Boredom

"Wow, this is nice!" Celeste commented as she arrived at Richard's penthouse. He owned the top 3 floors of a high-rise building in the central downtown area that overlooked the rest of the city. Celeste gazed open-mouthed as they took a completely glass elevator straight up to the 50th floor.

Ding!

The elevator opened into a large open living room and Celeste couldn't help but be shocked. She felt as if she had walked into the Architectural Digest version of a dream bachelor pad. The living room was decorated in a minimalist manner with a large all-white sectional sofa and large white coffee table catching the eye. It had high ceilings and was bordered by floor-to-ceiling glass windows that displayed the city. Adjacent to the living room was a large kitchen complete with a long white marble counter lined with black leather stools, shining stainless steel appliances, and an exquisite fully stocked bar taking up one whole wall.

Standing in the kitchen was an older lady wearing an apron while wiping the counter. She had completely grey hair pulled back in a loose bun and was wearing a bright blue tracksuit. When they entered the space, she glanced from Richard to Celeste before giving a kindly wide smile.

"Welcome back Master. I see you've brought a guest back. Hello young lady."

Celeste poked her head out from behind Richard and waved cheerfully, "Hello Madame, my name is Celeste."

"Sweet girl, just call me Auntie Mae! Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"

"Cookies and hot chocolate with marshmallows?" Celeste asked hopefully.

"No. Give her some real food." Richard interjected causing Celeste to pout.

"Boooo. Tomato tomato tomato." She complained.

"Don't worry young lady, the evening meal is ready. I prepared garlic roast chicken, black truffle butter filet mignon, pasta primavera, some cheesy garlic bread, and mussels in cream sauce. I can make you cookies that will be ready for your dessert so how about it?"

"…Okay" Celeste reluctantly agreed.

She quickly sat down at the counter, and a spread of food was quickly laid before her. Richard casually grabbed a plate, loaded it with everything, and handed it to her before filling up one for himself.

When he noticed Celeste picking at the plate and sniffing each item, he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Checking if it's edible." She responded before staring at his plate as he ate. His eating posture was elegant as he used his fork and knife to quickly dissect the food before placing it into his mouth. It looked tasty…

Seeing Celeste stare longingly at his plate, Richard simply swapped his plate for hers and continued eating. Seeing her just staring at the plate, he told her,

"Eat comfortably. Nothing has been done to the food, see?" he told her as he took a big bite from the food.

Celeste looked at him with tears watering in her eyes before she stabbed her fork into the pasta and jammed it into her mouth.

Tasty!

She was someone who enjoyed eating, but for the past year, the meals she had eaten at the Valentine's mansion were putting her through hell. There were times were they gave her just disgusting slimy slop to eat or times when the food looked normal but had obscene amounts of salt so that she couldn't consume it. She wasn't safe when she went to the office either with a packed lunch, so she slowly gave up. It became a habit for her to just skip meals. With minimal money to her name, the only things that she had been able to safely consume were baked goods and hot chocolate.

During the entire year, she had been back, not a single person had noticed or cared that she hadn't been able to eat food or how she kept on losing weight. Only a man who had known her for less than a week and noticed the little hints.

Determined not to cry, Celeste quietly stuffed food into her mouth. Even when she became full she continued eating. She wasn't sure when she would consume something so delicious again!

Cough!

She almost choked on a piece of meat and started coughing causing Richard to stare at her before he slowly said,

"Eat slowly, it's not running away. I have some business to handle so make yourself at home and take care of yourself. If you need anything just ask Auntie. I'll be back."

Celeste simply nodded, too embarrassed to look him in the eye. Richard simply gave her a back pat and pressed his face to the top of her head before walking away.

Once Richard left, Auntie Mae came back with a tray of cookies in her hand. Enticed by the smell, Celeste stared hopefully at the Auntie.

"So young lady what is your relationship with the young Master?" v asked with twinkling eyes. She had been working for Richard for years and it was the first time she had seen him bring a woman back to this residence much less touch and kiss her.

She examined the young lady in front of her, noticing that although her face was a bit bruised, the shape and features were beautiful, particularly the sparkling purple eyes that stared longingly at the tray of cookies in her hands.

"I am his girlfriend and future wife Auntie." The girl replied with a bright smile.

"Good girl." Satisfied at her answer, she handed Celeste the tray of cookies and watched as the girl happily downed them. Such a healthy appetite. She would have to make sure to make lots of food for her so she could hold a chubby baby earlier.

"Auntie, do you mind if I look around?"

"Of course, dear help yourself." Auntie Mae replied.

Celeste hopped down from the stool and decided to explore Richard's apartment. She poked around the current floor but didn't find anything interesting apart from a locked door which Auntie Mae said was his office. She then finally made her way to the room she was most interested in – Richard's bedroom! After all, he had said she should make herself at home!

His bedroom was decorated completely in black. The same floor-to-ceiling windows existed here but they were covered with checkered black blinds. A large, black floating bed dominated the room with a gray rug, black shelving, and black dressers accentuating everything. Everything in the room was perfectly placed without a single thing out of place. The bed was made with crisp corners, the rug edges were pressed down, and the side tables were perfectly aligned. When Celeste poked her head into the bathroom, even the towels were perfectly folded. The closet was even worse with all the shirts, pants, and jackets perfectly hung and evenly spaced. She wanted to peek into the underwear drawer, but she decided to give Richard his last modicum of privacy.

