The convenient marriage - Chapter 35: Chapter 35

'Zane?' The melodious voice that seemed capable of gently scratching his heart softly called.
Just like before, her call received an immediate small smile in response. Though unlike in the past week, this time the small woman only wanted to inquire why he had personally descended from the top floor to receive her. What if she disturbed his work again?
'Yes?' Zane asked gently, while at the same time he was already helping Aria alight the car. The expression on his face was a polar opposite to Aria's, it was no different than a bright spring day.
The small woman's belly grew day by day more, and it was getting increasingly difficult to sit down as it was to stand up. At night, Zane had even started helping her shift in her sleep from one side to another. Though because of her heavy sleep it was doubtful if Aria remembered this.
As such his heart ached distressed for the little woman, who still had more than one month and a half left of her pregnancy. His concern worsening at the thought that her belly would certainly grow larger, inconveniencing her health further. But at the same time a part of him also felt elated because he could help her for the remaining period more closely, considering nowadays he had a proper reason for his closeness. Just like now, he did not need to convince Aria to let him hold her hand.
'I didn't think you would personally come. Am I not interrupting your work this way? You just got better after fainting the last time. What if you overwork yourself and faint again?' She quickly wanted to ascertain, while automatically her hand was already extended towards him, for him to help her stand up.
Though she was getting used to his help, and had begun reacting reflexively to his gestures, not even realizing for the most part the normality she had attributed to his actions, just like how naturally she gave her hand to him just now... her lack of awareness was also due to her concern for Zane. For the president to have descended his floor during his busy schedule just for her, it was undoubtedly not an easy feat.
To squeeze the additional time just because of her fright from last time, how many people would be as attentive as him?
She wasn't sure what exactly Zane's work implied with accuracy, but the proof of the workload were the countless phone calls from the last week that barely let Zane have enough time to breathe. So with him finally at the office after his one week of absence, his workload was bound to increase by folds.
Her obvious worry towards him, which he could feel from the urgency in her voice, warmed Zane's heart. She was too cute for her own good, he thought. She was so adorable, making him feel he could just eat her up with a spoon.
'No, little one. Don't worry.' He coaxed her softly, as he tenderly held her waist with one hand, wanting to minimize the strain on her spine in this way, while he used the other to hold her arm.
In a moment of absent-mindness on her part, mostly due to finally standing upright near the car, while Aria was looking up to the building that was seemingly glaring down at her, he also tenderly pecked the side of her head in reassurance.
Though his primary motive for Aria's coming to the office was for the most part his unwillingness to be away from her for too long, at the same time Zane's reason was for Aria to surpass her fear, and the trauma she had suffered.
If it was entirely up to him, he wanted nothing more than for his little wife to be tucked away safely in his home, where nothing would ever harm her. But he was aware that it wouldn't be good for her at the same time. He loved her too much to not let her live more freely, more confidently.
Life is unfortunately unpredictable. To believe that he could live a long time and grow old with Aria, to protect her from whatever harm may come, whatever people might want to cause her pain, this was his most fervent wish. But realistically, he may be by her side today, but he was not sure about tomorrow. Who would know for certain just how much time is allocated for them on this planet?
Thus he wanted Aria to be able to take care of herself on her own as well. If there was ever a day when she would be left alone with the two children, his Aria needed to be able to protect herself and them. Because at that time, the wealth she would have might become a burden, rather than a help. Who knows which jackals might surround her, trying to take it away piece by piece.
Aria was after all a person without memories, so in a sense her personality was much like a child's. He never wanted for her to regain her memories and the foolish arrogance the old Aria had as the heiress to the Langdon inheritance, the cold beauty who could hardly see anyone but herself. But it was imperative for Aria to grow as a self-assured person, one who was capable of standing on her own two feet.
So the first step was for Aria to be confident in her position. She was Aria Black, the rightful mistress of the Black consortium, and his cherished wife.
Sighing a bit, as though she was trying to encourage herself, Aria started walking towards the building, with Zane by her side every step of the way. She was so nervous of entering through the large doors, that Zane's hold on her body really did reassure her, rather than make her feel uncomfortable because of his closeness like before.
Following the steps of last time, she wanted to approach the reception, where two beautiful ladies were standing, when Zane strengthened a bit his hold on her waist and hand, stopping her.
'We are going to the elevator. There's no need to go to the reception. Even when I will not be able to come welcome you in person, you will walk straight to the elevator. Nobody is allowed to stop you.' He explained as he was already guiding her to the elevator's location.
'But what if there's someone who will not know me, I mean I am not a usual presence in the building. What if someone...' Frightened of all kind of different scenarios that might occur, Aria wanted to better understand what she should do in each situation. Though she was already thinking of leaving the building without going up to Zane's floor, were he not able to come downstairs to bring her up.
