The ray of light that had found their way through Beatris' window had caused her to stir, opening her eyes gently.

She sat up stretching her body and yawning before pulling off the sheets.

It was 9:30am already.

"Wow! I'm gradually turning into the laziest woman on this planet," she muttered to herself as she heard a knock on the door to her bedroom.

"Come in," she said.

One month had gone by already. Not quickly. It was far from that.

She was still trying to adjust to this new lifestyle one she had virtually everything and did nothing. Just the life of her dreams. Except...

"Good morning, madam," A young neatly dressed woman said walking in.

"Good morning." Beatris smiled trying to be friendly.

"I'm here to take out the laundry. Breakfast is served. Would you like any other services today?"

She shook her head. She didn't want any services but she'd give anything to have some company in this big, lonely house.

To cut the long story short, Norman had basically married her and thrown her into this luxurious prison. They hardly saw each other at all. He worked all day and got home very late. Maybe he thought it was enough to call her everyday ask her if she was doing fine and if she lacked anything. Well, she had quite a few things on her list; company, attention, affection just the things he couldn't give her. 

There was always a lady from a service company present to do all the chores, prepare her meals and treat her to whatever she wanted. Always a different person every day because Norman preferred it that way and most of them hardly did or said anything that wasn't related to the service they had to render.

He wouldn't let her work. She didn't want to go back to the café anyway and she didn't need the money.

The worst of it was the case of Brianna who two weeks ago had broke the news to her that she was going away to a film school in Europe. Of course, Norman was sponsoring her.

Beatris had learnt the very hard way that she had no control over her sister anymore and she couldn't describe how frustrated it made her feel. But she had to learn to let go, because she wanted the best for her.

This was the life she chose and she had no choice but to get accustomed to the loneliness. After all, she chose to marry a man for money maybe this was the price she had to pay.

Her intercom beeped, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She rolled her eyes before moving towards the side of the bed. The bed was massive.

Beatris picked it up and put it to her ears. "Hello?"

"Hey, Tris. Can I come over?" He asked.

Beatris couldn't believe she was smiling at his request. Had she somehow missed him? She didn't know for sure, but right now, some company was what she craved.

Even though Norman Patterson was weird and creepy, he was kind of cute. He had adorable blue eyes that made him look very innocent sometimes. But, No. She didn't like him. She just couldn't. It was too much for her to develop feelings for anyone. Not after all she'd been through.

"Tris?" He called her attention since she hadn't replied him.

"Sure. If you want to. It's your house anyway," she said quietly.

About two minutes later, Norman opened her door and barged in. On getting in, he froze, staring at her. 

She followed his gaze and it had landed on her exposed lap. She'd think he was a pervert except he'd barely touched her since they started living together and he was supposed to be her husband.

Norman cleared his throat. "Uhm... Good morning."

Beatris gave a nervous smile, a large part of her didn't want to pull her gown down. Teasing Norman was a bit fun, he acted like a child.

"Good morning, Mr Patterson."

To her disappointment, he just walked over to a chair and sat on it.

"You look great this morning," Beatris said with a smile.

She watched him blush. She'd gotten a bit used to his funny reactions to her compliments, so she used them as often as she could to reach out to him.

"Thanks. I know I've been distant... Sometimes, I get so caught up in work..." He attempted having a conversation.

"You don't have to sit on the chair you know," Beatris said. Maybe she was teasing him, maybe she wanted some contact. Whatever it was, she was trying her best to break the barriers between them.

One couldn't blame her. With Brianna gone, she felt mostly empty and lonely to the point where the luxurious, sedentary lifestyle she'd craved all her life was terribly unsatisfying. 

"I shouldn't sit?" He misjudged her intentions.

"No. Come here," she said motioning for him to come join her on the bed.

Norman frowned momentarily before smiling again. "Tris, I'm all dressed for work, I can't..."

She sighed. "I'm not asking you for sex." She had no plans to do that actually, since they had some kind of unwritten agreement to not cross each other's boundaries. "I just don't like the fact that you stay so far away from me. I want us to be friends. That's the least we can do," she said.

Norman smiled as he got up from the chair and moved closer to the bed. He paused for a few seconds before sitting down.

"Are you so hormonal you think you won't be able to control yourself?" She asked. She was indeed curious. What thirty year old man would have a woman in his house and act like he was scared of her?

He chuckled. "No. I think you won't be able to control yourself." He smiled for the first time that morning. It wasn't one of his fake smiles.

"That is so untrue!" She protested as she laughed.

"When was the last time you had sex?" He asked and she could see he didn't mean to because he looked nervous again.

