Loving Damien

Two

It was safe to say I had cried myself to sleep in the silence of the lavish bedroom that was now mine. The room Damien had given me directions to was large and perfectly finished with not a spec of dust in sight but I couldn't help noticng how well seperated it was from the rest of the house, or from what I had seen as I walked down the hallways. The windows were wide and lovely and gave a beautiful view of the back gardens. The one thought that had comforted me before I'd closed my eyes was how much fun I would have exploring.

Everything ached as I opened my eyes the next morning. Officially day one of being married and all I wanted to do was stay in bed forever. It was a wonderful bed, though. But I dragged myself up, only casting a glance at the red numbers of the digital clock. It was 7:00am and I was wide awake, one of the many things Mom's training has drilled into me.

I moved to the bathroom going through my morning routine before entering into the walk in closet where I'd hung up all my things last night. I dressed in a nice sundress I'd purchased recently and left my blonde hair down, before tying a black ribbon on top of my head. It was still early June and summer was creeping in so I decided to make the most of my summer outfits. Pulling on a pair of flats, I exited the room and moved down the hallways, my eyes landing on everything and marveling at the beauty of the place in the morning light.

After a little wandering, I found myself standing right where I had the night before when I had talked to Damien. I hadn't seen him this morning, or any other person for that matter. The house was still as silent as it had been the night before. I found it wierd now. Last night I had just assumed anyone living here had already gone to bed. I decided to go right, down the hallway Damien had been standing in and found myself in an amazing state-of-the-art modern kitchen. After letting my eyes roam juicily, I let my hands do the talking as I started making breakfast.

Mom had made me learn a lot of Italian cuisine in my training and a lot of restaurant level foods, but I had gotten my love of cooking from my Dad. Although being a businessman had really taken a lot out of him, Dad had always loved the simple things in life. Things like teaching your kids to cook or helping them learn new words or always being there at school functions. Dad had been the best and I still couldn't get over the fact that he'd passed.

I shook my head slightly to push away sad thoughts and briskly whipped up a full English breakfast of bacon, sausages, toast, eggs and orange juice. I took a minute to look for the dining room and found it right next to the kitchen. It was another elaborate space with a long table and about fifteen or more chairs. The place could seat a really large family when it needed to and after meeting the Calvetti's, I wasn't so surprised at the space.

I found napkins and silverware and arranged the table as best as I remembered to. There had been a lot of things I'd learnt in my training, after all. As soon as I was done, I rose my head, about to leave in search of Damien when I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sight of someone standing at the door. The woman also looked as scared as I was.

"Mrs. Calvetti. Forgive me. I didn't mean to scare you," She spoke quickly, a thick Italian accent layering her words.

I nodded as my heartbeat slowed, "Oh, that's no problem. I didn't see you there. And please, call me Andrea."

She looked a little unsure at my request but smiled a little, bowing her head slightly, "Of course, Andrea. My name is Anna, I am Mr. Calvetti's maid. One of many, actually."

I rose a brow at her words. One of many? Well, where were they and why hadn't Damien bothered to mention them at all? Actually, he hadn't even bothered to talk to me but you know, a simple effort, maybe.

"Hi, Anna. Speaking of Mr. Calvetti. Have you seen him? I just made breakfast."

Anna's gaze moved to the plates on the table and I didn't fail to notice her slight wince before she looked back to me with almost sympathetic eyes. I internally steeled myself for what she was going to say.

"Actually, Mr. Calvetti already left. He hardly eats breakfast and is usually at work by 6 in the morning. I thought he would have informed you." And as though to soften the blow of her words, she quickly added, "However, he is always back by 7."

I stood there, staring at my morning's work. A sort of a peace treaty I had concoted. What had I even been thinking? That my training lessons would pay off or that my little speech from last night would have turned things around? Of course, he had already left. He was Damien Calvetti and he answered to no one. Especially not the woman he didn't want but was now trapped in a marriage with.

I snapped out of my self-loathing when Anna worriedly called to me. I rose my head to her and gave her that perfect smile and assured her it was okay and waited for her to leave before sitting down to breakfast, alone, the silence of the house I had first thought enchanting, now bearing down on me more heavily than it had last night.

I was definitely not okay.

***

I had finished up with breakfast hours ago and had explored the whole house without bumping into a single soul, not even Anna. I had forgotten to ask about the other maids she'd mentioned. But it seemed as though none of them existed. As though even Anna had been only a part of my imagination.

I had found a library though and had quickly fallen in love with the large shelves and first edition books but even I knew they couldn't fill the evergrowing hole in my chest. Still, I tried but four hours later, I found myself back in the kitchen, passing the time by baking cookies. By the time I'd done three batches and kept them aside, I found my way to the back gardens outside where I still didn't sight a single person. I wondered around the gardens for a while, admiring the roses, daffodils, orchids and daises. The garden was simply wonderful and I wondered who took care of the flowers so well.

After that, I wandered back inside and sat in the library with a plate of cookies, warm milk and a book. And by the time evening rolled around, I found myself looking forward to seeing Damien or anybody really at this point. It had been a lonely day and although I wasn't much of a social person and didn't really have close friends but I had always had Mason and he was enough. I didn't need a crowd, I only needed one person and I would be okay.

But soon the hours passed and by the time it was 9:00pm and Damien didn't show signs of coming back, I finally got the message. He was avoiding me. He didn't want to see me and be reminded of this marriage. Anna has said he was always home by 7:00 but two hours later and he was nowhere to be seen.

And so, with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes, I climbed into bed and in the silence of my new room, had only my pillow to comfort me as I ended my first day as Mrs. Damien Calvetti.