Papers for Roses

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Megan

The wrinkled ivory cotton sheet of her husband's saluted her groggy eyes. His scent perfumed the fabric, but it only served as a formidable reminder of being used for both sides of the bed were cool and as if untouched.

She had come to a decision to not dwell on it. Her marriage was strictly contractual and so she should avoid being hurt and disappointed. To his credit, he may or may not had a fair share of women energized with fairytale expectations of him.

Vowing to herself to not be one of them, Megan stood and tiredly sashayed toward the walk-in closet to retrieve some comfortable clothes. She wanted to use one of his T-shirts to wear around the penthouse, but decided against it. It might be too early and awkward for both of them to dig on each other's things. We are merely acquaintances at this stage, anyway.

Her feet carried her to the partially opened bathroom while wondering how their first morning as husband and wife would be. Even though she knew the marriage was far from what she anticipated when she was a child, she couldn't help but felt dejected and used from how he left her this morning. Megan was a reader of YA novels. She adored how authors could make such situations romantic and survivable and she briefly thought whether Wade Simon would be a harsh and indifferent man toward her or a gentle and attentive one.

From the past days, Wade was either of the men she described. He was an egotistical, ill-tempered, self-centered and remarkably intense man. He was never indifferent or gentle, harsh or attentive. He was expressive of what he desired, humorous when he wanted to be, although sometimes somewhat nice, he was very distant and unattainable.

As she drew nearer, an unpleasant smell reeked heavily and found its way on her nose. It tugged on her nostrils and made her stomach clenched in response. What in the world? she thought.

She opened the door with her index finger. Somehow, the stench frightened her.

A very unprofessional, crossed-legged, newspaper-reading man sat on the toilet. His brows were creased in concentration, though, his posture was surprisingly lax as if he's perched on a balcony drinking a coffee. His boxer dropped to his ankles.

"My lord!" she shouted. "Are you serious right now?! Seriously?! Seriously!"

The man only took his time to lower his newspaper and raised an eyebrow at her. "What? Didn't think such master of global-domination does not excrete in his life?" She only gaped at him. "A normal MA Psych student should've closed the door by now to give some privacy, mortified and blushing."

Megan groaned loudly and slammed the door shut, muttering along the lines of 'a blessed morning' and 'impossible man' on her trail to the kitchen.

x.x.x

Two plates of pancakes with maple and chocolate syrup were placed on the kitchen counter. Strangely, the idea of owning a dining table didn't appeal much to the master of global-domination to buy one. Megan poured two glasses of Perrier and two mugs of coffee as well.

Footsteps tapped mutely on the marble floor. Megan's gaze lifted to see a fine man clad in a plain white T-shirt and a boxer short approaching her. "I didn't know how you like your coffee but I already prepared a mug for you."

He smiled. "This is very domestic of you. But thank you."

Her eyes not so subtly roamed his body, from the way his shirt clung on the rippled muscle underneath to his long, tanned legs and bare feet. Even his feet were sexy. Wade only raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on it.