Victoria's POV
I had never been so grateful for a hot shower in my life, and I scrubbed every inch of my face to get off as much make up as possible. Thank goodness Mumma had also packed me some shampoo and conditioner and makeup remover. I must have spent an eternity in there scrubbing myself clean and washing out the hairspray from my hair and when I got out and looked at myself in the mirror, my face was flushed but at least I looked more like myself.
Mumma had packed me a few outfits and I chose a strappy layered maxi dress that showed off my waist and flattered my cleavage. I combed out my hair and popped on some light makeup, then looked down at the small container of red sindoor in my makeup box.
Did I really want to wear it?
Did I really need to advertise myself as a married woman by placing the red powder on my forehead?
Did I really want to wear my mangala sutra every day like a good obedient wife?
No, I didn't have a choice about getting married, but I had a choice what I did going forward.
I dragged my suitcase our of the bathroom, ignoring Phillip's smirk, and walked to the closet, and tried to find the rest of my things, particularly my phone charger. My phone was in my suitcase but was stone cold dead and I was desperate to catch up with my best friend Simmi.
Everything had been laid out perfectly, dresses and blouses were hung colour coordinated and everything else were in draws, again folded to perfection. I finally found it tucked away in a draw, but I couldn't find anything else, not hairdryer, hair straightener , curler, laptop . None of my electricals where there.
walking back to the bedroom and frowned at the bed, I hated the look of a messy bed so I quickly tided it up and went back to find my things
I was so engrossed in reorganizing my things I didn't notice Phillip walk up behind me.
' Err...Victoria? I need to get dressed."
I nearly jumped out of my skin and turned to face him - he was still wet from the shower, water dripping from his wet hair onto his toned physique, all he had on was a towel, tied low on his hips. His brown green eyes pierced into mine , his flawless latte brown skin damp with water, his perfect full lips curled into a hint of a smile, he knew he looked good and I must have turned beetroot red out of embarrassment, I had never seen a guy this naked this close in real life, and I had to admit Phillip was as hot as hell, and I practically ran out of the walk in wardrobe.
Breakfast arrived at exactly at 8am, and it smelled delicious, it was placed neatly on the balcony and after Stanford had inspected everything to make sure it was perfect, he ushered us to sit and eat.
In the meantime, I stood on the balcony and admired the view, the lawns where immaculate, there were garden beds full of flowers, beautiful trees dotted the area, the estate was green, calm and extremely beautiful.
' I love nature, and this estate is a passion for me.' Phillip said from behind me, noticing that I admired the view. 'I have two full time staff that main the property year round.' I turned to face him, and was surprised that he was smiling to himself, caught in a faraway memory.
' Anyway, I was thinking, this morning didn't start so well, how about we start again? We will be spending a lot of time together so why don't we try and be civil about it?" and he held out his hand.
" I am Phillip Malhotra, 27 and owner and CEO of VL industries."
I took his hand and shook it, his skin was slightly rough but smooth at the same time, and his hands were incredibly warm.
" Nice to meet you Phillip,' I laughed. " I'm Victoria Singh, 21.'
" Just Victoria Singh, nothing else?"
" Nope, nothing else, not yet at least." This earned a puzzled look from Phillip but he didn't say anything more and we sat to eat breakfast, but as much as my stomach growled I couldn't eat what had been set out inform of me.
The delicious smelling food was an omelette, with a side of bacon and a few dark brow sausages that I suspected were made from beef and so I resigned myself to the bread and fruit that had accompanied the meal, as well as the brewed tea.
' Something wrong with the food? You haven't touched it at all?" Phillip asked looking up from behind his newspaper.' Martha my house lady is a wonderful cook.'
' I am sure the food is delicious.' I replied biting my lip, I wasn't sure why he was being so nice to me, I wanted to hate him, but I couldn't get the vision of him fresh out of the shower out of my head, i hadnt expected him to be so good looking and the way he stared at me was messing with my head. I didn't want him to think I was making a fuss but if I didn't tell him, then who else could I tell?
" I just don't eat pork or beef, I never have and I don't think my parents would approve if I started now."
' Oh.....OH!" Phillip exclaimed as he looked the bacon on the plate. " I'm sorry, no one told me, I'll make sure Martha is informed and keeps these out of your meals.'
