A Loveless Marriage

Chapter 19

Natalia’s POV

I was with Xenia this morning when Andrew called me and informed me about Magnus. Although I knew Magnus is a smart person and knew how to keep an eye on his enemies, he would get suspicious of Andrew that easily. It was unpredictable. Of course, I knew he would come to know about it, but this was soon and shocking.

After that, I was preparing to face him and ensure that Andrew and I wouldn’t get caught. Currently, I am sitting in the hall playing with Xenia. It’s four in the evening and Magnus texted me that he was on his way home. Soon, I heard the car honking and I turned to the door with Xenia in my hands, who was more excited than me about meeting her daddy.

Soon, Magnus was in front of us at the door and as soon as he saw us his smile broadened, and he took Xenia in his arms and kissed her cheeks, making her giggle.

We walked inside the house, and he asked, turning to me, “Have you tried your dress?”

I was a little worried about what Andrew said, but Magnus was normal as usual. He was calm, so I replied casually, “Yeah, it’s good.”

“Good?”, He asked shockingly, and I turned to him, and he continued, “Only good?”

Seeing his reaction, I smiled and replied, “It’s beautiful, Magnus. Thank you.”

“Welcome.”, He said, taking Xenia to her room and added, while stepping on the stairs, “We will leave for the party at 7:30 so get ready by that time.”

“Yeah, I will.”, I replied, and he was about to leave when I called him from behind, “Magnus?”

He looked at me, turning serious, and I asked what was going on in my mind, “I was wondering if we should really leave Xenia behind?”

He took a step closer to me, making me nervous, and he tucked my hair behind my ears and said, “Are you afraid of going alone with me?”

I looked at him shockingly, and he asked, palming my face in his one hand, “Tell me, Natalia.”

I replied nervously, “No, I just feel-” but he interrupted me, “Don’t try to escape, Mrs. Wales.”

“Escape?”, I murmured, looking into his deep blue eyes, and he suddenly smiled, taking me off guard, “Just kidding. You can’t ditch me at the last moment of the party. I promised Andrew that you would come.”

“Please get ready.”, He added, making me turn towards my room, and I finally agreed, “Okay, I will.”

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Natalia’s POV

I had been in my room since the time Magnus told me to get ready. I prepared my dress, footwear, and other accessories to wear. I took a quick bath to calm my senses. After fifteen minutes, I came out of the washroom wearing only a robe and sat in front of the dressing table.

I turned on the hair dryer and suddenly my mind went to what Andrew told me on the call. Whatever he was saying did panic me, but looking at Magnus, I didn’t find any problem.

While drying my hair, I murmured, “Why was Andrew worried?”

I looked at Magnus’s picture on the dressing table on which he was holding Xenia and added, “Magnus seems normal to me. If he had any clue about our plan, he wouldn’t be this normal and cheerful.”

“Even it seems like he is happy today.”, I thought and focused on my task.

Once my hair was dry, I made a few curls in my hair, instead of opting for straight hair like every time. The dress that Magnus gave me is a red knee-length dress with a sweetheart neckline which gives a slight view of my cleavage. I chose the diamond necklace to wear with it. The necklace was given to me by Magnus when he proposed to me for marriage.

I did some makeup and highlighted my eyes, for which I always get complimented. Soon, I was done with my hair and makeup and, finally, I was ready to put on my dress.

To wear the dress, without ruining my makeup, I unzipped it a bit from the back and started wearing it. It looked good on me. My figure was so prominent in that dress. However, now came the real struggle to zip the dress from behind.

I was ready for that and took my time zipping it but had no luck. I was engrossed with my ongoing task when the door suddenly burst open, and I turned around to hide my back, unaware of the fact that he could see my bare back in the mirror. I heard him, “Natalia, Xenia slept and her nanny-” and suddenly he stopped and turned to leave, “Ohh, I am so sorry.”

I called him, “Magnus?”

He stopped, and I said, “I need help.”

“What help?”, He was shocked to hear me and I turned around, “Can you please help me with the zip? I am unable to reach that.”

“Hmm”, I heard him, and he got closer to me. He touched my bare waist and I felt he was pretty close to me. I looked at him in the mirror and found him getting nervous, and suddenly I got an idea.

I asked him to keep the environment light, “What were you saying about Xenia?”

It took him a few minutes to realize what I asked, but he replied, “She slept, and her nanny is with her.”

“Okay.”, I said and lowered my head.

Once he was done, he made me turn around and tilt my face upwards so that he could see me in my eyes and ask, “What happened?”

I took a long breath before saying, “Magnus, whatever happened last time is worrying me. I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“We will be back in a few hours.”, He said, keeping me close to him, and I nodded. While he was speaking to me, I got lost in his eyes. He is so handsome and the most considerate man I have ever met. I was busy staring at him and suddenly felt his hand on my shoulder, “Natalia?”

“Are you listening?”, he asked and replied, “Yeah, of course.”

“I am waiting for you downstairs. Come soon.”, he said and left, leaving me lost in my own world.

