Chapter 0003

KATIE

By the time I made it back home, I was already tired and now I only needed to pack my clothes and carry the bags to the address that Dominic gave me. 

My sister didn’t know about it. I had to tell her that I was now married and that I was going to have to move out of the house tonight. 

I stepped into the sitting room to meet it quietly which was odd. It was late in the evening and Anna doesn't have anywhere to be.

“Anna?” I called out and the sound of a tap running answered me. I turned and walked in the direction of the courtyard.

And yes, she was there with a shit load of clothes and all of them were Jake’s.

I felt an instant crumbling anger and I had to lean against the door frame to steady myself. 

Anna was washing clothes by hand because Jake did not like her using the washing machine to watch his clothes because they affect the fabrics this was the same person that wears at least 3 clothes in a day and he expects her to wash them all after wearing them just once. It was infuriating, thinking about them, thinking about what Anna was going through and the fact that there was nothing I could do about it.

Things used to be really good between them when they met each other and fell in love. Jake used to treat her like the princess that she was and I remembered wishing I could have a man to love me like that but all of that changed when they got married and Anna got pregnant. She had to resign from her job to become a full-time housewife. Her appearance really changed during pregnancy, she added a lot of weight that refused to shed even after childbirth and Jake started to emotionally abuse her by calling her unattractive and treating her as if she was an old and haggard woman. And because he was the only one making money, he always take Anna’s efforts for granted.

That's one of the reasons why women shouldn't be without a job. There was no way I'd allow myself to get reduced to what Anna had become and that was why I always work my ass off. Even after getting married, there was no way I'd stop working to take care of any home. I was going to keep working to make my own money and to continue being independent. My mind flashed back to the three things that Dominic requested from me and I was just glad he brought them up because those were the things I needed the most. 

“Anna,” I forced a smile on my face as I walked closer to her and I pulled her to her feet.

“Just give me a minute,” she started to sit down back, “I need to finish washing these clothes.”

I started dragging her towards the sitting room, “don't worry about them, I'll help you wash them but for now, I have to share an important news with you.”

I made her sit down and I took my seat beside her with her hands in mine. She looked up at me with a frown on her face and I was sure she was wondering what important news I had to share.

“Don’t be too shocked,” I tried to put her at ease but she only tensed up more with the way she was looking at me and how her hands felt in mine. 

“Out with it, Katie, before I die of anxiety.”

“I got married today,” I dropped the bomb and I expected all sorts of reactions but definitely not the one I got. She just sat there and she kept staring at me as if I had lost my mind.

“That’s not funny, Katie, say something else.”

“I'm serious, Anna, I really got married today,” I brought out the marriage certificate and I handed it to her. She collected the certificate from me with trembling hands and she read through it before looking up at me, then she went back to the document as if she couldn't believe the content.

“How could... What is... I mean...” she turned to look at me with wild and incomprehensive eyes, “I don't understand Katie, you got married today? How? Why? How’ll you get married without my knowledge? The last time I checked, you were not even dating... We...”

“Calm down Anna,” I tightened my hold on her hand, “it just happened.”

“It just happened? You got married, this is a life partnership and you're telling me that it just happened?”

“Yeah, I've always wanted to tell you but I've never found the perfect timing. I've been seeing Dom...” I internally cringed at the nickname that came out of my mouth, “I've been seeing him for a while and we decided to get married today. There was no ceremony, we just signed the certificates and...” I exhaled, “I'll be moving in today.”

Anna kept quiet for a while, she only kept staring at me before she tightened her hold around my hand.

“Is this because of Jake? Is this because of how he has been treating you? If that is...”

“Of course not, Anna, that's not it. I'm old enough to be married now and besides, Dominic is a very nice guy and he treats me very well. And most important, he and his family don’t mind I’m a human.”

That was a blatant lie, I barely even knew the guy and the few words had spoken to me today all reeked of extreme rudeness. 

But Anna doesn't have to know that little detail.

Anna didn't say anything for a while, she only sighed and pulled me in for a hug.

