Paper Rings (English)

Chapter 13

Primrose sat on the hotel room’s sofa, still dazed about everything that had happened. She clutched her fist tightly on the coat that Sander wrapped around her shoulders earlier. For a moment, she tried shutting her eyelids to shrug off the heavy feeling in her chest. 

“None of that matters,” she whispered and shifted her gaze on her finger. Strangely, the reflection of the light twinkling on her wedding ring brought a bit of calmness to her senses. “That’s right, Rosey. It’s all done, anyway. You’ll fly away from this rotten place tomorrow morning.” 

“Are you alright?” 

When she tilted her head up, the Mortel Malls President walked up to her and sat at the other end of the sofa. He placed a glass of water on the tabletop before looking back at her. After a few seconds of scanning her visage, his brows furrowed. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the hospital? You look pale.” 

She reached for her cheek and heaved a sigh. “N-no. I’m fine. It’s probably because of all the crying. My makeup’s all smudged now.” 

Yes, she cried again. And the worst part was, it happened in his car like last time. Although she wasn’t in favor of letting him see her vulnerable state, the red-haired lady had no other choice but to rely on him.

“You shouldn’t have wasted tears over a prick like that,” he reached for a box of tissues and handed it over to her. He had a pinched expression on his face, almost as if suppressing his aggravation. “If you want, we can press charges. Judging from my father’s face, I’m sure he won’t let this slide.”

“There’s no need for your family to get involved with my affairs,” she responded alarmingly amid dabbing a piece of tissue on the corner of her eyes. “Besides, Nicolas is the heir to Mendez Corp. I wouldn’t want your business to be affected by this.”  

“Affected?” He smirked and crossed his arms. “Mendez Corp isn’t a major shareholder nor a business partner crucial to any of our projects. I’m sure he’s not stupid enough to barge at our wedding if he has something to lose.” 

“Sander, I’ll be fine. Really.” She ran a palm through her forehead and glanced at the digital clock on top of the nightstand. Her eyes widened upon seeing the time. “It’s already nine in the evening?” 

“Yes. In case you didn’t notice, you’ve been sitting there for hours.” 

She blew out a series of short breaths and rubbed her hands on her lap to regain her normal composure. 

“I’m sorry about this. I must’ve inconvenienced you yet again.” 

“Do you feel fine now?” he asked instead of responding to her apology.

She couldn’t help but paint a soft smile on her lips. Although the man she married a few hours ago could be an irritating fellow most of the time, she appreciated that he didn’t dare to snoop further about her conflicts with Nicolas. 

“Yes, don’t worry about me. You must be exhausted as well, so you should rest.” 

Her suggestion brought a sudden stillness in the air. It was then she remembered that they checked in to this hotel room abruptly under Sander’s name. The fact that it was their wedding night added up to her dilemma. However, before she could say anything, he already got up from his seat.

“You should rest too,” he said and turned his feet in the direction of the door. “Just ring me up if you feel unwell or you need anything. I’ll be in the next room, and I’ll also ask Elisha to bring you some clothes to change into.” 

She was thinking of what she should say to ease the awkward energy between them until she found herself unknowingly tugging the tip of his sleeve. Because of her sudden action, he darted a confused gaze at her. 

“A-ah, do you want to drink?” 

Her palm was tingling with the urge to slap the hell out of herself. Why did she even say that? She wanted to think it was because she didn’t have any good ideas to explain why she grabbed him. 

However, if Primrose was being honest with herself, it was because she felt too scared to be left alone. But she couldn’t say that. Her towering pride wouldn’t possibly let her. 

His thick-set eyebrows gathered in, “Drink? At this hour?” 

“Y-yes. The night is young, and I think we should celebrate. After all, we managed to finish the wedding ceremony successfully despite some commotion.”  Seeing that he couldn’t answer, she hunched her shoulders and lowered her head. “But if you’re too tired, then—”

“Sure, why not.” His mouth drew an amused smirk as both his eyes twinkled an inner glow. “We could do that.” 

 “Why are you smiling like that? Is something funny?” 

“Hm? Who’s smiling?” Sander shrugged to feign ignorance. He pulled a phone from his pocket and started to dab his finger on it to act busy. “I’ll contact Elisha now. We can’t celebrate in these suffocating clothes, can we?” 

The lady looked down at herself. She almost forgot that she was still wearing a tight-fit wedding dress. It must’ve been one of the reasons why she couldn’t breathe while crying in the car earlier. 

It didn’t take too long before Sander’s assistant came with their things and clothes. And because they were flying out of the country first thing in the morning, Elisha packed everything for her neatly. 

