New life

The next morning, Selena is awakened by the sound of what seems to be someone wandering around. Selena slowly opens her eyes and sees her mother moving around - busy packing her things.

"Mom? What are you doing?" Selena asked with confusion in her voice.

Her mother stops and looks at her with confusion as well. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you packing all of my stuff?

Ria just looks at her daughter with a serious face. "Do not play games with me. Get up there and help me pack. Your husband is going to pick you up."

Selena falls silent and remembers everything. She got married yesterday to a stranger. She could only respond, "Oh." She gets up and packs her things, then she prepares herself. Selena wears a long white dress with a floral design and matches it with a pair of flat sandals. She looks at herself in the mirror and sighs.

When she goes out of her bedroom, Magnus is in the living room talking with her parents. Her father stands up, "Looks like you are ready." Selena nods.

Selena drags her suitcase but is stopped by Magnus. "You do not have to bring your things. I will buy you everything you need in States?"

Selena's eyebrows meet as she looks at him. "States? What do you mean?" Her mother comes close to her and explains. "You are going to the States. It is where your husband resides and your flight is today."

Selena could not believe it. She got married fast and just yesterday, and now she will be living in the States? She could only follow Magnus outside.

Two cars are parked outside. In a car, a man in a black suit is waiting outside an opened car door. She goes to that car but before she enters, she took one last glance at her house. Her parents are by the door, waving at her goodbye. Selena did not wave back and just enters the car without saying goodbye.

Selena is just looking outside the window the whole trip to the airport. Upon arriving, the car door is opened for her. She gets out of the car and so does Magnus.

"Come, Selena, we are behind schedule. I have a meeting in an hour." Selena follows her husband with speed.

What confuses Selena is that the security did not check them. Although they did not bring any suitcases, Magnus only brings a briefcase, they should be lining up for passport or inspection.

"Umm.. excuse me? Where are we going? We do not have a passport yet."

Magnus did not look at her but he still responds. "We will be using my private plane."

"Your private plane? But.." Selena could no longer say anything. Magnus receives a phone call and takes it immediately.

Selena is the first to enter the plane and is amazed by the insides. She hides her amazement when Magnus enters.

"You can sit anywhere you like. If you want to sleep, there is also a single bed."

Selena chooses to lay in the bed than sit with strangers. There are 6 people in total on the plane and they are all intimidating to Selena. She closes the curtain and then lays the bed sideways.

Selena could only recall her life in the village and her experience in a forbidden forest. Memories keep flooding her mind and she does not want those memories haunting her anymore. It would only make her suffer. Selena let herself fall asleep throughout the whole trip.

Hours later, Selena slowly wakes because of the constant tapping in her shoulder. "Selena. It is time to wake up."

The voice is familiar so she opens her eyes and sees that Magnus is the one waking her up. Selena's eyes widen with surprise and immediately sits up.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to frighten you. We are approaching the States borders."

Selena gets out of bed and prepares herself for landing. She sits in an empty seat and looks out the window.

"Wow. The view up here is amazing." Selena utters to herself and watches the sight below. For some reason, she feels relieved and the weights she carried are gone. Maybe because of the new environment, it made her feel excited.

Selena is smiling while looking at the window. She did not even notice that Magnus has been staring at her.

A moment later, Magnus and Selena are getting off the plane. A car was waiting for them. One man in black on each side opens the door for them.

Along the way, Selena unconsciously asks Magnus while looking in the window. "What makes a wife?" Then she looks at Magnus and realizes that she said out loud what she is thinking.

Selena could not read Magnus' expression. He just stares at her. She manages to say, "Umm... I am sorry. I did not mean to ask that. Forget that I ask that."

"Actually I am glad you asked. It would be a lot easier to discuss that matter with you."

Selena slightly nods and Magnus continues to speak.

"When it comes to the household chores, you will not be doing that. We have a lot of maids. What will you do as my wife is to attend parties and business meetings with me."

Selena waits for another but she realizes that it would be all. She then nods, "Understood."

"Another thing, here is your application form for medical school. Fill it up immediately. The semester starts next week." Magnus gave Selena an envelope containing the papers. Selena opens it to confirm what she just heard.

"You are not serious, are you?" Selena mutters in disbelief.

"I am serious. Is it what you dream, yes?" Selena is speechless looking at the form. But she stops and thinks, then returns the envelope to Magnus.

"I can't accept this."

Magnus looks at her with a questioning look and Selena immediately answers, "Umm... Because... It does not feel right."

Magnus smiles slightly at Selena. "I know we just met and got married after the day we personally met. But I am your husband and husbands do a lot of things for their wives."

Selena looks at him and was touched by what he said. "Thank you.", Selena shyly smiles.

"But how did you know? Did my parents tell you?" Selena hopes her parents did not because it would be embarrassing if they asked him about college. But at the same time, she would love to know because it would mean that they really still care about her and her dream.

"No. I heard from a neighbor of yours yesterday.

Selena feels down, "Oh, I see.". She cannot help but think that her parents really marry her off for money. She immediately looks outside the window to hide her eyes tearing up from Magnus.

An hour later, they have arrived at a big and black gate. The gate automatically opens. Selena exclaims to herself, "Whoa!".

They travel for a minute until they arrive at the front porch of a mansion. Selena gets out of the car first. She examines the exterior of the house and is amazed by its elegance - a French renaissance chateau-style mansion. Magnus walks toward the door and Selena follows. A maid opens the door and greets them, "Welcome back, Sir."

