The convenient marriage - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Opening the bedroom's door after a shower and a change of clothes, Zane went around the apartment looking for Aria.
'I made a cup of hot tea for you.' Aria said gently, when she saw him enter the living room. He said he was not having a cold, but she still wanted to make sure. He had just gotten out of the hospital, so his immune system must be weakened, it was better to be safe than sorry. Placing the cup on the small table, she sat on the couch with the help of the armrest. It was getting increasingly harder these days getting up and sitting down.
By this time the awkwardness of last night had dissipated quite a bit, as Malcom had been between them when they saw each other for the first time in the day.
'I don't have a cold.' Zane reassured her of his perfect health again, seeing the cup of tea she made for him. His heart felt warm at her gesture, but he did not want to worry her. Then he approached the couch and sat near her, at just the appropriate distance to not increase her nervousness.
Hearing his reply, Aria tried to stand up and grab the cup of tea, intending to take it back to the kitchen, when Zane held her arm, gently pulling her back down. Even though the pull was gentle, it was enough to stop her movement because of the growing weight.
'Sit down for a bit. Where do you want to go?' He asked gently.
'I thought to take the cup back to the kitchen, since you don't want it.' She replied slowly, a bit nervous because his hand was still on her arm. He hadn't retrieved it, though she was not intending to get up again.
'I don't have a cold. But since you made it for me, how couldn't I drink it? Leave it on the table.' He told her, sensing a small flinch under his palm.
Remembering Malcom's words, Zane pondered if it would really be alright going on like this. Being his usual blunt self, would it really make Aria fall in love with him? Well either way, it was not like he had a choice... he did not know how to act differently beside his normal self.
'Alright!' She agreed and obediently remained seated.
Satisfied that she listened to his words, Zane took a sip of the tea, and then directed his attention to the books in front of him, before grabbing a random one and opening it.
'Do you enjoy reading these kind of books? Is this about what you were talking earlier with Malcom?' He asked intrigued, turning the first page and seemingly skimming through the lines.
'Yes. Ahh... but the one in your hand is not about villainess, that one is about werewolves.' Aria replied noticing the image on the cover, glad that he had finally released her hand to grab the book and open it.
'Hmmm... what is it about?' He asked, not getting much out of the first few pages. Well, it was only the opening scene of it, so naturally he could not find much about the overall plot. Not that he was that interested in finding more about the book.
But just as Malcom said, he did not have to share her interests, but asking about them, making her open up to him and talking more relaxed was still alright. He did not know if he could succeed like this, but it was still better than talking about the piano. What if she started to see him as a teacher? It would be worse than when she told the maids she saw him as a brother.
Unknown to him, this was exactly how Aria thought of him previously, but fortunately for him he was in the dark about it.
'It's about a world in which werewolves are real, and they live in a structured society based on packs with their members ranked by power, and with the packs united under the most powerful of them, the werewolf king. The main concept is that in the werewolf society, each member has a mate designated at birth, who would become their spouses.
The interesting thing about it, is that the main protagonist of the book, whilst not so keen to find her mate, and especially does not care if her mate would be a powerful one unlike other women, finds out her mate to be the unlikeliest of them all.' She explained, with her mellow tone having a tinny tiny bit of excitement in it.
'Mates who become spouses... so you mean as in soulmates then?' He asked, turning another page. Though in truth he was not reading any line of the book, he noticed Aria was a bit more comfortable speaking, if he did not gaze at her.
Aria as well kept her gaze directed towards the table, indeed feeling more relaxed like so. Although her entire attention was on Zane, even if her eyes were not on him.
'Yes. The werewolf goddess of that society split their souls before birth, and in their lifetime the werewolves have to find each other to become whole.' She answered, while she lifted a bit her foot, resting her sole on her toes, and gently rubbed with her hand the swollen ankle.
She felt uncomfortable massaging it in front of Zane, as she had always tried to maintain a well mannered position in his presence, but her feet were really aching her because of the pregnancy, so she could not really help it... she could not abstain herself from trying to alleviate her pain a bit.
'So you mean to say the partners are already decided at birth, then it is already predetermined for them, their fate? They have to be together whether they like it or not? What if they fall in love with someone else? Wouldn't they lack free will this way?' He asked still checking the pages, but with a corner of his eye he had already noticed what the small woman was doing.
'Well normally they would wait for their mate, they wouldn't fall in love with someone else, as they would most likely dessert their chosen partner in favor of their fated one, just like you said. And I also pondered about the free will part.
So what I liked about this book was that the protagonists had already fallen in love with one another before they found out they were mates. The male lead was especially persistent as he chased after the girl, I think he would have fought even fate, if it wasn't revealed they were indeed mates.
You could say they really were meant to be together, whether it was decided by fate or by themselves. My best guess is the author wanted to show they still had their free will.' She explained with a small smile, remembering the content of the book, as she rubbed her ankle a bit more.
Realizing she was getting absorbed by the conversation, and it was still impolite to continue massaging her ankle, Aria let go of her foot then sat upright again. She was already feeling awkward because of her gesture, and talking about the subject of the book with Zane, only added to her nervousness, for some reason. Although strangely, to Malcom some moments earlier she had offered the same explanations without a hint of reluctance.
