The convenient marriage - Chapter 20: Chapter 20

To say the current scenery was not the best... it would definitely be a lie.
To say she expected this particular sight to be in front of her as soon as she opened her eyes... it would most surely be unimaginable.
To say she wanted to scream and get as far away as possible from this specific view... this would be the truth.
To say she was unable to move a single part of her body to escape from the consequences of the current image... well this would be the sad reality.
A reality she was trying to deny with all her might, as she had already closed and opened her eyes at least a dozen times until now, still hopeful that the current picture, was nothing but a life like dream, but a dream nonetheless.
But try as she may, she had no choice but to accept what her eyes were currently glimpsing at, even though she would never dare think of this matter happening.
How would she dare, when what greeted her vision as soon as her eyelids opened, revealing the hazel eyes beneath them, was the sleeping face of the man whose real identity she had barely been made aware of, just the previous night.
How and why was she currently on the same bed as Zane, with the latter having his arms wrapped around her, holding her close in an intimate embrace? And the frightening part was not only that... no, the terrifying part was that she also had her arm around his waist.
She had only managed to relax a few hours ago, thinking she would return to the mansion where the distance between them would become the same as before or even longer. But now she was currently closer to him than ever before.
Was this happening because she had thought the distance would lengthen, so the prediction fulfilled itself backwards?
Then, she wished the distance between them would shorten, and this way hopefully, the opposite would come true. But how would things work in Aria's favor so conveniently?
As soon as she thought of this wish, Zane shifted in his sleep but instead of moving away from her, he tightened his arms around the small woman, holding her even firmer than before. It was already difficult to escape previously, that was why she had not dared move recklessly as she would surely wake him up if she did, but now it was no longer difficult, it had become impossible.
With one of his arms under her head as the hand was kept securely on her back, with the other over her small shoulders, and his face at a dangerously close distance away, the small woman was trapped with no way out.
How did she get in this situation?
Three hours earlier
'Hello mister Black. Hope you have been well!' The doorman greeted the man who was currently entering the door, dragging behind him a small beautiful pregnant woman.
'Hello!' Zane greeted and passed by him, but remembering something stopped and looked towards the young man again.
'This is my wife. She will be living in my apartment from now on.' Zane stated, and after letting the man get a better glimpse of the woman, to remember her in the future, walked on his way again.
'Yes mister Black, understood sir!' The man replied and returned to his post.
The young man should have also greeted the woman as well, now that he had been introduced. It was not that he was rude in any way that he hadn't, but Zane had left too quickly for him to do so. It seemed that the mister that lived on the top floor was quite a possessive man, he thought.
Letting him look briefly at the woman beside him was only for him to know of her in the future and permit her entry in the building, but not letting them greet each other, well what else could it be, if not that?
Trained to be the perfect doorman, naturally the young man did not show any feelings on his face, but inside he felt amused. He had thought before that the most aloof man in the building was quite cold. In these four years that he had worked as the doorman, he had never seen that man with any opposite gendered people, at one time he had even assumed he was gay. But it seemed that appearances were really quite deceiving. The proud look he had on his face when he had introduced the woman was clearly a loving and pampering one.
It made him a bit curious as to why Zane lived at the apartment for most of the days, especially when he was so in love with his wife. But it was not his business to know more about the apartment owners other than what he should because of his job, so of course he would never try to satisfy this curiosity.
'Why will we live at your apartment?' Aria asked slowly but with a bit of a high pitched voice because of the shock, as the elevator's doors closed, taking them to the upper levels. She was now registering in her mind what he had informed her before they entered the building.
'There was a problem at the villa. It needs to be renovated, so until then we'll live here.' Zane said expressionlessly. But he did not look towards her at all, as if afraid that his lie could be seen through. But the well versed businessman that had dealt with so many different people each day, how would he be so easily found out? He was just a bit anxious because of the childish lie.
'A problem at the villa? What problem?' Aria asked frowning. What kind of a problem needed such a drastic measure like moving to another place? The house was large with at least a dozen bedrooms excluding the servants' ones, not one o them could be lived in?
'Did the house burned down?' She asked worried, looking towards Zane.
