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.
After loads of work on his schedule, Shane finally had some time for himself. When his manager drove him home, his mind was filled with Zzz. Taking a cold shower and sprawling on his bed was his initial plan, though, he disregarded the ‘showering’ part and proceeded on taking off his clothes, leaving only his boxers on the moment he stepped inside the room. He climbed on the bed and grabbed the fluffy thing beside him to sleep. The sweet fragrance invaded his nostrils as he breathed. It made him feel lighter as he kept on sniffing the pleasant smell. He snuggled closer to the undeniably comfortable thing, thinking it was his human-sized pillow, burying his face on it while enjoying the lovely scent. That night, he fell asleep with a smile plastered on his face which was actually rare. It was two hours later, Shane was woken up by the subtle movements inside his arms. He frowned, lifting an arm, and rummaged through the table beside the bed to turn on the lamps. His vision was blurry
“Mm…” Audrey slowly opened her eyes when she felt something wrapping her. A toned chest welcomed her after adjusting her eyes to the bright sunlight reflecting on the glass window. ‘What the…?’ Warm sweats were dripping from her face down her neck, making her uncomfortable. She remembered not turning on the air condition before going to bed the previous night and thanks to the man who was hugging her like a koala, she felt hotter. “Right,” she muttered when she recalled what happened. Shane came in the middle of the night and slept on her bed only to kick her after he found out she was there too. She was too exhausted to argue with the man, and he thought the same, so they ended up going back to sleep without further ado. “But hugging me like this isn’t part of the deal,” she softly said, trying to get off his hold. Audrey rolled her eyes when she failed to remove Shane’s arm. His grip actually went tighter whenever she tried to move. “H
The crinkle on Shane’s forehead increased when he saw how well Audrey got along with the blonde man who’s showing off his biceps by wearing an apron and not a proper shirt early in the morning. He stood a few feet away from the dining table, leaning his back on the metallic door frame, and watched them conversed while exchanging soft giggles that irritated him. It wasn’t his thing to eavesdrop, so he faked a cough several times to announce his presence only to be totally ignored as the two were totally immersed in each other. ‘Who is he?’ Shane combed his jet black hair with his fingers when Audrey couldn’t stop laughing while brushing her teeth. He thought for a moment she changed because of losing a lot of weight but seeing how careless she could be, he knew that she’s definitely the Audrey he grew up with. Reminiscing some scenes fifteen years back, a smile crept on his lips but immediately faded when he heard what she said. &
“Enjoy,” was what his manager said before hanging up the call. Shane slumped himself on the couch. “Easier said than done,” he muttered with his eyes closed. Just right when he finished his breakfast, which was great, he received a call from Lucy, his manager, telling him about the change on his schedule. The company would be giving him another week off if he could shoot a TV commercial in three days. But of course, it meant that he would only have three days' rest from now, and he should go back to work again. Then he could have an additional free week after that. Shane wanted to say no, and he would be lying if he had that choice. Despite being one of the most famous artists in their entertainment company, he could barely have time for himself because of the long lists of jobs he got and never-ending offers too. Yes, he got good pay in line with his profession, but he’s still young, and just like other men of his age, he also wanted to
‘Shit.’ Audrey was cursing herself when she couldn’t find her phone in her bag nor her pockets. “Ah! Where is it?” She rummaged through her things inside again, and she wasn’t contented, she poured everything in her bag on the ground. “I’ll be doomed if I can’t find it. After all, I don’t want to ring the doorbell and let that guy act like he’s the house owner,” she murmured while picking her things up, one by one, and putting them back. “Found it!” she happily exclaimed when she saw her phone lying on the surface. In fact, it wasn’t in her bag earlier. It fell from her pocket while she was busy looking for it. After accompanying Nathan to his apartment which happened to be nearby, he drove her back. She insisted on getting off at the main gate to take a walk. Nathan agreed and went back to his place to arrange the interior, so they bid their goodbyes. She made sure to ask him about the passcode before getting out of his car. And he told
Folding her arms on her chest while crossing her legs, Audrey patiently waited for Shane to return after dragging Stephanie outside. “Gosh! What’s taking him so long?” she murmured when he still didn’t come back after several minutes. “Did he decide to drive her home or something?” “I didn’t,” Shane said, walking towards her. “Take a seat then. Stop wasting my time,” she retorted. She watched him settle on the couch in front of her. Between them was a small, round, glass table with envelopes on top. Audrey saw how Shane’s face turned pale after noticing the brown envelopes. “Check it out,” she started, ignoring the sudden tension in the atmosphere. “What is this all about, Audrey?” Shane’s question made her laugh, a sarcastic one. “Annulment papers, what else? I know, divorce sounds better but it's not legal in the country yet. Since annulment also means legal separation then we might as well sign the papers, so we could get over with this,” Audrey said, hitting the point instantly
“I’m so stupid!” Audrey kicked a stone out of frustration. She was already far from the house but hadn't left the estate yet. “Why did I run away? For Pete’s sake, that was my house. Ah!” She pulled her hair after realizing what she did. “Aw!” she flinched when she felt the stinging pain from her brims. Since she didn’t want to go back until three days when she expected him to sign the annulment papers, Audrey took her time sitting on the rock while thinking about what she should do next. She planned to stay at Nathan’s place, so she called him to pick her up. Besides, she would need to try out some new recipes with him. It would be more convenient for both of them if they’re together. Convenient as in, someone would clean up after her mess in the kitchen. She waited for less than fifteen minutes before her phone rang. She answered it without looking at the caller ID. “Nate, that was fast. I’m heading to the gate n
‘Is it because of him?’ Shane couldn’t help but think about the reason why Audrey wanted to get an annulment. He could give her what she wanted but something was bugging him since he got to meet Nathan. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her. So many events in her life for years she needed to fill him in with. He was sure that Audrey would have stayed with him if that blonde guy didn’t come to pick her up. Seeing how she could smile when she’s with him, he chose to let them be. As for her request, he was afraid he couldn’t sign the annulment papers she was talking about. At least not yet. He needed to find a way to talk it out with her and as long as the problem he caused wasn’t settled yet, he didn’t have any plan to give in to her demands. Shane went back to his car and fumbled his phone. He checked his contacts to find someone to talk to. A heave of a sigh escaped his mouth when he remembered having no friends who’re not ce