'Hmmm... So how did the male lead chase after the girl?' Zane asked, retaining in his mind only this particular part out of everything Aria had said. If Aria liked the book, then it meant she also liked how the lovers started their relationship right? This was a thing he really needed to take note of.
'Ahhh... t-that... I... if you would like you could read the book, I am not that good at summarizing the plot.' She immediately said, stuttering a bit. It felt like Zane had deviated from the main subject... how did they get to talk about how the male lead made the girl fall in love, from chatting about her preference in novels? Not to mention, somehow talking about what the male lead did, it felt like she was suggesting to him how to act as well. It did not make any sense to her, she did not understand why she thought like that, but she could not shake off the feeling.
'You could try, I won't mind your way of explaining. I don't exactly have much free time to read it, and by the size of this book it looks like it could take quite a while to finish it. But if you really don't want to, I won't force you.' Zane stated and put the book down, not insisting on asking her to tell him.
Because of his words, Aria was a bit at a loss of what to do. It was true that Zane had most of his days occupied by work, and he had only asked her to tell him a bit about the book, nothing more. So it was rude of her, if she did not tell him about what he wanted to know. And besides, he was only asking just to make small talk, she was the one who was becoming conscious about it all, on her own.
'A-alright, I will tell you a bit about it.' She finally said, with her voice becoming just a little bit smaller and mellower than before. One would have to keep complete silence to hear the soft tone.
'Then tell me about it. But wait a second first.' Zane's seemed to brighten up at her assent and finally looked towards her. He wanted her to immediately tell him, to see if he could use the information for future references. But directing his gaze towards Aria, he checked the ankles she had kept trying to massage earlier and noticed they were quite swollen. It was strange, Aria had been inside the apartment since she woke up, so she hadn't walked all that much. Why were her feet like that?
'Why are your ankles like that? What happened?' He asked worried, keeping his eyes on her feet. He could not even see her ankle's joint anymore.
'Ah, that's because of the pregnancy.' Aria replied with her cheeks getting redder, as she tried to move her feet on to the opposite side, attempting to hide them. But because of the knee length dress she had on, they were still in clear view, no matter what she did.
'Is it normal?' He asked, still following her feet with his eyes, even though she was getting more flustered by the second.
'Yes. It is. L-let me tell you about the story.' She attempted to redirect his attention. It felt like she would be less embarrassed to talk about the book, than have him stare at her feet.
'Does is it hurt?' He asked again. Proof her redirecting failed miserably.
'Only a bit! If I massage them with my hand it is alright. In fact, it does not even hurt anymore.' She assured, hoping he would stop asking.
'It does not look like it is only a bit.' He frowned, then without a warning whatsoever bent down and took both her feet and placed them on his lap.
Because of the unexpected action Aria yelped, and quickly spread her arms trying to grab the couch in fright, afraid she would fall down.
Zane did not offer any explanations for his gesture as he methodically removed the fluffy slippers from her feet, then gently massaged her ankles, imitating Aria's earlier moves.
'Don't. I can ask Anne later to massage them when she comes. Now they really do not hurt anymore.' Recovering from the shocked state, well at least partially... just enough so she could speak, Aria tried to stop Zane's actions. She was even trying to take her feet away, but they were kept in place by Zane, so she could only reason verbally.
But unfortunately for her, the first reason did not sit well with Zane, she was his wife, he could massage her feet himself. And the second reason...
'Ouch...' Aria voiced, when Zane pressed her ankle with a bit more force, effectively rebuking her claim.
'I am your husband, I can do it myself, as for the pain... you are not convincing at all. Now then, you can start telling me about the plot.' He resumed his earlier intention, not giving Aria any leeway, on both matters.
But how could she remember the book's content, with the handsome tall man gently massaging her ankles, only applying the least bit of pressure to make sure it only soothed her pain. Although Zane seemed to treat her feet like a fragile object, his touch seemed to send shivers to her heart, and the remembrance of their relationship only made it worse.
She felt she could die of shame and flusteredness, yet the cold mechanical man was massaging away without the least bit of care to what the closeness did to her. This was how it seemed in Aria's eyes.
Because of her own turmoil, how could she tell that in fact Zane was also feeling unsettled. He had never done something like this for anyone, but for Aria it seemed he was capable of doing all kind of things he had never thought he would do for someone. Still he did not let it show on his face, and only spoke again to cut the awkward silence, as Aria was still not recounting the plot.
'Aria, I am listening. How did the man conquer the lady?' He repeated once he figured out she had most likely not heard him the first time. Had he been too bold? Was she too stunned to hear him?
'Ahhh... Well, y-you see... the girl was ambushed in a forest by hunters, and she fought them off, but sustained grave injuries in the process. Because of this the werewolf king, although he had waited for his mate all his life, finally decided to pursue her, as he had realized he couldn't be without her. So when the girl woke up after being unconscious, she found herself in the castle of the werewolf king. He had moved her there to take care of her so...' Aria started to slowly recount, it was so slow that several minutes passed just to barely say the four five phrases.
