Chapter 2 Live Together

Melody's hands trembled as she signed the marriage agreement. Although she couldn't help but feel like she was forced into signing it, there was nothing that could be done now. It had become official.

She then got in Ryan's car reluctantly, holding the certificate in her hand. Trying to break the ice, he asked, "Where do you live?"

"Why should I tell you?" Melody asked. Every time she looked at him, she was reminded of what had happened just moments ago, and it exhausted her.

Upon hearing that, Ryan's frown disappeared, and he smiled. He seemed different than he had a few minutes ago. "Legally, you're my wife now, so I have the right to know where you live," he said.

When Melody heard that, she couldn't help but smile bitterly. "I am your wife and yet you don't know where I live. How ridiculous is that?"

"Melody! I'm warning you, now that we've signed the marriage contract, we're a legally bound couple, so you'd better not talk to me in that sarcastic tone! Moreover, you can't call me by my name anymore," Ryan said.

"Then, what should I call you?" she questioned.

"Call me honey!"

he said. Melody scoffed and thought, 'Seriously? Does he think he's my real husband?' Ryan stepped on the gas all of a sudden, making the car race at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

"Do you even know where my house is?" Melody asked, fastening her seat belt in a hurry.

"2T, C District, Peace Apartment," Ryan stated. "I can get all your private information if I want to, Melody."

"All right, if you already knew that, why did you still ask me?" Melody asked.

"I just wanted to see if you'd give me an honest answer."

The rest of the car ride passed in silence. Before she realized it, Ryan stopped the car right in front of her apartment. It was a modern space with a beautiful lawn, located in the suburbs. The apartment was equipped with high tech security systems, and only the people who lived in here could only enter by using their fingerprints to get access through the main gate.

Melody got out of the car and checked for paparazzi before she entered the building carefully. However, Ryan mindlessly rushed to her and walked by her side.

"Hey! Stay away from me, or we might get photographed together," she said.

"And why would that matter? What are you so afraid of? Aren't we legally married now?" Ryan asked with a shrug.

Melody was speechless when she heard that. She knew that she had agreed to be his wife by signing the document, but she hadn't realized that she had, in fact, signed up for an unpleasant future.

When she reached her apartment, she placed her finger on the sensor, and the door opened with a "click" sound.

"I'm home, safe and sound. Thank you for driving me today." As soon as she said that, Melody wanted to close the door, but then she noticed that Ryan wasn't walking away.

"Don't you at least want to invite me in? It's the least you could do. Can I come in for a cup of coffee?" A playful smile appeared on the corner of Ryan's mouth, which made him look very charming.

At first, Melody wanted to refuse, but then she thought for a while and decided that it was time they both got to know each other. She opened the door and said, "Come in, please."

Melody's house was different from what Ryan had imagined. It was a simple two bedroom apartment, but she kept it clean, so it looked pleasant. However, there were a lot of soft toys around the house, which made it seem like a teenage girl had decorated it. Ryan picked up the golden trophy from the shelf, which was the Academy Award that she had won the previous week. He held it in his hand and realized it was quite heavy.

"I haven't congratulated you yet!" he said with a smile. Ryan then carefully put the trophy back on the shelf.

That moment, Melody walked in with two cups of coffee that smelled delicious. "It's instant coffee, try it. I'm usually too lazy to brew myself a cup."

Ryan took a sip and felt that it was a little too hot for his liking, but he found the bitter taste of the coffee rather welcoming. "Well, you go and rest for a while. I'll do the packing for you."

Packing? Melody stood up and asked, "Pack what?"

"Didn't you read the agreement back at the Civil Affairs Bureau?" When Melody shook her head in reply, Ryan continued, "Article 31st: Once we're married, you will have to come and live with me. However, you can choose any spare room you like at my place and simple decor will be arranged to your liking."

"What? I can't agree to that!" Melody protested.

"Do you really want to break the contract?" With those words, Ryan walked up to her wardrobe and picked a few good-looking outfits. Dropping them into an empty suitcase, he announced, "I'll give you ten minutes to get ready. After that, we're leaving."