A couple of hours later, Anna agreed and she helped me pack my bags into the boot of the ride I ordered. She told me she'd have gone with me but she had to prepare dinner. I understand and told her I'd come over the next weekend and she could come to the house I’d now be living in anytime she wanted to so she could meet Dominic.

Now I was at the address Dominic gave me and a roll of houses stared back at me. There was no way I’d be able to guess his unit building because he didn't tell me and eventually, I had to call him to ask him for the unit number. 

He hung up the first time. 

I sighed before dialing his number again and he finally picked up when the call was about to go to voicemail.

“What do you want?” his icy cold tone pierced my ears and annoyed me but I had to force myself to remain calm. 

“Where do you live? Like your apartment number? You only told me your house was in Grey Yard and not the exact building. I'm stuck outside right now because I don't know which one is yours." I asked all in one breath because I didn't want to spend another minute longer than necessary with him.

“Unit number 47,” he replied, and just when I was about to thank him, he hung up on me.

Damn!

This was going to be one hell of a marriage and I wasn't sure if I was looking forward to it at all.

It was easy to find the apartment once I had the unit number and immediately I stepped in, I was mind blown by the exquisiteness and neatness of the apartment. Everything was in black and white and no single thing was out of place. 

The apartment looked okay. It was just a small apartment but it appeared neat and well taken care of. 

Resisting the urge to look around the apartment, I entered the first room which was a guest room and I quickly get myself settled in. 

I arranged my clothes in the closet and when I was done, it was already past my bedtime. I contemplated calling Dominic before locking the door but judging from how he had sounded when I called him earlier, I knew better than to call him especially since I wasn't sure if he was busy at the moment or not. 

Eventually, I concluded he wasn't going to come home at tonight because it was already way past midnight so I locked the door from inside and I went to sleep.

I fell asleep immediately after my body touched the bed but after what seemed like a few minutes, rough and insistent knocks sounded on my door and I woke up with a start. 

I cursed slightly before skimping over to the door and I unlocked it.

All breaths were knocked out of me when I saw Dominic standing at the other side of the door and God! He looked so angry like he was about to murder someone. 

I racked my brain to think of why he was that angry and then it suddenly dawned on me. I had locked him out of his house and it was just my first night here.

Shit.

“I'm sorry,” the apology flew out of my mouth, “it was already late and I thought you wouldn't be coming back home so I had to lock the door safety. I'll make sure to ask you if you'll be coming home or not next time.”

He didn't say anything for a while, he just kept staring at me with figurative fumes coming out of his ears before he exhaled angrily, eyes leveled on me.

“If I'm going away on a business trip, I'm going to let you know and if there's no mention of business trips, then I'm going to come home every day regardless of how late it is,” he gritted out angrily as if he was talking to a child and it was at the tip of my tongue to retort but I calmed myself down. I locked him out of his house so it was understandable if he was pissed off. 

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good! And don't call me unless it’s absolutely important, I have important things to do than to pick up your boring calls.”

Again with that tone and again, I had to force myself to remain calm.

“Sure, you're the boss and your word is law, I’ll make sure not to disobey them again.”

He cursed slightly under his breath as his eyes remained locked on mine. He was angry, quite alright and he looked every bit of it but there was something different in his eyes, in the way he was staring at me that made me feel self-conscious, that made my body tingle with self-awareness. 

I wasn't even sure what I was seeing or if my sleepy brain was only imagining things.

“If that's all, I'll like to go back to my sleep.”

The only reply I got from him was a dry cough as I turned to retreat to my room.

“Wait,” he called out and he still sounded angry, even more, angry than he did earlier and that shocked me because what else did he expect me to do? Fall to my knees to appease him? He’d have to rethink that because that'd never happen.

Preparing myself, I turned back, expecting him to launch into an angry fit again but nothing prepared me for the almost tortured look in his eyes.

“What?”

He dragged his eyes away from my face to my legs and body that was barely covered by my nightwear before looking up at me again.

“Limit your skimpy clothes to the confines of your bedroom,” he replied in a hoarse voice that sent tingles up my spine, “your nightgown is revealing and distracting as fuck.”

The words did not register for a second and when they did, I looked down and a loud shriek escaped from my lips. 

Oh shit.