Husband and Wife
“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” The judge said while smiling at both Devlin and Amber. There is only one person who witnessed their wedding, Attorney Harrison. All their faces looked gloomy except for the judge.
“Congratulations! I wish you both the best in your married life.” Said the judge. He didn’t linger long though as he had something else to do. He congratulated the newlyweds and exchanged a few words, then he left.
The day was actually like a blur for Amber. She acted like a robot, following whatever Devlin told her to do. When it was close to 3 pm, they went together to the city hall. It only took less than 5 minutes to be done with their wedding.
This is not the kind of wedding Amber had envisioned for herself. She wanted to get married to someone whom she truly loves. Looking at the man she just married, he could have been the perfect husband from his appearance. However, Amber knows who he truly is. She can’t wait for their divorce.
“Mr. Wesley, I am sorry but I have to go ahead. Much as I wanted to join you with your celebration, I have a meeting in a couple of minutes.” The lawyer looked apologetic.
“No worries, Attorney Harrison. I can take care of things from here. See you on Friday, then.” Attorney Harrison nodded and bid them both goodbye. And just like that, they were left to themselves. Unlike the judge, the lawyer knew exactly that they went through the wedding for a different reason.
“Jackson will drive you back to my place.” Devlin did not even bother to look at her while talking. He was already on his phone, talking to someone.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
Amber carefully observed Devlin. She didn’t have the time to even look at herself earlier before they came for the wedding. Devlin is wearing a long sleeve white buttoned shirt with a black slim fit trouser. While she on the other hand is wearing a simple yet elegant A-line tulle lace white wedding dress. It has a V neckline and knee-length high. She wonders how Devlin was able to provide her with such a lovely dress in such short notice. Amber couldn’t help but smile with bitterness. She missed her life on the farm.
Devlin mistook Amber’s smile as a smile of triumph. So, all her pleadings about not going with the wedding and denouncing her claim on his grandma’s wealth was all but a farce. She thinks she hits the jackpot. ‘For sure you won’t be smiling when I’m done with you.’ Devlin thought to himself.
“What are you waiting for?! Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? Jackson is driving you back home.” Devlin saw her hesitation for a few moments.
“What is it?! Spill it out. You are wasting my time.” He asked rudely.
“What about you? Aren’t you coming with me back home?” Amber asked in her soft voice. Now that they are married even just in papers, they might as well have some truce.
“I have some more important things to do in my office. And stop acting like a nagging wife. I hate women who like to talk a lot.” He took off after that, leaving her all alone. A few minutes later, her phone was ringing. It was Jackson who informed her that he was outside waiting for her.
She immediately left the place. She was glad that Jackson was quiet during the whole ride. It only took ten minutes to reach Devlin’s penthouse. She politely thanked Jackson before she left.
When she got inside the unit, she felt so alone. Until now, she still could not believe what happened to her. In the span of just less than two weeks, here she is married to the man who hates her so much. She has been begging until the last minute to not go with the wedding. But Devlin’s chilling look made her stop talking.
‘Now what? I haven’t told marmee yet. I don’t know how to tell her about my situation.’ Amber said to herself. She is certain that there is a very important reason why Devlin decided to marry her. It is not just about the money. He is a very wealthy man himself.
Since she is all by herself and she just got married, she decided to spend her time baking her favorite cake. First, she took off her wedding dress and carefully hung it inside her closet. She changed into a casual white tank top and cotton shorts. She immediately went to do her task in the kitchen.
While waiting for the cake to bake, she went to the entertainment room to watch some shows on the TV. She ended up watching a romantic comedy movie.
By the time the movie was finished, her cake was also done. She took a slice of the cheesecake she made. She was laughing to herself when she decided to get a bottle of wine from Devlin’s mini-bar. For sure, he will be upset at her when he finds out she touched his stuff.
Well, who cares? She is getting used to his anger and insults. Besides, she just got married while her husband is keeping himself busy from work. Again she laughed to herself. What does she expect? That Devlin will carry her bridal style just like from one of the scenes in the movie she just watched earlier? Huh! That is never going to happen.
Amber didn’t realize that she almost finished half of the wine. She tried to stand up only to fall back on the couch. She was too drunk to even move. She fell asleep on the couch with the bottle of wine on the floor.
Devlin came home late. He had a late business dinner with a client. The client was a beautiful woman. Of course, he sensed that she was trying to hit on him. If that was any ordinary day, he could have spent the night with her. However, an image of Amber in her wedding dress flashed in his head. He just lost his desire to flirt with the woman. After the meeting, he went to have some drinks at a bar. There, he met other women.
