Loving the Devil

5. KISSES, BOOKS AND LASAGNA

Hannah's POV

Sunlight seeping through the glass window of our room woke me up, my neck was aching due to sleeping on the hard couch. I sauntered into the bathroom. The bathroom was quite spacious, with a glass door separating the shower from rest of the bathroom. The whole bathroom was designed in black and white, a big jacuzzi tub fixed in the centre. Stripping my clothes, I settled in the tub. The warm water relaxed my knotted muscles.

Sadness filled my insides as I thought about my husband. I could not fathom his behavior. I was pretty sure I never met him before, then why did he hate me so much? I tried not to yield to his harsh behavior but when he asked me to sleep on the couch, a whimper escaped my lips. His hazel eyes were filled with anger towards me. Remembering about them made my heart throb with pain.

After spending half an hour in the tub, I got dressed. I wore a yellow sundress, dried my hair and let them down in natural loose curls and made my way to the room.

As I entered the room, my eyes wandered to Jackson's sleeping form. He was lying on his stomach peacefully, looking nothing like the cold, arrogant man I met yesterday. His lips were slightly parted. Against my better judgement, I traced my finger along his sharp jaw towards his lips. "Why can't you act like a normal husband. What have I ever done to you?", I let out an aggravated sigh.

I was lost in my thoughts when his brows furrowed. Without opening his eyes, he clutched my wrist and pulled me toward himself. He rolled me over so now he was hovering over me, his eyes were filled with panic. His grip loosened as he realized it was me, not some thief.

"You?", he roared angrily.

"Ye.. Yes.", I said, flushed at our sudden proximity.

"Can't you utter a single sentence without stuttering? Do you have a speech disorder?", he said, his voice taunting.

"No."

"Do I make you nervous?", he leaned in, his voice huskier than before. His breath was tickling the side of my jaw. My heartbeat accelerated. I couldn't decipher what he was trying to do.

I nearly shrieked when his lips touched my jaw, a small moan escaped my lips before I could stop it. He traced his lips along my jawline and a weird sensation produced in the pit of my stomach. I closed my eyes, my mind numbed by his soft lips. Suddenly, he jerked himself away from me and stood up, I felt cold on the sudden loss of his warmth.

"Get the hell out of this room.", he growled, his eyes darkening with anger.

"But I-"

"I said get out. I don't want to start my day by watching your ugly face. And don't misinterpret what just happened. I was testing whether you are just a gold-digger or a gold-digger slut. The way you just moaned cleared my confusion.", his voice filled with venom.

"So tell me how many men have you slept with? How many men have touc-",he stopped as a slap stung his cheek. I looked at my hands, afraid of what I just did. Not wanting to provoke him further, I bolted out of the room. I ran through the hallways, tears drenching my face until I reached a door. I entered the room and in front of me was a capacious library with three walls of it occupied by books. I used to spend most of my spare time in a local library near my house. Reading was my only escape whenever I missed my mother. Momentarily forgetting about my encounter with Jackson, I slumped on the couch. Picking out a historical fiction and sitting in a corner, I started reading it.

***

It was about 6 in the evening when I stopped reading. My mind drifted again to how he insulted me earlier and my insides churned in pain. I always thought nobody could love me. There was nothing special about me. I was not an extra-ordinary beauty, or had perfect slim body, I was not exceptionally brilliant or extremely talented, my whole life, I had been ordinary. So when my father told me that someone wanted to marry me, my heart filled with delight. For the first time I felt like I would have someone to love me. But I was wrong. Jackson clearly despised me.

Despite everything, I wanted to give our relationship another try and prove my loyalty to him. That is what my father taught me. Who knew one day, both of us would find love in this marriage. With this thought, I made my way to the kitchen. The maid whose name was Lucy, was about to prepare dinner. I asked her politely to leave as as I wanted to cook dinner for him myself.

I decided to prepare lasagna. After an hour, it was ready so I decided to change into some nice clothes. I chose a fitted white crop top with blue denim jeans. Letting my brown hair down in natural waves, I applied foundation and cherry red lip gloss.

I heard the main door opening. Jackson was going towards our room, he looked exhausted, his shoulders were slumped. I felt bad for him. There was something that was troubling him as he didn't even cast a glance towards me. Pushing these thoughts aside, I set a table for two in the small balcony outside our lounge.

Turning the lights off, I placed scented candles in the middle of the table. As I heard him coming out of the room, I placed two plates of lasagna, a bottle of wine that I found in a cabinet and two empty glasses on the table.

After setting the table, when I stood straight, I felt his overwhelming presence behind me, his masculine smell was invading my senses. Turning around, I found him standing very close to me. His eyes were fixated on my lips and there was a strange emotion running inside them which I couldn't decipher.

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