Autumn
I stepped inside the familiar beige-colored mansion. Even though I basically grew up in the Beckett mansion, it still felt strange to be under its roof. But one thing was for sure and it was fixed in my mind: whenever I put my foot inside this mansion, I had only one intention, and that was to annoy the heck out of Ian Beckett. However, the tables always turned. He was always a step ahead of me, and it made me furious.
"There comes my daughter-in-law," Ada chirped and hugged me, making me smile. "I can't thank God enough for this. You really are precious. I have wanted you for Ian even before you were born. When I met your mother, she��"
"Okay, Ada, give Autumn some time to adjust. Even though this place is not new for her, she's here for a new reason now," said Simon, pulling his wife away.
"But she knows us, so why would she be uncomfortable?" she inquired.
Simon chuckled. "You knew us too when you first moved here, yet you took a lot of time to adjust, remember?"
Ada rolled her eyes at his comment.
I raised my eyebrows in amusement. Ada has been my idol ever since I met her. The way she adjusted to this world was really admirable. She was known as Boss Lady in the underworld.
"I don't care. Just��oh, hello, Autumn," Aubree greeted, smiling at me and cutting the phone call she was in. "I am sorry I couldn't be at the party. We had a problem with the Silver. It still isn't solved. I am going to the base now."
"No problem," I replied.
"Ian is at the base too. I will try to send him back early," she responded.
I walked towards her and whispered, "Try not to."
Chortling, she mumbled back, "If I say that, he will come running here."
I huffed at her comment. Then I watched Aubree leave the mansion, leaving me with Simon and Ada.
"Lia was tired so she went to bed early. And Isabel is on a business trip; she left in the morning," Ada explained. "Simon and I will be leaving early in the morning. We have already informed Ian. I am so glad that everything has been arranged."
I smiled at her warmly. She was very much excited.
"Your stuff is in Ian's room. Why don't you unpack while you wait for him to arrive?" Simon asked.
"Sounds good. I'll be in his room then." And with that, I walked towards the stairs. I didn't need anyone to show me the way, since I very well knew where his room was. Climbing the stairs to the first floor and walking past the first door which was Steven's room, I opened the second door.
I was welcomed with the red, black, and white bedroom. As soon as I entered, I saw that on my left was a huge closet, almost covering the entire side. But the balcony prevented the closet from taking up the whole wall.
On my right side, there was a shelf and a dressing table. The bed was in the middle with a white carpet beneath. Beside the bed was a door that led into the washroom. There stood a mini living room between the balcony doors and the bed, along with the couches and a television.
My luggage had been put in front of the closet. I bent down and started unpacking.
As I preferred to sleep on the left side, I claimed it by placing one of my emoticon pillows there. Besides, if I wanted to watch TV, it would be easier for me.
I placed my star master lamp on the nightstand. There was already a lamp there, which I planned to remove. The only lamp needed to illuminate the room was my lamp. After all, I only wanted to sleep beneath the stars. Besides, this was where I would be staying for the next six months, so I needed to make sure that I would be comfortable.
I opened the closet and saw a half of the portion empty. I arched an eyebrow.
"He already made space for me? This is unusual," I mused as I began arranging my clothes.
Ian was a fan of antiques, and they all sat neatly on the shelf. This room was equally both of ours; I should get half of the shelf too. He didn't make space for me there, so I had to make it myself. Since I loved reading books in my leisure time, I emptied half of the shelf and arranged my books there.
When I was done, I went to the washroom. It felt very strange. I opened the blurry glass door inside the washroom and found myself entering the jacuzzi. I arranged my body products in the vanity.
I could take a nice hot bath and think calmly about the drastic change in my life, I thought, which I did. I took a long bath and put on a green tank top with white sweatpants. After drying my hair, I braided it into a fishtail ponytail.
"Ma��am, Boss and Boss Lady are waiting for you downstairs," a maid informed me as she knocked on the door.
I smiled and said, "I am coming. Wait a second."
I followed her downstairs. Simon and Ada were sitting in the living room. My breath hitched when I saw Ian as well.
He glanced at me from head to toe and smirked, saying, "Sit with me, wifey."
I rolled my eyes and sat beside him.
Simon cleared his throat and spoke up, "I know both of you have your issues with each other, but you know the reason. As Ada said, we are going for a world tour tomorrow. Before we go, I want to be assured of one thing. You have to be 'lovey-dovey'��as people call it��with each other in front of the Mafia. The Silver and the Shadow men cannot know that it's just a pretense."
"But Simo��" I was interrupted by Simon.
"You can call me Dad."
Ada chirped, "And call me Mom."
I sucked in a deep breath and made the correction. "But, Dad, they already know it's a contract marriage and it was announced in front of them."
It was weird, calling them Dad and Mom. But this was my life now. At least for the next six months.
