A Little Bit Married

Real Bride

I sat on the bed as Gray finished up. He never said a word to me, and neither did I say anything to him. It would be hard to get through to him, but after earlier, I didn't even want to anymore. Once he was done, he picked his jacket, then slowly turned to me.

"I am expecting you down for breakfast."

He didn't wait for my reply, and I watched his back as he walked away, leaving me on the bed. I rolled my eyes as he closed the door, then slowly got out of bed.

I had started to walk towards the bathroom when I heard a knock on the door. I turned towards the door, then went to open the door.

A woman dressed in a black and white maid's outfit stood outside the door. Her hair was put back in a clean, elegant bun, and she had a small, polite smile.

"Good morning, ma'am."

I nodded. "Morning."

She slowly pushed the box she was holding. "This was sent by master Gray. Breakfast will be set in twenty minutes, so please be there."

There was something in her voice that told me I needed to be there, in exactly twenty minutes, too.

I collected it, then kept it on the bed as she closed the door. I went to the bathroom. It was made of black marble and black glass everywhere. I took a quick bath in the shower cubicle because I knew how I could get with baths.

Once I was done, I dried off, then went to the box. I opened it, and in it was a white dress. I combed my hair dry, then slowly took the dress out.

It was an elegant piece, with the details around the waist and the elegant sleeves. I wore it and slowly walked to the mirror. I didn't look much like myself. Mostly like an imposter trying to look rich.

I sighed, then put my hair up in a ponytail and went down. The house was quiet, and I stopped at the foot of the stairs, not quite sure where to go.

"Excuse me," I said to a passing maid. "Where is the dining hall?"

"Follow me," she said with a small smile, then started to walk in front of me. I followed behind her towards a large door. It was carved out of heavy wood, and it opened slowly.

My breath stopped in my throat as I took in the large dining space. It was filled with expensive artworks on each wall, and the dining itself was large enough for at least fifty people. Gray was sitting at the head of the table, while the two women from yesterday were sitting to his right.

There was a large arrangement of food, from classy breakfast meals to simpler ones.

I swallowed, walking in. There was a TV, too, and it was on the news, but no one was paying any attention to it.

"Good morning," I said, my voice shaky. Gray didn't reply, but the kinder woman from yesterday did.

"Good morning, dear. How was your first night with Gray?"

My eyes darted to him, but it didn't seem like he cared about the question at all.

"It was fine. Thank you."

"Sit on his left. Where his real bride should have been."

I swallowed as a maid pulled out the seat on the left for me. My fingers nipped at each other, and I swallowed hard. "I just..."

"What do you mean by my real bride?"

The woman turned to Gray, then sighed. "We both know it should have been Samantha there."

"It shouldn't have been anyone. Only the person who stayed."

"Oh, please. Gray, she obviously is a sell-out. She helped Samantha run away, probably because Samantha paid her off. Isn't that obvious? She nuch be so happy with this arrangement, since, look at her. Yesterday she was a maid and now she is all dressed up."

"I didn't do anything for money," I said, my eyes wide. "I bet there is no woman in the world psychotic enough to anticipate that she would marry a total stranger because..."

"How dare you talk back to me?"

"Grandma," Gray said slowly, his voice low. She immediately stopped talking and sat back. "I wanted to tell you this, and that is why I am having breakfast here. Evangeline, not Samantha. Evangeline is now my wife. I will not accept any sort of disrespect. It's best if you get used to her because I am not going through the hassle of a divorce or a separation."

She sighed, her hands cradling her head. "Gray, you are not thinking this through. You are not. She is a stranger. You don't know anything about her."

"I could read Samantha like the back of my palm, but she still lef, didn't she?"

The dining hall went quiet, and I swallowed, my eyes turning towards Gray. Maybe he was just cold. Not bad. Cold.

She gave a small sigh, then stood up. "I do not have an appetite anymore."

Gray did not say a word to keep her, and she walked away from the dining hall.

"My dear. My name is Althea. She is Maurine."

I nodded slowly.

"You can call me just that. I am Gray's paternal grandmother."

I nodded again. "Thank you, Aunt Althea."

She gave a laugh. "That is cute. Very cute. Maurine is Gray's maternal grandmother. She is a little strict, but I assure you, she is not a bad person."

I gave a smile and nodded again. "I do understand. Things happened so fast."

I turned to Gray, and his eyes were fixed on the TV. I turned to it, too, my brows furrowed. It was showing the footage of a fatal crash and the testimony of a few eye witnesses.

I had started to turn away when I froze in my seat, my eyes wide. I turned back to the TV, and I wasn't wrong. Kevin was being wheeled out of the crashed car, and his hand, bloodied and still adorned by the bracelet, was dangling off the stretcher.