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Magnus’s POV

I was waiting for Natalia in the hall while going through some official emails. Although I have already told her that we will leave at 7:30 PM, and she never gets late. She is pretty punctual and that is something which I like about her. Still, I was turning to the stairs to check if she was coming or not and soon she was in front of me.

She looked divine in that dress. That day, when she refused to shop for her, I felt bad because somehow I knew I was responsible for her mood and suffering. So, I chose that dress on my own for her when she and Andrew were in the food court.

I am glad I did it. Unlike Sophia, she has jet-black hair which complements her a lot. She was wearing five-foot heels, which made me proud of myself for being taller than her. At least somewhere she has to make an effort to match me.

The last thing I noticed was the necklace that I gifted her. I think it was the only gift that I gave her before marriage.

She is not demanding like other girls. She finds happiness in every little thing. I think that’s what makes her special. Soon, she was standing in front of me and I forwarded my hand to her, asking, “Shall we go?”

She nodded and we left.

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The drive from our home to the venue was silent. Instead of taking the driver with us, I chose to drive on my own. I was focused on the road when suddenly Natalia’s cell pinged, and she opened it.

“Andrew is so impatient. He is asking if we are coming or not?”, She said, and I was a bit shocked to hear Andrew texting her.

Still, I remained cool and commented, “he is always like that.”

“We are on the way.” She murmured while texting him while I was focusing on the road.

Soon, we were standing in front of the Grand Avenue Hotel. It was one of the hotels owned by Andrew himself. I took Natalia’s hand in mine and we entered.

The huge hall was filled with plenty of people from various backgrounds, including business people, politicians, celebrities, etc.

As soon as we entered the venue, we saw Andrew, and I walked to him with open arms saying, “Hey Andrew”.

“Hey, looking handsome as always.”, He said, giving me a friendly hug. Trust me, he is the only person who can get on my nerves one moment and behave normally the very next moment. I mean he forgot my warning in a blink.

He turned to Natalia, greeting her, “Hey, Natalia. You are looking divine today.”

“Nice dress.”, he added, and she blushed, looked at me, and replied, “Thank you, Andrew.”

He nodded and turned to pick two bowls. One of them was pink and the other was blue.

“By the way, before you guys enter, here?”, He forwarded a bowl to me and I asked, looking at the bowl, “What’s this?”

“Just pick a number.”, He said, and I picked one slip with a number and showed him, saying, “9.”

Next, he turned to Natalia with a pink bowl, “Natalia, you too.”

“16”, she said, and he placed the bowl back, saying, “Awesome. Now please go inside and enjoy the party.”

We walked inside and Natalia asked me, looking at the number in her hand, “Do these numbers have any meaning?”

“He always has something to entertain himself.”, I commented, and I stretched a chair for her, “Come.”

Soon we were sitting on our chairs and enjoying the music when I heard Natalia, “Wow.”

I turned to her and found her staring at the Christmas tree, which was huge. I was even shocked. I mean he was trying to build a Guinness world record with that tall tree. Natalia asked me, “Let’s take a picture of the Christmas tree.”

Soon we were near the tree and I clicked many pictures of hers until my phone started ringing. I went to take the call. It took me a few minutes to finish the call and when I turned I found Natalia with a man. I walked near them and heard.

“Hey, beautiful”, the man said, and Natalia turned to him.

“I am Sebastian Grimes and you?”, He forwarded his hand to her, which she took thinking for a while and replied, “I am Natalia.”

“Natalia Wales, my wife.”, I declared, and they both turned to me. I walked near them, and he commented, “Ohh, lucky man you are.”

“Enjoy the party.”, He said and left.

I walked near to Natalia and held her hand in mine and said, “Stay away from him. He is a jerk.”

She nodded, and we were sitting on our respective chairs because the stage was ready for a blast from Andrew.

“Hey, my lovely ladies and their handsome husbands.”, Andrew greeted everyone, making all laugh and everyone started cheering for him.

“First of all, thank you for joining us tonight and making this party more beautiful.”, He started and added, “So, you guys must have been thinking about why there are no games, no Santa, nothing?”

“Right?”, He asked, and everyone yelled, “Yeah.”

“But don’t worry”, he told everyone and smiled, saying, “Today your not-so-secret Santa is your Andrew himself.”

“And you have already started playing games.”, He continued, making every grasp in shock.

He waited for the guests to calm down and said, “Now, you guys must have those numbers with you that you have selected. It’s time to add some twist to it.”

He took out something from his pocket and opened it, “The same number as yours, have someone else at the party which makes them your partner for the evening.”

“Yes, partner swap.”, with that everyone got so excited and started cheering for him. Everyone started looking at their numbers, and we heard Andrew from the stage, “So, we will call out for each number one by one and the two who have those numbers will come here and pick a ball from here, and they have to perform whatever is written in there.”

“Again, what should I do with him?”, I mentally slapped myself for coming to this party. I should have an idea that he would do something like that.

“So, let’s start.”, he asked, and everyone started cheering, leading the game to start.

Soon, the game started and every time two different partners were on the stage to perform, like eating without hands, dancing with your partner of the day, singing, and the list goes on.

Soon, I heard from the stage, “And the next number is number 9.”

