Page 9
Story: His Ring, Her Rules
As he made his way upstairs, he came to a halt in front of a door and eventually stated to me, “This is your room.” That was all he said before I observed him walk towards another door other than mine and enter his bedroom (I guessed).
My phone was continually ringing, disrupting my restful slumber.
I couldn’t recall where I left my phone last night. Still with my eyes closed, I moved my fingers across the bed, hoping to find it.
“Aargh!” I grumbled as I finally opened my eyes and found my phone on the nightstand.
I took it up and answered the phone.
“What?” I said grumpily.
“Vivian?” Jona enquired from the other end.
“You just ruined my peaceful sleep, Jona! Don’t you know what time I usually sleep?!”
“I do know what time you sleep; you sleep till 7:30 in the morning and till 10 on weekends. But if you could just bother to check the time, you will know that it is freaking 10 in the morning, and it’s Monday, and you are still not in the OFFICE!”
“Oh, shit!” I shouted, standing up and searching for the wall clock, which I found at 10:05. I was supposed to arrive at the workplace at 9 a.m.
“Are you coming now?”
I scratched my head as I sank back into the bed, “I don’t think so…I just got married yesterday, and who goes to work on the day of their wedding?”
“Your husband”, he said.
“Remember that your office was going to be shifted to his building from today as you both are now the joint CEOs,” according to him, “and I am here in his building, getting your office set up while he is questioning me that why you are not here yet.”
“Wait…did he ask you to call me?”
“…yes…”
“Couldn’t he call me by himself?”
Jona remained mute, prompting me to speak again: “You know why he didn’t call me himself, right?”
“…yes…”
“And may I know the reason, please, Mr. Zoe?”
“Let it be, Vivian.”
“Mr. Zoe,” I cautioned.
“He said that he doesn’t want to waste his time reminding people about their job. And he said that he can’t tolerate irresponsible people.”
Irresponsible? Just because he is now the joint CEO, he believes that he is alone accountable, while others are unaware.
Is this a joke? I was managing my firm rather easily on my own.
“I’m not coming today; I’m exhausted, and you should tell that arsehole I don’t care.” I hung up the phone.
After that, I got up and went to the toilet to freshen up.
After finishing my morning ritual, I decided to explore the home after breakfast because I knew arsehole would not give me a tour.
I entered the kitchen to prepare myself breakfast, but there was already a woman there, her back to me, and she was preparing something.
I cleared my voice to get her attention, and she turned around. She appeared to be in her mid-40s, with black hair and a few strands of grey. She smiled warmly at me.
I copied her grin, and she said, “Good morning, Mrs. Dante.”
Mrs. Dante. That sounded really alien.
“I’m Jenny, the housekeeper,” she introduced herself.
“Well, nice to meet you, Jenny and you already know me,” I replied with a laugh, “don’t call me Mrs. Dante; I am not used to it yet; you can call me Vivian.”
“As you say, Vivian. I thought you would have gone to the office, too, because Jaxon was not here.”
I mentally rolled my eyes, “I’m not a workaholic like him; I needed to rest, so I didn’t go.”
“By the way…what would you like for breakfast? I am going to make waffles, though.”
Waffles…the word alone made me hungry.
“Do you have vanilla ice cream to top that with?” I inquired, making her laugh. “Of course.”
I watched her mix the batter as we spoke about unrelated topics.
She worked with Dante for many years. She nearly reared Jaxon, and he was like a son to her.
She told me about Jaxon’s childhood experiences, and I was surprised to learn how joyful and fun Jaxon was. It was incredible.
“But everything changed after Julia’s death…” she rasped. “Jaxon changed completely.”
Who is Julia? His sister? What about his ex-girlfriend?
Jenny didn’t say anything further about it; she may have assumed I already knew, but the reality is, I have absolutely no idea who she is!
“Umm… who’s Julia?” I eventually enquired.
She turned to face me as she poured the batter into the waffle maker. “Jaxon didn’t tell you?”
“…no…he doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Then, I think it would be better if you asked him only.” As if he’d tell me!
“Please, you can tell me…”
She gently shook her head and returned her focus to the waffles.
A few minutes later, she brought me a dish of chocolate waffles, topped with a hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream and coated with chocolate syrup. Yum.
