Chapter 2

The cool and fresh air pervaded the car when Audrey chose to open the windows to let the breeze in. Her mind was filled with memories as the car went down the long, green driveway. Trees and flowers remained as good as they were when she left. In fact, they seemed to be more taken care of.

On her parent’s will, it was written that the estate would be given to her when she married. Her late parents hired the best architect and engineers they could find to design the whole property.

Unfortunately, a month after the development of the estate was finished, her parents died in a plane crash when they were heading to Europe to visit Shane’s parents. And a year after that, she got married to Shane as the arrangement made by both of their parents’ when hers were still alive. She thought she’d find happiness once she married the one she loved. Little did she know, the dark reality behind the marriage life began on the day of her wedding.

“Such a great place,” Nathan broke the silence. The warmth in his voice soothed the growing pain inside her chest. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

“About what?” Audrey knew what he meant. If he was asking her if she's certain about facing her husband after five years of living abroad, she rather refused to say it directly. After all, she might end up failing. The abnormal rhythm her heartbeat played when she heard Shane’s voice from the video earlier made her worried.

“Ahem. What will you tell your husband when he asks you why you wanted to annul your marriage?”

Nathan’s question caught her off guard. He got a point. What if Shane asked her why? What would she say? But… if he asked her for the reason, could she take it like he actually cared?

“It’s impossible,” she mumbled in between laughs. “He would never ask for a reason. I could imagine him signing the papers right after I told him about my proposal.”

Nathan went quiet and focused on driving until they reached the parking area. He parked the car while she got off ahead. There was no one around.

“I heard that the ‘young master’ of this house isn’t here but it doesn’t feel right for a large house like this to be empty,” Nathan muttered while dragging their suitcases to the front door, following her lead.

“I don’t think so…” she responded. ‘I married a superstar after all. He probably wished for a quiet place to live and happened to like it here.’ She inputted the code she knew of to open the door.

“Please enter the correct code.”

‘What?’ Audrey frowned. ‘Did he change the lock code?’ She tried another combination and got the same response.

“Please enter the correct code.”

“Pfft! Don’t tell me your husband changed the code and you have no idea what it is?” Nathan burst into laughter when she attempted several times but still couldn’t open the door.

“You have entered an invalid code. You only have one chance left.”

Audrey rolled her eyes in frustration. ‘Great! Just great. First, the security officer, and now I couldn’t open the door of MY house.’

“Let me try,” Nathan stepped forward to give it a shot. “08102 and 7…” he whispered as he pressed the numbers.

(Ting!)

“Whoa! That’s it? What did you type in?” She asked when Nathan successfully unlocked the door by guessing the correct passcode.

“Nuh-uh. Not telling you,” he grinned at her and yanked their luggage inside.

She clapped her hands and the lights turned on. Her eyes wandered around and to her surprise, everything changed. The wooden furniture and antiques were replaced by modern decorations. She raised her head only to find her favorite chandelier gone. Instead, she saw a different one hanging on the ceiling.

“I didn’t expect your husband to be this tidy,” Nathan commented. “I wonder if he knew how messy his wife is,” he added and strode to the kitchen.

“Wife? He left me on the day of our wedding. I don’t really consider myself his wife,” she remarked and followed him. Her stomach growled just as she walked in, earning a soft chuckle from the man who was busy checking the goods inside the fridge.

“Do you think it’s fine to use some ingredients here?” he asked, pulling a pack of sausage. “I’ll make you something to eat.”

Audrey snickered. “Forget it, Nate. I'd rather go to sleep,” she said and took a glass to get some water to drink.

“That won’t work, Auddie.” Nathan pulled her arm to face him. He held her shoulders and pinned her on the wall.

“Nate…” Audrey gulped when Nathan’s hand slid down her arm. He took the glass in her hand and placed it on the sink just beside them. “Stop messing around. I’ll go upstairs to sleep,” she murmured.

Nathan heaved a sigh. His lush green eyes locked on her light brown orbs. “Telling you to eat isn’t messing around, Auddie. If you don’t want to eat the food here, I’ll buy groceries outside and cook something for you.” He moved down his face closer to kiss her forehead. “Take a nap, by the time you wake up, dinner is ready.”

Audrey blushed at his gesture. She knew him for years, and she wouldn’t deny the fact that he became more affectionate towards her. Nathan didn’t say anything, and she doesn’t want to jump to a conclusion, not when she hadn’t resolved her relationship problems yet.

“Just a glass of milk, Nate. I would love to have a lot of sleep after that,” she said, pushing him slightly away from her. She sat on the stool, resting her head on the counter. “Oh! I’m so sleepy,” she murmured and closed her eyes.

Nathan took a glass from the cupboard, sighing. He poured the milk from the pack into the glass and added a spoonful of honey before stirring it. “Here,” he said, patting her head gently. “Be careful not to spill it,” he reminded her while handing the glass to her. He watched her sip it for a while before chugging it down in one go.

“AH!” Audrey exclaimed when the rich, creamy liquid gushed through her throat when she finished it. “I’m satisfied.” She smiled and handed him the glass. “Thanks for the treat. I’ll go ahead first,” she continued before jumping off her seat.

“Oh! I think you can use some ingredients to make dinner for yourself,” she paused and turned her head in his direction. “There’s a total of four rooms in this house. Feel free to look for one you’d like to use. Just make sure it's not occupied,” she added.

“Sure. Have a good sleep,” Nathan muttered as he washed the glasses on the sink.

“Don’t wake me up no matter what!” she yelled when she was climbing the stairs.

“I won’t. Go ahead.”

Audrey giggled when she heard his reply. She knew that he would try to wake her up unless she told him not to. She was humming while heading to her room. Audrey didn’t use the master’s bedroom when she first spent the night in the house, instead, she chose the room at the end of the hallway as it got a nice view of the flower garden and orchard in the backyard.

“Home sweet home,” she whispered when she pushed the door open. It wasn’t locked but it was beyond her awareness as sleepiness forced her body to give in. The afternoon breeze was blowing the curtains on the half-opened windows. “Hmm…” she moaned after taking a deep breath.

The wooden scent with a masculine fragrance enveloped inside the room was so addicting. She drowsily shut the door closed, stumbled her way to the bed, and as soon as her chest landed on the soft covers, Audrey drifted to her own dreamland.