I looked at my number and stood and gave, an are you serious look to Andrew, which he ignored easily, saying, “Ohh, my god, My best friend Magnus and my beautiful girl, Shanya.”

I heard the girl’s name and found Andrew's business associate coming onto the stage. She was wearing a black dress. Her curves were perfect. She is the real definition of an hourglass figure.

Soon, we were on the stage and heard Andrew, “Here come they are. Please choose a ball."

Shanaya picked a ball and gave it to Andrew. He opened it and declared, “Okay, so here is your task. Magnus, you will be blindfolded and Shanya will lead you to touch three body parts of hers, and you have to guess that body part.”

He winked at me and I asked, “What?”

But before I said anything he said, “And the game starts now.”

With that, I was blindfolded, and I felt Shanaya holding my hands. Suddenly, Natalia came to my mind. She started leading me to touch her skin and I felt the smoothness and, without waiting for a single second, I said, “Arms.”

“Next one?”, Andrew said, and this time I noticed my hand was not down. It was the upper side, which meant I was close to her face, but feeling the long neckline and a bit of fabric, I understood and said, “Neck.”

“The last one?”, Andrew said, and this time my hand touched something bare. But I am a man, and it was not rocket science for me to figure it out. I held her waist and pulled her close to me, saying, “Waist.”

With that, I removed the blindfold and found her all flustered. Her cheeks were red, and suddenly I realized what I had done.

“Ohh, my God. All three are correct.”, Andrew intervened at the moment and gave us the gifts, “Here is the gift for our couple.”

“Enjoy the party.”, he said, leading us down the stage. I mouthed a sorry to Shanaya which she acknowledged, and I went to my seat. I found everyone was happy around us, but Natalia was not. She gave me a blank look, focusing on the stage.

The game went on and soon Andrew called from the stage, “And the next number is sweet 16.”

“And here comes our sweet 16, girl, Natalia,” Andrew said, looking at Natalia, and soon he added, “and her prince Charming Sebastian Grimes.”

I heard the name and turned to look at him. I tried to calm myself and made myself understand that he would stay in front of my eyes.

“So, here is your task.”, Andrew said from the stage, and he looked at me, giving me a devilish look before declaring, “Paper Dance.”

I was shocked. I mean, is this man serious? How can he ask a woman to do this dance with a random man? As usual, he continued with what he was doing and said, “Okay guys, we will change the music three times and each time when the music changes the paper will be folded, and you have to dance on it, making sure to stay on it.”

They nodded, “Okay, here you go.”

Soon a paper was placed on the stage and the music started. Natalia and Sebastian started dancing, and I was relaxed seeing the distance between them. Andrew commented, “Good going guys.”

Soon the music stopped, and the paper was folded in half. They were now so close and Andrew declared, turning on the music, “And the next one.”

Natalia was about to slip off the paper, but Sebastian held her by her waist and I heard, “Ouch.”

They both smiled and continued with their dance until the music stopped. Now they folded the paper for the third and last time, “And now the last music changes.”

However, before the music started, Sebastian picked Natalia in his arms, and they started dancing. I heard someone from behind, “Oh my God. They look perfect with each other.”

Soon, Andrew came on stage with the gifts and said, “Here is another winner of today’s game, and here is your gift.”

“Please take your seat.”, He said, and they soon took their seats. With that, the game continued, but I was not interested in this game anymore.

I stood all of a sudden and I heard Natalia, “Magnus, what happened?”

“Nothing.”, I said and looking at her worried expression, added, “I need some fresh air. I am going on the terrace.”

“Let me come with you.”, she said, and we both made our way to the terrace. While walking on the terrace, Natalia’s feet twisted, and she was about to fall, but I held her in my arms.

She was looking in my eyes. The wind was cool but we were not. She was breathing heavily and so was I.

Without making her stand on her feet, I called her, “Natalia?”

“Hmm”, She hummed in response and I asked, “Why are you doing this?”

“I am doing nothing, Magnus.”, She said, standing straight in front of me. We were close to each other but not so close.

“Andrew and you are doing something behind my back.”, I said, and like Andrew, her face lost all colors.

“Aren’t you trying to lure me?”, I asked and she hesitantly started saying, “What? No, I-”

But I interrupted her, saying, “Natalia, I am not blaming you, but don’t do this.”

She was looking at her feet, which meant I was correct.

She started, “Andrew and I-” but I made her stop and continued, “Natalia, listen and listen to me very clearly.”

“I hate to share what is mine, and you are only mine.”, I declared, and she turned to me shockingly. Her eyes had questions to which I had no answer.

I added, “You are mine to love, mine to hate, mine to torture, and do whatever the hell I want.”

She was glued to her place. I held her waist tight and made her body stick to mine and continued, “And I hate it whenever someone tries to touch what’s mine.”

“Are you getting it?”, I asked, and she nodded, saying, “Hmm.”

I left her waist and she turned to leave, but I hugged her from behind. I murmured in her ears, “And one more thing, I can f**k you however I want, anytime. Do not underestimate your husband. I am capable of making you scream my name all night.”

Suddenly she turned around, and I read her lips saying, “What?”