I take a few steps forward, my dress brushing the edges of the lounge chairs. A gentle breeze brushes the tendrils of my hair against my neck and cheek as I walk the length of the pool to reach the short wall at the very end. I rest my arms on it and stare at the view. Half the pool was exposed to the night air. I turn and lean back, staring up at the stars.
It was truly a beautiful night. I drop my gaze and see my husband, waiting unhurriedly at the front of the pool.

Yes, truly the most beautiful night of my life.

I start back towards my husband, stopping only when I reach a few feet before him.

He walks back out the door and I follow. The door closes behind us, only the absence of the sound of the breeze and the lack of blue lighting proof for it.

My husband walks us down the path towards the living space once more, except, instead of taking the step down, he continued to the wooden wall, along which the screen was mounted. He turns as if sensing my confusion, walking backwards until he reaches the wall. 

His lips lift in a secretive smile as he folded one leg at the knee and rests the back of his shoe against the wall. The panel swivels on an axis and my husband's smile widens to a smirk at my gasp.

The centres of the top and bottom of the panel were rooted to a rotating point on the floor and ceiling that allowed it to turn. I stride after him as he holds the door open for me with a palm.

I step inside and smile widely. It was a lovely little private lounge. It had its own screen on the wall, comfortable looking grey couches, pastel coloured cushions on the floor and nooks to stretch out against the wall. Oh! I could write in so many spots in this room.

There was even a fireplace to the immediate left of where we had entered with with some single-seater arm chairs arranged around it.
I see three doors along the walls of the room. Two were side by side and the third in its lonesome, adjacent to the two.

"Which one is ours?" I ask my husband, turning around to face him.

He walks over to me without meeting my eyes as he pulls out his wallet.

He holds up a light lavender card that he had removed from his wallet.

"This is the key to the house. You don't have to be scanned in each time." He says. He holds it out to me.

I take it from him.

He holds out another card to me, a shiny black. I recognised this.

"This is your credit card." He says and places it in my hand.

I see my name written on it. Alanna Kri. It takes all my restraint not to trace my fingers over the print.

"All your personal identity will arrive tomorrow with your changed name." He lashes lift, "I had presumed you would like your name changed. If not, we—"

"No." I interrupt, "I would like to take your name."

His gaze meets mine and I burn for a minute. He nods and hands me another card, this one deep blue.

"This is your debit card." He says, "Linked to my account."

I blink, then laugh. "What would I possibly do with all these cards?" I ask.

He looks at me a moment.

"The world is your oyster, Alanna."
He finally replies, his voice soft.

Wings take flight in my stomach at his tone. At his words and the thread of connection they had to symbolism of what he was giving me. I manage a nod. 

"The code to the penthouse is 5809." He says.

He pauses then, his eyes meeting mine before he turns to point to the second door.

"That's your room." He says, "All your belongings are already inside."

His attention shifts and he pulls out a sleek black phone. I realize it had been ringing silently. He looks at it once before dismissing the call.

I look at my room. Mine. Not ours.

We had separate rooms. I shouldn't be disappointed, I shouldn't. But I was.

"You've met Bal," he says and I turn to face him again, "He will accompany you anywhere you'd like to go. You can dial the intercom to reach him."

His gaze was locked on my face, as if watching me for some reaction. My heartbeat sounds in my ears. I just nod at him.

"If you'd like to eat, you can dial Hrei. She takes care of the children cooking, she'll make you something."
His voice had gone softer, as if in reaction to my sudden silence. His head had lowered and I only had to flick my eyes up to look at him. But somehow, my cheeks were colouring, and I could only hear the sound of my heart.

"Good night, Alanna." With that he walks past me. I hold my breath as he passed me, his gaze lowered on the call he once again dismissed. He opens the door to his room and closes it softly behind him without another look at me.

I tighten my hold on the cards in my hand and breathe deeply for a minute, closing my eyes to bring back some semblance of...

My mind reels from everything that had been happening and I want to just...sit. Find a spot and sit still for minute just to take it all in.

My eyes lift to the door that lead to my room.

I walk towards it and push it open. It opens smoothly and I walk into a room that was themed in light lavender. I smile, removing my feet from my sandals and sinking them into plush pastel lavender carpeting.

