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It took almost twenty minutes for me to weave my way through the guests on the patio and run up to my room upstairs. Closing the door behind me, I sank into the recliner beside my bed to catch my breath for a minute.
All of this—my wedding to Nikolai and my pregnancy—nothing felt real yet. What if I woke up tomorrow morning to find out everything had been a dream and nothing more? I hoped it would be.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. When I opened my eyes, I reached behind me, undid my zipper, then shrugged my dress off and stepped out of it when it pooled at my feet.
My hands were clammy with sweat, and my body was heated from standing under the sun for too long. My stomach rumbled and I clutched it. I needed a quick shower and something to eat. I’d been so nervous and nauseous this morning that I hadn’t cared for breakfast.
When I finished taking a shower, I tied a white towel around my chest and padded it to my closet. The moment I threw the white wooden doors of the closet open, my jaw fell open.
There was nothing inside. All the clothes and shoes Nikolai had shopped for me were gone.GONE!
I hurried out of the room, looking for the old maid I met last night. I didn’t know her name yet, so I called her the same name she always called me as I ran down the stairs and scurried into the kitchen.
“Devochka!”
She wasn’t in the kitchen, but some younger maids were preparing all sorts of dishes that made my stomach growl once again. “Where is she? The old maid I mean?”
They exchanged glances for a moment, then looked at me with wide eyes. One of them eventually spoke up. “She’s in the master bedroom. She’s helping you settle in.”
Settle in. Whatever that meant. “Where’s the master’s bedroom?”
“The second room to your right.”
“Thank you.” I left the kitchen, rounded up the white banister, and found the master’s bedroom from the maid’s directions. I took deep breaths and reminded myself to remain calm before I pushed the door open.
The old maid whipped around to look at me, her chest caving in and out. I’d startled her. There was a younger maid beside her who looked no older than eighteen and she was busy folding clothes into the massive glass closet that spread from wall to wall in the large bedroom.
I glanced around in awe.So, this is Nikolai’s bedroom.A huge bookshelf stood beside his king-sized bed, filled with different books I wondered if he ever read—a minimalistic chandelier draped from his ceiling, illuminating the dark-gray walls.
“You’re early,” the old maid said, her voice indifferent.
“I am.” I crossed my hands over my chest and walked to her. “Why is my closet empty?”
She took a moment as if contemplating whether to answer me or not, then she settled for giving me an answer. “This will be your new closet.” She shrugged when she noticed I was glaring at her. “Boss’ order, not mine.”
By boss, she meant Nikolai. Obviously. I was going to give him a piece of my mind later. Hopefully, he didn’t think I was a piece of furniture he could order around however he wanted.
The maid she’d come in with picked the laundry basket from the floor and left, leaving me alone with the old maid. I detested being bossy, but that was the only way I could stop anyone around here from thinking I was a pushover.
“I’m married to your boss now.”
“I know you’re married to him.” Her eyes met mine.
I swallowed at how low her tone was. “That means you work for me now too.”
“Sadly.”
I let out a sigh. That was it. Being bossy and all of that wasn’t who I was. I decided it was better to be nice; who knows, she could help me out of this hellhole. “Don’t you think I should know your name at least?”
Her eyes softened for a bit, then it went back to icy dark. “Arina.”
I smiled, happy that we seemed to be getting somewhere with each other. “I’m Giselle.”
“I know,” she answered with a shake of her head. “There are clothes in the closet. Boss bought them himself. I shopped some toiletries for you too.”
“How is that possible? You don’t even know what products I use.”And Nikolai doesn’t know my taste in fashion.
“I chose the ones safe for dogs.”
