Rules. He wants to discuss some rules? I couldn't help but feel confused as to why we needed rules but I kept quiet and followed him to the living room. I sat down on the couch, facing him but still keeping a good distance between us. I sighed and waited for him to speak.
"Alright. Since we will be living together, in my house, you will need to follow my rules" he looked at me, interlocking his hands and leaning his elbows on his knees before continuing.
"By following the rules we will build a good atmosphere or at least a bearable one around here and we could somehow manage together. Understood?" he asked looking at me and I gave him a small nod.
I didn't understand why he had to talk to me like that. Does it have to be so formal between us? We could at least build a friendship or normal communication so this could be easier for us. But I won't say anything. It would be better if I just keep my mouth shut. It was enough of me seeing his cold persona, I don't even know into what he could turn if I defied him. I didn't want to cause problems.
"But before coming into terms of the rules, I would like to discuss about a contract" he continued.
I furrowed my brows. "Contract?"
He nodded his head before standing up and walking towards a little glass cabinet on the left side of the living room. He opened it and took a bottle of whiskey, pouring it into a glass with two ice cubes. He returned and sat down, drinking almost the whole glass before setting it down. He took some papers that I didn't even notice were lying on the coffee table and handed me a copy.
"This contract was made by me. By signing this contract we can divorce and split our ways after two years. After my father gives me the position of the CEO he won't be able to take it away from me and we don't have to be married anymore since he won't have anything on me to hold on to this fake marriage" he explained, drinking the remaining whiskey he had before standing up to refill his glass.
"A-are you sure this will work? What about my father?" I asked worriedly.
Lorenzo came back and sat down again. "You don't have to worry about your father. He won't be affected. My father will pay him enough before that and he will be able to get out of debt. And if he still needs help with the money after those two years, I will pay him how much he needs. I just want out of this, that's all that matters to me" he said and took a sip from his glass.
He handed me the pen, pointing out where I need to sign. I looked at the bottom of the paper, his signature already there. I guess this is fine with me as long as my father won't be affected by this. I wasn't into this marriage as much as Lorenzo, so I took the pen and signed the papers.
He took them from me and took another sip of his drink before talking again.
"Now for the rules. You need to follow them so we can function somehow. The rules are simple. Do not talk to me if not necessarily, only if there is an emergency or you need help to manage around here, but for that, you can ask for help from Mari. She is my personal chef and the only woman that knows every corner of this house and is one of the people I trust the most.
Do not enter any room in this house besides yours, especially not my office. I usually don't lock it but if I see you snooping around I will. You are able to do whatever you please, I couldn't care less but just don't disturb me. If you need anything you can ask Mari as I said before or ask for Bruno and he will be there for you as well.
"I will have my own room?" I asked surprised.
"Well of course, yes. I don't want to share my room with you, let alone sleep with you. We are married but it's a fake marriage, so we don't have to share a bedroom" he said and I just nodded letting him speak further.
"If you want to go out you are free to do so. If you want to meet your friends or go out with them you can but don't invite them here. I like my personal space and I'm not comfortable with unknown people in my house. Letting you live here is already enough"
Ouch.
Did he have to be so mean? It's not like I want this. If anything I can't wait for those two years to end as soon as possible.
"I would like you to not date till the contract is over. I don't care if you are dating but I think we should respect each other at least for those two years. I will do the same. I will not date or bring women here. I'm not interested in finding someone right now nor do I want to. I need to focus on my company."
Like I care.
"I think that's it for now. Is everything clear?" he looked at me. I thought about it for a few seconds. I guess the rules were fine. Nothing I can't keep up with. I gave him a nod and he nodded as well before taking another sip of his drink.
Did he drink often? I hope not, I don't like drunk people and I wouldn't like to meet his drunk persona if he was like this sober.
"Come on, follow me, I going to show you your bedroom," he said after putting his glass down on the coffee table. I stood up and followed him down the hall passing two sets of doors. The stairs were made of nice wood with glass railings. There were steps for the basement as well I guess but we took the ones for the second floor.
When we climbed the stairs there were big doors facing us and a few different rooms on the right and left sides of the long hallway.