At first she had thought she would be able to reach his office alone with only the maids accompanying her. But once she entered the building with Zane just now, she realized she wouldn't have gone up to his office, if not for his presence. She was just that terrified by the last visit.
'You were not a usual presence, but you will be. Or what, you will not come by and have lunch with me again? You would deprive me of a healthy meal every day?' And your charming presence, he wanted to add but restrained himself barely.
With Aria shaking her head to deny she wouldn't want to harm his health, Zane smirked a bit, pleased he managed to make the gullible woman agree to have lunch every day. Then he continued speaking with the same tender, yet convincing and determined tone.
'If some people dare to rudely stop you and question you, you only have to look confidently towards them and ask them if they do not recognize your face. If those people say they do not, you can just ask them to state their position in the company.
If they reply that they are from the security, secretary or reception department, then tell them to ask the internal affairs about you and at the same time to hand in their resigning papers. The Blacks' consortium does not need people in security, secretary department or at the reception who do not know that their jobs imply knowing certain peoples identities and acting according to them.
As for other people in other positions than the ones I mentioned, you can tell them as well to go hand in their papers, as they are even less entitled to ask for people's identities. As such a thing is not in any other job description then those previous three.' Zane explained slowly to Aria, while they had passed the reception and were already inside the ascending elevator.
Hearing his words that covered all the possibilities, she took in his teachings. But whether she would follow them to the last letter... well this remained to be seen. Her timidity was not an easy trait she could overcome. And those words he told her to say, well they had nothing to do with timidity. Quite opposite, they implied an arrogance she absolutely lacked.
How could she face people bravely like that, when she was already feeling under the weather at this moment, just from people's stares.
Ascending with the elevator to the top floor, while Zane held her hand, and Marie and Anne behind them, Aria still felt nervous. The hallway that led to his office somehow seemed longer than the last time. Especially since she walked under scrutinizing gazes.
No people were outside of their offices, so the hallway was pretty much empty. But unfortunately, the walls of the offices on the top floor were made of glass. Whether it was only her impression or real, this she was not certain. But almost everyone rose their heads when they passed by, and though they did not look that intently, their gaze still followed them until they were out of sight.
She could only take a deep breath and relax her tensed body when the door to Zane's office was firmly closed behind them.
'Let's take you to sit down. Are you tired of walking?' Zane worriedly asked, while he was directing her to one of the couches. Tactfully he didn't speak about her feelings at the moment. Sometimes verbal encouragement might backfire, rather than help.
'No. not really.' She replied politely, though a bit of haggardness could be sensed in her tone.
'Okay. Let me at least get you some water.' Zane affirmed, rather than offer, as he already turned around to bring the glass and the small bottle of water which he had ordered the secretary to leave on a side table, when he went downstairs.
Some minutes later, as there were no more mishaps, Marie and Anne left for the waiting room where they would have their own lunch, after setting the table for their two masters. The lunch break was only half an hour long, so they could only speak and eat at the same time, as there was not enough time to just sit and spend time together.
Zane of course would beg to differ Aria's opinion. He was the president, so if he wanted to have an hour long lunch break then he would. But it was true that he had already missed a week from work. So if he became greedy and spent more time with Aria now, then his meetings could delay until further in the night. A thing he wanted to avoid most.
As always, when the two ate, there were not many words exchanged. Aria was usually eating her fill, and Zane, although he ate less than the small woman, he loved to just look at her puffy squirrel like cheeks and mouth that nibbled away. She was so focused on eating her meal, that she did not even notice the sauce that smeared the corner of her mouth.
A stain that remained as if glued to the heart shaped lips, even though Aria had wiped them with a paper napkin.
'There's a little bit of sauce left on your face.' He let her know once he realized she missed the spot. He was looking at her every action, so he couldn't not have noticed it.
'Ehh... where?' She asked a bit blushing. She was accustomed to eating with him nowadays and thus was less stiff than before, but she still tried as best she could to keep up with his perfect manners.
She had never learned table manners in her past life, so when eating with Zane with a corner of her eyes she would always check what types of fork or spoon he was using to eat a particular food. At the apartment, such table manners relaxed a lot, as they kept only one knife, fork and spoon. But she was still mindful to not smear her face with her food, sip loudly her soup, burp or other such things that could make her seem uneducated. So for her, his reminder doubled her embarrassment.
She did not realize that Zane never paid attention to her in this department, he had never expected her to behave in a certain way. In fact, she could remain as natural as she was right now forever, he wouldn't ever say a word about it. The confident façade that he wished for her to have was only meant for outsiders, never for him. To him she could act as spoiled and as frail as ever.
'Just there on the left corner of your lips.' He replied as he pointed towards his own face, indicating the approximate place.
With quick moves, she immediately took the napkin which she had just placed on the table, and swiftly started wiping her lips.
