A dutiful house husband

And like that, he didn't eat the food I made. He didn't even bother to check it, talk more about eating it.

All he did was give me a long, indecipherable look before he left.

I don't get it.

Why will he agree to get married to me if he doesn't love me?

It doesn't add up at all.

There was no way my stepmother forced him to marry me. All he did, he did it by choice, and nothing else.

He can't say he was forced to marry me, as there was nothing like force when my stepmother brought up the proposal.

Things went as smoothly as I thought they never will.

He could have agreed to be my stepmother's offer when he's confident he doesn't love me?

It's not right at all.

Raised my expectations all to dash it to pieces.

Had he not agreed to get married to poor me, I would have been halfway across the country, had the time of my life with my best friend, and probably had the love of my life with me.

He just dashed my dreams to pieces, crushed them, so expertly they became nothing but dust.

In a way, I'm left to believe he's purposely doing this thing.

Had that not been the case, he wouldn't have been this tight on me, and neither will he put me in this modern Cage as if I were Rapunzel.

It just doesn't add up at all.

My mind is telling me that this is the way Sly is trying to get back at me.

He wants to get back at me for making him a married man at the age of thirty.

"Lee I'm back." Marli smiling brightly like a kid who just won a teddy walked toward me.

"I thought you intended to stay there all the eternity?" I roll my eyes at her.

I was afraid that Sly might sack her should she waste time in returning.

He might overlook what she did this morning, but there's no telling what he might do when she ends up not preparing dinner for us.

"No, of course not. I had to submit a late paper. Thank you for your patience."

" It's no problem, I was just worried about you missing dinner. The boss wasn't happy when he heard of your early departure."

" Gods, I'm sorry. Did he do anything to you?" She asked in concern.

" Nah," smiling, I shake my head. " Sly might not treat me as a husband, but there's one thing he hasn't done. Sly hasn't raised his hand on me, he's never done that."

"Thank God." Smiling, she made to walk out when a slip of paper fell from her bag.

Standing from my chair, I pick the paper up. What, I thought, was paper, at first, turns out to be an invitation card of some sort.

"What's this?" I turn the card.

"Oh." Turning, Marli gives the card a look. "That's my invitation for the weekly masquerade dance. I forgot to dump it into the bin."

"Why?" I widen my eyes, both in disbelief and shock.

Why will someone not want to attend something like this?

"Those things aren't my Forte, Lee. I'm an introverted person who likes staying at home more than going out to have fun. Being at home is more fun to me than anything else can ever be."

" But this sounds fun. I've always wanted to go to one of these."

But not only had I not been invited, but my stepmother wouldn't allow me to go out, and talk more at night.

She likes locking me up in my room all day.

"You can go to it then. This invitation is like a gate pass to it."

"I can go?" I squeal like a child, but couldn't care less. Presently, I'm not concerned about my behaviour, all I care about is.....

"Why? Why that crestfallen expression?" She touched my cheeks.

"I would have loved to go there, but there's no way for me to do so. Sly has never allowed me out of the mansion, I don't think I'll be able to attend."

Going to the masquerade would have been like a dream come through, but there's no way for me to get past the security Sly kept around the perimeters of this house.

"Bullshit." Mali frowned, "there's no way he can be able to keep you here, you're too young to be left in a situation like this.

Go and there, and live a little." She said those words as if going out I'd as easy as she made it sound.

She thinks it's the same with her life. She goes out when she wants to, provided she doesn't have any work presently and returns when she's through.

She thinks am free just like she is.

"And you think I can be able to freely leave the gates?" I raise a brow at her.

"Why not?"

"Tell me, Marli, have you seen me leave this place before? Have you returned from studies and got told I wasn't around?"

"No. You're always here whenever I return, so I thought it's like part of what you want to do. Like, there are some males out there who aim to be househusbands. Only leaving the house when they have to."

" That's their decision. There's nothing like Decision in my case." I turn the card in my hands. " I would have loved to attend, but there's no way for me to do so."

If only Sly will allow me to go to this party, I'll be more than happy. The kind gesture would have helped in wiping out all the bad he'd done to me.

"You want to go to the party?" Marli asked in a conspirator's tone.

"What does it matter? I won't still attend, what I want doesn't matter."

Only what my husband wants, and right now, he wants me to be a dutiful househusband.