06: It beams of royalty and wealth!

 

Naya’ POV

A magnificent mansion is a few meters away from us. From the distance, it beams of royalty and wealth. Completely different from anything I had seen.

“This is yours?” I intentionally ask Rowan who has just shown me that he can stay thirty minutes in a vehicle without saying a word to his spouse.

“Yes.”

That is all he can say.

I sigh softly and manage a smile. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Just like you,” he blurts out. 

It's a beautiful compliment, but it's so plain cause he doesn't even look at me when he says it.

I manage to put on another smile. “Thank you.”

Some minutes later, our car parks in front of the mansion and Henry rushes out to get the door for me and Rowan afterwards.

He whispers something to Rowan and he nods in agreement to whatever it is.

Rowan walks up to me and hangs his arm open.

“Hold me,” he orders and I do that immediately. We are a newly wedded couple, so it's only natural that we act like one. But it seems a bit weird.

The moment Henry opens the door for us to walk in, a party puffer is blown and the loud noise almost kicks my heart out of its cage.

I clutch my chest, eyes open as the next thing I see is a shower of confetti from the rooftop.

Two men dressed in black suits roll a red carpet from the door up to where Rowan and I stand, and Rowan nudges at me to step on.

We walk along the carpet, into the house, and my breath is taken away when I realise that a crowd has been waiting for us inside.

There's an outburst of applause as we walk in, the crowd cheering at us.

“Wow! I never expected this,” I say to my wolf.

“I told you, always trust my instincts,” she brags.

With the rewind of the DJ’s sound system, a party kicks off in the mansion immediately. 

I clutch to Rowan's side as his friends flock from all angles to congratulate us. 

I'm carried away by the whole surprise. Plus, his house is goddamn beautiful. The chandeliers are heavenly, raining golden beams down on the floor.

A servant shows up with a tray above her shoulder. She offers it to us and Rowan grabs two glasses for the both of us.

“Cheers.”

We click our glasses and drink, then we take a walk towards the backyard where there's a pool party going on.

My lips stretch into a smile. It's so beautiful.

We walk through the glass door that leads to the backyard and a megaphone goes off. “Give it up for the newest couple in town!”

Horns fill the air, accompanied by whistles and claps as the crowd cheer us.

Rowan takes me to his friends and they introduce themselves one after the other. Almost all of them are goofy, unlike him.

Colton, one of them who happens to own a cake factory, is the most goofy. He's the one with the megaphone, and I think that's the only error of this beautiful night.

Colton is between Rowan and I, his arms hung around our shoulders.

“So, tell me, couple, what are your plans for your honeymoon tonight?” He whispers.

The question leaves a loophole in head and I'm eager to hear Rowan's response. 

“We're not—”

Colton intrudes him with the megaphone. “Listen up, everyone. The couple are about to go in for their honeymoon. We have just an hour to party wild and then the DJ can switch to blues.”

“I never said that.” Rowan grits his teeth and I burst into laughter. Colton is surely a handful.

“Let's join them and dance, at least,” I suggest. Rowan is in between decisions but I drag him and bounce to the dancefloor which is already going wild with people taking shots and dancing.

It's thrilling, so I join them, but careful not to do the most.

An hour later, my eyes are wobbling. I guess one can't be too careful.

Rowan's arms are my support as he suggests to take me to the room before I sleep off on the dancefloor. I'm quite lightheaded, but parties make me ignore that fact.

Rowan's room is the master bedroom. A king-size bed lies at the extreme of the wall that faces the door.

His ceiling is decorated with a realistic painting of the night sky with a thousand stars.

I slump on the bed to get some rest and he sits goes into the bathroom to take a shower.

I gaze at his beautiful ceiling. Though tonight is fascinating, I find myself worried. I'm in the bed of a total stranger. I don't sense danger, but there's no way I can just sleep there.

Since our wedding, we haven't had the chance to get to know each other on a detailed scale. The chance is now, so I'll wait until he's out of the bathroom.

Soon, Rowan is out of the bathroom, a white towel wrapped around his waist. He strolls over to the side of the bed and is surprised when he sees I'm awake.

“Thought you'd be in the seventh heaven by now.”

I smile. “Just here is enough. I don't need to go that far.”

A smile flashed across his lips and he chuckled.

“You know, I was thinking, a honeymoon wouldn't be bad at all tonight,” he said, resting a leg on the bed and lifting up with it.

“That's exactly what we should be doing by now,” I responded, sitting up.

He swoops my hair behind my ear. “So…”

“No,” I blurt out.

My wolf is stupefied. “Naya!”

“Today is really beautiful, Rowan, all thanks to you. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels left behind in reality due to how sudden today happened,” I say.

“What are you saying?” His eyes become smaller, his gaze soul-piercing.

“I can't give my body to a total stranger just because we got married today. I need to know you to an extent before we can share that bond,” I say, my voice unsteady. 

“Really?” He asks. His voice sounds composed but I can sense the rage hidden within it.

“I mean, we barely know a thing about each other, Rowan. You know exactly what I'm talking about,” I argue, the entire skin of my face growing hot with uneasiness. 

I can't predict this man. I can't tell what his reaction will be like.

“Alright,” he mutters, standing up and slipping into his flip-flops. “Get some rest then. I'll be outside.”

My chest tightens as he walks away to the table with just that white towel wrapped around his waist.

He grabs a glass and fills it with wine, then he lights up a cigar and stuffs it into his mouth.

He walks towards the door and stops when he's just at the doorpost.

“Were you ever taught not to start something you can't finish, Naya?” He asks.

But it seems he needs no response as he walks away, leaving me to wonder what he means by those words.