Virtue & Vanity (7 page)

As an uncomfortable silence embraced the space between us, he remained, staring at me for a while, seemingly lost in thought. He looked like he desperately wanted to say something else but after a few moments, he turned around and left the room.

Chapter Ten

I was alone in the middle of a spacious, lavishly decorated room. Every detail fit in perfectly, creating an astonishing whole. The only thing that stood out was the pile of my bags, filled with clothes that definitely didn’t seem appropriate for that place. When I looked around, absorbing the surroundings, the first thing that caught my attention was the huge king-sized bed. The fact that I was a married woman made me dread I would have to share that bed with Sebastian. An image of the hotel room bed sprang to my mind and I shuddered. I opened the walk-in closet but it was empty. In fact, nothing in that room implied that he slept there. After all, he did accentuate that I was occupying one of the guest rooms, which probably meant he didn’t want us to share a bed together. Still, I couldn’t fight back my fears.

Despite the fact that I had taken a long bath in the hotel, the thought of taking a shower wouldn’t leave my mind. When I entered the adjoining bathroom, my reflection in the huge mirror shocked me. My entire face was puffy. My eyes swollen from crying and ringed with dark circles and bags, showing I’d had almost no sleep in the past twenty-four hours. Ragged loose hair fell over the wrinkled white dress and only contributed to making me look terrible. I looked exactly the way I felt—destroyed. As I let the white gown fall on the floor, another image of the prior night came back to haunt me. My tortured spirit traveled back to that room where I’d stood in front of him in nothing but my underwear. Pure, animalistic rage emerged from me and I started ripping my wedding dress apart. I yelled, wept and sobbed while shredding the shiny, smooth fabric to pieces. When I finally lost the last of my strength, I turned on the shower and sat under the water flow, sinking into numbness. It was done. Irreparable. Irrevocable.

Only when my skin started to wrinkle and I trembled from the cold, did I turn off the shower. Apart from the fact that I was an emotional wreck, I still had to deal with the pain and the thumping headache that wouldn’t go away. When I returned to the room with nothing but a towel wrapped around my body, I quickly took a few clothing items from one of the bags and hurried into the bathroom to get dressed. When I came back, I noticed that there were two pills and a glass of water on the nightstand. The edge of a small piece of paper was visible under the glass. I raised the glass and read the content of the note. 
“For pain.”
 Given the fact that I still didn’t know anyone there and Sebastian was generally unconcerned about my well-being, I was more than curious about where the painkillers had come from. I remembered how he’d asked me if I was hurting in the elevator, but didn’t press the issue afterwards. I wondered if it was possible that he felt bad because I was in pain, but then I recalled how annoyed he’d been when I was crying in the car and I realized that he didn’t give a damn if I was hurting or not. Against my better judgment, since I wasn’t sure what the pills on the table were, I swallowed both of them at once and drank the water from the glass. Exhausted, I collapsed on the bed, still obsessing that he would join me. But I was so tired that even fear couldn’t keep me awake. My eyelids became heavy almost instantly and sleep claimed me.

***

Air! I needed air. I was suffocating. I felt his weight on top of me again and I couldn’t breathe. There was a knock on the door in the background. 
Please, someone help me.
 My lips formed the words to tell him that I couldn’t breathe, but no sound came out. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was push the dry air out of my lungs. The knocking continued, but my throat remained dry and as much as I urged myself to speak, I couldn’t. I was sure I was dying. Suddenly, I heard a woman’s voice.

My eyes flew open as I jerked up, gasping for air. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was or what had happened to me, but I remembered everything when I looked around the room. My eyes inspected the bed and I noticed that the other side of it was untouched, which, to my relief, meant he hadn’t slept next to me. It had just been a horrible nightmare.

“Madam? Are you alright, madam?”

As I gradually came to my senses, I saw that there was a woman standing next to the bed. She must have been the one who woke me up. She came closer and put her palm on my forehead to check if I had a fever.

“I’m fine.” I moved away. “I just had a bad dream,” I said and she frowned like she wasn’t convinced. “Who... Who are you?” I finally asked.

“I’m Anne. I’ve worked for the Everett family for years, so you can trust me.” It must have been obvious that I was suspicious of her.

“I’m Isabelle.” I felt awkward.

“I know, Mr. Everett asked me to show you around and get you anything you need, madam,” she explained.

I still didn’t feel at ease around that woman but letting her call me madam seemed ridiculous.

“Please, call me Isabelle,” I offered and she smiled at me. “If it’s not a problem,” I started, “I need ten minutes in the bathroom to get dressed and brush my teeth.”

“Of course it’s not a problem. Take your time. I’ll be waiting right here. But please, eat first.”

She motioned towards the tray of food that was standing on my nightstand and then she sat on the chair next to the vanity.

“Thank you but—” I was about to say that I wasn’t hungry when the smell of food made my stomach rumble, so I tried one of the small sandwiches from the plate and realized that I was starving. “It’s delicious. Would you like to join me?” I felt obliged to ask that.

“No, thank you. I’ve already eaten,” she replied warmly.

After finishing breakfast, I reached for my clothes in one of the bags and Anne stood up, wanting to help me.

“Should I help you unpack, Isabelle?”

“No, that’s alright. I will unpack everything later,” I replied and went into the bathroom.

That day I felt slightly better than the day before and it seemed that those pills I took did the magical work of taking away the physical pain. Still, I wasn’t in the mood for anybody’s company because my emotional state was getting worse by the second. The fact that Sebastian hadn’t slept in the same room with me gave me little relief since I was still frightened to death. I honestly didn’t want to have a tour around the house right then because I was afraid I might meet him. My decision had been to avoid him whenever I could and at all costs. But what choice did I have? Apparently he had ordered Anne to show me around, and if I was smart, I would stay away from unnecessary confrontations with him. At least she seemed to be nice. I wondered if she had been the one who left those pills for me on the night table. After getting dressed and fixing my hair in a ponytail, I returned to the room. Anne observed me with a puzzled look on her face.

