Chapter Twenty Two
Elena's POV
"Good evening, Mrs. Stavrakos. Did you have a wonderful day?" The butler of the Stavrakos mansion greeted me the moment he opened the door. I just came from visiting Mom at the rehabilitation center.
"I had. Thank you, Bernard," I walked inside the mansion, heading to the center where a round table was. On top of the table was a huge vase filled with beautiful red roses fresh from the garden. It became my habit to smell the flowers every time I arrived.
Since we arrived from our honeymoon in Singapore, I have lived at Adonis' mansion. The staff were very nice and friendly, they treated me well, as the mistress of the house.
Adonis' mansion was huge. As big as his parents' mansion, according to Mrs. Jones, the head housekeeper of the mansion. The architectural design was a combination of classic and modern design, with Artificial Intelligence, FREDA. All materials were solid and came from different parts of the world.
There were two grand staircases, slightly curved with solid marble balusters. One at the left side that touched the wall, led to the west side of the mansion. While the other one at the right side against the wall, led to the east.
Your guess is right. Adonis occupied the WEST WING, while I, at the EAST.
We agreed to have separate bedrooms. It was part of the process to take everything slow and steady between us.
No rush. No pressure. No expectations. Just living the day, as two individuals getting to know each other.
--
That evening, Adonis and I had our first family dinner at his parents house. Grandpa was also invited.
They were all ecstatic to see us, including Grandpa, who was grinning all the time.
"For sure, we're going to have an heir next year," Grandpa opened the topic when we had our main course, making my eyes grew widen.
"Come on, Constantine, let's not rush them. For sure, when the time is right, it will come," Pia said to the rescue, "Elena, are you ready for dessert now? We have chocolate soufflé."
"Yes, please. Thank you," I answered, smiling at her. Pia was the best mother in law. She made me feel so loved and welcome in the Stavrakos family.
"Honey, me too," Kristov said, "and some strawberries at the side."
"Sure hon," she smiled, then she turned to Grandpa, "I won't include you, Constantine. I know you're diabetic."
"Who cares!" Grandpa insisted, and laughed, "get me two servings. With any ice cream you have."
I was mostly silent during dinner, listening to their conversations.
"So, tell us about your trip in Singapore?" Kristov asked.
Before Adonis and I could answer, Grandpa butted in, "I'm sure Elena bought the whole Chanel store, right?" he looked at me, grinning.
"No, she didn't. We just roamed around the city and met some friends," Adonis answered, "Elena did a lot of sketching also. She's very passionate in fashion designing."
"Oh, really?" Pia's eyes lit up curiously.
Grandpa waved his hand, "ah-- for sure as a hobby."
"Not a hobby, when she's really talented. I encouraged her to create her designs. It would be a waste not to implement her ideas," Adonis said proudly, making my heart grew so warm.
"Give it a try. Open a business. We're here for you, Elena," Kristov suggested.
"Thank you. I probably will," I answered.
"That will be a waste of money. Don't encourage her," Grandpa shook his head, disagreeing to everyone. I was shock at his hostility at the suggestion.
"It won't be. You won't know until you try it." Adonis said firmly to Grandpa, "I'm going to support her in everything."
"No! She should concentrate on having a baby," Grandpa insisted, and we were all surprised at his outburst.
I was fed up with him. I could not contain my anger anymore. I turned to him, and said.
"I'm not a baby factory. When we say wait. You wait." I said to him in a calm controlled voice.
--
I started my Fashion Manufacturing Company. My in-laws' encouragement pushed me to start the business and accepted Adonis' offer to fund the company.
Yeah, it deviated from my original plan not to ask help from Adonis, especially monetary concern. But as days went by that I spent more time with him, I realized that he was the opposite of Grandpa. Adonis was a kind, warmhearted and caring guy, just like his parents.
He was very busy at work during the day, but in the evenings after we had our dinner, he spent time with me talking about setting up the business, guiding me in the planning and organizing the structure of the company. We usually did it inside his study room.
"We can start with a capital of one hundred million dollars," he suggested, "that would be enough for setting up the whole company. The warehouse, the machineries and equipment, the materials, the employees' salaries and others."
"I think that's too much. I want to start small first. To test the water."
"Well," he leaned back against his chair, "it's really up to you. You can cut the cost and save the rest of the budget for later. By the way, I contact a friend in India, who supplies textile. I asked him to send you samples."
"That's great! I got hold of a supplier from China and Dubai also. I mentioned that I'm your wife, and they immediately offered me a big discount."
"Well then, you have to keep using my name," he chuckled, and stood up. Then he pulled me up from the armchair, "come on, let's watch a movie on Netflix, then we can call it a night."
"I love that," I responded with a smile, and let him hold my hand.
The electrifying feeling brought an adrenaline rush inside my body. I could not remember when was the last time he held my hand. But he let go immediately when we walked to the theatre room.
We watched an old romantic comedy film, The Holiday. It appeared in my suggestion list, and we gave it a try. We enjoyed the movie, we laughed a lot, but when there was a kissing scene, I could not help but blush.
I have to admit that I learned to like Adonis. A lot. I have this growing feeling for him, and the more I realized that he was an awesome guy, it intensified.
It was not easy, seeing him and being with him, every day. But I could not let my emotions to overrule my brain, I have to control myself and stick with my plan.
"That was a good movie. I enjoyed it," he said as we went up the stairs, going to my room. He always walked me to my room, every night. As if, I would get lost.
"Me too. That was really funny and romantic. It feels like falling in love."
We stopped outside my room, and he turned to me. His beautiful dark eyes holding mine.
"Have you experienced falling in love, Elena?"
I was caught off guard with the question. Should I tell him the truth that I started to fall for him?
"Do you really want to know?" I challenged him.
He chuckled, "nope, I don't want to know. Let's leave it like that for now."
I laughed with him, "you're just afraid that I'm going to ask you the same question."
"Come here," he opened his arms, and without hesitation, I went into his arms. He hugged me so tightly.
For a while, we stayed hugging each other. The feeling was so beautiful. Very comforting, like home.
"Goodnight, Elena," he said, and we let go of each other, and called it a night.