Chapter Four
"There we are," Marissa announced once she stopped her car in front of a large three-story mansion. Leila's jaw dropped to the floor as she took in the sight in front of her.
She pointed her forefinger towards the modern designed building. "Is that...is that his?" She asked in pure shock. She had been notified before that David was rich; being the son of Gareth Co. owner, but no one had ever mentioned him to be ridiculously filthy rich.
"Yes, it is. Didn't he tell you about it before?" Marissa asked as she pulled out the key from the ignition of the car and slipping out into the front yard. Marissa mimicked her moves in anticipation, and soon enough she felt the cold refreshing breeze of air hitting her face, and threatening to blow away her scarf. The place was dark and all she could see was the silhouettes of the flowers in the garden, and from the distance she could see an outline of swing set. The sounds of snoring insects flooded through the deadly silence, and for a moment, Leila felt slightly scared.
She managed to walk past the garden and to the front door, followed by a shivering Marissa.
"Is there something else about David that you haven't mentioned to me?" Leila hissed whilst Marissa banged the old dragon-shaped knocker on the mahogany wooden double door.
"I guess not," Marissa responded, rubbing her palms together. That was one of the moments were Leila was thankful to be wearing Hijab. It was really cold out there.
"Except for one more thing," Marissa suddenly broke in as Leila turned her face in an attempt to inspect her surroundings. Her head quickly snapped at the words.
"What is that?" She curiously asked her, trying to sound less enthusiastic as possible.
Marissa looked down at her feet for a moment of silence, then her eyes shifted to lock gazes with an expecting Leila.
"Well," She started.
"Marissa, please. Don't infuriate me any further," Leila scolded, being pushed to the edge. Marissa knocked on the door thrice again, before turning to face her.
"Ok! I'll just say it in one breath," She replied, pausing for a second, waiting for Leila to interrupt, but when she didn't mouth a word, Marissa just blurted out. "David is a little more free than usual."
"Huh?!" Leila opened her mouth to question, but at the same moment the door swung open and behind it stood an old man with messy grey hair and thick brows, sweat covering most of his face. He was wearing ripped shaggy clothes, and in one of his hands lay what looked like a bottle of wine, or beer. She would never know what that liquid was. Lack of experience, you know.
"MARIE!" The old man exclaimed in a rough voice, and with one swift move, he engulfed Marissa in one bone-breaking hug.
Marissa just awkwardly stood there, again, cursing the day she actually agreed to this one-sided marriage.
"How are you doing, darling? I haven't seen you in ages. Come in. Come in," The old man said and backed away from Marissa. He stepped aside and entered the house again, leaving some space for her to get in. She obliged immediately, gesturing for Leila to follow her. Leila silently did.
The first thing she noticed when she stepped in was the loud banging on the walls and her heart started vibrating. What had sounded at first like a house-wrecking bomb turned out to be an inhumanly loud DJ speaker, screaming at the top of its drums. Leila stood there stunned, letting the door get slammed closed by the cold air. What appeared in front of her was far beyond her imagination. Far beyond imagination itself.
Now she got what Marissa meant by free.
He's hosting a freaking' adult house party in his freaking' pretty mansion. God! Please forgive me.
"Now that's unbearable," Leila commented disgustedly while Marissa seemed to be enjoying the view.
"I actually think it's lovely. Why don't we just go grab a drink?" She screamed over the extremely loud banging of the crazy music and made her way to the bar somewhere in the house, but quickly Leila pulled her by the arm, stopping her from going any further.
"Wait! I...um...actually- I don't drink," She declared, receiving a suspicious brow arch from Marissa, but she let it slip anyway.
"He seriously is having the time of his life here when he was supposed to drive his wife home?" Leila wondered bitterly.
"Well, that is actually the worst thing in David. He's actually a bit irresponsible. He never follows his obligations," Marissa explained, grasping a drink from one of the waiters who was passing closer to them.
"How lovely it is to greet your wife this way," Leila commented sarcastically, eyeing the guests who were clearly very busy having fun that they didn't even have enough time to acknowledge them.
"Do I have a permission to kill him?" She asked casually as Marissa took a sip of her golden drink.
