I was in a hurry to leave the hotel for wherever Drexon called home, but the Moreaux family had more plans for us than I could imagine. Things had not been like this in the past when I had married Kellan. After the wedding, we were sent home under the watchful eyes of Tema, who nagged me about everything.

"Mom said you and that girl should come down for breakfast." I pretended to lie asleep on the bed with my back to the door as I listened to the conversation between Tema and Drexon. "Your wife", she corrected herself, and even though I can't see Drexon's face, I wonder what kind of look he could have given her to have her change her words so easily. When I chose to be his wife, I knew that there would be persecution from Tema and her sister-in-laws, and to be honest, I was ready for that, but I did not want to forge my way into battle so early in the relationship.

"Why do we need to have breakfast?" Drexon's voice was smooth and commanded more authority than Tema's whiny voice.

"I do not know why; maybe you and your wife can come down and ask her yourself," Tema replied. It was obvious she was having a hard time addressing me as his wife. She must hate it, and it must make her blood boil, but then she had to get used to it.

"We will be going home directly," Drexon said, and Tema sighed.

"Do you also think everyone else at that table wants you there? We do not want you there either, but your mom keeps insisting, and even when I tell her that I am sure you would not agree to come, she asks me to make sure I do not attend breakfast unless I bring you both down," Tema added.

It was obvious that Tema did not hold as much power as she had portrayed in my previous life; she was as powerless as I was. I need to make things different this time; I need something bold and powerful to make sure that I do not get to sit at the edge of the table or wait tables during family gatherings again. I have had enough of it, and I have no desire to go down that path again.

Drexon inhaled sharply. "We will be there."

"Okay, good, I might be forced to come back up to you if you are not down in a few more minutes," Tema said, and then I heard the door shut. I felt my body stiffen. I had been sure that I was going to escape this with the aloofness of Drexon, but he did not manage to be able to slip out of it as I would have wanted.

I hear him move to the bathroom, and I only sit up when the sound of the shower goes on. I wonder how I would escape this; he knows very well that his family does not want me down there and that this would end in a horrible disaster. I think of ways to escape this; should I play the sick and tired card to make him go down alone, and then afterwards we can retire to his house? I stay pondering for a long time; the only thing that snaps me back to my senses is the sound of the shower going off and then the door clicking open.

I drop back to the bed quickly, as I do not want to see him naked; the image of what happened last night is still so fresh in my memory. I did not expect us to live lovey-dovey as a couple, and I think even if we were to have sex, it was too early for him to see me naked, and I was not willing to return the favour just yet. My mind began on the topic of intimacy; we had yet to discuss the topic, and I do not know him well enough to conclude on that. I force myself to push the thoughts out of my mind as I fall back to bed.

"You can drop the act; my family is waiting." His question hovered around the room, and instead of sitting up and admitting that he had caught me, I tightened my shut eyes and kept my body still. "You heard Tema; we have to go down for breakfast." I pretended to stir as if I were just getting up, and I sat in bed rubbing my eyes gently.

"What?" I pretend to yawn, and surprisingly, it turns into a real one.

"Get up and get ready."

"But I have nothing to wear," I lied, hoping that would be the way I escaped the breakfast or maybe bought myself a little more time.

"I will go over and get your suitcase," he replied. I knew about the suitcase next door, but I wanted to let go of it. It was my past, and I did not need to be associated with it. "Just fish something out of it and wear it for now; we can get you new clothes later," he added as if reading my mind.

I throw off the blanket and walk to the bathroom, knowing there is no escape for me regarding this. I stood in the bathroom and washed until I felt better; at least this morning, we did not need to call multiple times for hot water to come up. I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped firmly around my waist, and I saw that he had picked out a yellow sundress that went down to my knees. I look at it and wonder how he knew how much I liked the dress. I quickly slip it on and join him in the room.

He was dressed in grey pants and a white button-up shirt; he had the sleeves rolled up and the first two buttons left undone. I tried not to stare, but the way he wore that shirt - casual yet commanding - made my breath catch. "Shall we?"

"Yes, but before we go, I have a favour to ask," I say, making sure it was not as if I was begging.

"A favour?" His eyebrow goes up in a questioning manner at me, and I struggle to stand still. I wanted to be at the head of the table, and I had thought long about it; I just needed his yes to get the ball rolling. "What is it?" he gave in and asked.