The latter still did not return the gaze, he only stared at their reflection that could be seen on the metallic doors. They made a really well matched couple, he thought.
'No. Don't worry.' Zane replied simply, but still did not state the reason, worrying Aria more.
'Then?' She asked, with her brows frowning even more in confusion. Anne and the driver did not seem worried about their colleagues, or the state of their bedrooms, the situation wouldn't be that bad, so she wasn't worried about the people living there. But still, for him to be so mysterious and not informing her before, only bringing her to the apartment...
As she conversed with Zane, because of the difference in height she had to raise her head quite a bit, to be able to see his face. Seeing the lovely appearance mirrored on the doors, she looked quite adorable, it was as if she was trying to reach for a kiss.
'Zane?' Aria asked again, when the latter did not reply. Did something really happen to someone? Had her assumption been wrong?
'Termites!' He finally replied.
'Termites?' She mirrored his words, not understanding what insects had to do with the mansion being uninhabitable.
'There are termites everywhere. The furniture and all the timber needs to be replaced.' He shamelessly answered, finally looking a bit towards Aria, as she had already lowered her head, relieved of his answer.
If termites were involved then it would not really put anyone's life in danger, that was good Aria thought. But she was a bit bewildered by this news. Termites would make noise in the house, little scratching sounds, and they would also leave holes in the wood and dust, but she never saw such signs before. Well she might have not noticed it. The dust and holes were probably cleaned by the professional household personnel, and the termites were quite small so perhaps she just didn't hear the sounds.
Just as she pondered on this, the elevator had already reached the highest level, and its doors opened. Still holding Aria's hand, Zane stepped outside and after walking for a bit, stopped in front of a massive black door. Although it was a stylish and high quality door, it gave Aria a bit of an eerie feeling. It gave her the sensation that once she stepped inside this apartment she would be captured by a big bad creature, just like a werewolf, and would be eaten whole, without even a bone left behind.
In this time, Zane was fiddling with the locking device of the door, not realizing the change on Aria's face. The frail woman had begun to turn a bit paler by her unfounded worries.
Nimbly Zane pressed on the device's buttons, then took Aria's hand and put her forefinger on its small screen, registering her fingerprint.
'I input your fingerprint, the next time just press the open button then put your finger on the screen. You don't need a key, it will unlock just like that. Alright?' Zane explained to Aria as he guided her through the now opened door.
Unlike the feeling from before entering, the interior of Zane's apartment although not designed in warm and cozy colors, as it had only two major colors blended into the scenery and those were black and white, was also not eerie at all.
The apartment with its large windows that provided a good amount of natural light, with the sunrays reflected on the black and white mixed pieces of furniture, giving it a sophisticated and elegant look... It was a beautiful apartment, but you could tell it was not the apartment of a married couple. It had absolutely no lovely flower designs or patterns, no colorful drapes, everything was predominantly in geometric and abstract shapes.
'Your clothes were already arranged in the walk-in closet that connects to the bedroom, and all the necessities should have already been properly arranged. If something is missing then you can tell Anne, and she will bring it for you, or we can go to the supermarket, it is just down the street.' Zane continued explaining to Aria, as she nodded in confirmation, while looking around nervous of the new environment.
'Well. First and foremost let's eat a bit. I will go and microwave the food the maid brought over. I don't think it is still warm.' Zane finished explaining, and wanted to go towards the kitchen.
'I can go and do it. You are still not well.' She offered, clearing a bit her mind when food was brought in the discussion.
'No. That's alright, I will do it. You are pregnant and you have been on your feet since early morning. Go and rest on the couch a bit.' He said and did not wait for her answer, as he left for the kitchen.
Looking at the large living room, that seemed to belong to a house rather than to an apartment, Aria headed to the couch and sat on it. Her feet really did hurt because of walking, and she felt a bit tired. And even if she didn't, she was a bit reluctant to go on her own leisure and walk around the apartment, this was Zane's private space. She felt like she was intruding and was unsure of what she was allowed to do or where to look.
Leaning on the couch, Aria closed her eyes for a bit. The somewhat good sleep she had last night turned out was not so resting after all. She still felt quite tired, and her eyes hurt a little.