"I would, if I were you," She responded, catching a drop of the drink that slipped from the edge of her mouth. "I would actually do far more than that, dear."
"Marie," Leila suddenly called, tilting her face to look at her.
"Yeah?" Marissa replied dreamily.
"What does David look like?" She innocently asked. That question actually sounded quite ridiculous to ask loudly, although she was craving for an answer for ages now. She didn't even receive an image of him 'cause, as he personally said, he didn't look as good in photographs.
How she wished she met him now, so he wouldn't look as good in reality, too. Too young for a face lift, that poor man.
Much to her dismay, Marissa cracked up laughing next to her, almost chocking on her drink, which Leila had to slap her back as a remedy.
"You really don't want an answer for that, do you? Reality is much more..," She paused, searching for the perfectly suiting word. "...realistic."
"That doesn't make any sense," Leila shook her head whilst Marissa gulped the rest of her glass in one take. She seemed to be slightly dizzy from the drink, because she started to giggle.
"Okay, so let's just pass that question," Leila suggested and followed Marissa to what seemed like a study room. "What am I supposed to say when I meet him?"
"Honey, you say nothing. He should do all the say," Marissa replied, clicking the knob of the door open and stepping in. "Ask him why he left you alone. Be fir- Oh my!" They both gasped when the door opened, revealing two half-naked guests making out on the desk. They both stopped and turned their gazes to see who was intruding.
"I guess that room is taken," Marissa replied in a sing song voice and closed the door again, holding Leila by the elbow and pulling her away.
"Does that happen often?" Leila question in shock, glancing back at the closed white door. Marissa was dodging the other guests on the dance floor, dragging her along.
"Way more than just often, Leila," She replied and finally reached the glass doors leading to the balcony. She swung them open and walked out to the fresh air, leaving Leila behind, watching her spread her arms on her sides like that famous scene on Titanic.
Alcohol could truly do wonders, eh?
"David just sounds like.." Leila struggled for a more appropriate word than an asshole, but failed.
"Careless, irresponsible, immature?!" Marissa suggested, spinning around to lean with her back towards the fence. "Asshole?"
Leila nodded affirmatively. "Yes. Yes, he is."
"Then why did you agree to marry him?" She didn't know how to reply to that question. She couldn't just so simply tell her that she was actually poor. Judging by the background she had on Americans from her own experiences on the internet, they are very judgmental, and she wasn't emotionally ready to be their next victim.
"Umm...well." Marissa arched a brow, waiting for her reply in anticipation.
"I...eh. He's a relative, and, well, his father suggested it, and I just couldn't let him down, you know. It would hurt him," Leila looked to face her, only to get a dose of disappointment and frustration. Marissa was currently swinging over the fence of the terrace like a child, and she clearly wasn't even listening to what she was just saying.
Sighing, Leila walked forward to grab Marissa by the waist before she slipped and fell onto the grass. She dragged her back to the party room, and roamed with her eyes around every corner, in a failure attempt to spot her husband. She had only one hint of him inscribed in her notes, and that was his sparkling blue eyes. Thankfully her mother didn't know how to use the computer, or she would have been intrigued by the amount of male sparkling blue eyes in her pictures folder, topping the beloved Chris Pine.
"Marissa, can you please focus with me here?" She begged her friend who was now wide-eyed, looking around her in excitement as if it was the first she had been here. Leila held her chon firmly and pulled it downwards to be on the same eye level with her. "Which one of them is David?"
"Oh! Actually, there he is," Marissa announced, making Leila freeze in place. She was very busy wanting to meet him that she didn't even think of what to say when she sees him, she wasn't even that prepared to actually see him.
Slowly turning around, Leila's breath fastened and her heart was in her throat. Her chest heaved in anticipation and her breathing hitched when she finally caught a pair of heavenly amazing sparkling blue eyes.
Darn! He really is hot.
Being born and raised as an American, David surely got affected deeply by his surrounding habitat. His shoulder-length brown hair adopted some strikes of golden sun-kissed effect from the Californian sun. It was oiled and neatly combed backwards, giving his beautiful eyes their full effect, along with the rest of his features. They were all perfect together; all making the perfect facial match. He was actually the most attractive man with the roots of a carelessly shaved beard ever; dressed in a button down minty green shirt, and a pair of blue pants that matched his eyes.