And it didn’t take me long to finish them.
I was consuming them, but in the back of my mind, it was continually ringing, “Who is Julia?” and why do I believe she is somehow tied to the true purpose of this marriage?
Only Jaxon can answer that. _________________________________________
It was now dusk, and I was exploring my so-called new home, where I was meant to spend the next, God knows how many years of my life.
The mansion was gorgeous; nearly every wall was made of glass, providing a glimpse of the pool outside.
I was returning to my room when I heard the front door open, and I knew it was Jaxon, so I immediately walked inside, not wanting to confront him.
At least I had a separate room so I could relax for a while. But my calm was short-lived as the door to my room was flung open, revealing an angry-looking Jaxon.
Well, he’s always angry.
I tried not to be frightened by his angry expressions as I stood there, arms folded.
“Don’t you know how to knock?”
His jaw clenched as he stepped closer to me, showing me the screen of his phone and asking, “What’s the meaning of this?”
“What?” I asked.
He tapped the screen, and an audio recording of my chat with Jona began to play: “I am not coming today, I am exhausted, and you better tell this to that arsehole; I don’t care.”
“Where did you get this recording from?”
He simply disregards my inquiry. “Let me make this clear: I don’t care how you handled your company earlier, but now it is my company even, so you better start to care about it.”
I didn’t say anything; instead, I started to walk toward the toilet, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, “Understood?!”
I rolled my eyes at him, which irritated him tremendously.
The very next second, he threw me into the wall and locked both of my hands over my head, and I drew a big breath, absolutely taken aback by his actions.
There was hardly a space between us; I could feel his breath on my face.
“You better mend your ways, Vivian, or else I will have to punish you,” he said.
Punish you. What did he mean by that?! What would he do?
When I eventually questioned him, “Who’s Julia?” he let go of my hands and took a step back, turning to go.
He came to a halt instantly, his body frozen as his back was turned towards me.
I believed he suffered a heart attack, but my joy was short-lived since he eventually turned around slowly.
“Who told you?” His voice was calm and low, but it sounded deadly.
“Jenny, your housekeeper told me this morning.”
“What did she tell you exactly?” he questioned, taking a step closer to me.
My phone was continually ringing, disrupting my restful slumber.
I couldn’t recall where I left my phone last night. Still with my eyes closed, I moved my fingers across the bed, hoping to find it.
“Aargh!” I grumbled as I finally opened my eyes and found my phone on the nightstand.
I took it up and answered the phone.
“What?” I said grumpily.
“Vivian?” Jona enquired from the other end.
“You just ruined my peaceful sleep, Jona! Don’t you know what time I usually sleep?!”
“I do know what time you sleep; you sleep till 7:30 in the morning and till 10 on weekends. But if you could just bother to check the time, you will know that it is freaking 10 in the morning, and it’s Monday, and you are still not in the OFFICE!”
“Oh, shit!” I shouted, standing up and searching for the wall clock, which I found at 10:05. I was supposed to arrive at the workplace at 9 a.m.
“Are you coming now?”
I scratched my head as I sank back into the bed, “I don’t think so…I just got married yesterday, and who goes to work on the day of their wedding?”
“Your husband”, he said.
“Remember that your office was going to be shifted to his building from today as you both are now the joint CEOs,” according to him, “and I am here in his building, getting your office set up while he is questioning me that why you are not here yet.”
“Wait…did he ask you to call me?”
“…yes…”
“Couldn’t he call me by himself?”
Jona remained mute, prompting me to speak again: “You know why he didn’t call me himself, right?”
“…yes…”
“And may I know the reason, please, Mr. Zoe?”
“Let it be, Vivian.”
“Mr. Zoe,” I cautioned.
“He said that he doesn’t want to waste his time reminding people about their job. And he said that he can’t tolerate irresponsible people.”
Irresponsible? Just because he is now the joint CEO, he believes that he is alone accountable, while others are unaware.
Is this a joke? I was managing my firm rather easily on my own.
“I’m not coming today; I’m exhausted, and you should tell that arsehole I don’t care.” I hung up the phone.
After that, I got up and went to the toilet to freshen up.