The bed was large, covered with silk sheets of pale lavender and darker lavender.

How had he known it was my favourite colour? Ever since the memory, I had taken fondly to it. The room itself had a little lounge of its own beside a fireplace, warm lavender armchairs around it. An ottoman as well.

I stroll into the room, looking at the large standing lampshades when they turn on and shed dim light onto the room.

I place the cards I'd been given on the bed and I turn to the wall of curtains and walk to it, I peek and see a glass wall and laugh. My husband loves a view. My gaze catches on the two doors adjacent to the bed.

Curious, I step towards them. I open the door closest to me and step into a bathroom. Decked in lavender marble. A bathtub, a shower stall and a round hot tub. My brows raise straight to heaven. There was a large mirror opposite all this with a gigantic lavender marble counter. My toothbrush sat innocently in a holder, somehow humanizing my place here. 

I step out of the bathroom, eyes wide and open the next door.

It was a walk in closet. I let out an unbelievable laugh at what I see. Rows and rows of clothing. Only a quarter of a quarter was what I had owned, the rest was brand new. I check the dress hanging closest to me...

My size.

I walk a little further past the hanging clothes and dresses towards a section that looked like—

I let out a soft sound when the wall along the closet slides open to reveal rows and rows of shoes. I gasp. Oh, Lord.

I turn around and the opposite wall slides aside. I stare. This shelf was filled with accessories. Purses, jewellery... I squint at the glinting stones. Were those...

Yep.

I turn and walk right out of the closet and it closes behind me. I press a hand to my chest, eyes wide.

My husband was a little...extra.

I begin to laugh, shaking my head. When tears begin to leak from the corners of my eyes and press a hand to my face, sitting at the edge of my bed.

For a few minutes, I cry, the stress, pain and anger of the past week mingling with newfound relief and dripping hotly down my cheeks.

When my emotions have evaporated with drying tears, I take a deep breath and look up, lean my hands back and look around. My brows furrow when I realize what I couldn't find.

"Where are my things?" I wonder out loud.

At my question, a second of the wall along the door, swivels open to reveal semi circular glass shelves holding all my personal belongings. I spy my laptop, phone, purse..

How had that happened? 

"Um ..hello?" I call.

"Good evening, Mrs. Kri." I startle at the female voice that spills seemingly from nowhere and everywhere.

The home had a ...voice. A smart home assistant.

"Mr. Kri's number has already been programmed into your phone. The intercom on your wall will help you reach the staff whenever you need."

I blink. "What's your name?" I ask.

"I'm yet to be named. Would you like to name me?"

"Is that..okay?" I wonder.

No response comes my way and I decide to think about it. I stand up, realizing I had to change out of my wedding dress. But the thought of entering the closet had me palpitating mildly.

I let out a breath and decide I would look at nothing else. In and out. I smirk, because, that's what she said.

A married woman with class, that's what I was.

I walk to the door and when it opens, I cover my eyes, peeking through the gaps to search for my—

When my fingers touch my pyjamas, I yank it off the hanger and sprint out.

I struggle for a few moments to undo the zipper and all my married woman class shows itself as I curse and trip my way through it. I place the dress over the arm chair and return to pull my ice cream cone print, peach coloured pyjamas on.

I stretch my hands and let out a breath. Ahhh. The relief.

Then I frown, because—hair. I pull at the seven million pins that had been used to tether it in place and my scalp cries in relief when my hair falls down my back—light honey coloured and a slight wavy mess.

I leave it down, the idea of putting it up unimaginable after the relief of having taken it down. I pick up the cards I'd left on the bed and walk over to the glass wall swivel. I slide the cards into the slots in my purse and remove my laptop and phone from the shelf. It swivels back closed once I step away.

Okaay.

I place my laptop on the bed and open my phone.

Kri's contact is my immediate screen.

My finger hovers over his name. My stomach plummets in memory of the question I had yet to ask him. I could just go over...

He'd given me a separate room. It meant he wanted his privacy...

I press and my heart pounds as I place the phone to my ear.

The man of my dreams. And I had his number programmed into my phone.

A small thing. But it felt like the largest miracle.

The call goes unattended.

I drop my phone on the bed, strangely disappointed.

Perhaps...he had fallen asleep.

I think, even then, I had known I was lying to myself.