But though she applied quite a bit of force, perhaps because the sauce had already dried up, or maybe it was just because she had missed the spot, the smudge remained almost intact. The only thing she managed to accomplish with her actions, were a pair of now slightly reddened heart shaped lips.
'Is it gone?' She asked with a bit of a quieter voice. She would have preferred not to ask, but she couldn't remain like this in his presence, until the girls returned. She would be embarrassed to death, thinking he would keep on staring at her messy face.
How would she know, her supposedly messy face was the least of Zane's concerns, as her crimson cheeks and reddened mouth, reminded him of the kiss he hadn't a chance to repeat since the day of her discharge from the hospital.
He was a man very much in love with his wife, and the said lady had even tilted a bit her face upwards for him to check the spot. Naturally, he couldn't resist the temptation and immediately helped Aria clean the smudge.
'There, I wiped it off.' The shameless man affirmed, as he released her lips after helping her.
At this point, Aria's face was dyed a cherry shade of red. And how would it not be, considering she had never expected him to help. And most certainly not in that way. Could a kiss even be considered helping her clean the corner of her mouth?
Looking with widened eyes towards the pleased man, Aria couldn't say anything in reply to his words. Should she say thank you? But this did not sound as a proper reply, to his improper way of helping. She really did not know how to react right now, considering the mixed feelings that hovered around in her heart.
Though she couldn't deny that she liked his kiss, and her heart kept thumbing louder nowadays if he only looked at her for a second more than he needed to... another feeling was also slowly seeping through her heart, corroding it away. A feeling that was heightened by her visit to his office.
A large disparity in social classes, a president of a large consortium and an orphan girl whose top education was barely half a year of high school...
A great discrepancy in manners, an elegant brilliant man capable of leading tens of thousands of people and one lonely girl who needed to be taken care of by someone for the most basics of needs, food shelter, care...
A huge gap in moral standing, an understanding and caring husband and her, a fake wife and a liar...
As clueless as she was, Aria had still read books of romance. She knew that she had begun to fall in love with Zane, no matter how she tried to deny it. Her yearn to follow him with her eyes as long as he was in the same room, the tender embrace without which she could not fall asleep every night, her wish to see him smile and happy, all of them were a clear indication of her feelings.
How could she not fall in love with him? Beneath the cold and somber exterior she had found a kind and warm man that had treated her like the most precious jewel. But this care and warmth were not for her.
This attentiveness was for Aria Black, his real wife.
Feeling as though her throat was constricted by a knot, Aria lowered a bit her eyes hiding them beneath her curled eyelashes. She was afraid the changes in her mood could be sensed by the man in front of her.
'Is there something wrong?' Zane asked gently, seeing her altered state. To go from shyness to sadness, what could have triggered it? Was he too impatient? Was he moving too fast in his attempt to get closer to her?
'N-no, I just thought of Pudding, I don't know if the girls managed to eat with him around, he likes to grab your clothes if you don't give him some treats when you eat. It's better to go home now. I should leave you to do your work then. I have already taken too much of your time.' She reasoned, showing a small smile.
Her intention to shorten their lunch date and the forced expression, only sounding alarm bells inside his mind, rather than her answer providing a valid reason for the change in mood.
'Aria, if something bothers you, no matter what it is... you know, you can always talk to me right? You are my wife, you don't need to be accommodating. If my kiss upset you...' Zane frankly spoke.
'It's really nothing...' Aria denied, but as she finally looked up to his serious eyes, could not continue with her words.
She kept silent for a few seconds, as her gaze was captured by his sincere expression, then she opened her mouth again. Was she empowered by his look that appeared to be ready to clear any doubts she might have? Was the stifling feeling that increased at the same rate as her love for him did, trying to push itself out in the open? She did not know which exactly of the two reasons made her speak.
'I don't know of the past. I only know what I heard from the butler about the history of the Langdon family and the Black family...' She started to say, as Zane stilled in place at the mention of the past, he didn't expect her to bring it up in their conversation.
'It's just... I was under the impression that the marriage was not like this. I thought it was a convenient marriage... but you, you keep kissing me. In the past, can you tell me... how was the marriage?' She weirdly worded her meaning.
The sentences were a bit strange, as she couldn't bring herself to say our marriage, knowing that Zane was not her own after all. And she also couldn't find it in her to talk about the past, while including herself in it.
It wasn't a question she felt entitled to ask, far from it actually. But as time passed these days, her curiosity for knowing of the couple's past deepened. And more than curiosity, as she was referring to the feeling like so just to avoid thinking of it as jealousy, she wanted him to confirm the butler's words. She wanted him to only love her, to have only fallen in love after she had woken up in Aria Black's body.
Otherwise... what did he see when he looked at her now? What image was reflected in those blue eyes of his? Did he mirror the previous owner of her body? Did he project his real wife on to her?
