Seventeen

Amelia stood in front of the mansion that would soon be called her home. Her parents-in-law had hugged her, welcoming her to the family, while introducing the newly wedded to their wing of the mansion. It was their wedding present to Mike. They wanted him to have his privacy with his wife without involving the whole family but made Amelia promise to eat dinner with them once in a while. Amelia nodded; she didn't eat dinner with her family at home, so it was going to be a nice change.

The wing that was allocated to them looked new. Mike pulled her close to him, "Are you ready to start your new life, Mrs. Afonso?"

Amelia continued staring at the mansion. It was a question, she had no answer to. Was she ready to start a new life, after discovering that her family might not be hers? How could she start a new life when they were untold stories about her past she needed to uncover? After all, it was said that one's past and present determine their future. She knows her present but has no idea of her past.

"Amelia, are you okay?" He sounded concerned, which made her feel guilty. Filing those thoughts at the back of her mind, she blinked at him. "I'm sorry. Let's go in."

Mike frowned, confusing Amelia. Had she said something wrong? She tried to think of what she had said, but it was only an apology. Mike turned her towards him, holding her arms lightly. His touch on her sent light waves toward her head, making her want to avoid his gaze. He crouched to her level, held her chin up, and looked at her in the eyes. "Never apologize when you haven't done anything wrong."

What! Amelia thought she had heard him wrong. "Sorry."

Mike chuckled, "I told you never to say sorry when you haven't done anything wrong."

She blinked. She was expected to say sorry whenever things go wrong, even when she was not wrong. It was the life she was used to. She nodded acknowledging Mike's idea. Mike smiled at her, showing his perfect thing. Amelia was captivated by his looks, no wonder Ava wanted to get married to him at all cost. The guy looked too handsome to just be the heir to a billion dollars company.

He linked his hand to hers, "Welcome to our home." He opened the door, revealing an apartment that smell like new furniture and paintings. They had gone the extra to repair the whole apartment. The whole room was silent and beautiful. The 'welcome home' decoration stared at her, and she almost felt her eyes wet. No one had ever considered her feelings, and done anything for her.

She felt someone lift her off the floor, only to turn to face a grinning Mike. "I heard it's tradition for a husband to carry his wife to their bedroom for the first time."

Amelia's head could hardly comprehend everything happening all at once. She ignored the heat that had risen in her cheeks at the fact that she was in Mike's hand, and tried to concentrate on other things. "What tradition?" She asked, her voice sounding strange to her.

"Have no idea. But, if the husband refuses to carry his bride all the way to their bedroom the first time, it's usually pegged a bad omen."

"That's a lie. There is no such tradition." But Mike was already moving toward the direction she assumed was their bedroom. He opened the door with his leg and carried her gingerly to the bed. He dropped her slowly and leaned after her dropping a slow kiss on her lips. Amelia was carried by the moment. Something was enticing about Mike's lips, every time she tried avoiding his lips; she ended up kissing him, and not wanting to pull away.

It was a bad idea. Slowly, she pulled away from him. Mike dropped beside her on the bed, his eyes taking her in with no intention of hiding his attraction. "We ought to be on our honeymoon now, but because everything is secretive. We can't."

Amelia nodded, regaining some of her common sense, "It's not even a real wedding. So, there is nothing disappointing about it."

Mike frowned, "Doesn't mean we can't enjoy the moment. We can make this wedding what we want it to be. We are here all alone, and it's our life. Our parents might have made the major decision of joining us in holy matrimony, but we can make this work."

Amelia shook her head refusing to be trapped again after gaining a bit of freedom. She glared at Mike in annoyance, "Are you going back on your words now? We have to break up after one year."

Mike moved a bit from her, creating a distance between them. She suddenly missed the warmth his body had provided while he was sitting close to her. She heard him inhale deeply, "I am not breaking my promises. I'm only trying to say this one year can be fun for us. We don't have to live like strangers for a year."

She dropped from the bed, finally taking the room in. It was big like they could remove three of her former bedroom in this one bedroom. There were adjourning rooms to the bedroom. She bet it was the bathroom and toilet. Yet, she couldn't find her boxes in the room. She had seen some of the workers helping with the boxes. The color of the room was dim and romantic; a nice setting for a bedroom. The lighting in the room was not too bright, and the bed sat gigantically in the middle of the room. Mike lying in the middle of the bed made it all perfect like he was the one who controlled everything here. Amelia didn't think she could avoid him while staying in the same room.

"Is this the only room in this apartment?"

Mike shook his head. "I don't think so. As far as I remembered, every wing has a minimum of two rooms. So, there should be another room here. It will be our guest room."

Amelia nodded, "Where is my luggage?"

He dropped lazily from the bed, striding to an attached closed door. Amelia followed behind. When he opened the door, her jaw fell on the floor. Her things were already arranged in the closet within that short period. Having lots of money sure makes a difference. Mike stopped beside her, giving her his perfect smile – the one that tells her that she needed to avoid him. "This is our closet. Although, we need to go shopping most of your clothes were left behind. You wouldn't need them here."

She glared at him making his smile turn to a grin. Who was he to decide the clothes she would need and those she wouldn't? Ooh! Her husband. Another person took charge of her life as her father and stepmother did. She ignored him, dragging one of her boxes, and started throwing her cloth back in the box.

Mike stood still watching her in amazement, "What are you doing?"

She stopped, giving him her version of a sweet smile. She bet she looked awkward in the forced smile. "Since this is not a real marriage, and we are only co-habiting, I think it's best we stay in different rooms."

Mike moved towards the box and stopped her from putting in more clothes. "There is no way we are staying in a different room. This might be an arranged marriage, but you are still my wife and you will sleep in my bed with me."

Annoyed, Amelia tilted her chin to look up at him. She chuckled, "Ooh. So, you want all the privileged that comes with being a married man right? What else? You want to fulfill your marital duties too."

Mike smirked down at her. "Of course, we will fulfill our marital duties."

Amelia hated the fact that he was confident about that. "What if I refuse? Are you going to force me to fulfill my marital duties?"

Mike's gaze darkened, his eyes dip to her cleavages, and he bit his lower lips. He held her hand slowly, sending new waves of electricity through her. What is wrong with her body? She hated the way it reacts to him.

"When we perform our duties wife, I won't be forcing you. You will come into my bed willingly."