010

WINNIE

Roman blocked the doorway and he was not so happy. I could only hope that he wasn't quick to notice the difference in my appearance like Lydia did.

I shot Lydia a nervous look. She looked terrified out of her mind for me. The air in the room thickened with tension. My heart began to beat rapidly.

“You can go Lydia,” I said. My voice was firm. I had no idea how I was able to quickly regain composure, but the last thing I wanted was Lydia getting into trouble because of me. In case they found out that I was an imposter, the last thing that I wanted to do was implicate her. I didn't want to get her into trouble because of me.

“Of course miss,” she nodded once and hurried out of the room. I didn't blame her. This sight of Roman was very terrifying. I closed my eyes for a brief moment. Fear. It wasn't going to do me any good.

I kept thinking about the worst that could happen and my mind kept traveling to Trisha. I had to find a way to keep it together somehow.

“I thought I told you ten o'clock. I was very specific” he growled angrily.

“I had a headache. Yesterday was so hectic and I was still recovering and I decided to still rest for a bit and I lost track of time” I said. I was slightly surprised that I was able to keep it together. My voice was confident, the exact opposite of what I felt. Good. Keep it together. I guess I could say that I was grateful that he didn't walk in here when Russo was talking to me. I wouldn't know how to defend myself out of that situation.

“I told you to be down by ten” he raised an eyebrow at me.

“I didn't know that catching a break was a major offense in your household. I wasn't feeling very well. And I needed to rest. I'm your wife. Not a robot” the irritation that I felt, spiraled out of control and I snapped. I was tired of people thinking that they could trample on me and control me without any consequences.

He paused for a moment as he searched my face. Some of the rage in his dark eyes melted away and he didn't exactly say anything as he observed for a long moment.

We locked our gaze for a moment and finally I was the first one to look away because my skin tingled in a certain kind of way that made me uncomfortable. Maybe it was the intensity of his eyes. Maybe it was something else. Whatever it was that I was feeling, I didn't want to admit.

“I'll be ready in a short time” I said in an attempt to placate him. Having him throw tantrums around was too risky. I knew that I should be relieved that Lydia confirmed that he wasn't a killer but at the same time, I was very wary of people.

I wasn't open to the idea of trusting him yet. I mean his own brother had been sleeping with his fiancee for God knows how long and is hatching up a master plan to get rid of him.

The only person that I trusted with my life was Trisha. The main priority was keeping her safe. I didn't want to think about what might happen or what might go wrong if I failed at this plan.

He remained silent for a lengthy moment.

“You can rest if you're not feeling up to it” he said. I blinked in surprise. I was unable to understand the sudden switch. I didn't trust it either because it was all the more reason to be suspicious.

One minute he was all up in my face about being late and the next minute, he was giving me the easy way out. It didn't make sense at all and I couldn't understand it.

As much as I was tempted to take the easy out, I needed to know every nook and cranny of this house. It would make my escape plan easy. I needed to observe his world. Study and interact with the people here. He was very specific about me attending dinner. It must have been very important to him.

“No, I feel way better. I'll be down in a bit. I just need to freshen up” I said. We exchanged looks before he scoffed and muttered something under his breath. He headed out of the room.

My shoulders sagged with relief when he left. He didn't notice.

I rushed over to the mirror to stare back into the reflection of my gray eyes staring back at me. I was lucky. I quickly stripped out of my clothes and I made it out to the bathroom.

Spending time in the bathtub was enough time for me to be more composed and calm my nerves down. The feel of the warm water against my skin was very soothing. I spent some minutes soaking time in the bathtub and by the time I got back into the room, to my relief, Lydia had already returned.

I stared at the clothes that were already folded on the bed.

“If you're going to keep your identity hidden. You have to learn how to blend in. You have to figure out a way to look like the perfect wife” she said.

It was such a relief that I had someone to put me through this. I suddenly didn't feel so alone here anymore. She helped me with my make up and helped me curl my hair in the way Sofia liked to have her hair curled. My hair framed my face in wavy layers, my make up was minimal and my lips were painted red. It did a lot to bring out the edge in my now blue eyes.

Lydia had helped me put the contacts on earlier. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and my tummy tugged with a bit of nostalgia.

Once upon a time, I used to look like this. Gorgeous and unapproachable. It was a far cry from what a convict would look like. I dragged my mind away from the thought almost immediately.

This was not the time to get emotional. I would have to bottle up my emotions for later when I was alone. Lydia helped me get dressed in a nude suit and a matching skirt. The skirt past my mid thighs by a few inches. Apparently, Sofia liked to attract attention and dress very flirty, so I was going to swallow the urge to pull my skirt down at every chance that I got.

I liked to dress more for comfort than for fashion but I guess I had no choice but to make the necessary adjustments. Options were not a luxury that I was granted to have at the moment.

After we were done, I stared at my reflection in the mirror for a little longer. I blinked in surprise. Even if I didn't want to admit it, I looked beautiful. Finally I headed out of the bedroom along with Lydia. I didn't know my way around here and it would be very suspicious if I lost my way.

So Lydia offered to help. At the end of the day, I was relieved that someone was in on my big secret. I wondered how I would have been able to maneuver this alone. I couldn't even locate the dining room on my own and I would have been unable to ask anyone for fear of raising suspicion. We finally arrived in front of huge double doors.

“Be safe” I heard her whisper to before she walked down the hallway. The men in suits standing on either side of the door nodded to me in greeting and I shot them a hesitant smile in return. They looked almost surprised and I hoped that being polite was something Sofia was capable of.

My gut told me no. I was still going to be polite regardless. I headed into the dining room and I paused at the entrance as I inhaled deeply. The men sitting around the dining table turned towards my direction almost at the same time. My legs felt a little wobbly. Goodness. My first instinct was to bolt. I swallowed it.

I spotted Russo. He had changed into a black suit. Roman sat at the end of the table. His eyes remained trained on me and I watched as his dark eyes became alive with interest as he intently watched me. Breathe. I inhaled deeply and straightened my shoulders. I walked towards the dining table.

My heels made a clicking noise against the ground and I settled down beside Roman. I noticed how Russo's eyes didn't leave me and I also noticed the hunger in his gaze as his eyes traveled down my body.

I looked away from him and I tried not to shudder outrightly. I wondered what it was about him that Sofia had been attracted to. The guy gave me the creeps.

“Good morning everyone” I muttered to them and some greeted me back, others ignored me. I wondered if this was going to be a thing. A routine of getting mentally and physically prepared to have breakfast with these men in the morning. I placed my hand in Roman’s thigh. I felt him stiffen. If I was going to present myself as a good wife, I was going to have to act the part.

“I'm sorry that I didn't make it to breakfast on time. Hope I didn't miss too much” I looked at him from under my lashes. Was it me or was I getting a hang of this acting. He narrowed his eyes on him suspiciously. His suspicion was coupled with interest.

“I told you. It was no big deal. You could have rested if you wanted” he said.

“And miss breakfast with my husband? Certainly not” I smiled at him. Husband. The word alone made my mouth dry. I sounded too foreign in my mouth.

“Senator! It’s good to see you could make it”

I looked up and froze in my seat as I spotted uncle Elliot walking into the room.