A Lonely Bride

A day at Ibrahim's house is extremely difficult for her. She was bored no matter how hard she tried to find something to do. This house is big, but she couldn't find anything to keep herself entertained. It's so suffocating that she has no one to talk to because maids are sacred to her. She wondered how Ibrahim managed to live alone in this house. She decided to spend her time in the garden, goofing around to pass the time.

"Auntie" Anna called the maid, the same one who welcomed them yesterday. She has a glass of orange juice. She is really dumbfounded as to why her head is always bowed down, as she doesn’t dare look at Anna.

"May I ask you a question?" Anna inquired.

The maid raised her head to look at Anna. "Indeed, Miss Saunders."

Anna smiled as she patted the seat next to her. "I don't understand, why are you so reverent of me? Do I look ugly or strange?" She inquired, intrigued.

In fear, the maid bowed to her, again. "Certainly not, Miss Saunders." She responded. Anna is more beautiful than any of the girls that her young master has ever brought to the house.

Anna laughed at her reaction. "Then, auntie, please take a seat."

The maid gave up and sat beside her to listen to her. "What piques your interest?"

Anna tried her hardest to smile naturally. "How long have you worked here?"

"7 years." She was quick to respond.

Anna simply nodded. "How familiar are you with Ibrahim?"

"What exactly do you want to know about Young Master?" the maid inquired.

This is her chance to dig more about Ibrahim. “Why do you refer to him as a young master? I heard he is an orphan?” Anna inquired cautiously, as this had been her question since yesterday. Does this imply that there is another master here?

The maid lowered her head once more, as if she didn't dare to say it.

Anna is puzzled. "Is it something very private?"

The maid sighed. "Yes. Young master’s father is the owner of the house and our master."

Anna's eyes widened in surprise. Who should she trust now? Jacob or her? Jacob clearly states that he is an orphan and grew up in the orphanage. This is so confusing.

The maid smiled as she noticed Anna's surprised face. "You must be very curious, don't you?" She inquired because she was aware that her marriage to the young master had been arranged. She doesn't mind if Anna wants to know more about him because she can tell Anna is a nice person. A very different girl from the ones her young master had dated before.

"You may not be able to find this information on the internet, but I believe you should be aware that the young master was adopted." The maid said.

Anna is stunned after hearing what the maid just said. "What? Adopted?"

As an answer, the maid nodded her head. "When he was sixteen years old, Mr. William adopted him."

"Mr. William?” Anna asked.

The maid chuckled upon seeing how blank she was. "Yes, our master is from France. He is of French and German descent. When he adopted Young Master, they moved to France for ten years before returning to England seven years later. Because the young master insisted on using his original parents name, you would not be able to find information about his adoption.”

Anna nodded reflexively, as if she understood. "Then, where is Mr. William?"

The maid exhaled once more. "He died about two years ago."

Anna's mouth dropped open. "I apologize." Okay, now she understands about his father's will.

"I have a feeling you're not a bad person. I'm overjoyed that the young master chose to marry a lovely lady like you." The maid said.

When she heard the maid's confession, Anna laughed a little. "What do you mean? That man doesn't even care about me." She replied solemnly.

"Young master may have appeared frightening, but I just want to assure you that he is not a bad person. I'm confident that he'll fall in love with you one day." She said, trying to ease her sadness. During her seven years of service, she knew Ibrahim like the back of her hand the things he had gone through makes him cruel towards the world but she knew that it can be changed by Anna only.

Anna gets distraught after hearing what the maid had just said. How could Ibrahim fall for her when he made it clear from the start that he doesn't do stupid things like falling in love. They always try to incite each other's rage whenever they meet. How could they possibly fall in love?

"He explicitly stated that he does not want to fall in love." She sadly chuckled.

"It was only a shield he used to protect himself. I'm confident that one day you'll be able to break through that shield and heal his wound." The maid responded with a smile. "I apologize, but please excuse me as I need to prepare dinner soon." She continued. The maid bowed to Anna before leaving her on the bench.

