Chapter 14: First Breakfast

Slowly awakening as the first rays of dawn started tinting across the sky, she felt more relaxed and refreshed than usual. There was none of the anxiety she normally felt when she opened her eyes, fear of bringing noise inside of the house. Already Paige felt the relief that washed over her, knowing that her step-father wouldn't be there to torment her. This in itself assured her that she'd made the right choice by marrying Noah Cromwell, giving her a peace she'd never imagined.

Shaking off the thoughts before they had the chance to crowd her mind further than they had, Paige sluggishly pushed up in bed. A bed? What on earth? Frowning as she came to realize she was lying in the center of a bed, she glanced at the surroundings of a bedroom. No need to ask what bedroom she'd woken up to be inside of this morning, recognizing it from the one last night. Thoroughly surprised to find that she was upstairs in her new bedroom, rather than on the couch where she'd fallen asleep last night.

The confusion continued to mount up inside of her as she continued to glance at the room around her, plagued by her uncertainty. Paige couldn't remember coming back upstairs last night. In fact, she couldn't remember anything beyond curling up on the couch downstairs, eventually slipping off into sleep. How had she gotten upstairs? Had she woken up?

Guessing she must've made her way upstairs and had just been too tired to remember, Paige alighted out of bed prepared to face the day ahead. This morning she didn't have to worry about the twins awakening crying and the repercussions that always followed. Feeling as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders at the thought, Paige walked into the adjoining bathroom. Stepping into the expansive shower stall, opposite the claw-toothed tub, Paige luxuriated at the feel of the hot water sluicing down her body.

For the first time in a long time Paige wasn't forced to rush through the shower, no need to be worried about an angry stepfather. At the luxury that'd been denied to her for far too long, hands planted on the ceramic tile of the wall, enjoying the shower. Honestly, she'd forgotten what it felt like. Tossing her head back to enable the water to pour down her face, the steam of the hot water opened the pores of her body.

Thirty minutes later, reminded despite the lack of responsibility weighing her down, she wasn't a complete free agent. There were still people counting on her being there for them, he simply wasn't a pair of innocent and defenseless babies. Gently throwing open the frosted glass door of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body, a second one dried her hair. Then hanging them up onto the towel rack to keep them off the floor, Paige walked back out into her bedroom.

Finding clothes that would be a perfect fit for the day that was outlined for her today, she hurriedly changed into the clothes. Once she had showered and changed into a clean change of clothes, she went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Bringing the doors of the double-sided refrigerator opened, her eyes noticed the empty shelves, belatedly remembering there was nothing there. Obviously Mr. Cromwell hadn't done much cooking prior to their marriage, as no food was found anywhere.

Wincing at the growling of her stomach, evidence of the hunger licking at her insides, she grabbed her keys off the table. Looping them onto her finger Paige walked out the front door and hopping onto the back of her bike, she drove from the house. She pointed her bike towards a cafe she'd seen when she'd driven to the house yesterday, that was close enough. After standing in line for close to fifteen minutes, Paige ordered two full breakfast platters and coffees to go. Since she had no idea what the man liked to eat she did her best something universally liked, then headed back to the house to have breakfast together.

Paige let herself inside the house through the front door using her personal key, when he walked down the stairs. Noah frowned in confusion, watching as the door swung closed behind her, realizing she'd left the house. "What time did you get up?"

"A while ago now," Paige admitted as she headed towards the dining room off of the kitchen and placed the food out onto the table. "You'll quickly come to see that I'm an early riser. I normally go for a run before the sun has a chance to rise, then I prepare breakfast and I'm off to work before the stroke of eight." She waved to the table."I got us breakfast. Come eat."

Instantly moving to the table at the reality that she'd gone out to get them breakfast, he sat down in a chair opposite of her. Reaching for the styrofoam container that she'd pushed toward him, Noah then picked up the second cup of coffee. Drinking the hot brew in the cup he opened up the container to be greeted with biscuits, eggs, sausage links, and bacon. Among other things.

"I hope you like it," she said self-consciously as she glanced at him between slitted eyelids, unable to discern his reaction to the food. "I wasn't certain what you liked, so I just picked something that most people prefer."

"Thank you, Paige," Noah replied a bit stiffly, obviously unused to showing a hint of gratitude to the people around him. He did seem like the person who simply expected things to be given to him, so it was rather strange for him to be thankful. "This is fine."

While the two of them got down to enjoying their breakfast, the first meal shared as a married couple, Paige watched him from a distance. Her curiosity rose at the man that she'd married yesterday, the stranger no matter what she'd told her mother. "How exactly do you want this to work?" she said encompassing the area between them and then the house, as if indicating what she meant. "We didn't exactly talk about expectations beforehand. This is new territory for both of us. As this is a marriage of convenience on both our ends I don't expect you to foot the whole bill, I'm more than willing to pay half of the living expenses."