Fake it till you make it, Autumn.
Ian looked at me and told me, "But we have to prove them wrong. If we don't, they won't work together and the whole gang will collapse."
"Exactly." Ada nodded and said, "We have to keep the gangs united, in order to rule the underworld."
"So, the point of the conversation is that Ian and I have to pretend that we loved each other in front of the gangs, right?" I asked, fiddling with my fingers.
Simon said, "Indeed."
"Tomorrow we have to get up early in the morning. Let's go and sleep." Ada got up along with Simon. "Both of you should go to sleep as well. It's been a tiring day," she said before sauntering away.
I sighed and started heading upstairs, trying to avoid Ian's presence.
"Avoiding me won't make you more beautiful," Ian let out.
I deadpanned, "Well, I am happy with the way I look."
"But you shouldn't be. You are a newly wedded bride now. You need to show your glowing face to the people." Instantly, I glared at him. He feigned innocence and continued, "You know, show your glowing face to the Mafia and��"
"I have a highlighter, which I know how to use perfectly. I don't need any type of glow like that."
I stepped inside the bedroom, him still talking behind me.
"But��holy shit! Where are my antiques, Autumn?"
I turned to face him and gave a big toothy grin. I replied, "Your stuff is on your half of the shelf. The other half is my stuff."
Ian looked at me in disbelief. "Are you crazy? Why would you displace my stuff for your stupid books?"
I placed my hands on my hips and pointed a finger in his direction, saying, "Number one, don't call my books stupid. Number two, half of this room is mine. Number three, I just said it because I wanted to make three points."
Ian ran a hand through his hair and bit his lip to control himself. Fuck! He looks hot.
No, Autumn. Stop!
"The damage is done now. I better go freshen up and get some sleep," he muttered and walked towards the closet. However, he turned back before opening it. "You were fine with the space I kept for you in the closet, right? Or did you burn my clothes in order to fit yours?"
I batted my eyelashes. "I am not that bad."
Ian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we both know that."
He took out some clothes and went to freshen up. I laid on the bed and took out a chocolate bar from the nightstand.
If I have to stay here, I have to make sure Ian doesn't affect me. I have to stay strong.
Sighing, I took my phone and started checking the texts from Dante. He was updating me about the recent shipment. So far, everything was going smoothly. As soon as the ship sails, I will be at peace. They were just loading the boxes. Tomorrow at midnight, the ship will sail. However, I still feared that our enemies would attack my people. The boxes had valuable alcohol which we were shipping over to New York.
"I am glad we didn't have to argue about which side each will get. I love the right side." My phone fell from my hand, suddenly hearing Ian's voice. He sat beside me and cringed, noticing the chocolate in my hand. He asked in disgust, "How can you even eat that stuff?"
I retorted, "Just the way you drink your espresso."
Ian hated chocolate. I wondered if he even had the real experience of a child. Ada told me the problem started when she was pregnant with Ian. She was a chocoholic, but when she had him, she would throw up whenever she saw the brown sweet. It turned out that her son was an espresso lover.
"Whatever," he grumbled and lied on the bed.
After I was done eating, I brushed my teeth. Then I got onto the bed.
It was so weird, seeing Ian lying beside me. Even though he maintained a distance, I couldn't believe that I was actually sharing a bed with him. I wish I could tell him to sleep on the couch. But since I knew him, he would never do so. I, on the other hand, could never sleep anywhere but on the bed.
"Even if you feel awkward staying with me on the same bed, I don't care. I am not sleeping on the couch," Ian told me, probably sensing my thoughts. He placed his hand on his nightstand, looking for something. "Where is my lamp?"
Sneering, I turned my lamp on and slept, ignoring his continuous shouting.
I woke up early. It was 5 AM. When I came down the stairs, Steven, Aubree, Lia, and Ian were already in the living room with Simon and Ada. It was time to say good-bye to my parents-in-law for their solo vacation.
We hugged them. Ada had tears in her eyes, but she didn't realize it until I wiped them away. She hugged me again. "Take care of everything in my absence. Please, honey. I am counting on you," she whispered.
I assured her, "Don't worry."
"It's time to go, Ada," Simon said. He smiled and nodded his head at me.
I watched them go away. It pained me when I saw them leaving us.
Let them have a safe journey, God. Keep them safe and sound. After I wished in my mind, I noticed that everyone went back to their respective rooms. Only I was left sitting in the living area.
Suddenly, I heard my phone chime. I picked it up, seeing the caller ID. I asked curiously, "What happened, Dante?"
"We dozed off for an hour and when we woke up, all the boxes were missing. I am sorry, leader," said Dante.
"What the hell?" I screeched.
My fears had come true. Someone attacked and made us incur a huge loss.
I formed my fist into a ball, trying to control my anger but I failed.