Darn again!
Finally being given the permission to safely do so, she couldn't stop.
"Good! You spotted him. Now move ahead and confront him now," Marissa instructed and gave Leila a small push forward, but she immediately backed up.
"No way! He's gorgeous," Leila blurted out shamelessly, but then she realized what she had just said and her eyes widened. Marissa grinned like an idiot and fluttered her lashes at Leila's flushed face.
"Look who has a crush!" She squealed playfully.
"Oh God! I didn't just say that," Leila mumbled and transfixed his gaze on the professionally crafted ceiling, until she froze again, at the words she heard next.
"Marie! There you are," A yell covered over the sound of the music and Leila immediately qualified it as an MTV winner accent. She stood there like an idiot, catching his movement towards them from the corner if her eye.
"He's coming towards us," Marissa hissed.
"I know. I saw him."
"Now muster some courage to confront him."
"I can't."
"Yes, you..."
"Marie." Shit! David's voice rang as he approached him, and guess what? Marissa got her nth hug for today.
"Oh, David! I haven't seen you in ages," Marissa cooed as she circled her arms around David's neck, bringing him closer. She winked at Leila and she got it all. Knowing her weakness, Marissa was trying to tease the hell out of her to push her buttons. And boy, the girl was doing it expertly.
"I haven't seen you for quite the time either, Kiddo," David replied in a husky voice that brought Leila to the edge of her seat and she tugged at her sleeves, crumpling the fabrics underneath her grip. David pulled away and turned to face her.
"Marie's friend," And he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. Leila's heart stopped her mouth as round as her eyes. She glanced at a satisfied Marissa, who was grinning devilishly at them and wiggling her eyebrows.
"I want to grab a drink. I guess I'll see you later, then, Leila," She emphasized, making her way towards the bar, leaving her friend on her own in this mess.
David's body suddenly stiffened against hers. "Leila?"
Marissa! I'm going to kill you this instance.
David quickly pulled away from her, and for a second she just wanted to groan in frustration, but she quickly composed herself.
David's eyes moved to check her out head to toe; only his look was enough to put her body on fire. She immediately looked away when their gazes looked.
"You aren't who I think you are, are you?" He asked in shock.
Leila proceeded to bite on her lower lip in nervousness. "That depends." She looked down at her feet again, breaking the record of the amount of numbered times looking down in one day.
David didn't say anything. He just stood there bluntly staring at his supposed wife, feeling as shocked as she is. He surely couldn't be any less prepared for that occasion. He had always been the witty guy, coming up with the smartest quotes or comebacks at the perfect times, but at that exact moment, he was wordless. He felt plain.
"I guess I'll have to leave. I probably showed up at the wrong time, I'm very sorry, I-" Her voice cracked. She never felt more embarrassed in her life, crashing the party of a strange guy and actually thinking that she would be able to fight him. She was wrong. She should've never even listened to Marissa. She had always known that she was helpless when it came to words. So why change all of a sudden now?
Sparing no more time, she turned on her heels and made her way out of the house. On her way she only caught sight of Marissa's confused expression and her mouth forming an: O shape. Leila ignored her and increased her pace to make it as quickly as possible before weakness took over her and she would collapse in the middle of the dance floor. And the fact that he didn't even bother to follow her outside was more heart-wrenching.
Stepping out and onto the cold empty garden, she sat on one of the few steps separating the front door from the grassy yard. She buried her face in her hands, letting go of her bottled whimpers. She was more frustrated to why she was even crying when nothing had occurred on her behalf, but she just let everything flow, releasing her muffled sobs, along with the hidden compact pain she had felt in the past couple of weeks.
- -
Shocked to the core, David had just been standing still for the last five minutes, his body limb and his brain washed. Has he seriously just met his uninvited wife?
"What the hell is wrong with you?" A high-pitched yell erupted from nowhere and David turned to be faced with a raging Marissa, not to mention the glass of Margarita in her hand. She looked as wasted as ever, although her tone said otherwise.
