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Chapter 17
There had never been a ride that changed Harper’s life so much. She entered her new home with a sense of feeling new, like she had control again in her life.
Although the honeymoon was short and at times only felt as though she and Brian were on a trip together, she would never forget it. And after everything, settling into a new home felt right. It was like a new beginning. Maybe their home together would bring happier and less complex memories. Maybe it would begin to feel like a marriage somewhere down the line. She wasn’t sure, but the giant windows and brightly coloured décor gave Harper a good outlook.
It didn’t take her long to get her affairs in order. She was generally a neat person, so organising everything in terms of her belongings was a breeze. The only hard part of it was wondering whether or not they’d actually share the bedroom. Or would she be spending the rest of her life in an empty bed? Not if she was able to break Brian’s convictions. She kept reminding herself of that goal. No matter how hard things would get between the two of them, if she didn’t forget the goal of getting him to be honest about his feelings for her, then she would be all right. She’d be able to cope.
When she moved onto her shoe collection, Brian had passed the room and stuck his head in to speak with her.
“Are you settling in nicely?” he asked.
“Yes.” She smiled. “This bedroom is so large. I am quite excited.” It felt weird to say. She couldn’t remember the last time that she was that happy or the last time where she was that happy and expressed it so openly. It was like she was a joyful child again.
“That’s great to hear. I have one request. Please do not use the parlour at the front of the house. Thank you.” He then took his leave.
Harper needed to control her anger in that moment. His request not only confused her, but it made her clench her jaw. She figured that it must’ve meant that he wanted the room to himself, a place where he could get away from her. And so, she remembered her goal.
One day, he would not feel that way and it was her job to make sure that it happened. If he wanted the room, that was fine. It would only be temporary. She told herself that one day, they would be in the parlour together speaking about the old times where they almost had a loveless marriage. The more she envisioned that the more real it felt to her.
She went to the door and stuck her head out to see Brian walking away down the hall. She figured that a little teasing wouldn’t hurt. “Brian,” she called out.
“Yes, what is it now, Harper?” he said while turning around.
“When you said don’t use the parlour, were you trying to be a jerk or does that just comes naturally to you?” She forced a sarcastic smile, but his face had revealed a deep pain. One that she should not immediately understand. “Never mind.”
Brian didn’t say anything in return, he just continued on his way.
Harper went back into the room and to the window. Brian wasn’t an easily understood man. On the one hand, Harper thought of Brian’s feelings and actions as his own choice. She figured it derived from a stubborn heart. But with a face like the one she had seen from him in the hallway, it made her wonder.
Was there a part of him that wanted to love her but was refusing to do so for another reason? Was he abiding by his own silly laws engendered within him because of something that happened long ago? For the first time, Harper felt as though she was actually learning a bit more about Brian. Maybe he wasn’t as mysterious as she thought.
She threw her shoes in the closet and cleared her mind. She was to meet Marianne in the main room shortly.
After freshening up a bit, Harper made her way downstairs to where Marianne was sitting. The first part of the whole interaction that Harper noticed was Marianne’s somewhat stoic demeanour. She had still smiled and been polite, but there was an odd stillness to her, as if she had something plaguing her mind.
“It is great to see you,” Harper said while sitting down across from her. A servant brought out fruits and wine to sit on the table beside them.
“It is great to see you as well, Harper. Why does it feel like I haven’t seen you in years?”
Harper laughed. “It does feel that way, doesn’t it? I’m not sure, time can be a really tricky thing. To me, it feels like just yesterday that we were all children playing in the garden. But at the same time, like you said, it feels like I have not seen you in a decade. How are things going in your life, though?”
It took Marianne a moment to reply. While forming a response, she poured herself a glass of wine. “Things have been relatively boring with me. You know, the day to day doesn’t change much. I don’t have an eventual life like yours.”
“I’d consider that a good thing. I’ve had plenty of ups and downs as of late. Sometimes I just crave consistency. I miss the days where the most exciting thing that would happen to me was a spider in my bedroom.”
Marianne laughed. “How was the honeymoon, by the way?”
It was then that Harper found herself blushing. It felt strange to her to divulge information on such a private topic, even though it wasn’t a taboo subject, it felt that way to her.
When Marianne noticed her reddened face, her own face grew heavily angry, and Harper could not understand why. It caught her off guard entirely.
“Why do you look so angry, Marianne? Is something the matter?”
Marianne put her drink down and pursed her lips. “I just…don’t understand how you are blushing over something like that. It makes me think that he has you under his spell.”
“We are married now.” Harper noticed her tone getting a little bit stern.
“You know as well as I do that marriage can sometimes be just a word.”
