the hospital. It's been a few days since Lorenzo's surgery. He was recovering faster than expected. Eleonora ran her fingers through Lorenzo's hair since he was sleeping. The day when Lorenzo was brought into the surgery room Nora was so scared. She thought what if Lorenzo couldn't make it out of the surgery room? What if something bad happened to him?. She prayed days and nights for her brother's recovery. Thanks to God that Lorenzo made it safely.

Lorenzo woke up and looked at Nora. He would forever be grateful to his sister. His sister sacrificed her happiness for him. He felt guilty that Nora had to marry some stranger for his sake. 

When Nora noticed Lorenzo was awake, she smiled at him brightly. He also smiled back.

"Come on, Get up. I brought you lunch. Come on come on. Eat it." Nora said in a cheerful voice.

Lorenzo chuckled and tried to sit back. Nora helped him by raising the bed in a seating style. Though Lorenzo was recovering, he was still weak. Nora brought the food and gradually started to feed him. 

"Do you hate me, Nora?" Lorenzo suddenly asked in a sad voice. He thought maybe Nora would hate him someday. Because of him she was going to get married to a stranger.

"Why are you asking such a stupid question? Why would I hate my cutie pie?" Nora was perplexed at first but soon recovered and understood why he was saying such a thing. She then answered him with another question of hers.

"You have to marry that guy because of me. If I hadn't fell sick you wouldn't have to marry a stranger. I know you hate  arranged marriage." Lorenzo said  and looked away. He felt awful for putting his sister in that situation. He wished he could do something.

"Life is unpredictable, Enzo. What we think not always happens. But we need to accept and move on with a smile. Sometimes it's hard but all we can do is hope. Hope for better and then hope for the best. And I could never blame you for those things. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. You and Cara are my Sunshine. I love you both so much that there's no place for hate. I would forever be grateful to Mr. Williams for helping us. So in future never thing something stupid like this, okay?"  Nora explained in a soft voice to Lorenzo. When she finished she smiled soft which melted Lorenzo's heart. He would forever be grateful to God for giving her an elder sister like Nora. 

He nodded with a smile. Nora made his bed flat again and covered him with a blanket. She kissed Lorenzo's forehead and Lorenzo closed his eyes.

"I love you, Nora." Lorenzo mumbled.

"I love you more. Now rest for a while. I will come back later." Nora said and picked up her belongings. Lorenzo nodded. Nora smiled at him before exiting his room.

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After Eleonora's brother recovered from the surgery the wedding took place in Italy. It was a simple wedding with only family and close friends present. Eleonora didn't get to meet her husband until the wedding day. 

When she walked down the aisle with her father and her eyes met with his, her breath stopped. He was really Handsome with a sharp jaw, full pink lips, golden tanned skin, straight nose and brown hair which were nicely combed.

He was like six feet tall and muscular. She only saw this type of man on TV or read about in books. She had last seen him maybe 3 years ago. Since then he has changed a lot. He had a pair of ocean blue eyes which bore holes in her coldly. He was a walking Adonis. 

When her father gave her hands in his he took it with a nod. He didn't smile at her. He made her feel cold and she was worried for her future with him.

Everything happened in a blur. She didn't even realise when she had said I do. 

Never had she thought she would someday marry the man she once liked so much. After she had moved to the USA, she didn't think about him. She was focused on her family and herself. And now suddenly she was married. Lorenzo was right. She hated arranged marriage. She once thought she would marry because of love. When she heard people marry for money she had felt disgusted. She had always prioritized love above everything. But what happened in the end? She was also among those people.

Life is truly unpredictable.

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After her wedding she moved to the USA with her husband. Her husband! Mr. Zanvil Williams. Now she was Mrs. Eleonora Sava Williams. 

When she moved to the USA she got another two biggest shocks. First she didn't know her husband was a billionaire and second he didn't want her. She knew The Williams were quite rich but she didn't expect  they were a billionaire family. She never did any investigation on them. She was always in her little world away from the outer world. 

She was always inside the  four walls which she had built over those heartbreaking years. That's the reason why she got the shock. 

When she moved in with her husband in his house or it's better to say mansion he immediately cleared everything that he didn't want her. He wouldn't love her and she should not expect anything from him. 

She could remember every word that he had spoken to her.