The first thing that Selena sees as she enters is a huge aquarium just below the staircase. It has different kinds of water plants, beautiful corals, a lot of white gravel, and a miniature castle. There are also a lot of different kinds of fish such as clownfish, goldfish, yellow tang, royal blue tang, sergeant major, discus, German blue ram, betta, and electric blue hap.

"Wow. It's so amazing." Selena rushes to the aquarium excitedly like a child. She did not even realize that everyone is watching her with a weird look except for Magnus. Magnus also goes near the aquarium and stands beside Selena. "Do you like aquariums?"

"I love them. It's amazing! It is like a whole ocean in a big glass tank." Selena responds happily.

"I guess you go to the sea all the time." Magnus smiles while looking at the aquarium.

Selena answers hesitantly, "Actually... I have never been to the sea. It is also my first time seeing an aquarium personally. All I had seen were pictures."

Magnus turns to look at Selena. Selena is touching the glass, amazed by the fish in the tank. He is confused about his wife's expressions and emotions. Just yesterday, Selena's face cannot be drawn because of its sadness. It is his first time seeing a bride so sad at her own wedding but he could not blame her.

Magnus then calls an old lady and introduces her to Selena. "This is Miss Luna, the head of the house. She is the one in charge of keeping the house in order and in shape. And she is also my grandma"

Miss Luna smiles at Selena. "It is nice to meet you, dear." Magnus continues, "And this is Selena, my wife." The housekeepers and staff start to murmur. Miss Luna turns around and gives them a scary look which made them quiet.

"It is nice to meet you as well, Ma'am."

"Oh dear, just call me Nana." Miss Luna then looks at his grandson with a serious look. "You have a lot of explaining to do, young man."

Magnus gulps and smiles, "Yes, Nana but now is not the time. I have an important meeting to catch. Could you assist my wife until I get back?"

"I will take care of her." Magnus hugs his grandmother, "You are the best." Her grandmother laughs, "Stop talking nonsense and go, you'll be late."

Magnus looks at Selena. "I will see you at dinner, okay?" Selena smiles and nods. She and Miss Luna look at Magnus until Magnus enters the car.

Miss Luna grabs both Selena's hands. "Now, let's go to your room. I am sure you are tired from the trip." Selena smiles at her, "Thank you."

They then both go up to the right side of the two-sided staircase. Selena sees a lot of doors when they reach upstairs. "Do not worry, dear, I have the entire day tomorrow to give you a tour around the mansion." Selena smiles genuinely as a response.

Miss Luna is leading Selena towards white double doors. She opens it and Selena is stunned by what she sees. "It's lovely." Selena looks at Miss Luna with a smile. The room is spacious and is split into two. There is a white king-sized bed in the middle of the right side of the room, two single couches on the end of the bed, and a round table. Underneath the three is a large fur rug. Both sides of the bed have a side table and a lamp.

On the left side of a room, there is a big couch, a coffee table, and a television on the wall. What makes the room stunning and serene is its color scheme - a combination of vanilla and a light shade of brown with a cool, pale yellow undertone.

"Your personal things are already been brought. I am the one who brought them and am confused why my grandson is making me buy lady stuff. Now I know why."

Selena smiles, "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem, dear. I will let you rest and I will wake you up when it is time for dinner, okay?"

Selena nods and takes a look around again. She then goes to the bed and slowly lays herself. "It's so soft." A minute later, Selena feels tired and sleepy. Her eyes close and she drifts off to sleep. An hour later, Selena is awakened by the soft knock at the door. "Miss Selena, it is for dinner. Miss Luna and Master Magnus are waiting for you at the garden."

Selena lazily gets up and responds, "Yes, I'm coming." She quickly searches for a dress in the cabinet and changes. She goes out of the room and sees that the maid is waiting for her. "This way, Miss." They went down the stairs on the left side and towards a door that directly leads them to a huge garden. Selena cannot stop being amazed. The garden has a lot of stunning flowers and many different unique landscapes. The place is so bright because of the string lights. "It is like fireflies in a forest."

The maid walks towards a small bridge and Selena follows. When they are at the bridge, Selena stops and looks at the pond below with many koi fish. Selena's eyes are full of amazement. Then Miss Luna calls her making her look ahead. Passing the bridge is a pavilion with plants and flowers as its walls and roof.

In the center is a long table full of exquisite dishes. Miss Luna guides her to where to sit. "Here, dear, you sit in front of me." Selena obeys. Magnus is already there, sitting in his spot.

"Did you rest well?" Magnus asks while putting a napkin in his lap.

Selena also places a napkin on her lap. "Yes, I did."

Miss Luna interrupts them. "Now you two stop talking and eat your dinner. I made mini beef tourtieres for the appetizer, cedar-plank salmon for the main course, and dark chocolate ganache tart for dessert."

Magnus starts to eat and compliments her grandma. "This is so good, Nana."

"Of course. I really prepare this since we are celebrating your arrival with your wife. How is the food, dear?"

"Delicious. So delicious." Selena is speechless. She has never taste dishes like this before and never imagined that she could eat something like this.

"I'm glad you like it, dear. Eat up, you two." Miss Luna smiles at Magnus and Selena who are enjoying her cooking.

The dinner went great. They have a bottle of champagne and then went to their bedrooms to rest.