"How could you just leave her like that? She is your wife. For Christ's sake, David. Go after her now and ask her to return," She yelled at him, pulling him by the collar to face her.
David backed away, shoving Marissa's hand from his collar. "No, I won't. I didn't even invite her. She isn't welcome here," He replied as firmly.
"Seriously? She doesn't need an invitation to visit her own home. Why can't you just get those words? Your wife, David. Your wife," Marissa cleared out the facts, putting her hands on her hips.
"A wife I've never asked for, Marissa. You just can't understand. I don't want her here," He nodded his head to the direction of the front door.
"Why, but you need her here," Marissa admitted, turning away from her best friend and heading outside, taking long wide strides at once.
David sighed, and dropped his body relentlessly to sit on one of the couches randomly scattered along the dance floor. He rubbed the spot on his neck where Marissa had tightened the collar earlier- in frustration. She had never been so serious on a topic in her life, despite her career choice. It made him slightly doubt that she had actually been part of the plan.
He didn't want to get married, not now, not ever. He was happy this way, with no need to take his life in the opposite direction and actually ruin his life just because his parents want him to be tamed. Seriously, thinking about it, he honestly thinks that they just set him up because they wanted grandchildren.
Heaving another sigh, he leant backwards to rest his back on the sofa, spreading one arm over its edge, then he extracted a packet of cigarettes from his pants pocket and took out one. He lit it clumsily and inhaled deeply, completely forgetting about the girl setting out there in the cold, desperately waiting for him to go after her.
-
"Leila!" A soft voice called from behind whilst Leila was rubbing her cold arms that almost felt numb at the moment. As if on cue, her head immediately snapped to look at the source; the last few glimpses of hope flashing in her eyes.
Her face fell when she saw Marissa standing by the door, with a sympathetic look on her face. She turned to look back in the opposite direction, resting the side of her head on one knee.
"I'm really sorry that that happened, Leila. I just..," She paused, and Leila could already imagine her shaking her head in disapproval. "I just didn't expect that," She admitted, moving to take a seat next to her.
"I didn't expect that, either," Leila sighed, pulling her head up and staring around her. "Why did they even ask me to do that? I'm just twenty-two."
She felt Marissa shuffle uncomfortably next to her, and felt her hand extended to cover hers.
"What did they tell you, Leila?" She suddenly question. Leila turned to look at her in utter shock. "What-what do you mean?" She asked.
"About the marriage, I mean. What did they tell you about it?" Marissa repeated firmly.
"Well," Leila began, looking away from her. She had always been unnerved and would stutter every time when she had looked to someone's eyes while speaking. "They said that David was looking for a wife, and..."
"And?"
"And that he might be a little rude sometimes," Leila admitted, rolling her eyes in disappointment.
"I can tell about that rude part," Marissa teased and stifled a laugh. She looked completely over the edge that it was actually very hard for Leila to take her words seriously.
"Now, let me tell you," Marissa started, patting her arm again. "That was a total lie."
"I guess I already figured that out," She shrugged her shoulders.
"The truth is that David had always been a disobedient child. He was naughty, hyper-active, and never followed the rules," She stopped for a few seconds and a dreamy look covered her face. "I still remember those old days. I can, since I was several years older than him, but I must admit that I was actually attracted to him," Marissa admitted, earning a horrified look from Leila. "As a friend, of course," She corrected.
"Oh!" Leila simply replied.
"So, they wanted to hire someone that can actually control him," Marissa went on. "Well, more like tame him," She tilted her head to look at her. "And this someone was you, Leila."
"But why me?" Leila almost yelled. She was frustrated to why anyone could seriously take her in consideration to perform such a job. "I can't do that. It's not the job for me. I'm...shallow."
"Because you can do it. Actually, Leila, you are the only one who can do it. The Gareths know everything about everyone, and believe me, if they have seen that you are not capable of fulfilling this mission, then you'd have never been here at all." Marissa replied seriously.
"That is ridiculous," Leila ignored her.