'Whether before your amnesia or now, you are my wife, so of course I would want to kiss you. There is nothing more to it, you don't need to think of the past. We will only think of the future.' Zane immediately denied talking of the shared history. He never wanted to bring it up again. If he discussed about the Aria of the past, he might trigger her memories. She would revert to the old her, and this was something he would never allow. Even the smallest chance, for him was a risk he would never take.
'But in the past, with the proper memories how was...' Aria still wanted to ask, wanted to clear her doubts away. She wanted to become a real person in his eyes.
But how would the small woman know of his fears? To her his slightly deepened tone and his refusal to talk of the past only served to deepen the sadness. It was like the Aria of the past was an ideal he knew she could never obtain, so there was no point of talking about it further. That Aria would have proudly entered the main door without care, and with a stance fit for the president's wife.
'Aria, the doctor said your brain can not be strained. You don't need to force yourself to remember the past. We will not speak more of it, alright?' He tried to reassure her, and at the same time close the discussion about the time before the accident.
But as he said her brain could not be strained, then it meant that it wasn't that he did not want for her to recover her memories, but he just cared too much for Aria, to distress her and hurt her.
So it hadn't been a marriage of convenience... it only appeared as such, because in the past he hid his warm expressions underneath his somber face. And now, because of the accident that took Aria's heart away, he warmed up to her more evidently, fearing her loss?
Perhaps, the first two weeks in the beginning when he hadn't lived in the mansion, were only because he hadn't known how to act around the new her.
Unfortunately, the misunderstanding between the two was quite a difficult matter to clear up. Zane on his part, would not dismiss their marriage as a convenient one, because then the reason he gave Aria in the past, that they had been a normal couple who slept on the same bed, would become a lie, and this could cause a rift of trust between them.
And if he really did take the chance and told her how their marriage was truly like in the past without causing her memories to return and without her getting angry because of his mislead... it could still make Aria suggest to him to return how they both were in the past. She had already stated she viewed him like an older brother, so a convenient marriage may very well be ideal for her.
And Aria, she could never tell Zane she was another person, what normal person would ever believe she had transmigrated in his wife's body? It would only help in worrying him about her health further. He might think her brain was damaged more severely because of the accident than the doctors had initially thought, causing psychological problems to arise.
And in the smallest chance that he did believe her, than she had even less rights to remain close to him like she was now. Either way, the consequences of speaking of this with him, were somber no matter which one became a reality.
Thus other further words could not be said. They could only remain in a deadlock regarding this matter.
Aria couldn't continue asking him after he had insisted twice to not speak of the past, so she could only nod her head, as Zane rose his hand patting it away. Opening his mouth, to try to dispel the awkward silence, his words were stopped by the knock on the door. It was already ten minutes passed the lunch break time, so the two maids had come to take Aria back home.
With the additional presence, it was even harder to speak about personal matters, so Zane only kissed Aria's forehead, stifling the sigh he felt the need to release. He could only keep other words he wanted to say to her when they would be alone after he finished work.
On the first floor of the building
When Aria came to the office, Zane had been the only one waiting for her. Though he usually walked with at least Ryan by his side and a couple more assistants on most occasions, to relieve Aria's nervousness he had not let anyone accompany him.
This was the situation when she arrived... when she left, well the story was different. Because she had insisted she had taken too much of his time away, she hadn't allowed Zane to also bring her down the stairs. As such, at her departure quite a procession followed.
Marie holding Pudding followed right beside her and her left side. On her right side, Anne was attentively helping her walk. They were only three people and a dog, not a large group at all. But the two guards in front of her, the two behind her, and coupled with Ryan's presence in front of Aria, leading the way... it was quite a sight to see.
'Who is that person?' A girl in a professional suit asked curiously, as she looked towards the group who were walking to the other far end of the large reception room.
'Shh... Keep your voice down. That is the president's wife. Didn't you receive the memo on your working email? Read it properly later. There's a mountain of rules regarding for when she will come to visit the office. Breaking any one of them would result in a dismissal.' The colleague beside her replied with a hushed voice.
Hearing the conversation between the two, Aileen who had barely came back to the office and was checking her phone, immediately shot her gaze towards the pregnant woman who was exiting the double glass doors.
Hurrying to Aria's location, Aileen unfortunately did not manage to catch up to Aria due to her high inched heels.
She could only see the petite woman in a flower decorated pale pink maternity dress who was already alighting the car.
Unlike in the past, although Aileen was far away to see it clearly, Aria seemed even more beautiful and noble. She was the spitting image of a girl born and bred from a wealthy family.
How was this possible? How could an accident transform the cold woman from before into a proper heiress? In the past, although Aria tried to hide her expressions and keep up a proper manner, passing as a somber beauty, she had never succeeded in hiding completely her low born status. But now she couldn't see a speck of fakeness in her appearance.
It was like she was the real Aria Black.