“Is something wrong?” I was surprised by her reaction.

“No, no… It’s just that...” She seemed uneasy about continuing the conversation. “Well, never mind. Should we go?” It sounded like she was in a desperate need to change the subject.

I looked down and suddenly it hit me. My poor-looking, shabby clothes must have shocked her. That was definitely not the way the wife of Sebastian Everett should have dressed, but I had nothing else to wear so I couldn’t do anything to rectify the matter.

The beginning of the house tour was pretty awkward. Anne explained that the rooms next to mine were all guest rooms and the big door at the end of the hallway led to the master bedroom, which was occupied by Sebastian. I desperately wanted to ask if he slept there, but instead I bit my lower lip and swallowed the urge to know. It seemed that Anne herself seemed keen on asking something but didn’t dare to do it. I wasn’t concerned about that. It was only natural that we didn’t trust each other that much. I guess both of us were afraid that we would blab everything to Sebastian. During the tour, I found out that there was a beautiful living area on each floor of the mansion, as well as two game rooms, both of which contained one huge pool-table right in the middle. Anne also walked me through the conference room where Sebastian would sometimes have meetings if his office was too small for the number of people attending. She unlocked the door to the media room where one could watch movies and get a real cinema feel. That was the only door that was locked and Anne explained the reason for such caution was that Sebastian kept many personal items such as photo albums and family tapes there. She sounded quite worried about the possibility that those things might end up in the wrong hands. I looked around that room for a moment, thinking how the whole tour turned out to be nice after all. But despite Anne’s hospitality, I just couldn’t relax. Sebastian kept creeping back into my mind and every time we would leave a certain room I feared I’d see him next. I was too vigilant, flinching on every sound and I could tell that Anne started getting suspicious of my behavior.

“Shall we continue?” She summoned me back from my thoughts.

“Yes. Everything is nice and tastefully decorated.” I had to say something, so I stupidly praised the house that was to be my prison.

“I’m glad you like it. I’m sure Mr. Everett will be pleased as well,” she said contently.

Somehow, I managed to smile even though I was sure she noticed the sadness that emerged from the depths of my eyes.

“Come,” she invited me in a cheerful voice. “Let me show you the ground floor.”

She led me through the vestibule and into the capacious dining room that could accommodate as much as sixteen people.

“This is where all of the meals are served,” she explained the obvious. “You can choose to have your meals brought to your room occasionally, but it is preferred that you eat here,” she told me and I nodded.

Next, we stopped by the massive door and I wondered what was hidden behind it.

“This is Sebastian’s office,” Anne informed me. “He usually stays here if he works from home but today he’s spending the entire day at the company.” Her words meant that I could finally relax a little, knowing that he wouldn’t be lurking around. “I would show you in, but he is very strict about people being there when he’s absent.”

“That’s alright.” I wasn’t that keen on seeing Sebastian’s private space either.

To my astonishment, next to his office was the most beautiful library I had ever beheld, and I knew this was where I would be spending most of my time during what would surely be days filled with loneliness. It appeared to be equipped with every relevant book that had ever been written and I immediately noticed a couple of titles I wanted to read.

“Well, if you like the library, you will love the patio,” Anne teased and I was happy to follow her lead.

The patio was astonishing. Surrounded by nothing but windows, overlooking the pool and breathtakingly beautiful garden, it was a cozy place where one could completely relax.

“The weather is beautiful today. Could we take a short walk through the garden?” I asked, knowing that a bit of fresh air would make me feel better, as well as help me get some things out of my mind for a while.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but I have some other things I have to take care of after I show you the kitchen and introduce you to the rest of the staff,” she clarified and after seeing I was slightly disappointed, she gave me a warm smile and continued, “If you want, you could take a nice walk in the garden this afternoon. Why let my lack of time ruin the fun?”

She made a joke and I gave a short, but sincere laugh. It was something I hadn’t done in a long time.

“I would like that. Thanks for the tip.” I smiled.

As we walked towards the kitchen, I already noticed the shiny marvel counter on the impressive country-style white cabinets. Of course, the kitchen was just as imposing as the rest of the ridiculously big mansion.

The two women who were busy there stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on me. One of them was older like Anne, whereas the other one was maybe a few years my senior, by the looks of it. The younger girl was studying every inch of me and she looked extremely confused, whereas the older lady seemed uninterested because she immediately returned to her chore.

“This is Isabelle, Mister Everett’s wife.” Anne’s introduction drew the older lady’s interest at once.

“That’s her?” The young girl exhaled in surprise and then turned to Anne whispering loud enough for me to hear. “Really?”

“Teresa!” The older women nudged her and murmured a warning through her teeth.

The girl, who was obviously called Teresa, inspected my scruffy appearance one more time before bursting into slight laughter. She was mocking me. With a sour look on her face, Anne tried to mend the damage by starting a conversation.

“This is Norma.” She gestured at the older women who finally offered her hand to me. “She is the main cook.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said quietly and accepted her hand.

“This is Teresa.” Anne looked towards the girl who wasn’t at all interested in hand shaking, “Norma’s right hand.” She bowed and smiled with a mean grin.

“Nice to meet you too,” I replied and then looked at Anne with what must have been a plea to leave written on my face.

“Well, we better get going, so much more left to see,” Anne lied.

When we walked out of the kitchen, she felt obliged to make amends for Teresa’s behavior.

“Isabelle, I apologize because of Teresa. She is very young and... Well, sometimes she says things without thinking them through.”