'It's ok, I can always cook my own breakfast, its not that big a deal.'
' Nonsense! Martha is wonderful and its no trouble.'
I suddenly found it very hard to want to try and hate this guy, I had woken up this morning with a plan to make his life as miserable as possible, and yet here he was making concessions in his life to accommodate me.
' So miss just Victoria, what did you do before you landed here?"
' Nothing much, my free time was spent at my parents hotel, I did the tours and special requests, helped out where I could. Other than that there was uni.
I'm doing....I was doing a Bachelor of Accounting...but then, you know, was forced to get married. I only have...had once semester left to graduate. And what about you, Mr CEO, what do you do at VL industries? '
' You mean you haven't googled it already?" he asked bewildered.
' Nope, I was too busy trying to bury myself in a hole.' I said stabbing a piece of fruit with my fork.
' well, I mostly deal with properties, stock and bonds. I am the majority owner of a few hotels, commercial and residential properties and I invested well.' He sat back and looked at me hard.
' Do you want to finish you degree?' he asked seriously, his fingers were laced under his chin.
I put down my fork and looked up at him. Oh god, there were those eyes again, green brown and peircing and my heart jumped a little.
But what he was saying was serious. What he was asking was everything I had ever wanted, to graduate.
Ever since my parents told me I was getting married this had been the thing that weighed down on me the most was this. I had worked so hard for the past 2 and a half years and I didn't want to waste it. I had wondered for how I would ask my future husband if I could finish. It was so important now, especially after finding out how much debt my parents were in.
My heart was pounding and I clasped my hands in my lap. Did I want to finish? Of course! My degree was my ticket to a better life. I took a deep breath and looked at him straight and replied ' Yes.'
' Good, its settled, contact the Uni and tell them your will finish, I've seen your grades and there impressive. Besides, for perceptions sake I cannot be married to someone uneducated. Its also for perceptions sake that I am keeping you in this room. I can't have word getting out that we are not a proper married couple."
I can't describe what I had felt in those few moments.
At first I was so happy that I was going to get to finish my studies , it also meant that I would be able to come in and out of the mansion, and not be trapped like a caged bird, but it also felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on me, I had wanted to ask to be moved to a room of my own. away from Phillip and his perfectly sculpted abs.
Suddenly my phone started to go off with message notifications and I raced to get it, reading each one, most were from Simi, smiling like an idiot as she sent one inappropriate message after the other. Suddenly my phone was grabbed from my hands and I watched in horror as Phillip scrolled the messages.
" Phillip can I have my phone back please?" he said nothing, his eyebrows furrowed as he picked apart my private conversations with by best friend.
" Please?"
" Phones are not allowed here for you.' He said, not taking his eyes off the screen and without warning, he walked to the balcony and tossed the phone over the edge, it shattered onto the hard cement below.
I looked at the remains of my phone, it had taken me months to save up for it and there it was, in a million tiny pieces all over the floor.
"What did you do that for?" I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes, that was my only form of contact to the outside world.
He stepped towards me, his eyes dark with anger and suddenly I felt scared, I walked backwards to keep the distance between us but hit a wall and soon there were only centimetres separating us. I shuddered as Phillip ran his finger along my jawline. I could smell his cologne and could almost feel his heat between us. I couldnt look away from him, his stare cold and unforgiving.
' Just remember, I am lord and master of this house, and as my wife you will do as you are told, or as your husband I will make your life very unhappy.
When you attend university you will give me your schedule, you will inform me of your every movement, attend classes and tutorials and come straight back here. You will talk to no one unless it is necessary. I respect my privacy immensely and you will get a phone when I feel you have earned it. Stanford will set you up with a username and password to use the internet here, you can use the PC in my study for now until your laptop has been checked over by my IT guys. Your every movement will be tracked.' He pinched my chin and forced me to look at him.
'Don't do anything to make me regret this marriage, or you will be regretting it the most. And don't even try to get me to divorce you , its not going to happen.' he walked back to the room, collecting his briefcase and suit jacket.
'Oh by the way, my parents are coming for lunch, I will be back about 2pm so please keep them entertained until I get back" and with that he left, and I collapsed onto the floor, overtaken by tears, reeling from fear and shock , and suddenly feeling very, very alone.