Present time
Retracing her steps to how she got to where she was right now... Aria still did not understand one thing.
The fact that she had fallen asleep on the couch and most likely was carried by Zane over to the bedroom was a certainty, but for Zane to also be sleeping with her, this part did not make any sense at all.
Did he get dizzy and fainted because of the effort to carry her, and thus was unconscious now? Her heart that was already speeding up because of their position, unsettled even more at this possibility. But it was unlikely though, an unconscious person wouldn't move around, hugging her tighter, right? But what if he would... she was no doctor.
'Zane?' She slowly asked, trying to wake up the man, as the worry for his health prevailed the shyness.
'Zane?' She called a bit louder when the man did not answer.
Seeing him still not reacting, she had no choice but to try to pry her arms from his embrace to check his state.
Perhaps because of the struggle of the person inside his arms, Zane finally opened his eyes, as his gaze fell on the red faced woman.
'Are you alright?' Aria asked quickly, forgetting momentarily their position.
'I am alright.' He simply replied, but still did not move away. It was the first time he had openly held Aria in his arms without a specific reason for it, just because he felt comfortable like this.
'Thank goodness. I thought you fainted again.' She sighed relieved.
'I did not faint. Don't worry.' Zane replied with a small smile, pleased with Aria's words, thrilled she was worried about him. Her worry for him had overcome even her resistance, as she was obediently kept in his arms without any hint of trying to move away. How couldn't he be delighted?
'Then... why are we...' Aria widened her eyes, as her sigh went away and with it came the realization of where they currently were. If he had not fainted, why were they so close sleeping on the same bed? In the mansion they had separate rooms, although smaller in size than the huge villa, the apartment was still quite spacious... it would surely have more than one bedroom, they would still have separate rooms.
'You fell asleep on the couch, so I brought you to the bedroom to rest.' He explained succinctly, understanding what she wanted to know, but he still did not mention his presence with her on the bed.
'Thank you for carrying me over... but why are you also here?' She asked directly. She was not one to talk in roundabout ways, so she had no choice but to ask him straightforwardly, although to ask a husband why he was in the same room as his wife... was a bit strange. But she had long suspected they were not a normal married couple, so her question wasn't unusual. She also had the advantage of being "amnesiac".
Though she would soon realize that the so called advantage was actually her biggest disadvantage. An amnesiac person wouldn't know the real usual life of the married couple, so what Zane would inform her as being the norm would become the reality. Her suspicions could not be made certain of, as she could not ask anyone after all.
' I was also a bit tired, so I thought I would catch on some sleep. The hospital wasn't too comfortable.' He replied calmly, glad the lady was still oblivious of their position.
'But... But shouldn't you go to your own bedroom?' She naively asked, then finally pushed a bit her hands against his chest in an attempt to get away.
Knowing what she was trying to do, Zane did not keep her in his arms any longer and allowed the small woman to sit up on the bed. In Zane's opinion, Aria was just like a small bird, if you wanted to capture her you shouldn't keep her too forcefully or she would inevitably fly away.
But if you were to capture her for a bit, then release her, and continue with the same pattern , keeping her captured for a bit longer each time, she would eventually find it normal to remain captured, so would remain his captive forever. He had to leave her some leeway, lest she would fly away for good.
'This is my bedroom.' Zane replied and also sat up, while trying not to wince in pain. His hand numbed as he let her sleep on it. In fact, Zane had been awake long before Aria woke up because of his numb hand, but did not bear to move from the cuddle, so pretended he was still sleeping. Moreover, the small voice calling his name was too adorable, making him wish he would hear his name called by the bell like voice again and again.
'Then... Then why didn't you bring me to another bedroom.' Aria asked, trying to control her stutter, though she was without luck in accomplishing this. Each time she spoke with Zane, she felt as though they were speaking in two different languages. He was too difficult to be understood by the eighteen years old girl. Wasn't it logical for her to be brought to another bedroom? In the mansion he had his own room, it was clear for her that he liked his privacy and space, so why bring her to sleep in his room?
'This is the only bedroom where we can sleep in.' Zane explained to her, technically not lying, but practically...
