Chapter 7 Am I overthinking?

Alice

I sat on the side of the large pool. The weather was nice and warm. I closed my eyes, and I enjoyed feeling the sunshine on my skin.

I quickly turned around when I heard a familiar voice.

“Alice, so here you are. I was looking for you.”

Mrs. Sullivan walked closer, and I stood up suddenly.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Sullivan.”

“Oh, don’t apologise. I just thought you stayed in your room. So, I have some great news for you. You are going to meet the family today. I invited everyone for dinner. Get yourself ready. They will be here in an hour.”

“Yes, Mrs. Sullivan.” I nodded.

I felt like a pet again. She has got me now, so she invited everyone to have a look at me. Somehow, I accepted the fact that it would be like this from now on. After meeting Lilly, I only hoped that it was only me who thought too much, and they just wanted their son to marry someone they chose. I felt like I’d be happy to be their pet if that meant I could die naturally.

“Come Alice, I’ll help you. We choose a nice dress for you.”

She held my hand and looked quite excited. Okay. somehow I felt excited too when I thought about meeting Gideon. Unfortunately, I found him really handsome after seeing him in that picture.

When we arrived in my room, she opened the huge built-in wardrobe in the dressing room. She ran her fingers through the dresses, like she enjoyed feeling their material. I was sure she chose all of them, and also I was sure she loved shopping.

“This is the one.”

She said with some kind of possession, while she grabbed a dress and took it out of the wardrobe. I had to admit that it was nice. Its skirt was short, and it showed a bit of my body, but not too much.

Then she went to the shoes. She took a white sandal. It was also nice, even though it was a flat one. She looked at me with a smile.

“Come on, Alice, what are you waiting for? Have a shower, quickly.”

My eyes widened, and I immediately went into the bathroom. I did what she said, of course. I was about to step into the shower cabin when I heard her voice again.

“Don’t forget to shave yourself, Alice.”

She shouted from the dressing room, which was next to the bathroom.

So I started the procedure. I tried to be as quick as possible. When I finished, I stepped out in a bathrobe.

She smiled at me and gave the dress and underwear to me.

“Put them on.”

I took them and I wanted to go back to the bathroom, but she stopped me. It felt like my heart stopped for a second when I heard her.

“Get dressed here. Let me see you.”

First, I didn’t understand her, then I tried to convince myself I understood her wrong, but when she made her intention clear by staring at me, I nodded in fear. That was really too much for me, but what could I do?

I opened my robe and put it on the white sofa next to me. I took the dress, and I wanted to put it on when I heard her again.

“Stop.”

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.

“Put the dress on the sofa for a second and stand straight.”

I did what she said. I stood there completely naked. She ran her eyes through me. The way she checked my naked body made me feel terrible. She moved my hair behind my shoulders, gently running her index fingers over my chest, and her gaze stopped at my breasts. She was smiling. Then she continued the procedure.

Her gaze slowly moved down between my legs. She looked at it for a while.

“Spread your legs, Alice.”

She squatted down, and I closed my eyes when she moved to see me from closer.

I only hoped that she wasn’t a lesbian or something, but finally she stood up with a satisfied smile.

“Perfectly shaved. Men are like that. I’m sure my son will like that too. Your skin is nice and soft, and you are muscular, but not too much. You are perfect for my Gideon. Put the underwear on first, then the dress, Alice.”

I had many things to say, but I swallowed them back. I just wanted to escape, and that was the place and time, when I swore to myself, I will succeed one time.

After I finished, she put a dry robe on me and motioned for me to sit down at the dressing table. She brushed my hair. And she also gave me a gentle head massage.

“I know you’re scared now. But you don’t have to be afraid. You are going to belong to this family and we love our family members.”

I forced myself to smile at her. Wish I could believe in her words.

After she finished my hair, she put light makeup on me. In the letter, Gideon forbade that to me, but I didn’t dare to speak.

Finally, she looked at me, satisfied.

“You look beautiful, Alice. Now I want you to wait for me here. I change too, then I’ll come back to take you down.”

“Yes, Mrs. Sullivan.”

Then she left. I exhaled while I closed my eyes. It was hard not to cry. I wondered if that would be the same, when I would live with Gideon. What if he is the same? What if he’ll mistreat me? What if he’ll hate me and use me?

A short time passed. These thoughts were in my mind when I heard a knock on my door. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Mrs. Sullivan stepped in. She wore a dress that was like mine, but her dress was purple, and she’s got high heels on.

“Are you ready, my dear?”

I nodded, and she took my hand. We walked to the garden. There were a few enormous tents, and under them there was comfortable and beautiful furniture.

“Look at the two stunning beauties.”

Mr. Sullivan smiled at us. And I think his look was the first nice thing that I saw in this place. He looked at his wife with admiration, and she smiled at him back like a woman in love. She let my hand go and walked to her husband and kissed him. Then she sat down next to him, resting her hand on his tight.

“Sit down, Alice.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

He said. I sat down opposite them. He handed me a glass of water with a piece of lemon. But as soon as he gave that to me, I could hear a child shouting.

“Grandpa, Grandpa…”

I turned to see who was that. Mr. Sullivan walked towards them, and he held the little girl in his arms happily, and kissed her. He stood there while the couple reached him, too. I recognized the man. He was the brother of Gideon. Mrs. Sullivan went to greet them as well. They hugged and kissed each other. I stood up before they walked close.

“Let me introduce our new member of the family. She is Alice, Gideon’s bride.”

The handsome man first looked at me with a frown, then he greeted me with a nod.

“This is Seth, my oldest son, and this is his wife, Leah.”

Leah stepped to me and gave me two kisses. She looked beautiful. She had black hair, blue eyes, and a nice, slender body.

“And this cheeky little one is our granddaughter, Ava.”

Mrs. Sullivan said.

“Nice to meet you all.” I said.

Everyone sat down and they started chatting while Mr. Sullivan played with Ava. I was curious about Leah. I wondered if she became a Sullivan like me. She looked happy, and she chatted with the older Sullivan couple confidently.

We all turned over when we heard another voice. I saw a girl approaching. She was beautiful, too. She had black, long hair, and blue eyes too. I recognized her from the picture as well. When she reached us, she hugged Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan, then she kissed all the others.

“Sloane, let me introduce Alice to you. Alice, this is my daughter, my youngest child.”

She smiled and nodded, then she sat down.

They continued chatting till Mrs. Sullivan looked at her gold watch, then looked at Seth.

“Seth, did you talk to Gideon?”

He had an apologetic look.

“Yes, mum, but he can’t come today. He is too busy with his business.”

Both their parents looked disappointed, but finally Mr. Sullivan broke the silence.

“Never mind, it’s time for dinner. If he is foolish enough to miss a good time with his family, then let it be. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

We all stood up and went to another tent. There was a huge dining table. We sat down, and the servants served the food.

“Mum, last time you told me you’ve got to show us something.”

Seth told his mum, and first she was thinking, but then she nodded.

“Seth Sloane, please come with me. We’ll be back soon.”

Mr. Sullivan nodded