(Ezekiel's home ^^^)

EZEKIEL

My wife stared at my mansion, rooted in her place as I came to stand beside her. She was nervous, hell, even I was nervous. This is a new chapter in our life.

But I am not going to hurt her. So, I hope she is not worried about that.

"Do you want me to carry you inside?" I tried to ease the tension.

"No, thanks." She mumbled and started to walk up to the front door.

I typed in the passcode and led her inside our new home.

Hands stuffed inside my pockets, I watched as she admired her surroundings, looking intrigued. I bought this recently, considering that I will soon be sharing it with my wife.

"So..." She faced me. "...where's"--she cleared her throat--"our room?"

Right. Our. All this might have started as a deal between our fathers but now it's not just a deal. It's proper marriage, one where we are expected to make it work which equals sharing a bedroom plus a bed.

Believe me when I tried fighting Dad on this. Uncle must have told her the same thing considering how she was not yelling at me about it.

I gestured for her to follow me upstairs where I took her to my--our bedroom.

I held open the door for her and followed her inside. "All your clothes are in the closet." I pointed to my walk-in closet and then to the other door. "That's the bathroom."

She nodded and was about to head to the bathroom when I gripped her by her elbow. "I like my home to be neat and clean so keep it that way. You will be a responsible adult and not leave things around. Understood?"

She fixed me with a bored look. "You just keep proving to me that you are a grumpy, old man."

"The word you are looking for is 'mature'."

"Marcelo and Silvio are mature too but they are not this uptight."

"Will you stop comparing me to your brothers?"

"Why? Are you jealous that they are better than you? That I prefer their company over yours?"

She was baiting me unnecessarily, provoking me and I was not falling for it. "I don't get jealous of anyone. Ever."

"Sure, sure." She yanked herself out of my grip and stalked inside the bathroom.

I chose a spare bathroom to freshen up and change into a comfortable pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before walking down to the kitchen where I searched through the refrigerator for some food.

I hardly ate at the wedding, I was too tense for that. So, I pulled out the leftover lasagna from the refrigerator and put it in the oven to heat it.

I soon heard Chiara walking down the stairs and I glanced out of the kitchen to see her, her makeup and dress were replaced by satin pyjamas, her hair falling over her shoulders, and her emerald eyes searching around.

If I ignore the fact that she is just eighteen, she could easily pass for a full-grown woman with those curves, plump lips, and the light freckles scattered across her cheeks which only add to her beauty.

But then her antics bring me back to reality. She just turned eighteen. How much difference could a few months make?

Young or not, she is my wife now and there is nothing I can do about it.

Sighing, I took out some plates and cutlery when she entered the kitchen, glancing around.

"Hungry?" I asked, pulling out the lasagna from the oven.

She nodded. "Uh-huh." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Let's order pizza!"

"No, pizza", I said sternly. "From today, you will only have healthy food."

"Pizza is healthy." She argued.

I placed the dish with the plates and cutlery on the kitchen island. "No."

"So, what about this lasagna? It's not healthy either with that much cheese and all."

"It's homemade."

She huffed, pouting. "You are so boring and demanding. I need a divorce."

I trampled down my amusement and served her the food. "Eat."

Like a little kid who has been denied candy, she took a seat on the stool and I sat beside her. 

She took a bite of it and then with a mouth full, asked, "Did you make this?"

Placing my fingers under her chin, I closed her mouth. "First, eat properly. No talking with food in your mouth. And no, my cook made this. I only cook when I have the time to."

She swallowed and knowing she had more to say, I paused my eating and faced her.

"That's good because if you expected me to cook, I would have kicked your ass."

"You don't know how to cook and even if you did, I would have never let you use my kitchen. You are too clumsy for that."

She stuck out her tongue at me and went back to eating and didn't say anything else, so I resumed eating too.

.
.
.

"You better stay at your side." She told me, making herself comfortable on the left side of the bed. "If you even dare to breathe in my side, you will regret it."

"Whatever."

I was about to lie down too when I noticed her grabbing the extra pillows and making a wall in the middle of the bed. "Yeah, that's not happening. Keep them where they were."

She pressed her lips in a thin line and rolled her eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you have an OCD? Everything can't be perfect like you want it."

I stared at her. "You can't use the word 'OCD' in such a loose term. OCD is a serious psychological and anxiety-provoking condition which interferes with normal day-to-day activities. So, no, I don't have an OCD."

She stared at me blankly. "There was no need for that explanation. I didn't even understand a single word."

Of course, she didn't understand anything. "What I mean to say is that I don't have an OCD. And keep those pillows back where they were."

"God!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "You are so irritating! I can't live with you like this."

She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and I watched her call someone as she pressed the phone to her ear. "Hello? Dad? Can you please pick me up? He is so freaking annoying!"

What the hell? 

Before I could ask her to end the call, she frowned. "Hello?"

She removed the phone from her ear and stared at it in shock. "Did he just hang up on me?"

I snorted. "Deserved that. Now stop acting like a kid." I grabbed those extra pillows and kept them back in their place and laid down, switching off the lights.

She huffed and grumbled for a while before she went silent and lay beside me silently.

There was a considerable distance between us on the bed but with the way my senses were attuned to her, we might as well have been pressed against each other.

"You know..." She said into the dark, her back to me. "...it's really unfair that I spent hours stuck in a chair, getting prodded by different people who put in so much effort to make me look beautiful for someone who didn't even bother to compliment me."

Surprised, I stared at her back. When I saw her walking down the aisle, my breath was stolen from me. And I had no idea how to tell her that, to blame her for taking away my ability to breathe.

I rolled over so I was closer to her, my front pressed to her back and I felt her body tense against mine.

I brushed away the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear and not able to help, I trailed my knuckles down the side of her face and whispered softly in her ear, "You were looking beautiful today, wife."

My hand paused on her cheek and I pinched it as I added, "As beautiful as a monkey."

"You fucking asshole!" She turned over as I shifted back and she slapped my hand, glowering at me. "You are the monkey here! No manners at all!"

I chuckled. "Now that you have got your compliment, go to sleep."

She cursed me a little more before finally settling on her back and closing her eyes.

My eyes slid to her and I watched her for a moment. Her face looked calm and soft and a smile formed on my face. My wife.

I looked away before she could feel me staring and stared at the ceiling instead.

A minute later, I heard her say, "Eeel?"

"What?"

"I can't sleep."

"So?"

"Do something."

I turned to face her and found her eyes already on me. "What would you like me to do, Your Highness?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Give me a head massage maybe--"

Just to mess with her, I interrupted, "Well, orgasms can help you sleep better--"

A pillow was slammed on my face, cutting me off. I chuckled loudly as I removed the pillow from my face and found her back to me and she flipped me off over her shoulder and pulled the duvet up to her head.

I guess she is sleepy after all.