By noon, the wedding ceremony had finally come to an end. The guests gradually left the venue and returned to the villa to rest.
Both families agreed to leave the newlyweds alone at the private hot-spring villa, hoping that Natasha and Noah would have a chance to talk things through from the heart.
As soon as they arrived at the villa, Natasha went inside, followed by Noah. The two of them sat on the sofa in awkward silence.
"You should get some rest. We only have two hours before we have to get ready again," Noah said to his newlywed wife.
"I want to talk to you, but let me take a quick shower first. I feel so hot and uncomfortable. It's almost lunchtime, too. If you're not too tired, Noah, would you mind talking to me after I'm done?" Natasha asked.
"Of course. Go take a shower and change into something more comfortable. You'll feel better," Noah replied gently.
Natasha went into the villa's master bedroom. As soon as she entered, she noticed a black suitcase sitting in the corner beside her own.
She knew immediately that it belonged to Noah.
Seeing the suitcase, Natasha decided not to lock the bedroom door. She knew she had to start getting used to sharing a room with Noah.
"Noah, your suitcase is in here. You can come in!" she called.
Noah got up and walked toward the master bedroom.
At first, he had felt extremely awkward. He had no idea what to do now that the two of them had been left alone. But hearing Natasha call for him made him feel slightly relieved.
Before opening the door, Noah took several deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. Even though their marriage had happened so suddenly and there was no love between them yet, this was still the first time he had ever shared a bedroom with a woman.
"I'm coming in," he said softly as he opened the door.
The room was empty. He glanced toward the bathroom, whose door was tightly closed.
Instead of sitting on the beautifully decorated wedding bed, Noah chose one of the two single sofas beside the bathroom door.
Honestly, he was quite tired.
He leaned his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes.
"Are you sleeping?"
Natasha's voice immediately brought him back to reality.
Noah opened his eyes.
Natasha was standing in front of him in the strangest outfit he had ever seen.
He couldn't help laughing when he saw her.
Her beautifully styled hair was now tied up with a simple hair tie on top of her head.
Her long traditional wedding blouse was still on, but what she was wearing on the bottom was completely mismatched. Natasha had changed into a pair of short gray pajama pants.
The green embroidered skirt she had been wearing earlier was now hanging from her arm.
Seeing Noah laugh, Natasha gave him an embarrassed smile, her expression slightly annoyed.
"What happened, Nath? Why didn't you take your shower?" Noah asked.
"How am I supposed to shower? I can't even take this thing off," she complained as she walked toward the vanity table in front of the sofa.
When she turned her back to him, Noah could see rows of tiny pearl buttons running down the back of her blouse.
There were so many of them.
A few at the top had already been undone, and several more at the bottom were open as well.
Apparently, Natasha couldn't reach all of them by herself.
"Noah, you can shower first if you want. I can't get this thing off. I'll probably have to wait for Mom," Natasha said as she put the veil and green skirt into the wardrobe. She also placed the tiara she had been wearing into one of the drawers.
"Do you want me to help you, Cass? I'm sorry, I don't mean to overstep. But if you wait for Mom, it could take a while. She won't be here until around two-thirty with the makeup team. How are you supposed to shower?" Noah asked.
After considering the situation, Natasha nodded. She walked over to the sofa and turned her back to Noah.
Noah stood up and carefully began undoing the remaining buttons.
When his hand accidentally brushed against the bare skin of Natasha's back, his face immediately turned red.
Natasha's face became just as flushed.
It was the first time she had ever allowed a man to see so much of her bare back.
Whether it was because he was inexperienced or simply because his hands were trembling, undoing the buttons took much longer than it should have.
Several times, the tiny pearl buttons slipped from Noah's fingers just as he was about to open them.
"Sorry, Nath. These are harder than I thought. The buttons are so tiny and slippery," Noah said, his voice slightly shaky.
He knew exactly why his fingers were so slippery.
They were covered in cold sweat.
When the last button finally came undone, Noah let out a quiet sigh of relief. Without realizing it, his breath brushed against Natasha's bare back, making her shiver.
"All done. Sorry it took so long," he said, quickly looking away from her exposed back.
He might not have feelings of love for her, but he was still human. Seeing someone so beautiful this close was enough to make him feel awkward and overwhelmed.
"You should shower first," Noah said.
He didn't want to keep looking at her, afraid that he might make her uncomfortable.
Even though they were husband and wife now, there was still a clear distance between them. Noah had promised himself that he would never force anything on his wife.
"Thanks, Noah," Natasha said before hurrying into the bathroom, one hand holding her blouse tightly against her chest so it wouldn't slip.
Fifteen minutes later, the bathroom door opened.
Natasha stepped out wearing her short gray pajamas, her wet hair wrapped in a white towel.
"I'm done. You can shower now," she said.
"Okay. Give me a minute. I'll shower first," Noah replied as he closed the bathroom door behind him.
Natasha opened Noah's suitcase and took out a comfortable change of clothes for her husband.
Even though her marriage to Noah had happened unexpectedly, she still wanted to do her part as his wife.
She had promised herself that she would learn to become a good wife to Noah. Even though she would continue working at the hospital, she still wanted to take care of the little things at home.
At the very least, preparing his clothes and cooking for him were things she was willing to do.
Her mother had taught her how to cook from a young age. During the four years she spent studying away from home, followed by several years of clinical training and internship, her mother would always send her ingredients to her rented room.
Cooking had become a habit for Natasha, not a burden.
When Noah came out of the bathroom, he saw his wife sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling through her phone.
"Why don't you get some sleep? Our wedding reception starts this afternoon and will probably go on until late tonight. I don't want you to get exhausted," Noah said.
"In a little while. I'm hoping I can get some sleep too," Natasha replied.
Noah stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a white bath towel. When he noticed the neatly folded clothes Natasha had prepared for him on the bed, a small smile appeared on his lips.
At least it was a good sign.
Natasha was slowly beginning to accept the unexpected fate that had tied them together in marriage.
Noah also promised himself that he would learn to accept their situation and embrace his new role as her husband.
He returned to the bathroom with his clothes and came out a short while later, fully dressed.
His hair, however, was still wet and slightly messy.
"You said you wanted to talk to me earlier. Do you want to talk now, or would you rather get some sleep first?" Noah asked.
"Are you tired? If you're not, can we talk now?" Natasha asked.
Noah shook his head.
"Come on. Let's sit over there."
He pointed toward the sofa.
Natasha nodded in agreement.
***