I cleared my throat and closed the gap. "Promise me you will do it."

"I don't make empty promises, so I have to hear it first."

"I want to sit at the head of the table."

LUNETH

We walk down the stairs and enter a banquet hall. The Moreaux had turned the hall into a dining hall with a long table across and chairs scattered opposite each other. I glance at the seating arrangement, and I feel my stomach tighten; I remember this all too well, the end of that table and everything wrong with it.

We walk to the head where the matarich is seated. "Drexon, you came," the woman said with a smug smile on her face. She beckons to us, and we stand before her. She inspects us like some goods she was about to purchase, and I see the question lingering on her lips even though she seems careful not to say anything. She nods her head without a word and motions that we go to sit. "We can begin breakfast now."

It was then that I realised they had all been waiting for Drexon to show up. Drexon strolls casually to where he was supposed to sit. The seat was clear, and there was no arguing about it. Kellan was seated right next to him, with Kellan's father on the other side of him. I look to the back of the long table where the women sat with the kids, and I no longer want to sit there. I see Melissa already helping Tema and the other women put food on plates.

I knew that if I was supposed to sit according to the structure, I would be sitting beside Tema and Melissa at the end of the table. I stopped behind him because I had no idea what to do. He had not responded to my favour from earlier and had just started walking away. I did not want to act like a clingy child, so I let it go and walked behind him. I know very well that if I do not assert dominance today, I may never be able to do it, and he knows this as well.

"What are you doing there?" Tema asked as she stalked towards me and tried to pull me away. I pray desperately that Drexon will do something and not let her drag me away. He was the only one who could save me.

"Wait, Tema," Drexon's cool voice came through. He turned to Kellan and made a head motion, asking him to get up. My heart beat against my rib cage as I thought about what was going to happen. They were not going to like it, but no one could really question his decisions. It was no secret that the Moreaux family would be bankrupt if not for Drexon, so everyone tried not to get on the wrong side of him.

"Uncle Drexon?" Kellan's voice came out cold and scared. "What is it?" he asked, and Drexon pressed his lips together. He did not look too pleased that he had to explain what was going on to him.

"Get up," he said, and Kellan looked as if he had been asked to commit the gravest sin.

"Why? This is my seat; I have always sat at this part of the table all my life," he said, trying to explain. He knew that Drexon's mind was made up, and his explanations were falling on deaf ears.

It's no longer your seat," Drexon said and let out a sigh. Everyone's eyes were on him, wondering what he was about to do.

"Drexon, what do you mean? Kellan's rightful place is right here beside you," Tema interjects quickly. There was no way she would go down without a fight, especially against injustice done to her son.

"He can no longer sit there," Drexon replied calmly to Tema before facing Kellan again. "You can no longer sit there because my wife has to sit there now."

"What?" The gasp from the table made me feel super special.

"That is nonsense," Andrew Kellan's father said. Drexon's siblings had been quiet through the fiasco from yesterday. They had all kept to themselves, but it seemed like this was the thing that broke the camel's back for them. "Women have never sat at the head of the table since..."

"But Mom sits there." Drexon cut the man off, pointing to the old woman who sat at the head of the table, relaxed, watching the scene unfold before her eyes.

"And that is because she is the head of the family. What does your wife have that would qualify her to sit here?" Andrew shot back at him.

"She has me, and I want her to sit by my side so she shall," Drexon talks back. It seems that this is the most I have ever heard him talk to his family. They all seem worried about how this would unfold. I take in their faces, and I feel a bit bad about what is about to go down, but then I do not care. If I go down, they would all trample on me at the very first chance they get; I would rather stay here and be the bad guy in their eyes.

"Drexon", the old woman called calmly from the table. "She can't sit there," she said as if her words were the law.

"And even more, you can't ask her to take Kellan's place." Drexon pushes the chair he had drawn for himself back into the table and steps back. His hands find mine and hold onto them tightly. His actions catch me slightly off guard, but I ignore the feeling in my stomach and hold my head high.

"Then we shall not be having breakfast here," he announced. "We will go home and have breakfast there; after all, newlywed couples should be allowed privacy for the first few days after they get married," he adds, and I know I am not supposed to, but I can't help the way my mind spins out scenarios to think about.

The table fell silent as Drexon cast an intense look on his mother. There were unspoken words flying around the room and I wished that I could tell what they were. The woman takes a deep breath and pushes herself into an upright position.