"No thank you," Noah grunted between clenched teeth, the sudden tightening of his facial expression proof of his unpleasant mood. "Strangers or not, you're my wife now. I earn more than enough money to support you."

"It's okay," she started.

"No," he cut her off before Paige had the chance to argue the matter further with him, seeming insulted that she'd think to try. "Firstly, if you expect this marriage to work between us, know this. I will support you. I will cover all the living expenses for the both of us."

"Whatever you want," Paige muttered under her breath. Belatedly coming to see that the man wasn't going to bend, he was just too stubborn to give an inch on the matter.

Appearing pleased when she didn't argue further with him, Noah slowly drank the coffee she'd bought for him. "As for how this will work between us, it'll be no different than any other marriage I would presume. I will cover the living expenses of the house, while as the missus of the house you're free to make this place your home, however you see fit. Paint the walls, change the carpet, purchase new furniture, whatever you want. I want you to feel at home here." Reaching into the pocket he pulled out a card that he slid across the table to her. "I've already loaded this month's living expenses. Spend it however you deem necessary. If you need more, then simply let me know."

Gingerly picking up the credit card he'd slid across the table to her, Paige came to understand Noah was a prideful man. A tad bit old fashioned too from what she could see, in his mindset he was the man and it was his responsibility to care for the needs of his wife. Old fashion yes, but not in an overbearing kinda way. So far so good. Sliding the card he'd given to her in her back pocket, having agreed to the terms Noah had come to when it came to the living expenses of the house. Even still, that didn't mean Paige intended on allowing the man to cover the whole bill of their living, she'd chip in wherever she could manage.

Slowly pushing aside the remainder of the food at the complaints of his stomach, Noah stared across the table at her. "Now the source of your transportation is a reason for concern."

Paige perked up her head at the man's statement, frowning when it dawned on her what he could be talking about. "My motorbike? What's wrong with it?"

"It's highly dangerous that's what's wrong with it," Noah told her bluntly, meeting her gaze head-on, determined to get her to understand that he meant business. "I don't have to go to work on Saturday, so we'll go car shopping then."

She shook her head. "My motorbike is just fine."

"We'll see," he grunted disgruntledly, making it obvious that he had no intentions of listening to a word that she said to him. Then climbing out of his chair he straightened his suit jacket, "Unfortunately this conversation will have to wait until later, I have to get to work."

Upon seeing this Paige hurriedly climbed out of her seat too, before he had a chance to rush out of the house. "Mr. Cromwell...."

"Noah," he cut in. "Please call me Noah."

"Will you be home for dinner," Paige carried on before correcting her form of address towards him, not entirely comfortable at being on a first-name basis with him. Married or not, he was a stranger. "Just so I know how much to get for dinner."

"Don't worry about having dinner for me," Noah assured her as he stopped near the front door, glancing over his shoulder to look at her behind him. "I have a business engagement this evening, so I'll be home late."

She bobbed her head, "Then I'll see you later."

Noah turned to leave the house, needing to get to work, but at the last minute he turned around to stare at the woman. "About our marriage, I'd prefer to keep it between us for right now. I'm sure by this point you've told those closest to you that you're married, but beyond that, I don't want a lot of people knowing yet."

Paige bobbed her head, "No problem, I can do that."

"Thank you." Then he was gone.

Realizing the time knowing she was going to be late if she didn't hurry up, she put up the remaining food, then grabbing her shoulder bag she flew out of the house. Waving goodbye to Mr. Cromwell as he climbed into the car in the driveway, Paige hopped onto the back of her motorbike and made her way towards the gate.

Paige was riding through the gates of the community when she spotted the Rolls Royce driving down the street. Whistling in amazement at its presence there, that had come as a definite surprise. Although New Castle was definitely a higher-class residential community, it was somewhere within the middle-class area. Higher middle class, but still middle. The Rolls Royce on the road had to be worth a good couple million dollars, at the very least. Too rich for the area. Why was it here?

In the end, Paige shrugged off its presence as no concern to her, undoubtedly someone from the upper crust was living underneath the radar. Though it was rare for someone of that class to be hiding out, Paige could understand their desire to pretend to be someone their not. To constantly be underneath the limelight of both the press and gentry, never to know a moment of peace. To have all of their actions watched and calculated as some form of entertainment, their existence determined by their family. No freedom. No privacy. No choice of their own.

Paige shuddered in revulsion as thoughts of their expectations ran rampant in their mind, horrified at the possibility of that ever happening. For the last six years, her entire life had been dictated and controlled by her step-father, his wishes alone had mattered. There was no way she could do that for the entire world.