The butler led us, Darcy and I, up the spiral staircase, which was also made of glass and a handle of fine bronze. We walked through the hall with a myriad of doors smiling in welcome of the new arrivals. 'This could easily pass off for some luxurious hotel in Dubai!' I thought.
"Madam's room is on this side of the hall." He said as we made a turn on the left. It was then I noticed his fancy french accent.
"Oui monsieur." I said teasingly but he kept an indifferent face and said nothing.
He opened the door and I stepped into the bedroom, a place fit for royalty! For one, the bed was huge and round, with its frame being anything from ordinary. It had a small staircase which led up to the bed. The wall was coated with a golden paint and much of the furniture was of the same golden colour. There was a large television hanging opposite the bed on the wall and a very comfortable looking couch a good distance from the bed. This room was fit to be called a house. My apartment in Aisle would shrivel up and die at the sight of this bedroom!
"I will show the young Madam to her room." The butler said. I smiled and looked at Darcy, who had been holding my hand in her silent admiration since we arrived, "Darcy will be staying here with me. The room can definitely contain the two of us, don't you think so?"
The butler nodded in affirmation and excused himself. Then Darcy spoke, "I'm scared mommy."
I chuckled at her confession and squatted to meet her height, "And why is my little angel scared? Don't you love this house, sweetie?"
"The people look mean mom!"
Do they? I gave a dry laugh, "Don't worry, mommy will protect you from all the mean people." With these words, I enveloped her into a hug. We both needed protection; Her against the house staff and Me? Well, I needed to be protected from her father! I dreaded the moment he would return. But who was I kidding? It's his house. He's sure to return!
~
"Would Madame and little Madame come down to dinner?" A familiar voice asked from behind the door.
"Uhm, be there in a sec!" I said in a near shriek. I had just finished giving Darcy a bath and was getting her dressed in her pyjamas.
"Don't you look like a princess?" I said and my little angel grinned at my compliment, "Now, let's go down to dinner, okay?"
"Momy, will you hold my hand?" She asked, her voice yearning for security. I didn't hesitate as I took her little hands in mine, giving her the assurance she needed and the two of us slowly walked out of the room and headed down to dinner.
A gasp escaped my lips as we arrived at the dinner table. Dinner was a feast! Several dishes and assorted meat and drinks lined up in waiting for our arrival, "Are we entertaining guests?" I had to ask.
"I'm afraid it's just Madame and little Madame." The butler replied. I let out a hearty laugh. One that earned me looks from the staff. I couldn't possibly care. This food was too much for my tiny waist to entertain and Darcy's 3 year old appetite.
We got comfortable in our seats next to each other and the staff served us our meal. My too tiny waist could only consume a little of the gigantic feast and poor Darcy did a good job of staining her pyjamas with sauce.
After the lavish dinner, Darcy and I headed back upstairs where Darcy insisted I continue our nightly ritual of reading one of her bedtime stories.
"Let's see. The story of Cinderella." I said as I flipped open the book. Cinderella was Darcy's favourite. I wondered how she never got tired of it becoming this would be the millionth time I would be reading Cinderella to her.
"Once upon a time, there lived a poor girl named Cinderella…" After reading a few words, I would stroke her lush hair to confirm if she was still awake and she would move her head in response to my touch. I smiled and continued, "...the Prince was already in love with Cinderella but all that was left of her was her glass slippers. He needed to find his princess."
"Princess." Darcy muttered in a sleepy voice and I gently dropped the book on the side drawer, knowing it'd be useless for me to continue. She moved against my body and tightened her tiny hands around my waist.
"Good night, my little princess." I said and gave her hair a gentle kiss. However, my own eyes remained wide awake, still re-living the events leading to this day. I felt like I was still in a daze. Or maybe I was in some dream? I pinched myself to wake me up but my eyes were wide open.
'Madame.' The staff thought too highly of me already. If only they knew that this was a marriage of compromise and I had not agreed to marry Damien out of my own free will.
Would I have gotten married to him if he wasn't going to take Darcy away from me? I was not sure of the answer to that question. But one thing I was sure of was that Damien Jaeger scared me.
'Yet on that memorable night, you felt safe in his arms!' My inner voice mocked me and I found myself blushing hard like a fool. Suddenly, a thought popped into my head, taking all the blush from my cheeks. I needed to know why Damien Jaeger found it necessary to get married. And he had carefully prepared everything even before I had the time to know who he was.
There had to be a mystery behind it. Most billionaires would hardly end up marrying some random woman they spent a night with at some random club in New York.
What was his reason for marrying me? I needed to know.