Is there a wound? Is this guy hurt in any way? All of the information she gets from the maid is still hazy, so she can't draw any conclusions right away. She requires more information to reach a conclusion. The day was almost over and the sky had darkened, so she decided to clean herself before getting ready for dinner.

Anna is irritated that dinner time has passed but Ibrahim is still not home. Does he really have that much work to do now that’s why he said not to wait for him in the morning?

"Does Ibrahim always come home late?" Anna inquired.

The maid gave a nod. "Young master works hard and rarely eats his dinner at home."

Anna simply sighed. She despises eating alone. She decided to leave the table because she had lost her appetite. She returned to her room and sat on her bed.

“What a lonely bride.” She referred to herself.

They've only recently married, is this how a newlywed couple will be? Despite the fact that she was well aware that Ibrahim did not love her, the fact that she was lonely in this large house bothered her. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she yearned for her old life. She missed her parents, her younger brother, and her friends. In this big house, she feels like a caged bird.

"I really miss you, mom and dad." She cried out loud.

She has everything. Ibrahim gave her a card this morning that could take her anywhere she wants or buy whatever she wants, but she's not happy. When she was preoccupied with her own thoughts and crying, a loud bang on the door startled her.

Her eyes got wider as she finally saw Ibrahim. It’s eleven in the night when he got home. She just sat on the couch without having any urge to approach him. However, she rushed to him right away when he almost fell down. She supported his heavy body and helped him get onto his bed. She looked at how messy he was and wondered what kind of work he had done. His necktie is no longer attached to his shirt. His hair is a mess looking like he had ruffled it many times. She tried to inhale his scent, but all she could smell was alcohol. No wonder he kept blinking and attempting to regain consciousness. He's so inebriated that his head hurts so much that he can't even walk properly.

"I’ll prepare hot water for you." Anna spoke up and dashed to the bathroom to fill the bathtub with lukewarm water. She lights the lavender-scented candle in the hopes that the scent will at least relax him.

"The water is ready. You can go now." She told him when she returned from the bathroom.

Ibrahim doesn’t have any energy left to fight with her so he just goes straight to take a bath. He's physically exhausted. He couldn't reach an agreement with his Japanese client after hours of negotiating. He doesn’t drink but to entertain his clients, he didn’t have any chance but to drink with them too. He finished his bath in less than twenty minutes, as he really wants to lay down now. He doesn't want to lie to himself, but he is relieved that his so-called wife is waiting for him on the bed.

He lay down on his bed and tried to close his eyes, but he couldn't ignore his wife's presence beside him. He patted the empty side of the bed next to him. "Sleep," he advised.

Anna stared at him, speechless, as if she didn't know what to say. She can tell he's tired, and she doesn't want to aggravate him further.

"I'm not going to do anything to you, just sleep." Ibrahim said it again, his eyes closed. His voice is so soft that she can barely make it out.

She succumbs. She may not be sleepy, but try having her eyes close to fall asleep. Just when she pulled the comforter up to her chest, she could feel an arm sneaking through her waist. It’s the same arm that held her last night, too. She held her breath for a split second. Why is this guy even doing this? When she was about to put away his arm, she heard him speaking again.

"I know you're nervous, but please, just for tonight. I will not harm you in any way. I'm exhausted and want to sleep." Ibrahim spoke with his eyes closed.

Yes, he is tired because his head hurts so much. However, he finds it odd when he has her in his embrace. Her sweet scent acts as an antidote to his headache. When he held her in his arms, the pain vanished. This is unusual. He'd never felt more at ease in his entire life. Women are nothing more than a physical toy for him, but this girl beside him is different. The feeling is no longer about physical needs, but rather about wanting her by his side, a feeling like he wanted to protect her. He knew he harbored resentment toward her family, but he wanted to keep her by his side just for the night or maybe whole life.