"No, it's not. Leila, if you want to achieve something you have to work hard for it. You can't just sit here and weep all day long and expect to do something useful in your life. Why do you want to waste the opportunity when it's already under your nose? That's what I call ridiculous." And with that she heaved a sigh and got up to stand balanced on her feet. "I will crash the party and kick them all out, now the rest is all up to you," She said in finality and opened the front door again to disappear in the cloud of guests before she slammed it closed behind her.
Leila whimpered and buried her head in her hands. For a second she proceeded to pick up her phone and call her mother to ask for help, but she changed her mind. If there was one person she didn't want them to know about this mess, it would be her mother. She was already fed up with the fact that her daughter had to travel abroad, and she didn't need any further disturbance. Feeling defeated, Leila slumped the metal phone back in her pocket and got up, scrubbing the back of her skirt clean. She started pacing back and forth in front of the door, thinking of what she could do to make things go smoother.
I can just step inside and yell at him, can't I? I mean, he's wrong. He left me standing alone in the airport for half an hour, ignored me for two days, and now kicked me of my house. That's a proper excuse after all. I must go there now and demand answers. I should show him who the boss is.
"I can't believe you just did that," A yell banged once the front door swung open and behind it appeared a raging David. He walked outside, shoving Leila away with his shoulder as if he hadn't even noticed her. A sober Marissa was following him, folding her arms over her chest. "That's insane."
"That's called being responsible, dear. It's not of the ethics to leave your wife standing for so long outside, you know?" She smiled smugly at him, and then winked quickly at Leila. The latter had no clue to what was going on, until she took sight of the complaining crowd stumbling out of the front door.
"Marissa, for the millionth time, STOP interfering in my personal life. You know how much of my reputation I had just lost because of what you did?" David yelled again, running a hand through his now messy hair. Getting over the God! He looks even hotter with messy hair mental note, Leila turned to look at Marissa in expectation, alternating between the two of them.
"You know I don't give a fuck about your reputation, David. It's not like you have the best reputation ever. Everybody knows that you're a man whore." Leila gasped. Now that's getting steamy.
At that moment Leila realized that she was actually cracking up the friendship the two of them had over the years, she decided to stand up for herself for once in her life.
Although the nervousness was eating her alive, Leila raised both of her palms in a sign of silence, and shouted. "SHUT UP!" Oh, God! Am I really doing this? "Both of you, just...stop," She scolded them and both heads instantly turned to look at her. "Please."
"She's not going to stay here," David started again.
"It's her house. You're not to say she will or won't stay here," Marissa responded.
"Marissa!" Leila called.
"It's not yours, either, so just stay in your damn business."
"Guys, please," She pleaded.
And as they started fighting again, the house was now empty and she was starting to feel a terrible headache approaching. Leila rolled her eyes at them before moving past them and towards Marissa's car. She opened the unlocked boot and retrieved her suitcase and her bags. She slammed the boot shut loudly, trying to grab their attention, but they were still too invested in their fight. She threw one bag around each of her shoulders and extracted the suitcase stroller, before walking back towards the house. Marissa and David were still busy with their fight and she was already starting to feel guilty for leading to this fight, although their friendship was prohibited. Sighing, Leila headed for the front door again. With a trembling hand she twisted the knob open and stepped inside, dragging her bags behind her. She slowly closed the door and let her bags fall to the floor with a thug sound, echoing against the walls.
Now that the house was empty and quiet, Leila could take in a better view of the entrance. It was big, of course, with a golden Victorian theme that shone brightly against the lights. A large chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling. Its hook was surrounded by random water-colored designs that gave no meaning at all, and so were the walls. A large golden framed mirror was pinned to one of the columns, followed by a small wooden side table carrying a vase of roses. Regardless of the mess that was originated mostly from the party, that place was amazing. Leila even felt unworthy to be actually given permission to stay there.
Wait a second. I wasn't even given permission to stay here.
"My lady," A soft call awoke Leila from her daydreams and her head snapped to the source. There at the very far end of the room, stood a pretty girl as young as herself, dressed in a maid uniform, a shy smile on her face.
He seriously has a maid?
"Y-yeah," Leila replied in a croaked voice.
"It's you, isn't it? You're finally here," A huge smile flashed across her face and she quickly scurried towards her.
