Three

Naya’s POV

As soon as the ceremony was over, I quickly said my goodbyes to my father and a few other people I liked. I was ushered into a white sleek car which stood waiting in my father’s driveway by one of Zach’s soldiers.

I saw my father and Zach quickly shake hands, say some inaudible nonsense to each other and parted ways as if a business had just been finalized.

Maybe a business had really been finalized though… I was the business, I was the object being sold.

The obvious dislike between my father and Zach was so eminent, it hung over us all like a cloak and immediately I began to wonder what my fate would be at his house.

I suddenly wanted to escape, to run away to a place where no one knows me because I couldn’t stand this. I couldn't stand being married to a man who was just as cocky as my father… or even more.

I couldn’t even imagine a life with a husband that I do not know, and do not even wish to know; and the thought made me want to cry, want to yell at my father for being such a prick and yell at every member of my family for agreeing to this stupid business transaction.

The thought of what Zach had done earlier at the wedding reception plagued and infuriated me to no end and I swore to get back at him, but at the same time it filled me with a kind of fear for I could already perceive the kind of man he was…

A few minutes later, the young man, my husband, got into the car from the other side of the door, patted the driver gently on the shoulder to get him to start moving while he totally ignored my presence in the car.

I didn’t bother with him though, but simply sat still, my attention on the road, whilst hoping that at least I wouldn’t be forced to start performing wifely duties as soon as we arrived at his house..

***

The drive to his house was unreasonably quiet and long. In fact it was the most uncomfortable thing I’d done in a while.  

I was made to sit still, listening to the unending banter between Zach and the driver who was too relaxed to be an employee.

A few minutes later, the sleek car came to a halt at the driveway of a very beautiful mansion which was about ten times that of my father’s mansion which I had always taken pride in.

“We’re here!” The driver whispered almost too excitedly, throwing a concerned look my way.

For a minute, I was confused as to why a driver would look at me in such a manner but I quickly shrugged off the feeling, whilst bracing myself for whatever it was that was coming to me.

Throwing a skeptical look between the driver and the large house, I took a gingerly step out of the car, and waited.

From a distance I saw my husband who had since stepped out, talking to a group of men who looked like soldiers but were clad in a weird attire

They looked like they were in a heated argument, but I didn’t miss the obvious fear in their eyes as they bowed slightly at him.

“It’s beautiful!” I screamed in my head while a half smile appeared on my face.

I slowly began trudging behind Zach who never for once checked if I was still behind him or not.

I threw another awed look at the vast expanse of wealth before me, before I begrudgingly followed him  to wherever he was taking me to.

The pack house was beautiful. I watched in amazement as healthy children bounced up and down without a care in the world; playing around a lush garden, even some mothers sat in groups, cheering at their children.

A group of young adults like me who were being taught how to combat in an open field caught my attention and held it…what if I learned how to fight too?

With my thoughts jumbled up inside my head, I continued following closely behind him until we stepped into the main house which looked just as beautiful as the exterior.

I saw Zach’s father, Adonis who threw a small heart warming smile at me and quickly ushered me into the house.

He in a kind of way reminded me of my late mother who had loved my crazy father too much. She has always taken all of the insults he threw at her with a smile on her face until she met with her death a few years ago at the fields with news that she had been attacked by rogues.

Rogues that we never caught…

I bowed slightly, quite unsure of what to do next but as soon as I stepped away from where Zach’s I am ’s father was, I saw Zach quickly climbing up a flight of stairs and I followed him.

I didn’t know what made me do it or why I felt compelled to do it but as soon as I arrived at the next floor after I had ascended the stairs, my heart immediately broke at the sight in front of me.

Zach was there all right, but he had a pretty curvy blondie pressed firmly against his now exposed torso whom he kissed like there was no tomorrow.

She was clad in a slutty black lacy dress and had one of her legs wrapped around him as he pushed her against the wall and continued pressing kisses down her face and body.

I could feel the heat running up my face at the scene in front of me, and to think that this was happening on our wedding day infuriated me even more.

He couldn’t kiss me, his wife, but could do that with this slutty young woman…

Instinctively, I pressed against the pendant on my neck and scoffed when I remembered that it was empty. Dang!

The sloppy sounds of lips smacking against the other snapped me out of my reverie, and when I looked in their direction, I was shocked to discover that they were still tangled up, still lost in each other and that they didn’t even notice my presence.

“Excuse me.” I coughed loudly, smirking inwardly when they both turned to look at me with confused expressions on their faces.

“I need to change out of this uncomfortable dress and would like for you to show me to one of the guest rooms.” I said.

I spoke quickly with my head raised high and with such an audacity that no one, including myself would’ve suspected that I was quite uncomfortable watching my newly wedded husband going at it with some other woman on our wedding day.

Yeah I know it’s an arranged marriage… but even though!

Zach turned to look at me, his expression brooding, but then pointed at a room at a far corner of the corridor.

“Send your soldiers, guards…or whatever you call them here to get my stuff from the car. Thank you.” I said quickly and rushed down the corridor to the room he had pointed to before he had the chance to speak.

Before I stepped into the room, I heard the pretty brunette mutter something along the lines of; “that’s her?”

I heard Zach reply to her too but couldn’t exactly make out what he had said.

She said something to Zach after that, something bordering extremely close to an insult. I was sure it was an insult from the tone of her voice and from how snarky she had sounded but I paid no attention to her.

She could have him all she wanted, all I wanted was a way to get out of this mess and be back at my job in San Francisco.

Again, I pressed on the pendant around my neck and sighed, thinking about how stupid I had been by allowing the elixir in it to go to waste. I couldn’t try to make it compel me to disappear.

It could’ve also helped me take out these crazy people faster than my own stupid plan would…