The car finally stopped, and I looked out the window. The term "home," as used by Sebastian, was a colossal understatement.
The structure before us was a grand estate, a colossal, palace like building that didn't just look expensive; it screamed wealth and power. It radiated an intense, almost intimidating aura.
I stared at the building, then back at Sebastian, the words escaping before I could filter them. "This is your house?"
He gave me a confirming nod.
My voice was barely a whisper when I asked the next question. "How many people are in your family household?"
"Including you, that will make two of us," he replied nonchalantly.
I became utterly speechless. My mind spun, trying to comprehend how a person could live in such a massive palace entirely alone without going completely insane from the sound of their own words echoing around the emptiness. Compounding my unease was the house's appearance: it looked solemn, imposing, and, much like the feeling I got from Sebastian, dangerous.
I watched Sebastian open his door and step out. He turned back toward me.
"Get down," he instructed.
My head was spinning with the scale of it all. I wondered if Sebastian would get angry if I were to ask him right now if we could swap this sprawling, scary palace for a smaller, less intimidating house. I knew better than to voice that thought. I stifled the absurd notion and obediently got out of the car, following Sebastian toward the grand entrance.
The moment we stepped inside the palace like home, I saw rows of maids in crisp uniforms and four stiffly dressed butlers.
They were aligned along the hallway, standing perfectly still. The leap of anxiety I'd felt in my throat about being alone in this giant house instantly subsided. Of course there are other people here, I thought with immense relief. What was I thinking? No normal person would choose to live in a house this size completely alone.
I watched the staff. The maids and butlers simply inclined their heads without speaking, standing like polished statues. The silence was heavy. I couldn't help but immediately feel out of place, wondering why no one was speaking, why they were so unnaturally still.
Then, a woman, somewhere between sixty and seventy years old, walked purposefully between the aligned staff. She approached Sebastian, bowed slightly, and spoke with warmth.
"Master, you're back."
Sebastian nodded to the woman. I watched him closely, and I noticed something shocking: his face softened slightly when he looked at her. It was subtle, barely there, but it was a crack in his usual stony exterior.
Sebastian turned toward me. "This is Mrs. Coi. She's the head butler in this house."
I quickly offered the customary greeting, falling back into my obedient persona.
"Hello, Mrs. Coi, it's nice to meet you."
Mrs. Coi looked at me with an odd expression at first, a mix of curiosity and confusion, before turning back to Sebastian.
"And who is this pretty little lady?" she asked him.
"My wife," Sebastian answered simply.
I watched Mrs. Coi's face cycle through a spectacular array of emotions in under three seconds: from confusion, to disbelief, to utter shock. Her confusion quickly turned into a genuine query.
"Are you joking?" she demanded of Sebastian. "When you left home today, you didn't tell me you were going to get married. You haven't mentioned this to anyone; even your parents don't know this! You just left like any normal morning and came back with a wife? Are you expecting me to believe that?"
Sebastian turned to me.
"Lila, show her the wedding certificate".
This was the first time he had spoken my name directly, and the way he said it—Lila—made my simple name sound expensive, resonant with an authority it had never possessed before.
I quickly opened the small purse where I had tucked the marriage certificate and handed it to Mrs. Coi. She took the document from me, and we stood there in silence for what felt like five full minutes while the old woman carefully read the paper. I started to wonder if there were some invisible words on that wedding certificate that I hadn't noticed, which was why she was taking so long to decipher it.
Finally, Mrs. Coi looked up at Sebastian, her face now alight with a huge smile.
"Oh, my goodness, Little Master! You're finally married!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with relief. "I'm so happy for you. You've been telling us all these years that you do not wish to get married, that I, your grandmother, and your parents were already worried the Dalton name would end with you. But now you give us this surprise! I am so relieved and happy! I will go call your grandmother to give her the happy news!"
My mouth twitched at her calling a grown man like Sebastian "Little Master," but I managed to suppress a laugh. I then watched Sebastian quickly stop the old woman.
"Mrs. Coi, please don't tell my family yet," he instructed, his voice firm but not unkind. "Give her time to get used to everything first before you tell them."
Mrs. Coi nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, we can do that," she agreed. Her eyes turned to me, sparkling with approval. "Young Little Madam, welcome to the household!"
I was startled by the title. I quickly stepped forward to correct her. "Ma'am, my name is Lila, Lila Vandelyn. I would like to be called Lila."
The old woman smiled happily at me. "Then Lila it is," she said, pausing for effect. "But you seem to be forgetting something."
I frowned, unsure what I had forgotten now.
Mrs. Coi opened her mouth to explain.
"You're part of the Dalton family now, which also makes you a Dalton. I'm sure that you already changed your surname to Dalton when you were getting married. So, from now on, you're Lila Dalton."
My mouth twitched again. I definitely hadn't changed my surname to Dalton. This marriage was for five years; of course I wasn't going to legally change my name. But Mrs. Coi didn't know about the contract. And from the slight, warning look Sebastian gave me, I knew that Mrs. Coi absolutely should not know that. I acted the obedient girl, nodding quickly.
"Okay, ma'am," I agreed.
Mrs. Coi looked back at Sebastian, her smile huge and satisfied. "This lady is such an obedient child. You chose wisely! And she's so pretty, too. I can already imagine how beautiful your children are going to be! Oh my goodness, I can't wait for that."
A wave of intense nervousness and anxiety washed over me. Everything in my body was screaming at me to cut the old woman's fantasy short, to tell her there wouldn't be any children, and to stop looking forward to a family I had no intention of creating. I wanted to tell her that I was a child myself, still reeling from my own broken life, and that I absolutely did not want to give birth to any child, especially not for a cold, dangerous stranger like Sebastian.
Then I forced myself to remember the five-year marriage contract I had just signed. I took a deep breath, calming my racing thoughts. Sebastian would never allow us to have children if he was planning a clean break and a divorce in five years. The contract, thankfully, was my shield against the old woman's overwhelming enthusiasm. It wouldn't happen.