There was an obvious change in Beatris' expression. She looked uncomfortable. "Now, that is a very weird question... You're invading my privacy."

Norman stared at her intensely. "Are you still in love with him?" He asked.

Did this man know when to stop or not? "Of course not. Three failed relationships. That's what I've had to deal with, you see? I somehow gave up on men."

His eyes showed compassion. "Why?"

"Because men are mostly terrible to me, and... I don't know if it has anything to do with the horrible experience I had some time ago with a man when I was quite younger. Looks like it always interfered with my life in one way or another," she said looking away sadly, not sure if she should be discussing this with Norman or anyone.

These were memories she'd struggled so hard to get rid off.

However, Norman's calm demeanor brought out words from her mouth so easily, or maybe this was just the effect of having no one else.

"He broke your heart?" He asked staring at her blankly.

She stared right at him. "No. He broke me."

She noticed fear in Norman's eyes. Her words had probably affected him. Maybe she shouldn't have told him. No one needed to hear that she was a sad, broken woman. It did not help a lot with the image she'd created for herself.

"Norman... Maybe I was wrong to think every man is as bad as him. With all the kindness you've shown me, I think I was wrong. Good people still exist," she said as she smiled warmly.

Norman shook his head as he got up from the bed. "I'm not a good person," he said.

She was confused. "What do you mean?"

"There's a party by seven. I'd be here by six thirty to pick you up. Your dress would arrive in a few hours," he said coldly before walking out.

She had definitely not expected that kind of reaction from Norman. She felt like there was so much to his statement, but she did not want to take it seriously or obsess over it which was a usual thing for her sometimes. 

With the thought that she was finally going out, she lay down, not knowing whether to be excited or not.

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Norman walked out of Beatris room. He shut the door and leaned against it.

It hurt him more than he could explain to see her hurting like that. If only things had been different, if only he was wiser, if only he didn't have to hurt her this much.

All of this was to make her happy. To make up for all he'd done to her in the past, but it didn't seem to be working. He knew he'd only hurt her more.

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Norman walked into his brother's room with a brilliant smile on his face. Mac had been sitting with his bottle of beer, working on his laptop. He looked up at Norman and pretended to be indifferent on his arrival.

Norman sat right opposite him still smiling and trying to peep at what was on his laptop screen, causing him to close it up immediately.

"I missed you a lot, brother. Did you miss me?" He asked.

"I'm not in the mood to talk. Take your ass out of my room." He didn't yell but one could tell he wanted to.

Norman frowned. "This is not how to welcome your brother," he said.

"What do you want from me, Norman?" He asked almost angry.

"To talk to my brother," Norman said as though Mac didn't only share his blood and nothing more than that.

Mac scoffed. "Fine. You're allowed ten sentences," he said.

"Really?"

"Nine."

"That's so unfair! You're a cheat."

"Eight."

Norman sighed in defeat before putting up a smile again. Mac couldn't win this fight.

"I'm sorry for not visiting often. You know, I'm married now and... I have a lot of stuff going on. It's been a month since I last came here," he said proudly.

He had every right to be as that was the longest he'd stayed away from this place which felt more like an unhealthy addiction.

Mac chuckled. "Oh, really? Too bad I didn't even notice."

"I'm happy with my life and my wife. She's so pretty and so...so... She has a nice ass," he said.

Mac raised his brows at his remark. "I see. So, is she good in bed?" He feigned interest.

Norman struggled hard to not blush at this statement but his effort was fruitless.

Mac let out a stifled laughter. "You're still my little virgin brother, aren't you?" He asked.

"Shut up!"

"You came to ask for my help, Norman," Mac said knowingly.

"I did not!" This wasn't going good for Norman. "I just came to show you how h-happy I am," he said.

Mac smiled as he turned and faced his brother. "I'd help you if you ask. You know give you details on how to screw your wife." Norman thought Mac was irritating, disgusting and stupid, but a very little part of him wanted that information.

"I'm not going to ask," He replied stubbornly.

"Good then. She's not even going to feel bad about it. All she's after is your money," he said.

Norman got up. At this point, he was struggling hard to not be pissed. "She loves me!"

"No one can love you, Norman. This is the world we live in. Face it. The world where love doesn't exist!" He warned his brother furiously.

Norman chuckled turning away and then back to Mac. "That is the world you live in, not me. Tris loves me and I..." He stopped. He didn't love her.

Mac smiled. "Once she runs away with your money, whatever you do, don't come here crying."

"I have to go. I have an important party to attend. I'm going to be in a place where I'm loved and respected, unlike you." Norman was trying his best to stay calm.

"You could keep lying to yourself, Norman. It has done a lot for you." Mac's words escorted him out of the door.