"I can't believe that you finally made It, Ma'am. You don't know how happy we are to know about you. The young master is finally settled it in," She exclaimed in excitement and wrapped her arms around Leila, engulfing her in an awkward hug.
"Uh, well. Thank you, I guess," Leila nervously replied, trying to return the favor, but the girl's hands were tightly clasped around her that she couldn't even move.
Realizing what she just did, the maid quickly backed away as her eyes widened for a second. "Pardon me, My Lady. I was just very excited to meet you. Do you mind if I carried your bags?" She quickly offered and leant in to hold the straps of her thrown bags. "I am Emily, by the way."
"I- I don't really think I need-."
"There's no need for formalities, Emma. I'm sure that Mrs. Gareth is strong enough to carry her own bags, don't you think?" A harsh voice asked out of nowhere as David suddenly came into view. He was wearing a suspiciously mischievous smile on his face, making Leila wonder to who has actually won the fight.
"Y-Yeah. Sure, Sir," Emma nervously replied and quickly dropped the bags back on the floor. "I will just show her to her room, then."
"There's no need to. I can do that perfectly fine," David said, more like offered, as he intertwined his hands behind his back, walking closer towards them.
"Well," Emma glanced at Leila for a second, receiving an affirmative nod in response. "As you wish, Mr. Gareth," She politely responded and humbly made her way out the room, leaving them alone.
Trying to look busy, Leila grabbed her bags and held them in one hand, while she struggled to drag the suitcase.
"Can you give me a hand here?" She asked, making a quick eye contact with her husband.
"He smiled smugly at her, and for the first time Leila noticed that his eyes were bloodshot. He must have been drinking loads tonight, resulting in her shivering in fear. He honestly looked scary at such a close proximity. "Nah! I would actually love to just watch," He replied with a small shrug.
"So you would prefer to watch your wife struggling with her luggage than to at least give her a hand?" Leila asked through gritted teeth as she loosened her hold around the straps in an attempt to gain more flexibility.
"Darling I would gladly help my wife with her bags, except for that you're not my wife," David coldly replied, narrowing his beautiful blue eyes at her.
Crap! Forget about his beauty. That guy is a devil incarnation.
Silently Leila managed to pull out the stroller of her suitcase and she made her way to the staircase in the middle of the entrance.
"Look, Lily," David began.
"It's Leila."
"Whatever. It doesn't really matter anyway," He rolled his eyes. "Look, you stay in your business, I stay in my business, and we have a happy life together, and I could seriously tell my parents that you are a good wife. If you don't like it that way, you can gladly walk out now to save your dignity from public humiliation, okay?"
Leila stared at him for a while, expecting his expression to soften for even a second, but he didn't even blink. Sighing, she finally gave up. "Okay, David," She replied in defeat and made her way up the stairs. It took her approximately long amount of time since it wasn't easy for her to drag a wheeled suitcase up the sharp steps. She eventually felt the unnerving presence of her husband disappear to the shadows, and soon enough he wasn't even there. She would glad that he had left. She had needed some personal time when she could let her long saved whimpers. She felt the tears gather in her eyes and her vision was beginning to get blurry, but she blinked the tears away. She needed to wait for a few more minutes until she reached to her room.
"My lady," She was thankful to hear Emma's voice again up the stairs. Quickly, she helped her up to the second floor, and guided her through the many long hallways and into her room. Leila was sure that she wouldn't be able to find those again on her own tomorrow. Besides, she was beginning to feel dizzy and her mind was being automatically shut down. The last thing she could remember was Emma opening one of identical white door and leading her to a relatively big room, before she threw herself on the bed, fully clothed, and she let her mind collapse for the mean time.
-
"My Lady," Leila heard the soft voice calling for her again and she slowly opened her eyelids. She could see the silhouette of whom she had assumed was Emma moving across the room. She unfolded the blinds that were covering a large balcony door she didn't even know it existed and the sharp sun rays hit her straight in the eyes.
"Ouch!" Leila yelled in pain and squeezed her eyes shut again. She rubbed them with her balled fists and she yawned loudly
"Emma," She said in a raspy voice, trying to get her vision back to normal again.