If she had listened to his cryptic words, the man had not said it was the only bedroom in the apartment, he had only let her know it was the only usable bedroom. As for the reason the other bedroom couldn't be used... well, of course it was because the other one was tightly locked and secured. If they were to be apart in different bedrooms, then it wouldn't be any different from living in the mansion, now would it?
'Ehhh... then where will I be sleeping?' Aria inquired with her voice getting a bit higher with each phrase he spoke. For some reason she was getting a bad premonition.
'Of course, here. Where else would you sleep?' Zane said, looking probingly at her, to observe her reaction. Would she be disgusted, frightened, unwilling, happy or shy about it? Personally he preferred only shy. Happy was too a farfetched hope.
Hearing his words all her hopes were shattered.
The previous night at the hospital, when she had seen him inches away from her face, she had been too nervous to react in any way. When she woke up several minutes ago she was even more stunned, but now she would have to sleep with Zane on the same bed every night? It was impossible, absolutely impossible. It would mean she would never be able to get any rest, or if she did fall asleep then...
What if she fell asleep like just now and woke up in his arms? She could see looking at the bed that Zane was sleeping closer to the edge, so it was highly likely she was the one who had moved to his side of the bed. He was that handsome and he most certainly did not lack female presence in his life. Even yesterday, she had seen him on the news with a beautiful actress by his side.
So he wouldn't be the one who would actively seek her and hug her. If he was that kind of a person he would have wanted for them to share the same bedroom since she had woken up from the coma, but he did not. So correlating with his actions from the past month, it was clear he was the same as ever, the only person that changed was her. She was not the original wife, so was the one who could actually subconsciously try to take advantage of him. Or else why did they woke up in an embrace?
Aria's thoughts had deviated so much from her original thoughts, that she had omitted remembering the fact that he also had his arms around her.
The paler Aria got, the more Zane's heart tightened, was she truly disgusted with him and did not even fathom the thought of sleeping on the same bed?
'No, I am pregnant so I will get up several times each night to go to the bathroom. It might disturb your rest. I will go sleep on the couch in the living room, it is spacious enough.' She immediately voiced.
Beside her true purpose, there was some real reason behind her words. He was going to work, and he needed a clear head and a proper rest each night for his projects to be implemented properly and for his decisions to be well thought of, but Zane naturally did not see it as such.
Her hurried tone, and her quick disagreeing answer made him even surer of his thought. She felt displeased to sleep on the same bed as him.
'The bathroom is connected to the bedroom so either way you will have to walk through here.'
'But still...'
'If you dislike it, then forget it. I will sleep on the couch.' He replied there was no anger in his voice, with only the sparkle in his eyes wavering a bit.
Aria was not one who could easily read people's faces, especially Zane's, but perhaps his state of mind did manage to get across, this coupled with his words, made her slip and speak her true mind, in an effort to not hurt his feelings.
'No, it is not like that. I don't mind, but I thought you are used to sleeping alone, and I... I sleep terribly, even now I hugged you in your sleep. What if I hug you again? What if I attack you in your sleep?'
Aria's voice was a bit louder than normal, but it was still mellow and delicate like usual, it was quite adorable how she had tried her best to get her meaning across. And that meaning of her words felt like a little kitten was slightly scratching his soul. How would the small woman be able to attack a man twice her size? And if she did attack him, why would he mind?
Zane was trying his best to keep his usual aloofness, as a small crack was threatening to materialize on his somber visage. Going from the lowest emotion to the highest one, it was even harder than usual to keep a calm face, he thought.
He kept silent for a bit, trying to abstain a grin that would surely rise on the corner of his mouth, as he wanted to make sure she would believe his next words. But this silence was only making Aria more uncomfortable, having also realized what she had just informed Zane of... she felt she as though could die once again.
'Aria, you are my wife. Previously because of my chaotic schedule it was better to sleep in another room temporary. But now it is not so chaotic anymore, and so I will come home at a regular hour. Beside I am already accustomed to your sleeping posture, I don't mind it at all.'
Zane shamelessly lied to the "amnesiac" woman who had no way of knowing of the sleeping posture of the previous owner of the body, and thus could not verify the reality of his words, or their usual sleeping arrangement for that matter.