"Kellan, get up," she said at once, causing everyone to turn to her with shock written on their faces.

"Mother, you can't allow this; this is wrong," Tema cried, moving to the head of the table.

"I will allow what I want, and this is final," she said without looking at Tema, who was ready to burst. "Kellan, move a seat to the right and everyone move accordingly," she ordered.

Kellan stood up, and without even thinking twice about it, he moved, and I sat down. I was overjoyed, but then I did not allow it to show because this was just the beginning of all I intended to do here. The entire breakfast was quiet until the old woman spoke.

"Kellan and Melissa, Drexon and Luneth, you must go on a honeymoon."

DREXON

I looked at the head of the table where my mom was sitting. I knew that her asking for a honeymoon from us was not only to keep up with public appearances. This was somehow the cost of her agreeing to seat his wife at the head of the table when everyone around had said no to it.

I turn my face slightly so it can capture Luneth sitting by my side, and I can see that she thinks it's a horrible idea; she does not like it. I don't think I like it as well, but it is not a bad idea. I can use this opportunity to find out what she really wants from marrying me before letting her near my children. I need to know if her fuel for revenge is something I can put to great use.

"We will go," I announced, and Luneth let out a whimpered sound. She does not like it at all.

"Good," Mom said, clapping her hands as if she had won. "We have had two marriages in one day; we need to make sure that no rumours spread around about the circumstances of this," she adds, and then the table falls silent. Everyone does not like the current situation, but they know that if Kellan had not been playing around, none of this would have happened. Luneth would have married Kellan and probably suffered all her life.

The rest of the breakfast is silent, as no one finds it comfortable enough to bring up any topic for discussion. As we walk out, I find Luneth staring at the women at the back of the table clearing up. If I had not stood up for her, she would have had to stay back and clear up the table as well.

"Why?" she asks as soon as we are alone in the elevator leading back to our suite. We have a few belongings to pick up there before heading out for the honeymoon.

"Why?" I repeated trying to take the expression on her face in the reflection of the elevator door. "Why, what?" I ask when she does not answer.

"Why did you agree to the honeymoon? I know you have all the power to say no to whatever demands they presented so why?" she asked. It seems like she wants to know a lot of things but is just limiting herself with that single statement.

"You have to be diplomatic about these things. How can you expect them to always bend for you?"

"If they can, then they should." Her words were sharp, as if they meant to hurt someone, but that was all she said, and I was not in the mood to chit-chat.

We stepped into the room and got everything we needed. We were heading straight to the airport for the trip. It seemed that Mom had someone take care of everything that was needed. The ride was silent, as she seemed to be calculating a lot of things. I wanted to ask a few questions, but I was not sure if this was the right time to do that.

I did not expect her to be ambitious; I just thought that she wanted to get revenge on Kellan by getting married to me but it seemed that she wanted far more than that. She wanted to be higher than them in every way and she must think that I would be the right person to help her achieve the goal.

I had never thought about marriage before now, but I always knew that I was not going to allow my wife to suffer the same fate that the women in the family had always suffered. I know for sure that with how ambitious she is, I plan to use this honeymoon to make sure she is on the same plane with me. I can not have her acting later in the future, as I know it would be detrimental to me.

I lean into the chair with my eyes closed, and I only know I have drifted to sleep when a warm pair of hands touches my skin gently. My eyes open gently as I turn my head to the side.

"We are here," she said, looking ahead at the airport in front of us. I see fear flash briefly through her eyes, but she manages to mask it before I can fully note it. It is obvious that every decision she had made since yesterday had been backed up with false courage; she was afraid, but she seemed to be doing the best for herself in some kind of way.

"You don't have to worry; we don't do anything you do not want," I say, looking out of the window instead of at her.

"What does that mean?"

"I mean that you do not have to worry about anything; if you do not want it, then we won't do it but you have to talk to me at first."

"You have emotions," she blurted and I could see her beating herself up for the words. "I meant to say that you are quite different from what I remember you as."

"Remember me as? Have we met before now?" I ask, and she shakes her head.

"No but we can tell what kind of person you are through the news."

I look away and do not respond to whatever it is she was claiming. Just before she stepped out, she whispered, "It's funny, isn't it? Coming full circle." Then she looked at me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. That was when I knew-she was hiding something.

Something I did not want to face.