The Wrong Man

Chapter 7

The next morning, Joshua and I are acting differently than we usually do when we gather downstairs to have breakfast in the dining room.

On the other side of the breakfast table, Joshua and I are muttering to each other about yesterday's date at the taproom, while Joshua's parents, who returned home after we went to sleep last night, are dense to our date yesterday.

Joshua is not following them on all of his social media accounts, so they are not aware of last night's events since they rarely to never go online due to busy traveling or lack of interest in rumors. A spick of relief nearly finds its way to my tense muscles, but, from the way their judgemental eyes glance at us, they must have an idea of what we were up to.

And yes, Joshua and I are legally married on paperwork, but that still doesn't mean people don't disagree with casual dates beyond business. Celebrities do it all of the time. They'll privately set themselves in a marriage knowing the both of them are famous and good-looking and pretend to be in love to get a good news story about themselves.

The audience will blindly trust their marriage and the celebrities will continue their business-only marriage until one of them is caught cheating or until they get divorced. That's how it works.

Not all marriages start out business-wise. Some start out genuinely based on love, but, as time pass, the two parties might fall out of love and will use their already newfound fame to get the most out of it.

Other marriages are prolonged on love alone.

For Joshua and I? Who knows what our marriage will be like? Heck, I can't even imagine being in love just yet. Being married still feels unreal to me.

The disparate conversations continue between all of us; little mutters from Joshua's parents who are complaining repetitively about their colleagues, who they mention are novices, then for a split second, their eyes flicker in my direction when the words 'last night' escape my lips while whispering to Joshua. The rest of the breakfast consists of all of us finishing our breakfast before we return upstairs to our respective rooms.

I know better than to assume anything out loud, but, for some odd reason, I feel like a pair of eyes are glaring at my back as I walk to my room. An unpleasant chill goes down my spine and I power walk the rest of the way.

When I'm safely in my room with the door closed, I faintly hear Joshua's mother's voice so I move away from the door to begin my classwork online. I check my phone before putting on my headphones to completely cancel out any background noises.

It isn't the smartest thing to do while in a house I'm not familiar with. I know that. And regardless of that fact, I would rather be able to concentrate than be distracted by every little noise outside of my door. The butler did say the other butlers hang out outside by my door. It's only natural I'll hear chatter and mumbling.

As I begin my work, I leisurely bounce my leg as an outlet to distract my subconsciousness, trying to overlook the nagging urge to look over my shoulder and expect to see myself at gunpoint or to see someone trying to scare me. Not like it'll be the first time.

I twirl my pen in my hand, trying to think of something else except paranoia.

No one would be stupid enough to sneak into this mansion anyway. The Michaels family wouldn't kill me since they made an agreement with my family. So am I still on edge?

I bite the inside of my cheek and scan through the words on the screen. It's the cold season, right? Shouldn't there be snow?

I mentally slap myself. Am I seriously asking myself about the weather?

I glance out of my window, realizing that I have never really seen the snow before. I guess I am.

Somehow, I manage to think about that until I finish my course for the day.

Oh right, my birthday is coming up.

***

"Good afternoon, Mrs. White. Do you have a busy day today?" Dave asks, walking beside me as I descend the stairs.

"Not particularly. I'm just going for a small walk around the mansion. Am I not allowed to?" I ask, turning my head to look at him.

"You are. I just wanted to make sure you didn't need me for anything."

"Oh okay." I eye his tank top. "Isn't it too cold for that?"

"I'm not going outside today, and since it's warm in the mansion, I thought why the hell not. "

"You might catch a cold."

"A cold gives me a paid leave from my duties. If I catch it, I catch it. But I'm getting paid for being sick in the end, right?"

"Don't let my husband hear you say that."

"Oh, I don't think he'll care." Dave smiles.

"Is that so?"

Dave looks at me for a moment then looks ahead of him. "Have you heard the news recently?"

Is he changing the subject? "Not really. Why? Did something happen?"

"Kelsie's gymnasium will be holding the tournament next season."

"I'm happy for her."

"Joshua and Trevor will be her sponsors, but as for everything else, I don't have that information."

"No need to tell me anything I'm not obliged to know."

"But you're his wife. I assumed the wife had the right to know information about close allies and such."

"Naturally, I haven't been here long for anyone to trust me with information like that."

"I thought you and Joshua fell in love, decided to get married prematurely, and eloped here to his home to live as husband and wife. It's not common but it sure isn't rare to see people doing it."

I open my mouth to say something but go against that kind of response.

Instead, I reply with: "I think he just needs time. I shouldn't push him to tell me things like that."

"If you say so."

Dave follows me around the mansion, talking to me about any topic he can think of before we make it back to the stairs. He gently pets the top of my head, and, for a split moment, I can remember my sisters pulling my hair, causing me to compare the harsh treatment to this kind one. I don't realize that I'm lowering my head so Dave can continue petting me.

He doesn't say anything but continues the kind gesture, gratefully letting the silence speak for him.

After five minutes, Dave withdraws his hand the moment the sound of voices creeps close and smiles warmly at me when I look up at him again.

"Um," I can see that he's about to apologize but sighs instead, "you should get back to your high school work. Good luck." He playfully does a salute before walking away to the next hallway.

"Thanks," I mutter under my breath, turning to ascend the stairs to my room.

Was it okay to enjoy something like that? Was it against the rules?