“Hi Devlin, mind if I join you?” The woman made her voice sound lusty.
However, it took him some time to give his attention to the woman as he was busy with his thoughts. The woman just sat down beside him and ordered a drink for herself. Then, she moved closer to him and slightly brushed her chest. Still, Devlin wasn’t distracted at all. She smiled to herself. She likes the challenge.
“So, why are you alone drinking by yourself? You can talk to me, Devlin.” Finally, he looked at the woman beside him. She is familiar to him but right now, he just wants to be alone. He simply stared at her, then he paid for his drinks and left the venue.
Fiona could not believe that Devlin just left without even speaking a single word to her. That is such a big insult to her. If her friends find out, for sure they would laugh at her. She is the only daughter of a very wealthy business mogul. Her family is way richer than Devlin’s family. How come he is not interested in her? She finished her drink quickly. No one has ever turned her down except that man. She was staring at the door where Devlin exited. An evil smile crossed her face.
Devlin went straight to his place right after he left the bar. He lost interest with any woman. That’s weird. When Raven left him, he went dating several beautiful women.
He entered his penthouse without noticing Amber who was sleeping on the couch. He went immediately to his bedroom and closed the door. He checked his wristwatch and it’s past 11 pm. He took a quick shower. He thought of Amber. She must be sleeping comfortably in her room by now.
Since she is his wife now, in papers, he needs to act on his plans right away. He smiled with satisfaction. He would take everything back through Amber. He would never give up on Raven even if she is already married.
The next day, Devlin woke up and did his usual morning routine. He was on the phone when he stopped on his track. He just saw Amber sleeping soundly on the couch with a bottle of wine on the ground. He got angry when he realized she took the wine from his mini-bar. ‘How dare she touch any of his stuff?!’ He specifically told her not to touch anything in his house.
“Wake up!” He said with a loud voice. He did not get any response from her.
“Wake up!” He yelled which made Amber jump off.
“So, you got drunk. What a responsible wife you are! Where is my damn breakfast?!” He emphasized each word he said.
Amber woke up to Devlin’s yelling. She was still disoriented. She didn’t realize that she fell asleep in the living room. Then, she saw Devlin slammed the door hard before he left.
What a terrible way to start their marriage. If they could not be friends, at least Devlin could treat her civilly. If she wants to stay sane, she better learn how to get used to his behavior towards her.
She stood up and cleaned all the mess she left last night. Then, she took a shower and started making breakfast for herself. She made black coffee for herself to get rid of her hangover. She tried to replay in her head what happened earlier. She screwed it up. She let her guard down. She shouldn’t have drunk that bottle of wine last night. It is not good to resort to alcohol when you have problems. Besides, she rarely drinks alcohol.
She checked the time. It’s still 8 am. Devlin left so early to work. She wanted to call her marmee. By now, she must have wondered what was happening with her.
She sighed when she realized she would have another day to spend all alone by herself. There are cleaners who come to clean Devlin’s place once a week. However, they barely talk to her. She feels so alone and lonely.
Today, she resolves to do something productive. She took her laptop and started submitting her resume for some job openings. For sure, Devlin and her won’t stay married for long. She better continue on living the normal life she had before.
However, her plan to submit her resume did not happen. An hour later, she heard the doorbell ringing. It was Jackson. Devlin called him to drive Amber to the nearest shopping mall. She is going to spend her day shopping for some casual and formal clothes. Aside from that, she was informed that she could buy shoes and other personal stuff she wants. Someone would assist her with the shopping as well.
Amber does not know anymore what to make of Devlin. Sometimes, he is nice to her but lately, he has really been bad. Anyway, she would take this as something positive between them. Whatever he wants her to buy the clothes for, she has yet to know. All she knew is that tomorrow is the reading for Grandma Olivia’s last will. She gets nervous when she thinks of tomorrow. She will also meet Devlin’s parents and his only brother. Are they going to treat her nicely? Or will they treat her like the way Devlin did to her?
She had no time to think further as they stopped at the shopping mall. Before she got out of the car, Jackson handed her a black bank card.
“The boss told me to give this to you.” She was so surprised that she got a bankcard from him knowing what he thought of her. Besides, Devlin left the house earlier so angry.
Jackson told her to call him once she is done with her shopping. She only smiled at Jackson before she left. She is going to enjoy her time rather than entertain some negative thoughts right now. She will worry about things later.