And Then It Rained (Sequel to Rain Again; Stand Alone Book) (Completed)

Chapter Fourteen: The First Night

There was another door in the space between the bedroom and the living area. He disappeared behind it.

Victoria's whole body ached along with the past injuries from Adi that throbbed with potency because of the unbelievable stress on them the entire day. She needed to sit down somewhere, needed to shower, needed a change of dress—

Her eyes widened in horror.

She did not have a change of dress. All her clothes were at Antelmo's apartment. Now, if Victor lived alone, then it was a given he lacked clothing of the opposite gender.

What was she going to wear tonight?

It was impossible for her to remain in this thorny from the inside wedding dress. Something she had tried not to even utter in her own mind the whole day to keep her mind off of it. For a long time, the trick was booming—until it wasn't. Despite it being loose, it still was a disaster. And right now, as she was finally allowed to get out of the dress, the feeling of being wrapped with cactuses got overwhelming.

She walked toward the bedroom and noticed how immaculately he kept everything in order. His bed was neatly made. A bedside table, a wardrobe, a small bookshelf, a study desk, and an armchair with a small table in front were all the pieces of furniture. On the table, a book was kept orderly, signaling he was reading it at present. The curtains of the window were closed beside the chair. She noticed a guitar next to the wardrobe.

So he could play guitar. She thought.

Getting near the wardrobe, she hoped it to be open before she clutched the knob and twisted it. She sighed in relief as it opened. 

His clothes, his scent, his essence greeted her.

Everything he wore seemed so bigger than her. Fearing he would come out from the bathroom any moment and accuse her of heinous things after seeing her head stuck inside his wardrobe, she fished out anything relevant to her needs—a t-shirt mainly. It was a blue half-sleeved casual one. 

After almost ripping off the dress from her body, she slipped on the t-shirt and found it reached her upper thighs and perfectly covered everything that needed to be covered unless she bent over. She decided she could do without his trousers which were too big for her. Besides, she was not commando underneath.

A gasp sounded behind her when she was bent over to pick up Victor's clothes from the bed. She had got them out of the wardrobe but decided not to wear them.

Instinctively, she turned her head to look before straightening hurriedly. 

Victor stood in a pair of casual trousers and a full-sleeve t-shirt. The blue towel hung around his neck. His hair was wet and tousled over his head with drops of water at the end of numerous strands—some falling to touch his skin, forehead, ears, cheeks, shoulders, and clothes. 

The fresh, dewy scent of soap wafted to her nose. Her brain registered it as something relaxing.

His mouth gaped, and his eyes took her in from head to toe. 

"I—" she was beginning to say, but then his expression changed from surprise to indignation. It quietened her again.

"What are you attempting to do?" He asked with a hint of fury. "In this forced sham of a marriage, it is simply foolishness to have the prospect of a strenuous wedding night, don't you think so?"

"Are you insinuating that I—" Victoria's mouth gaped, "I do not have a change of cloth, so—"

"Ah, so you, your dear daddy, and that vulgar aunt of yours have planned to use lack of a change of clothes as an excuse!" He mocked. "What's the agenda now? Getting you pregnant to rescue your image in front of the media permanently!"

Victoria's brows furrowed, and she tightened her lips.

What about her character? What was he insinuating now?

Furthermore, it seemed her aunt had said some lewd stuff to him back at the reception. 

She recalled catching glimpses of Regina saying something to Victor as they danced.

Nevertheless, most grievous was Victor's insinuation that she was one with her family to plan this wedding and even those other unimaginable things he was talking about.

"You're taking things too far, Victor," she tried to be as calm as possible, but the agitation she felt slipped out.

He marched up so close to her that his heaving chest almost touched hers. Startled, she took a step backward, but the wardrobe behind her left no room for her. Leaning forward further, he put a hand on the wooden surface of the wardrobe beside her head.

Her heart beat fast.

The soapy scent and his heaving, raging breaths surrounded her—they overpowered her senses.

"Things have already been taken too far," he said. His narrowed, turmoiled eyes locked to hers. "You and everything that you are have ruined my life. I hate the day I first saw you. I loath the moment you came into my life."

As he moved back from her, she let out the breath she was holding. She did not know what to say. But even if she did speak her heart, he would not believe.

Lord! What sort of disaster was this?

Stomping past her, he threw the towel on the armchair and left the room with brisk, infuriated moves. Victoria heard the jingling of keys. She craned her neck sideways to peek out the open door and found he was taking the car keys from the key holder.

Soon, the main door slammed, signaling he had left.

In the past, and even now—Victor was submerged in beliefs of her vileness.

Victoria slipped down and sat on the bed. With a shuddering sigh, she slumped and rested her face in her hands. Her fingers slid into her hair as she clutched them and closed her eyes.

The colorful beliefs he had regarding her, this hatred for her that burnt so profoundly in him, this pain, this hopelessness—was she supposed to live with all these from this day onward?  

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Word Count: 1578

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A/N:

Hello everyone!

How are you all? I apologize for being two days late, as I usually update on Mondays nowadays. It really helps making a weekly updating schedule to keep writing actively. However, sticking to the schedule is not always possible as we're human beings with uncertain incidents, diseases, and troubles happening to us. 

But one thing is for sure - Victoria and Victor are in the most problematic situation now. (OMG! It's sunny here, but I hear thunders cracking all of a sudden as I wrote this. Does that mean something? 
Yes, of course, it does. Rain is approaching, and the clouds it will bring along will soon overpower the sun.)

By the way, there's some good news! I'm going to move to Japan next month to live with my life partner. Yay! I can't wait to visit suicide forest!!!! I'm dying to go there. That's on my bucket list, actually. I will surely share photos with you guys on Insta. So, if you're not already, go now and follow me on Insta so that you don't miss out on my new adventures next month. Also, Victoria is going to go on a tour to Japan soon (Spoiler!). So, what do you think if I add photos in the story to connect both Victoria and my adventures? 

Please, don't forget to vote, comment, and share! Fan/follow me to get instantly notified of my updates. Thanks to the wonderful people who're supporting And Then It Rained. I regularly read your comments and check the notifications. It means so much to me, and I won't ever be able to describe the entire extent of it. Although it is not always possible for me to reply to everyone, I still read your views. Find me replying to some of them and heart comments from time to time. :)

So, keep them coming!

Lots of love,
Lara.