Listening to her words, Zane had a sense of deja vu... Wasn't the situation similar to what he was doing? Then it meant he was on the right track, right? Thinking this, without meaning to, he interrupted Aria and spoke with a hoarse deep voice.
'Would this make you fall in love also?' He asked with a clear calm tone, his face as expressionless as always.
'Ehh...'
With her eyes wide opened and her cheeks getting redder because of his words and constant touch, Aria's mind went blank. Even her breathing felt like it had stopped, making it impossible for her to answer his question. Not that she could, how would she be able to when his words seemed to have entered one of her ears and went out the other. And it was not like she could dare ask him again to confirm she had understood him properly.
'Ding dong!' The doorbell rang in the complete silence, disturbing the two people, and provoking them to feel two very different kind of emotions, as one was feeling regretful, and the other relieved.
It was easily discernable, just by only looking at the two faces, who was the one relieved, as the unexpected sound made Aria feel she could finally release the breath she did not know she was holding back. And she felt even more relaxed, when she saw the people who walked through the door. With a big basket of food Anne stepped inside, followed by another maid who was carrying in her arms a small ball of fur.
With the additional people and pet, the atmosphere returned to a relaxed one for Aria. It made her day pass more smoothly, as the women accompanied her, until a bit after dinner. For various reasons, she had successfully managed to delay their departure a little while after nine o'clock.
As for the sleeping arrangement... as opposed to the previous night, Aria's new strategy worked like a charm. Instead of falling asleep after Zane had went to bed, the small woman applied a totally distinct strategy, she went to bed before him. In this way, she was not aware of when the latter fell asleep, or even when he woke up for that matter.
The next day, being a Monday, meant that Zane went to work early in the morning, so the two did not see each other while awake, exempting Aria for another moment of nervousness.
'Mrs. Aria, are you feeling alright?' Anne asked hurriedly, seeing that although Aria was playing with Pudding, she was a bit distracted.
'Yes, I am alright.' She answered the maid, smiling a bit to assure the latter of her good health.
'Are you sure? Master said to call him, if anything is wrong.' The maid worriedly informed.
When Zane left in the morning he had reminded Anne several times to call him if there was any problem whatsoever. He had even looked intently in her eyes, to make sure his point got across well enough, or better said it was carved into her brain.
It was the first time the maid had looked directly into his eyes, as the latter preferred to speak to the butler rather than the other people in the mansion. And even though he was absolutely stunning, the cold gaze froze her heart. She really hoped she would never have to see that look again. Moreover, if Aria were to have some mishap, she was certain the master's stare would be even colder. As such, she really wouldn't allow any problems.
'Truly, I am alright. I was just thinking about Zane.' Aria replied honestly, blurting out her true thoughts, because of her intention to quickly calm down the maid.
'Thinking about master?' The maid's face lightened up, hearing Aria. Who wouldn't want a steady and calm working place? And what better way to achieve the peace, other than a loving couple as masters of the house? Not to mention, the girls had gotten truly fond of Aria, and wished only the best for her.
'Y-yeah, I was wondering if he will have a proper lunch. Y-you know... because of his stomach problem.' Aria reasoned immediately, trying to twist the meaning of her words.
'Then does mistress want to check on master?' Anne asked, without losing at all the brightness on her face. If anything she was even more excited than before.
'Check?' The small woman asked confused.
'What better way to make sure the master is having a healthy lunch, other than providing master with one. I have brought enough ingredients when I came. How about we make lunch and the both of you have it together?'
'No, I will disturb his work... if Zane was to return to the apartment just for lunch.' The lunch break coupled with the time it took to go back and forth would take too long, and she did not want to impose on him when he was working.
'Mistress, master would surely not eat if he was left alone. Otherwise the ulcer wouldn't have acted out. And there would be no problem with the time, if mistress would go to the office herself for lunch.'
The Black's family company, sometime later
'Is Zane inside his office?' A tall beautiful woman asked the secretary in front of her, as she moved a strand of her short blond hair behind her ear. Dressed in a beautiful mini red dress, wrapped tightly around her body, the woman seemed misplaced in the company building, where everyone else was professionally dressed.
'No, miss Faye. He is currently attending a meeting.' The secretary replied. Looking as calm as she had taught to be in front of any guest that visited the office. But inside her mind for some reason she did not like the actress all that much and was currently admonishing her. She seemed too condescending.
'How long will it take?'
'I cannot tell you for certain. You can leave a message with me, and I will be sure to relay it to the president.' The secretary informed politely, maintaining her professional tone.
'It's alright. I will wait for him in his office.' The woman declared with a firm voice, leaving no room for the employee to refute her.
But still how could the secretary not do her job? No one was allowed inside the president's office without the president's express permission.
'Miss Faye, the schedule of the president does not permit unannounced visits. All appointments must be scheduled in advance. If you still must meet him no matter what, then at least please wait here.' She quickly informed.
'Who do you think I am? You seem to mistakenly think of me as only an actress. Next time make sure that you are better informed than this.' Faye loudly announced, looking sharply at the secretary, before turning towards Zane's office and briskly walking inside.