Chapter 4 Strawberries And Catch Ups

The next morning, I woke up with a snot stain on my pillowcase and a pounding headache. I won't lie, I'd slept soundly through the night and I wasn't sure if it was because I was completely drained from the day before or because the new bed I found myself in was just that comfortable.

Whatever the reason was, I was grateful for the well- deserved sleep. My heart felt a little lighter and even though I was still unhappy about my current marital situation, at least I could face it with a less tired look on my face.

Before I could stretch my limbs and give my body the wake-up it needed, a sharp knock echoed from the other side of the door.

"Come in." I called out, voice still groggy from sleep.

Velma poked her head through the doorway, offering me a polite smile. "Good morning, ma'am. I hope I didn't wake you up?"

I shook my head quickly, sitting up straighter. "No, no, you didn't." My eyes darted to the pillow, heat rushing to my cheeks at the thought of her spotting the stain from where she stood.

"I just wanted to let you know that I've laid out breakfast in the dining room. Mr. Sinclair usually eats around eight o'clock whenever he's home." she paused. "But if you're not hungry now, I could bring yours up to you later. Or perhaps you'd prefer to have it in the garden?"

"I think I'll just eat downstairs with Mr. Sinclair." I replied, trying to get the sleepiness out of my voice. I didn't want to seem like a bother to her especially since this was my first morning here, I wanted to give her a good impression.

Besides, I was pretty hungry. And even though I'd rather have eaten alone, I didn't want to seem rude to my host, who I assumed was waiting for me downstairs.

Or so I thought.

"Uh, Mr. Sinclair isn't around at the moment." Velma said. "He left with the driver right after I brought you to your room last night."

Oh. "I see." I said, trying to hide the bit of confusion in my voice. "Well, in that case, I'd really appreciate a setup in the garden. But let me take a shower first then I'll be right outside."

~~~~

"I'm surprised you actually went through with it." Kaylor's voice rang through the other side of the phone. "Part of me thought your parents were joking."

"Well, with the way they threatened me with financial doom, this was far from a joke." I sighed, popping a strawberry into my mouth and chewing slowly. "Trust me, Kaylor, if there was any way I could've gotten out of this ridiculous plan, I would've taken it."

"You should have run away like your sister did." she chuckled and I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see me. "Then your parents would probably find some distant cousin of yours and marry her off to the guy."

"Ha, ha. Very funny." I was genuinely relieved to be talking to my best friend. Especially after everything that had happened in the past 24 hours; the wedding ceremony, coming to my new home, then later finding out Nathaniel hadn't even bothered to spend the night.

There was definitely a lot for me to process. And having Kaylor to vent to was exactly what I needed.

"And the wedding itself? What was it like? Or was it more of some rushed courthouse thing?"

I took another strawberry from my bowl. "Definitely not a courthouse thing, it was a full ceremony. Nice venue, flowers everywhere, the reception even had a string quartet."

Kaylor giggled. "How fancy."

"Yeah." For something that had been thrown together in like a week, it was pretty amazing. Maybe if it was someone else's wedding I attended I would have liked it even more. "The music was great and the food was pretty decent." I paused. "I'll admit I enjoyed myself a tiny bit. At least more than Nathaniel did."

"He hated it, huh?"

"It didn't seem like he enjoyed himself at all." I shrugged. "He looked bored the entire time. And he kept excusing himself like every five minutes, he was all over the place. Can't blame him though, my nerves were just as bad."

"But wait," Kaylor paused me, her voice laced with curiosity. "Is he cute? Or is he just your typical rich white guy with no personality?"

"He's hot." I said without hesitation, making her squeal. "Tall, tanned, nice features. I think he's mixed with something, maybe Hispanic?" Sinclair didn't sound like a Hispanic name, but who knows.

"Ugh, I've been manifesting this for you since high school." she said dramatically. "I love you, but your taste in men is trash. Remember Joe Fisher?"

Ah, Joe. Eleventh grade. How could I forget? Especially since he crashed the car I got for my sixteenth birthday. The jerk had the nerve to blame me too, said I distracted him while he was driving. Mind you, he was the one that refused to stop at a red light. Long story short, my parents called his parents, they paid for the repairs and my pretty Audi was taken away for some time as punishment.

Lesson learned.

"Speaking of trashy men." Kaylor continued, "Remember that sexy hunk I met at the resort the first night I arrived? Well turns out... he has a wife."

"What?!"

"And a daughter. too She's probably around five."

"Oh my goodness, that's insane!" I said, eyes widening. "Imagine if you'd actually taken him up on his offer that night and hooked up with him."

"Ugh, trust me Elena, I almost did." she groaned. "But I was so tired that night and the wine at the bar had made me really drowsy. I'm pretty sure I would've fallen asleep before we even made it to his room."

"Look, for now, just enjoy the rest of your vacation." I advised. "And maybe steer clear of the older white guys. They sound like bad news."

"That reminds me." she said with a mischievous tone. "I've got my eyes on another guy at the moment. Tall with a French accent. I've never been into bald men, but I might make an exception for him."

I burst out laughing at her words. "You're crazy."