"This is my room" he pointed to the big door. "Do not enter, ever. Understood?" he looked at me and I just gave him a nod. He then continued walking on the right side of the hall and I followed closely behind. Why was he so strict about it? It's not like I was planning to go inside his room anyways.
He came to a stop just by the end of the hall and turned towards me before opening the door. "This is your room" he let me walk inside first. The room is big and beautiful as the rest of this house. The colors were a bit lighter, silver and white mixed well together with some dark decor. There was a big king-size bed in the middle, a walk-in closet on the left side with a door just a few meters from it, I'm guessing it's a bathroom. On the left side was a bookshelf filled with some books, a desk located near the big window that opened and led out on a balcony. I was amazed.
"It's beautiful," I said turning to face Lorenzo. He just nodded his face blank, staring at me. I gulped and avoided his gaze. I walk towards the walk-in closet and opened it. It was huge, almost half of the size of this room.
"I hope that's enough space for your things?" Lorenzo asked making me walk outside of the closet. "Yes, it's more than enough" I replied and he just nodded.
"Alright then. You can get your bags in here. I'm going to bed, I have work early in the morning" he said before walking out of the room. "Good night" I let out making him turn around to face me again but I just got a nod in return and he left.
I sighed and walked out of the room as well to get my things, catching sight of his door closing just before I passed his room. There were so many rooms on this floor, I wondered what's behind those doors but remembered that I'm not allowed to enter any of them except my room. I sighed again and started walking down the stairs.
After I finally brought all of my bags up to my room I was drained. He could've at least helped me. I shook my head.
Jerk...
I unpacked all my stuff before entering the bathroom and showering. The warm water made me finally relax. I finished up quickly so I could sleep. I wrapped a towel around me and dried myself before putting on a black silky nightgown that reaches just a little above my knees.
I left the bathroom and turned the lights off, letting only the moonlight shed its light in the room. I walked towards the bed and slid under the covers, my body landing on the soft mattress making me fall asleep immediately.
...
The sunrays and warm feeling of the new day made me stir in my bed and finally wake up. I rubbed my eyes so I could adjust to the bright light before taking a quick glance at the small clock on my nightstand. 9:15 am.
I let out a groan. Even though I went late to bed last night, I still woke up at my usual time when I hoped I would get more sleep. I moved the covers off my body and walked towards the bathroom.
The bathroom was also big, with a marble sink just when you enter on the left side, a big mirror with led light that turned on by touch just above it. The shower on the right side of the bathroom, a toilet seat close to it, and a big bathtub right in front of me.
I did my morning routine quickly, feeling extremely hungry since I didn't eat almost anything yesterday because of my nerves.
After changing into a baby blue light dress, I left the room and walked downstairs. As I was nearing the living room I could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen just next to it. Does Lorenzo cook?
I rounded the corner and came in the view of a woman, cooking while humming some melody. This must be Mari. I just stood there quietly, watching her smile while she was cooking. She suddenly turned around and gasped, finally noticing me.
"Oh dear, you scared me" she chuckled and put a hand to her heart.
" Oh I'm sorry" I quickly apologized but she waved her hand and came closer to me.
"It's alright honey, come in and have breakfast" she took my hand and led me to the middle island, and sat me down on the high chair. "I hope you're hungry because I sure can't eat all of this alone and Lorenzo never eats his breakfast". She shakes her head and at that moment my stomach grumbles.
"I guess you are hungry" she smiles and I blush. She takes a plate and serves me scrambled eggs with seasoned cherry tomatoes and toasted bread. She makes the same plate for her as well before sitting down next to me.
"Enjoy" she smiles and I thank her quietly before taking a bite. It was such a simple breakfast but it was the most delicious version I ever tasted. I hummed in pleasure and she smiled brightly at me. She is a beautiful woman, especially when she smiles.
"So you must be Aria" she stated and I nodded. "And you must be Mari," I said and she smiled. "Yes, that's me. Lorenzo already talked about me I see" she said before taking a bite from her plate. "Yes, he did" I nodded.
"I hope he talked nicely about me though" she chuckled and I smiled. "He didn't say much, just that you are his personal chef and that he trust you" I explained and she shook her head. "That boy..." she chuckled "how dare he call me his personal chef when I practically raised him" she shakes her head again but not in an angry manner.