After the ten minutes had passed, Melody walked out of her apartment with the suitcase in her hand, pouting. She also brought her small cactus plant with her.

"Why do you need to bring that?" Ryan asked, looking at the potted cactus in her hand as he took the suitcase from her.

"It's for self-defense," she replied.

The two of them got into the car. Ryan drove for a while before the car finally rolled to a stop. Melody was seeing his house for the first time. It was a magnificent looking two-story villa with a huge swimming pool, a lush garden, and a lot of servants. The moment the two of them entered, the servants bowed to them and greeted them. She could finally understand why Ryan had looked down on her small apartment.

After walking through the pathway, they finally saw the entrance to the villa. Melody stopped and exclaimed, "Ryan, is this your house? Or is it some kind of a palace?"

"The first floor is the palace, which is for outsiders," Ryan replied with a laugh. Two maids walked to him and offered to carry the suitcase for him, but he refused and insisted on doing it himself. Melody soon caught up to him. As she was on the second floor, she saw that the elaborate decor was now replaced with a more simplified style. The walls were covered with lavish beige wallpaper, which seemed to be thicker than most common wallpapers.

"There are three unoccupied rooms on this floor, and as per our agreement, you are free to choose any room you'd like out of these," Ryan said as he opened one of the doors for her.

Melody glanced at the three rooms, which appeared quite similar, and asked, "Where do you sleep?"

"Are you saying that you want to stay in my room?" A mischievous grin appeared on Ryan's lips as he said those words. He then pointed to a room across the hallway and continued, "I stay in that one. It has a very large bed, fit for a king. You can stay there too, if you'd like."

Melody rolled her eyes at him and thought, 'In your dreams!' She then looked at the room at the end of the hallway and asked, "If I live here, you won't come in without my permission and say that I should sleep with you because the contract says so, right?"

The corner of Ryan's lips curled up and he said, "Of course I won't. Besides, you know where to find me if you need anything." He then turned around and walked to his room.

The entire room was decorated in shades of brown, which somehow seemed to soothe Melody's restless heart. She unpacked and arranged her things neatly in one of the cupboards before lying down on the bed. The room felt cold, just like her heart.

For a second, she felt lost and helpless. However, when she looked at the trophy on the table, she knew she had to work hard.

She took out her phone and opened her social media page. By then, the number of followers she had had grown to a whooping twenty million. Every day, she would receive tens of thousands of comments, private messages, and likes. She liked the attention she was getting on the Internet. She checked her inbox, only to find that almost every message that she had received since that morning said "Congratulations!"

Many days had passed since she had won the award, so she was clueless as to why people were still sending her congratulatory messages. But then, her eyes fell upon a particular message, which read, "Congratulations, Melody! Finally, you've found a good life for yourself. Happy married life! I will always be your fan!"

Happy married life? Suddenly, something struck her mind. Melody subconsciously opened the news app and read the headline. "The CEO of YN Entertainment, Ryan Yan, has posted on social media stating that he has gotten married to the famous actress, Melody Si, earlier this morning. The two tied the knot at the Civil Affairs Bureau." A little below that was a picture of them coming out of the office of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

'This can't be happening!' she thought to herself. Holding the phone in her hand, Melody rushed to Ryan's room. She didn't even have the time to put on her shoes. She banged on his door and he opened.

Ryan had been about to take a shower when Melody came in, so he was shirtless. Melody saw his perfect, sculpted body, and turned away. Holding out her phone for him to see, she asked, "What's going on? Why is the news of our marriage in the headlines? The post has been reposted around three hundred and fifty times already!"

"Well that's probably because you have a lot of fans. You know that you're quite a popular one, right?" Ryan replied coolly and yawned.

"I... I didn't know we were going to make it public this soon," Melody said, shocked.

Ryan draped a towel over his shoulders and said, "Don't be silly, how can we solve the Adrian problem if we don't make our marriage public?"

Melody was thunderstruck when she heard that. She clenched her fists and roared, "Ryan, can you ask me first before you do anything which involves my life? I need to be mentally prepared to deal with it, right?"

"All right, I'm going to take a shower. Would you like to join me?" he asked with a nod.

Melody stomped her foot and muttered, "You bastard!"