She patted both her cheeks while looking at the mirror. After tying the strands of her long hair in a bun, her eyes shifted to the serving tray from the hotel room service. 

There was a bottle of wine and two glasses along with some cheese and other snacks. She figured that Sander must've ordered these before going to the next room to change out of his suit. 

"Well, let's see." She rose from her seat and picked the bottle up. "Vega Sicilia Único 2009. Ah, not a bad choice."

As a self-declared sommelier, Primrose Dia has extensive knowledge when it comes to wine and the likes. In fact, she would drag Wednesday every week to go bar hopping back when they were still college freshies. 

She also remembered that her mother used to drown herself with the same brand of wine before she died from extreme alcohol intoxication. 

Her sad reminiscing was interrupted by the sight of an envelope card placed between the wine glasses. She was about to reach for it when she heard the buzzing from the door. 

Upon seeing Sander Mortel's face in the digital intercom, she pressed a button to automatically open the door and let him in. 

He halted as soon as their gaze connected. His eyes traveled from her head to toe, so she subconsciously covered herself with her arms. 

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

“Nothing,” he cleared his throat and proceeded to take the glasses toward the small coffee table. “I was just thinking how casual you look right now.” 

“Casual?” Primrose returned her gaze at the mirror. The lady was wearing her usual pink cotton pajamas because she detested how silk would just slip through her skin. “What’s wrong with my pajamas? It’s comfy.”  

“Yeah, whatever you say.” He lent his palm in front of her and motioned his chin to the wine bottle in her hand. “Pass it over.” 

She frowned before handing it over. Her feet brought her to the seat across the man pouring their celebration liquor to the tall wine glasses. 

“Is that what you wear to sleep?” she asked out of the blue. 

The Mortel Malls President was adorned in a casual v-neck white shirt and a pair of jeans—not the kind of outfit she was expecting. Sander only shook his head and passed the wine glass over to her direction. 

“I’m not comfortable being seen in my sleepwear.” 

“Oh, I didn’t know you’re a conservative one,” she took a sip of wine and chuckled. “Very different from what I’ve heard.” 

“Same goes for you,” the man raised his glass in the air. “Cheers for the success of our plans?” 

“Cheers.” 

In rhythm with the clicking of their glasses was their exchange of knowing glances. The wine brought a strange feeling of calmness to her senses. Her tastebuds were pleased, and she couldn’t stop drinking.  

Was it because it was an expensive brand? Or she just badly wanted to loosen up after everything that happened? For some unexplainable reason, she felt heat rising to her cheeks. She shoved it off, thinking that it must be because she hadn’t had a drink for quite a while. 

“We’re not here to get wasted, are we?” Sander Mortel raised an eyebrow, which stopped her from gulping down the last drop of her wine. “Take it easy. You ordered a good wine, but we have a flight tomorrow. I don’t you to be hungover.”  

“You know what,” she placed the wine glass down the table and poured more from the bottle. “This isn’t such a bad deal.” 

“Whatever do you mean?” 

“This whole wedding fiasco being legal and not fake,” her eyes squinted in amusement with another sip of wine. “In fact, I didn’t need to act guilty all the time and worry about being caught because there wasn’t anything to hide anyway.” 

He held her gaze and uncrossed his legs. “Technically, I duped you. I’m sure you remember how you curse me out, right?” 

“Let’s leave that in the past,” she swatted her hand in the air and laughed. “After all, getting an annulment isn’t such a bad idea. And I wouldn’t stop you from seeing other women because I plan to do the same.” 

Before she could finish her second glass, Sander grabbed it away from her. She tried to scowl at him, but he darted a stern look in her direction. 

“Are you drunk already?” 

“Excuse me, Mister.” She flipped her hair and leaned closer. “I’m a party animal. I have way more alcohol tolerance than you think.” 

“Party animal.” he clamped his lips together, trying to swallow up his amusement. “You should stop acting tough, my dear wife. I’ve observed enough to know how this face of yours works.” 

“Oh yeah, how?” 

Her question brought an unnatural stillness in the air once again. There was a grim twist in his mouth, and his eyes looked dark. The exciting taste of wine in her tastebuds was replaced by heaviness in her limbs. 

“There’s nothing wrong with showing me your vulnerable side, Primrose. We’ll be together for quite some time, so we ought to get used to it.” 

Those words were the last of her memories of that night. The next thing she knew, her head was hurting, and she was having a hard time opening her eyelids. Her sight was welcomed with the tray of milk and bread placed on the nightstand. 

“Aw, that hurts.” 

She held a hand to her temple while sitting up from the bed. Her movement only halted upon touching the blanket covering her body. When she tilted her head down, her throat almost burst into a terrifying scream.

“W-why am I naked?”