I couldn't help but wonder what she meant by that. Did she raise him? Now that I think about it, I never met his mother. She wasn't at the dinner when we first met nor at our wedding. I wanted to ask her about it but I wasn't sure if I should.
Mari stood up and put our plates in the dishwasher after we finished our breakfast and then put a plate with waffles in front of me. "Have some honey. I made them for Lorenzo, he loves it but he didn't even want to eat waffles this morning, so you gotta help with me with this too" she chuckled and I smiled, not refusing.
"Um...can I ask you a question?" I let out quietly and took a bite of the waffles while waiting for her answer. "Of course honey, go ahead" she smiled, enjoying the waffles as well.
"What did you mean by you raised Lorenzo?" I asked nervously. She sighed and put the fork down before answering.
"I helped his mother raise him when he was a little boy. I was his nanny. His mother was always busy with her work and she needed help when it came to him, and she didn't get that from her husband if I can say, at all. But even when she was so busy, she could forget about her job in a second if her son needed her. She was never that type of mother who forgets her child just because there is somebody else to take care of him or because they are caught up in their job.
She loved Lorenzo dearly. I never saw that kind of love or connection between a mother and a child. It was a beautiful sight to look at, to admire, to wish for" she quietly said, her expression now showing nothing but sorrow.
"When Lorenzo was 10 years old something happened, everything changed and I became more than just a nanny to that little boy. I'm sorry honey but I can't tell you the whole story, it's not my place and I feel like it's better for Lorenzo to tell you himself. He doesn't like talking about it much and especially someone else" she looked at me, tears filling her eyes.
As much as I was curious and wondering what had happened, I understood it's not something that is easy to talk about and I should respect that.
"I understand" I nodded and put my hand over hers, trying to give some kind of comfort as I see Mari might need it. She smiled warmly at me and put her other hand over mine. "Alright, let's finish these waffles and we could go shopping for groceries together if you want?" she asks smiling and I answer her positively.
...
I help Mari to put away the groceries we bought after we came back home just some minutes ago. As she was about to ask me something we hear the sound of the passcode being entered and the door opening. Shortly after Lorenzo comes in sight and both Mari and I look at him but he just spares us a quick glance before walking towards the stairs.
"A short hello would be nice young man" Mari shakes her head before turning towards me. "I'm sorry dear, he might not be in a good mood" she excuses him but I just smile and say it's okay.
Is he ever in a good mood?
I turn around and keep putting vegetables in the fridge, hearing footsteps coming downstairs in a quick manner and a sarcastic "Hello" coming from Lorenzo as he came into the kitchen.
"What are you doing home at this hour? Shouldn't you be in the company?" Mari asks him but I don't hear him answering her. I turn around to get the other stuff that needs to be put in the fridge and look up at him quickly to see him already staring at me. He is leaning on the glass door frame, not taking his eyes off me so I look away and turn back to the fridge feeling a bit uncomfortable by his stare.
"I just came to get some papers I forgot this morning" he finally answers making Mari hum in understanding. "Are you going to be back for dinner or should we not wait for you?" she asks another question and now he answers immediately. "No, don't wait up for me. I'll probably be till late in the office and I'll eat out with Lucas".
"Okay then, but you better eat or else..." Mari threatens in a cute way. "Or else what?" Lorenzo chuckles. "You don't want to know what that or else means" Mari tries to make a serious face but that only makes Lorenzo laugh even more.
Wow...so he can smile after all.
"Young man..." Mari lifts a finger at him but he just smiles and shakes his head while coming towards her and giving her a sweet kiss on her cheek before leaving the kitchen.
That was sweet. Their relationship is sweet.
"I've gotta go, see you later," he says before leaving the house.
Mari shakes her head. "He's overworking himself again" She sighs and helps me with the remaining groceries. "Does he stay late at work often?" I ask and she nods her head giving me a positive answer. "He doesn't know when to stop and take some rest. I swear he is a workaholic" she chuckles and puts the bags we used for shopping away in the drawer.
"Anyways...would you like to take a walk with me by the lake?" she smiles as she asks me this. "I would like to get to know you better".