He didn’t answer any of my questions, rather, he preferred to sit there holding the glass of iced tea. It wasn’t that I asked something related to rocket science that he was thinking about before answering; it was a simple question. Why did you want to marry me?A man like Gavin Astor was born into royalty. The Astors were the royal family of California. They ruled almost half of the state, owed most of the buildings, and banked their accounts in millions every single day. The influence that they had all over California, one of the most expensive states in this country, articulated the dominance that they possessed. It was all due to the money that had been passed from one generation to another.The Astors weren’t new to the game of wealth, as were most of the other families. It was Gavin Astor’s great grandfather who launched this real estate business in the late 70s with the help of his father-in-law. At first, the business wasn’t that stable as people were more interested in food,
Judgmental eyes hardly bother me at this age. From a very young age, I was the focus of people’s attention for one or two reasons. I would have gotten annoyed by all these eyes looking at me, whispering and pointing at me, but in my teenage years, I made my peace with this too.The first staring and whispering occurred after it was on every news channel and headline that my father was having an affair with a B-class actress. Some photos of my father and that actress being intimate were spilled on the media, which were on display everywhere and in the mouths of all the people around me.It was the first time anyone in school paid me attention. So many people came to have a conversation with me during lunchtime, so much so that I was on the edge of snapping at someone. Thankfully, I controlled it. More like Dean came to my rescue.The boy, who was known as a bully in the school, stood beside my lunch table when three girls were trying to talk with me. God knew what?“Do you girls have d
The day I converted from Ms. to Mrs. was this morning. I put the last touches on the task in the same custom as Mr. Astor instructed me. I signed those papers without giving them a read, which I knew was worse than walking to this marriage, but there wasn’t much time left for me to read those documents. I had already gotten five calls from the clinic telling me I needed to pay the bill before 12 or they were going to send her somewhere else.God knew what those papers were about, but seeing the front, I was sure something related it to legal stuff. I had been working with Mr. Astor for three years now, which means I had acquainted myself with his life quite well by now. I had knowledge of every single person who was working with him directly or indirectly. Seeing his lawyer, who handed me the papers and directed me to sign in the blank spots beside Mr. Astor’s signature, it was pretty clear those papers were important.Who knew better than me? My boss, who was going to be my husband j
It was easy. Just two words, “I do,” and I was a married man.Upon waking up this morning, I experienced an enormous amount of anxiety and a loss of confidence about this marriage. You could giggle and say the groom got cold feet as if it was nothing. Most of the people on this planet would say it was normal. You are stepping into a new life with the person you love. It was a huge commitment since you are committing your entire life to that one significant person. It was a big deal. Walking through the route of nervousness was really alright, more normal than anything.Only if it was that easy in my case. In the past two days, I checked everything that could be related to Lauren just to get to know her a little better and stay under the same roof with her. It wasn’t a simple job, though. There was nothing about her to find out, only some specifics that I could tell about her just by giving a glance at her.She didn’t use any social media, which was what bothered me for most of the nig
There were numerous times I went to Mr. Astor’s house. I sometimes drop him off after he consumed alcohol, picking him up now and even in the morning. In my three years of life as his secretary, I must have gone to his house at least a hundred times, if not more, but I never put my foot inside the house, even for a moment.That place was forbidden for me to visit, as Mr. Astor told me on the first day of my job that he hated it when people touched his stuff. But that wasn’t true. I touched a million of that stuff that he owned for years, from his clothes to shoes, laptop to phone, but he barely reacted to any of that. Just like any other person, he was okay with me arranging his table every morning. Even if I put something inside the cabinet, he would just ask me about that and hardly scold me or anything about that.In my mind, I came to the conclusion after seeing his reaction that he was hiding someone in his apartment. I made a fiction about him being a serial killer, who was kill
The atmosphere around my parents’ multi-billionaire house was always something that didn’t sit well with me. The first time I felt the cold and distressful clouds around this palace was when I was a child. I was a ten-year-old little boy. This house was enormous. And when I said huge, I meant twenty-three bedrooms, twenty-five bathrooms, two kitchens, four open terraces, a golf course, a swimming pool, a movie theater for 100 people, a sauna, and a spa. This place was beautiful, but it was hilarious to have all these spaces just for three people.Growing up in this house was a unique experience. My parents tried to do their best for their only son, the heir to their abundant wealth. I went to a private school, the one that charged millions of parents for their children to have the same education that others were getting in other schools. I had my own car even before I came to this world. That was an impulsive decision by my father, just like his every decision.They had privileged me
I was by no means good with people. When it came to making friends with strangers, that was something that I constantly found an uphill battle to accomplish. My family didn’t have that DNA either.My mother tried to be friendly with our neighbors, but behind her smile, there was a lot of anxiety that came over her after the friendly chat. She always had anxiety issues when it came to people or making friends. I still didn’t understand how she kept her job in those people’s houses. Working for them must have taken a lot of courage for her.Mom liked to stay at home. There was a time when she didn’t go out of the house for several days. It happened in the months before we found the cancer that had been nested in her body for a long time. It wasn’t ideal for human beings, but that was how my mother did it. She preferred home more than the outside world.On the other hand, my father was an outgoing person. He mostly stayed out at night, but the reasons were different. My father did only t
The wedding night was what people anticipated more than the ceremony. For the first time, a lover consumed their relationship as husband and wife. It was a magical night for the newly wedded couple, but for me and Lauren, it was the night that we spent together just laying beside one another.Neither of us had closed our eyes for a second; it felt like we were both awake in case any monster paid a visit to us. I didn’t know about Lauren, but for me, I was sad. Deep in my heart, all I could feel was empty, which shocked me, as I knew there had to be something in that place.No matter how my family was or my relationship with Celine, at a pretty young age, I learned that happiness was all about me. If I wanted to be happy, it was on me to find the path without depending on anyone.The funny thing was, that I had a decent relationship with my dysfunctional family. Over the years, I educated myself on how to behave around my father or the time my parents yelled at one another like two cra