The Sebastien estate was quiet as it has always been.
Roxanne was wandering around as usual. It's been just a few days since her wedding to Ciel Sebastien.
She had not meant to snoop around.
She had been searching for anything to fill her mind with.
And that was when she came across a book on her husband's desk in his study.
She decided to read it and as she was about to pick it up, she saw some papers beside it.
She pulled them closer out of curiosity.
She started to read them.
Her heart stopped after she read the first page.
It was a contract, a marriage contract for her and Sebastien.
She was breathing heavily as she read through the neatly typed clauses.
Duration of Marriage: Indefinite until either of the parties involved request dissolution.
Financial Agreement: Mrs. Sebastien will get full support financially, including personal expenses, property, and discretionary spending.
Public image: The marriage will be seen as legitimate in the public eye. Both of the parties involved must showcase a united front.
Intimacy Clause: Any and all intimate engagement is at the discretion of both parties, with no obligation.
Roxanne shuddered as she perused through the pages.
The whole marriage was a business arrangement.
She was angry, but she should have expected this.
Ciel was a businessman above anything else. He does not seem like the one to make emotional decisions. He was not attached to her.
She knew this, but seeing it written on paper.
It stung her.
She decides to confront him about it.
She left the study and was looking for him.
She later found him by the bar, with a glass in his hand
He acted like he didn't see her come in.
Roxanne stood upright, with the contract in her hands.
"I assume this was meant for me to sign?"
Ciel looked at her, then at the papers, then back at her casually. "I didn't know it would take you so little time to find that."
Her temper at this point was ignited by bis indifference.
"You didn't know? So this is how you see our marriage? A transaction?" She said as she moved closer, holding up the contract.
Ciel sighed. "Would you have preferred I lied to you?"
"You could not even man up to tell me about it." She said as her heart pounded.
"Well, I would have, but I wanted to see what you think of the whole thing first." He replied smoothly.
She looked at him. "And? Are you enjoying this little show?"
"A little," he replied with a smirk on his face.
Roxanne inhaled sharply, trying to control her anger.
"This contract makes it clear what you expect me to do. Ciel, tell me, did anything about this marriage actually felt real to you?"
Ciel was visibly amused. "Define real."
He then scoffed, collecting the papers from her and placing it on the table between them.
"Everything has been written with you in mind. Isn't it?"
He looked at her for a moment before putting his glass down.
Then, slowly, he stood up and leaned forward.
"Would you rather I lie to you? Would you rather I act like the devoted husband who whispers sweet nothings to your ear, acting like this is some grand romance story from fairyland?"
Roxanne shuddered as he closed the space between them. His presence was overwhelming.
"Would you rather I act like we are in love?"
Her mouth opened at this point but she could not say anything.
Because, for a second, she was not sure how to answer him.
"Tell me, Mrs Sebastien, what exactly do you want from me?" He said as he lifted his fingers up to her chin.
She liked how she felt when he touched her, her body clearly betraying her anger.
She does not like how he did this.
How he knows what right buttons to push.
"I want honesty." She replied, clenching her fists.
"Honesty?" Ciel hummed as his thumb grazed the curve of her jaw.
"Alright, you will have honesty."
In a quick move, he moved closer, so close that she could feel his breath on her body.
"I married you, because it was necessary." He murmured to her.
She didn't know how to respond.
His fingers brushed the side of her neck. It was slow and deliberate.
"And you also married me because you had to."
Roxanne refused to look away as she swallowed hard.
"But tell me something, wife, why do you care so much about a contract if none of this matters to you?" He said slowly.
Her hands were trembling at both sides.
He was playing with her.
Trying to test her.
And she hated that part of her that wanted to fight back.
She pushed herself to move back, breaking his hold.
"It does not matter," she replied quickly.
"No?" Ciel's smirk widened.
"No."
He let out a soft chuckle, then said.
"Then why are you so mad?"
Roxanne looked hard at him.
Because he was right.
Because, deep down in her heart, she did care.
She just hated the idea of being more than a name on a contract.
She did not like that this marriage, or this thing between them, was something he thought he could control with signatures and ink.
And most of all, she didn't like the fact that she had let herself wonder if it was all real.
The silence between them was thick.
Then, as if he had played with her enough, Ciel pulled away from her.
He grabbed his whiskey and took a slow sip.
"Well, if it's just a business deal, you should not have any problem signing it." He said with amusement.
Roxanne's jaw dropped.
"Or ... .were you hoping that, eventually, this will not just be a contract?"
Roxanne said nothing.
He smirked again and walked out.
And she was just there, her mind racing, and not sure if she was angry at him, or at herself.