After finishing my morning ritual, I decided to explore the home after breakfast because I knew arsehole would not give me a tour.
I entered the kitchen to prepare myself breakfast, but there was already a woman there, her back to me, and she was preparing something.
I cleared my voice to get her attention, and she turned around. She appeared to be in her mid-40s, with black hair and a few strands of grey. She smiled warmly at me.
I copied her grin, and she said, “Good morning, Mrs. Dante.”
Mrs. Dante. That sounded really alien.
“I’m Jenny, the housekeeper,” she introduced herself.
“Well, nice to meet you, Jenny and you already know me,” I replied with a laugh, “don’t call me Mrs. Dante; I am not used to it yet; you can call me Vivian.”
“As you say, Vivian. I thought you would have gone to the office, too, because Jaxon was not here.”
I mentally rolled my eyes, “I’m not a workaholic like him; I needed to rest, so I didn’t go.”
“By the way…what would you like for breakfast? I am going to make waffles, though.”
Waffles…the word alone made me hungry.
“Do you have vanilla ice cream to top that with?” I inquired, making her laugh. “Of course.”
I watched her mix the batter as we spoke about unrelated topics.
She worked with Dante for many years. She nearly reared Jaxon, and he was like a son to her.
She told me about Jaxon’s childhood experiences, and I was surprised to learn how joyful and fun Jaxon was. It was incredible.
“But everything changed after Julia’s death…” she rasped. “Jaxon changed completely.”
Who is Julia? His sister? What about his ex-girlfriend?
Jenny didn’t say anything further about it; she may have assumed I already knew, but the reality is, I have absolutely no idea who she is!
“Umm… who’s Julia?” I eventually enquired.
She turned to face me as she poured the batter into the waffle maker. “Jaxon didn’t tell you?”
“…no…he doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Then, I think it would be better if you asked him only.” As if he’d tell me!
“Please, you can tell me…”
She gently shook her head and returned her focus to the waffles.
A few minutes later, she brought me a dish of chocolate waffles, topped with a hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream and coated with chocolate syrup. Yum.
And it didn’t take me long to finish them.
I was consuming them, but in the back of my mind, it was continually ringing, “Who is Julia?” and why do I believe she is somehow tied to the true purpose of this marriage?
Only Jaxon can answer that. _________________________________________
It was now dusk, and I was exploring my so-called new home, where I was meant to spend the next, God knows how many years of my life.
The mansion was gorgeous; nearly every wall was made of glass, providing a glimpse of the pool outside.
I was returning to my room when I heard the front door open, and I knew it was Jaxon, so I immediately walked inside, not wanting to confront him.
At least I had a separate room so I could relax for a while. But my calm was short-lived as the door to my room was flung open, revealing an angry-looking Jaxon.
Well, he’s always angry.
I tried not to be frightened by his angry expressions as I stood there, arms folded.
“Don’t you know how to knock?”
His jaw clenched as he stepped closer to me, showing me the screen of his phone and asking, “What’s the meaning of this?”
“What?” I asked.
He tapped the screen, and an audio recording of my chat with Jona began to play: “I am not coming today, I am exhausted, and you better tell this to that arsehole; I don’t care.”
“Where did you get this recording from?”
He simply disregards my inquiry. “Let me make this clear: I don’t care how you handled your company earlier, but now it is my company even, so you better start to care about it.”
I didn’t say anything; instead, I started to walk toward the toilet, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, “Understood?!”
I rolled my eyes at him, which irritated him tremendously.
The very next second, he threw me into the wall and locked both of my hands over my head, and I drew a big breath, absolutely taken aback by his actions.
There was hardly a space between us; I could feel his breath on my face.
“You better mend your ways, Vivian, or else I will have to punish you,” he said.
Punish you. What did he mean by that?! What would he do?
When I eventually questioned him, “Who’s Julia?” he let go of my hands and took a step back, turning to go.
He came to a halt instantly, his body frozen as his back was turned towards me.
I believed he suffered a heart attack, but my joy was short-lived since he eventually turned around slowly.
“Who told you?” His voice was calm and low, but it sounded deadly.
“Jenny, your housekeeper told me this morning.”
“What did she tell you exactly?” he questioned, taking a step closer to me.