Chapter 3 Living With Him

"Allow me to show you around." Alexander said. "I'm certain the living, kitchen, and dining area do not require explanation."

"No." Gabriella confirmed and breathed a laugh.

"Well then." He said and led the way to the near door against the left wall. "This will be your room." He opened the door and allowed Gabriella to step inside.

The room was gorgeously decorated. Immediately her eyes gravitated to the large wardrobe. Then she noticed the room had a queen-sized bed with royal purple sheets and a matching comforter. There were pillows of all shapes and sizes on top of the bed. Next to the bed was a dark cherry wood desk. To the side of the desk was a large but empty bookshelf. Gabriella gave Alexander a look of question as she approached the empty shelves.

"You are free to fill these shelves as you please." He explained.

Gabriella nodded and followed Alexander out of the room. He led the way to the final door. "This is your office. I shall not disturb you while you are inside," he said. There was a giant desk in the center of the room and more empty shelves.

"This will be the baby's room." He said as he opened the door to the room between the study and her room and encouraged her to peek inside. The walls were done in a marshmallow shades and there was a fancy crib and other things. It looked like a high-class nursery.

Gabriella stepped back and allowed Alexander to slip the door shut. "The rest of the house is off limits to you." He said simply. "The other rooms are my room, office, and a guest room." He gestured to the doors to those rooms on the other side of the kitchen. Gabriella nodded and shuffled her weight from one leg to the other uncomfortably.

Alexander cleared his throat then and gave her a look. "Thank you for showing me around." Gabriella said softly. "I should like to rest now." She said as she moved towards her own room. Alexander nodded.

"I'll have Laura stop by your room later to discuss flowers for the wedding and you will shop for your dress sometime today or tomorrow as well. Laura will be your maid of honor, so you best be kind to her." Alexander then moved off to one of the rooms across the house and slipped inside before closing the door behind him, leaving Gabriella alone.

Gabriella bit the inside of her cheek before slipping into her new room to be alone. Once inside she kicked off her high heels and walked over to the wardrobe. She found it was still empty and smelled of fresh wood. Sighing, she moved to lie down on the bed keeping as far away from the dizzying heights of the wall of windows as possible. She would be lying if she said that it didn't feel more relaxing to be among clean surroundings, but she felt homesick. She missed the familiar surroundings of her apartment even she hated the mess.

A while later, there was a knock on the door to Gabriella's room. She stood from the bed and pulled it open slightly. There was a woman with long dark brown hair on the other side of the door. She wore a summery printed floral drawstring high waisted dress that was pink on top and had a dark blue backdropped floral print from the waist down.

"My name is Laura." She said with a warm smile. "I heard you will be tying the knot with our Alexander this weekend."

Gabriella couldn't help but smile back at the woman before her. "My name is Gabriella. It is a pleasure to meet you. Might I assume you are a friend of Alexander's?"

"More than just a friend," Laura said with a quiet giggle. "I'm his little sister."

Now it made sense. "You have that family resemblance now that I look more closely." Gabriella said warmly as she moved out of the way of the door so Laura could enter the room. She then closed the door and they headed over to the bed and sat down. Laura had in her hands a small tablet. The two sat on the edge of the bed beside each other and Laura brought up the site of floral options.

"I think you'd look stunning with pink or blue flowers." Laura said with a smile as she looked down at the tablet, using her finger to browse the options.

"Actually. I don't like pink." Gabriella said looking sheepish.

"Blue or white then." Laura said, nodding to herself. She then stopped scrolling. "Lily of the valley." She whispered softly. "We'll use lily of the valley with baby's breath." She then handed the tablet to Gabriella. The flowers looked like tiny bells on a curved stem. "They are said to bring luck in love and can symbolize a return of happiness."

Gabriella leaned in to look at the flowers more closely. "They're very pretty." She said absently. "Let's go with those."

"Tomorrow we will go dress shopping," Laura said sounding excited. "I can't wait to get to know my sister-in-law better. See you tomorrow." She then hugged Gabriella tightly around her shoulders and slid down from the bed before leaving the room.

Left alone and in a daze at the sudden exit by Laura, Gabriella leaned back in the bed and stared up at the ceiling. She took in a deep breath and let it out in a quiet sigh. She was unsure how to feel about the contractual marriage to Alexander. It felt something like a dream... or a nightmare to marry a man without loving him. But perhaps it was for the best. She had always read that until you love yourself, you can't possibly love someone else. She, personally, loathed herself most days.

"Get it together, Gabriella." She whispered to herself as she felt tears prickle at her eyes. "This isn't about love. This is about avoiding bankruptcy." Several calming breaths later, she lay in the bed sobbing silently into the pillows. This was not what she had wanted at all and worst of all, her migraine was back.