Done with her brief exploration and feeling tired, Celeste plopped down on the bed for a little bit and before she knew it she was fast asleep.

When she woke up and groggily walked into the kitchen, Auntie Mae was preparing another meal but there was still no sign of Richard.

"Auntie, when is Richard coming back?" Celeste asked while taking a seat at the counter.

"I'm not sure dear. He hasn't sent word back yet. The only thing he left was the ointment for your injuries."

"Then where am I supposed to sleep? On the couch?"

Auntie Mae looked at the sleepy girl lazily scooping soup into her mouth and thought that she had to set up more opportunities between the girl and Richard.

"Well young lady, the other floors are currently sealed away as they're not used. We never have guests so there's nothing in them. Since you're the young master's girlfriend why don't you spend it in his bedroom. I'm sure he wouldn't mind anyway."

Celeste almost wanted to explain that the two of them weren't really dating and that she could sleep on the couch, but when she thought about how comfortable the bed was, even with the covers over it, she caved in. Besides, Richard wasn't so narrow-minded that he would care if she slept on his sheets right?

After dinner, Celeste invited herself to Richard's bathroom and took the best shower and bath of her life. She found an extra toothbrush underneath the sink and after brushing her teeth, she went digging in his closet. After finding an unopened pack of boxers and undershirts, she put on the oversized clothes and comfortably lay down in bed, finally relaxing. The last couple of days had been so stressful that laying on a real bed with lights coming through the window completely lulled her to sleep.

Looking around, she thought it wouldn't be bad to live like this.

4 Days Later

"Arghhhh, I'm bored!!!!" Celeste kicked her legs while sitting on Richard's bed. For the past four days, she had made herself at home and had completely taken over his bedroom. She comfortably used his shower and wore his clothes. When she felt hungry she would go and chat with Auntie Mae while she made her food.

It could have been considered a mini vacation except for the fact that she had no cell phone, and she could not leave. Even though she could access her social media through Auntie Mae's laptop, there was nothing urgent on there, so she just ignored it.

Each time she wanted to go out during the day, Auntie Mae stopped her. When she tried to sneak out at night, she would be stopped by people in military outfits. When she asked them to contact Richard, she was ignored. Although she had appreciated the mental break and enjoyed the chance to catch up on her shows while ruining Richard's recommendation algorithm, she was unbearably bored and felt like a prisoner. To fill up her time, she had ended up using Auntie Mae's laptop to do some research on Titania Girardi who was to be her opponent at the upcoming banquet.

Since she would be attending the banquet, she wanted to be as prepared as she could. She had to say that although the woman was a creepy stalker in her own right, she was very successful both in the fashion world and the business world. She had successfully pushed away her older brothers to become the heir of her family and still managed to be the top queen in the socialite circle. Her only weakness seemed to be her obsession with Richard Carrington. She had never been linked to anyone else romantically and somehow managed to follow him around everywhere around the world. She would be a difficult opponent to defeat and trick, but Celeste was determined.

Her future success and grandfather's wishes depended on her acting.

"When is that bastard supposed to get here? When I see him I'm going to beat him up for trapping me here." Celeste complained while throwing herself back onto the bed.

"I didn't realize I was a bastard. Let me go tell my parents." An amused voice said.

Celeste immediately sat up and looked at the doorway. Casually leaning against the door was Richard dressed in a black military uniform. Seeing him looking around at the slightly messy room, Celeste put away her shame and jumped up and ran to him with her arms open.

"Babe! Where have you been? You abandoned me!"

Before she could hug him, Richard stuck his hand out and held her head away. No matter how much she stretched her arms out she couldn't reach him causing her to pout.

"Handling some business. I see you made yourself at home?"

"I was just following your orders. How is my brother? Did you make him suffer?" Celeste asked while looking up at his face.

Richard silently examined the face of the girl in front of him, noting that the bruises on her face were gone leaving her face crystal clear again. Due to rest, she looked more relaxed than she had been in the hospital and her cheeks seemed a bit more rounded. Her mischievous violet eyes were twinkling as she stared at him and if someone were around, they would not believe that such violent words had come from such an angelic-looking face. Considering some of the things Edward Jr. had said about Celeste while imprisoned, he completely agreed with her stance. He deserved to suffer.

"Naturally."

"Good. Am I free to go now? I have things to do."

"No, we have a date remember? Let's go."

"Go where? I have to go home to prepare for the banquet and thanks to somebody," Celeste paused and intentionally glared at Richard, "I have minimal time to put together an outfit that won't embarrass you and more importantly me."

"I know. I doubt anything you have at home will be appropriate for an event of this caliber and I doubt that you have the connections to get something good quickly so we're going to buy something for the banquet. All you have to do is select something that looks good and I'll deal with the price. Let's go." Richard ordered her then began walking away.

Celeste was momentarily stunned at his words. Although they were true, he had basically called her poor to her face.

"Did you just call me poor?" Celeste asked him incredulously.

"If that's how you want to take it."

She gritted her teeth before stomping after him, "I swear I'm going to choose the most expensive thing and make you go bankrupt!"

"Do your worst, just make sure you look good for the banquet," Richard replied nonchalantly.