It was almost evening when they had reached the mansion. The butler came and helped them carry their things inside. Zanvil had already left her there with the butler. She didn't mind though. 

"Madam, please give those to me." Bill the butler said and tried to take Nora's luggage from her. Nora shook her head and said.

"Thank you but I got it. You can help me with those. And please call me Nora." She said with a kind smile which could melt anyone's heart."

"Yes." The old man said with a smile and helped Nora to carry her things inside.

When love entered the living room she heard Zanvil shouting on someone over the phone. She kept her things aside and stood there awkwardly. She didn't know what else to do or what to ask him. They haven't really talked since they got married 2 days ago. Nora sighed.

Zanvil finished his phone call and turned around to go to his room. He was in a terrible mood. The construction project he was working on got some issues which made his mood more sour. When he turned around and found Nora standing there looking at something, his mood worsened. Everything was her fault. If she didn't agree to this fucking marriage then everything would have been good.

He was about to go upstairs when Nora called him from behind. Her voice was so soft that almost didn't hear. He turned around and glared at her.

"Which one is our room?" Nora asked him. She didn't know the direction or anything there was no one in the house and Bill just left.

"  There's no our room. You can take whichever room you want except mine." He said in a cold voice. Nora looked at him perplexed. She thought they would share a room since they were husband and wife.

"Husband and wife? Share a room? You must be crazy to think that I will live in the same room as you." Zanvil said with a sarcastic chuckle.

Nora was a bit shocked. She didn't realise she had said that aloud. Before she could say or answer Zanvil had cut her in.

"Listen carefully, I don't love you nor I want you. You are nothing to me. You will never interfere in my life and never enter my room or in my study. Get that in the thick head of yours. And of course stay away from me. I never wanted any of this. If it wasn't for my parents I wouldn't have married a girl like you." 

He spat those venomous words and left her there. She stayed there shocked to the core. She didn't expect him to love her either but still he could have shown her some respect. She knew he didn't want to marry her. He did it because his parents forced him to. That exact moment She realised she was nothing more than a Shaded Woman. It seemed like she would always be a mare shadow . She was just a shadow  in her father's eyes and then she was the same in her husband's eyes.  She was a shadow that only showed in the dark. 

Why was life so unfair with her? Why did she always have to suffer? Wasn't God tired of punishing for the sin she didn't know she had committed? 

It is true. Human proposes and God disposes. 

She should stop expecting things from others. No one was paid off to fulfill her expectation. But she couldn't help. She was a human after all. She had her expectations which served her hurt and sadness on a golden plate. But still in the end all she could do is hope. Hope for the better.

Eleonora came out of her zone and moved towards the staircase. She met the housemaid and gave her a smile.

"Mrs. Williams. Do you need any help?" The maid Rose asked her with a sad smile. Eleoanora was sure she heard everything which Zanvil had said. But didn't say anything.

"Please call me Nora. I thought no one was present in the house. Could you please show me a room where I can stay?" Nora asked with a small smile.

"Yes sure dear. Come on, I will show you around the house then you can choose the room you want." The elderly woman said with a smile. She felt bad for the poor woman. No one deserved such  treatments from their newly wed husband. But she wasn't someone to interfere.

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"I will take this room." Eleonora said with a smile. She liked the room very much. Though it wasn't a big fancy room, she still loved it because of the huge window and wide balcony. The room didn't have much furniture either. But she didn't mind. She loved tiny rooms.

"Are you sure dear? There's many other big rooms with more decorations." Rose said in a worried voice. She was shocked that Nora wanted that small and less fancy room.

"Yes, Rose. I like this room very much. Could you please tell someone to bring my things here?" Nora said with a smile.

"Yes. Sure. You must be tired. Take some rest." Rose said with a kind smile and exited the room.

Nora slowly moved and went to the balcony. She looked at the beautiful sky which was reaching twilight. Soon there would be  millions of twinkling stars and a bright moon.

Orange and reddish. Sure the sky was beautiful and happy. Unlike her unhappy soul.

Not everyone was born to be happy and she was, unfortunately, one of them.

Happiness was the unicorn she chased in her dreams and reality was the ugly monster of her nightmare  from which she tried to run away. Ran as far as possible. But she didn't know how far she could go.