"Yes, My Lady?" Emma politely replied, standing by the edge of her bed.
"What time is it now?" Leila asked with another yawn. She rolled on the bed, feeling drool covering her face.
"It's two in the afternoon, My Lady! You're actually late," Emily replied. "Do you want lunch to be served here in your room, or you prefer to have it downstairs?"
"Hmmm," Leila moaned and nodded her head. "Whatever!"
"I guess you want it downstairs, then. Good afternoon, Mrs. Gareth," The maid nodded her head and made her way out of the room, leaving Leila alone to snuggle her pillow.
All of a sudden, her eyes shot open and she gasped in shock. "Oh my God!" She quickly sat up on her bed, rubbing her head in an attempt to clear out her mind. "I forgot my prayers." She whispered to herself. "Emily?"
It took her a few seconds before Emily showed up at her door frame. "Yes, My Lady?"
"Do you have any idea where the Kiblah is?"
After getting full length instructions about how to direct her praying mat, Leila thanked Emily and gave her an appreciative hug before she got dismissed by the butler. Leila spun around on her heels to get a good look of the room she will be currently staying in for the mean time. Due to her extreme exhaustion the other day she didn't have enough chance to discover the house, but she was aiming to do so this evening, whether the young master approved of it or not.
Needless to say, the room-as every other room in this house- was overly large. The walls were painted in a faint beige color, except for one wall where the headboard of the bed lay on, which was covered all in sort of cute mixed beige and black wallpaper. Two side tables framed the king-sized black modern bed, in addition to two stand lamps. The opposite side of the room consisted of a long vanity table, with a matching backless chair, topped with another one of those large crown shaped golden mirrors. There was also a small two or three story bookshelf and one of those backless sofas with only one arm that she only saw in the movies. There were four doors in the whole room. One led to the balcony which was currently uncovered from blinds, the other one led to the hallway way, the third which she had just checked led to a separate non-shared bathroom, and the last was obviously for the closet.
Deciding to just take a shower first, as a method to cleanse her old days and a start of a new life, Leila quickly managed to open one of her bags and retrieved a change of clothes in her arms. She also got a comb and her favorite cream, since she wasn't sure the bathroom would actually contain any of her favorite products, that was if it contained anything at all.
Stepping into the bathroom, Leila took her time to find the key switch to light up the place. Once she found it she let out a loud gasp and her clothes dropped to the floor. Alright! That bathroom is bigger than my whole room. Stifling a laugh, she literally jumped in excitement as she wandered round to discover the bathroom. It was mainly themed in beige as well, but with an expensive brand of ceramic, which was offensively clean the Leila could actually see her reflection all over the room, and on the floor, and the ceiling. She ignored the sink, the toilet, and the stand-in shower, and ran towards the Jacuzzi tub in the middle of the bathroom. She had never actually been in a Jacuzzi before. This experience for her was a one in a lifetime. Stripping out of her clothes with trembling hands, she started to check the multiple taps of the different faucets scattered around its wall. She tried the first one, which produced ice cold water that made her shiver. Refraining from it she eagerly checked the other one and that one was storing burning hot water, which was weird. Who would seriously want to use any of these? Settling for the last one in that row, she finally found what she was looking for. The third faucet let out a sea of perfectly warm water, filled with bubbles of different sizes. She turned around to check the shelves on the wall while the tub was being filled. Surely she didn't expect the wide variety of shampoos that lay up there. There were even some products that she couldn't even pronounce their names. Settling for a one with a purple tube, which was her favorite color, she unhooked the lid and let the liquid flow into the tub, producing larger bubbles that started to float over the water and up to the air. Leila giggled and checked the temperature of the water before she stepped in; first her feet, followed by her whole body. She sighed, feeling the warm water massage her knotted muscles. She moaned softly and leant her head back to the edge of the tub, relaxing her whole body.
She started to think about her life, her new one, about how hard it's going to be for her. She was sure of the fact that she wasn't here for the fun, not as she had expected at least. She had a job to do, and she was sure that it was going to be hard. After all, happily ever afters don't just come away that easily.
- -