Chapter 14
It took them only a short time to load all of Tris' bags into the car with Mr. Jones' help. All her things were able to fit inside 2 large suitcases and 2 duffle bags. Once the loading was done, together with Shauna and her family, they headed to the airport in 2 separate cars.
On the way to the airport, Tris spotted a row of shops on the side.
"Mr. Jones, can we stop there for a short while? I need to buy a few things." Marcus' driver did as he was told with no objections.
"I'm going inside the shops for a while. Please wait for me." She was slightly worried that Tobias might ask Mr. Jones to leave her there. She glance over at him, he was fiddling with his smartphone, blatantly ignoring her. She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car.
Fifteen minutes later, she was back. Tobias raised his eyebrows in surprise. It's the first time that he met a woman who shopped within fifteen minutes.
Once they reached the airport, they found Shauna, Zeke and their 3 kids queuing at the check-in counter.
"Shauna, let me take the kids while you and Zeke proceed to check-in." Tris offered.
"Thanks so much, sis." Shauna handed her youngest son in her arms to Tris. The latter passed the bag that was filled with gifts for the kids which she bought earlier to Tobias.
"Come on, kids. We bought you a few things. Let's go over there, shall we?"
They approached an empty bench and sat down, Tobias stood at Tris' side. She took out the gifts; dolls, coloring books, small race cars for them to play with during the long flight. Tobias stared at how she was entertaining her nieces and nephew, she looks truly happy. "She does fulfil all the criteria… But my mother's criteria, not mine." Tobias thought.
Once Shauna and Zeke completed their check-in, they walked over to the bench.
"Zeke, watch the kids for a while. Tris and I need to talk about something." Shauna pulled on Tris' hand after the latter handed the baby over to Tobias. He looks uncomfortable holding a baby, which made Tris chuckle under her breath.
"Four, how was it?" Zeke asked Tobias once the girls were out of the hearing range.
"How was what?"
"Oh, married life for the past 24 hours…" Zeke smiled cheekily at Tobias, while raising his eyebrows.
"It's fine. Here, take your son." Tobias handed the baby over to Zeke. The baby was squirming in his arms, and he was really afraid of dropping the kid.
"Hey, you need to practice you know. Tris would definitely want to have kids, and if you had noticed, she's really good with them."
Tobias did not respond to that, instead he changed the topic to ask more on Zeke's job, which Zeke was happy to answer.
"How was it, Tris?" Shauna asked Tris once they were out of the guys' hearing range.
Tris felt her eyes welling up with tears. "He's ignoring me."
"What happened? Did you go through with the plan?"
"Yes. The sex was mind-blowing. But he's back to his cold-self after that." Tears dropped onto her cheeks while talking to her sister.
"Don't give up, Tris. Don't cry, don't be weak. Be strong, for yourself, for Mom and for Dad. You can't possibly give up just after a day?"
"I don't know if I can do this. He doesn't love me. What if all this is for nothing?"
"Shauna! The gate's open!" Zeke called out to his wife.
"I'm sorry I can't stay here longer with you, Tris. But promise me you will try your best. You can do this, apply everything that you have learnt. Remember the aim of your project; a happy marriage. I will always be a phone call away."
Shauna hugged her sister tight, before collecting her kids and proceeding through the gates, turning and waving goodbye to Tris and Tobias.
"Home sweet home." Tobias uttered out in a bored voice, as he opened the door to his lavish apartment. Tris walked in, and bit her lower lip, to prevent herself from commenting on his tone.
"Mr. Jones, please help to place the bags upstairs." Instructed Tobias to the driver.
"Living room, dining area, there's the kitchen, through there are 3 guest rooms, up the stairs is the master bedroom. These are your keys." A set of keys was placed in Tris' palm.
"Thanks." Tris looked around the loft-style apartment. It feels like a clinic in here. White walls, white carpets, black and chrome furniture. No decorations, no paintings, no pictures, it was bare.
'I can't live like this! I need to go shopping tomorrow and re-decorate this place…' Tris thought to herself while tapping her index finger to her lips, looking around, planning a list in her head. She kept mum on this, she was sure Tobias would blast her idea if she lets him know.
"The housekeeper, Mrs. Gonzales, normally comes on Tuesdays and Fridays to clean the place and do the laundry. It's up to you whether you wish to pursue a career or stay home. If you opt to stay at home, I'm sure my mother will be able to keep you busy with her fund raisers and activities." Tobias walked over to the dining table, and opened his wallet. He took out a few cards from his wallet, and a car key from his jeans pocket.
"The credit cards are my supplementary cards. Whatever you need to buy, just charge it here. If you need cash, this is an ATM card to an account I created under your name. I have deposited a sum of money inside. My black BMW is yours. I already bought a newer model." Tobias continued on with a straight face.
Tris smiled sincerely, looked at him in the eyes, and said, "Thank you." She felt touched by his actions, and she felt as though she was finally accepted by him as his wife.
Tobias grimaced. In truth, his mother had done all of this with his secretary, he only had to sign off on it.
"Make yourself at home."
He walked over to the main door, and once his hand was on the knob, Tris called out to him. "Where are you going? When will you be back?"
Her husband turned and glared at her. "Just because I married you, does not mean that I have to report to you everywhere I go and everything I do." He opened the door, walked out, and slammed the door behind him.
Tris felt her face turning red in anger, and desperately looked around her husband's living room for something to throw, but she found nothing. Just when she thought that he's warming up, he went back to his cold demeanor.
She took a deep breath, and slowly releasing her breath. Again and again.
"Relax, Tris. Don't think too much. Keep yourself busy. He's purposely doing this to make you suffer…"
She went on a tour around the house, the rest of it consist of the same concept, white and black. She proceeded on to the kitchen and opened the fridge. It's empty!
Tris proceeded on to the nearest supermarket to shop for groceries. Looking at her husband, she had a feeling that he will only come back very late, or early the next morning.
And she was right. Tobias only reached his apartment at around 2am in the morning.
He walked in, the living room was dark, only the hallway light to the guest rooms were switched on. 'She must already be asleep, good!' He thought.
There were a few dishes on the dining table, he went over to take a closer look. There was a plate of a couple of sandwiches, with a small bowl of salad, and a small plate of fruits. A note accompanied.
"Supper for you. There's drinks in the fridge. - Tris."
He sat and dig in. Hmm. Not bad.
Tobias finished his food quickly, and proceeded to put the empty dishes in the kitchen sink.
He took the stairs up to the master bedroom. Automatically, he peeked over at his wife blissfully sleeping on his bed. She's wearing a lacy nightgown, barely covering her breasts, with the comforter stopping at her waist. The nightgown was black, and it was contrasting against her soft creamy skin.
'Sleep, Tobias. You have to go back to the office tomorrow morning!' He reminded himself. 'I'm supposed to be torturing her, and yet, why do I feel like I'm the one being tortured?'
It took all the strength he had to peel his eyes away from his sleeping wife. He took a quick shower, a cold one, and slipped under the covers. He turned to face the stairs, and quickly fell into slumber.