Chapter 2

Eleanor stared up at the ceiling in Malcolm's suite, wondering how things would have been if Adelaine hadn't run away. She was sure that by now she would be sitting in a corner of the reception hall, munching away on some good food.

At the sheer thought of food her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn't even had a piece of nutrient since this morning.

She cursed her sister inwardly, if only Adelaine wasn't so unpredictable this wouldn't have happened. But Eleanor still wondered why she ran.

Just some nights ago, Adelaine wouldn't shut up about being the center of attention at the wedding. She had even picked out the very flamboyant and expensive wedding dress, reception dress and these diamond crusted shoes. She said she wanted to shine.

Adelaine even made Eleanor pick out a less eye catching dress because she didn't want Eleanor to steal her 'spotlight'. So why in the world did she do this to poor Eleanor?

" The spotlight you wanted so much is mine now, stupid Adelaine!" Eleanor kicked her feet angrily in the air. The door flew open and Mrs Moore frowned, " What…on earth are you doing, Eleanor?", the older woman asked.

Eleanor's feet were frozen in midair, she blinked stupidly, "St..stretching?", she answered and put her legs down.

Mrs Moore shook her head and closed the door, " Anyway, dear Malcolm said your feet were hurting, so I brought a change of shoes" she said and dropped the box, that Eleanor only noticed then, on the bed. 'Dear Malcolm? Pfft!' Eleanor thought.

She opened the box, the shoes inside looked an inch lower than the ones she was wearing before, she was very grateful. Eleanor tried them on, " Thank you,mother" she said and paused, then continued, "Um…any news from Adelaine?", she asked quietly, "Not at all".

Her mother sighed and patted the space beside her, " Come. Sit", Eleanor obeyed.

Mrs Moore held her hands, " I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. As much as I expected Addie to do something like this, I was still shocked. You were the closest solution. I'm sorry but can you bare-" -it's alright mother, I understand. I'll do whatever I can to help the family, no problem" Eleanor said, even though deep down she wanted to scream.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door, "Come in" Mrs Moore responded and the door opened. Malcolm popped his head through the doorway, " Excuse me ladies, it's time for the photos" he said in a very gentle tone, that Eleanor thought was pretentious. 'Snake' she thought and glared at him.

" Didn't we already take photos at the church?" She asked as the three of them entered the elevator. Her mother fixed her hair, " That was for friends and family", she said. Malcolm continued, " This one is for business partners", he told her.

Of course. Now she got it. Like she thought before, this reception was merely for business purposes. Most of these rich people just wanted to say they were here. It was like an undocumented alliance, between them and the Wrights.

The Wrights were well known both inside and outside the country, they were the largest corporation in the country. They owned chains of businesses, from hotels to estates to restaurants to entertainment industries and fashion industries.

Getting an invitation from them was like bagging a major deal, and everybody wanted that deal.

Conclusion. This wasn't a marriage, it was merely another investment.

*****

After taking photos with people she would not even remember after tonight, and walking around to greet more people, at the end of the night Eleanor could barely walk straight. She couldn't even remember how many glasses of wine she consumed all in the name of meeting new people.

She didn't even know when her family and the Wrights sent her and Malcolm off to their honeymoon. Or when Malcolm had to carry her into the private jet waiting for them at the airport. Or the event that followed when they got to their hotel suite. She didn't know.

******

Eleanor woke up to the soft, but irritating vibration under her head. She groaned and stirred in her slumber. Something restricted her movement. It was warm, and wrapped around her body, holding her so tight that she could barely breathe.

She wriggled around uncomfortably, until her ear pressed against the hardness of the warmth, and she heard the soft thumping of…a heartbeat?

Her eyes flew open instantly, but the light in the room blinded her and her head ached badly. She groaned again, "Ah…what…the fuck?", she swore and removed the arm around her waist.

The vibration continued after stopping for a while. Eleanor searched under her pillow, till her fingers touched the cold flat device. Without opening her eyes, she answered, " Ugh…hello?", the others is of the line was quiet for a second, "…Eleanor?", a very cheerful voice called from the other end.

Eleanor pulled the phone from her ear and looked at the caller Id, 'Mama', it read. The phone wasn't hers, the caller most definitely wasn't her mom, "Hello~ Eleanor? Are you there?" The woman at the other end called.

Eleanor glanced at the sleeping beauty beside her, torso on display, hair messy…and red marks on his arms?

That was when she felt it….the soreness between her legs.

Eleanor's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, she felt her blood drain from her body, " Um…uh…Can I…call you back….later?", her voice shook. Mrs Wright hummed, " Alright darling", and hung up.

Eleanor dropped the phone, grabbed whatever clothing she could find on the floor, and ran into the bathroom without a second glance at the naked man on the bed.

Malcolm felt around the bed and was met by the emptiness on his left side. He pried his eyes open and blinked a couple of times, trying to register his surroundings.

He sat up and looked around the room, " Eleanor?", he called out but no response. He thought for a moment and quickly the receptionist at the lounge area, " Good morning Mr Wright, how may I be of service?" " The lady I was with yesterday, did she leave the hotel?", he asked while putting on his discarded pants. The receptionist paused, " No sir. Ms Eleanor never left the hotel" she answered calmly.

Malcolm glanced at the bathroom door, " Alright. Thanks", and hung up. He strode to the other side of the room and knocked on the door, " Eleanor? Are you in there?".

Eleanor flinched and shuffled around, in panic. Malcolm heard her movements and scoffed, " What are you doing in there? Are you taking a shower? Can I join you-", the door swung open and a red faced Eleanor appeared, " You scum! How can you even ask that after what you did?!" She asked angrily.

All the previous panic in her dissipated when he asked that last question.

Malcolm stared at her, " What did I do?", He asked. She clenched her fist, " You took advantage of me!", she told him.

Malcolm was surprised, but soon burst into laughter, " Thats really funny..cause that's not what I remember happening", he sighed after a while.

" Liar! You scum! How could you take advantage of a drunk person?!" Eleanor accused and jabbed at his bare chest. Malcolm grabbed her hand and pulled her close, " That means you're also scum. You also took advantage of a drunk person" he told her with a knowing smirk.

Eleanor's eyes went wide, " I would never!-" "-tell that to the you of last night. I was only trying to get you out of your dress cause you looked uncomfortable, but you kept coming at me. I was under the influence of alcohol too, so I fell for your trap, and now look at how you accuse me" he explained.

Eleanor wriggled out of his grasp, " No way. I don't believe you…", she shook her head. Malcolm sighed, " the shirt you're wearing is missing a few buttons, who do you think ripped them off?" He pointed at the dress shirt she was wearing.

Eleanor looked down at herself, her face flushed red, " Fine" She mumbled. Malcolm pointed at his neck, " And look there should be lipstick marks on my neck. I saw them when I went to take a pi—" " I said fine! Just shut up already!", Eleanor felt completely embarrassed.

Malcolm smiled down at her face, 'cute', he thought. He caressed her cheek gently, " Why are you embarrassed? I'm the one who should be embarrassed. Imagine waking up to an empty bed. It felt like I had a hot, passionate one night stand. How are you going to apologize? Hm?" he whispered the last part to her.

Eleanor felt her toes curl, she was loosing to his heated gaze. She snapped out of it, and slapped his hand away, " We'll keep it a one night stand, I don't even remember what happened. And it won't happen again", she said strongly. He scoffed, " Oh darling….we're married now, that's going to be very impossible", she closed the door in his face.

She stood by the sink and looked at her red face. Eleanor didn't want to admit it, but Malcolm was kind of sexy.