A Lunch Disaster

Sam didn't understand what was going on around her with the sudden movement that Desmond made. What was wrong with him and his sudden decisions? She resisted going into the pool as she made it a little bit tougher for him to pull.

"Let me go, Mr. Desmond!" Sam screamed a bit as she also pulled at his arm to let her go, but he wasn't having any of it. Was this some sort of ploy?

"Trust me, it will be fun," Desmond responded, ignoring her pleas.

The pool of water looked beautiful, but Sam couldn't swim to save her life and the panic in her heart started rising. She could feel her heart constricting. "Desmond, I can't..."

Before she could complete her statement, Desmond had already pushed her into the pool, shutting her up, and then the real panic set in.

Sam waved her hands in different directions, swinging her legs as the pool was even deeper than she thought and her legs couldn't find the landing.

"Help!" She managed to scream, but Desmond didn't think anything of it. The sheer delight he had in torturing her himself was always epic. He watched her get drenched, her clothes clinging to her body, and then the splashing of more water on his face due to the movement of her hands.

Some seconds later, it dawned on him that something was wrong. He swarmed to where she was and watched as her movement decreased drastically before calling out to her.

"Samantha?" He said, lifting her so he could see her clearly and notice that she wasn't breathing. This was a joke, right? This is a prank! "Samantha!"

He pulled her out of the water and laid her on the tiled pool borders, performing instant CPR on her. Placing his large palms on her chest, he started the process, giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after every five pumps. Some minutes had passed before Sam coughed out water from his mouth, tilting to one side and letting it flow. Her breathing was laboured, but Desmond released a silent sigh. He had wondered what he could have done if she hadn't woken up.

Picking an extra-large towel from one of the pool chairs, he wrapped her in it as he pulled her to his chest and took her to the bedroom that they now shared. The mansion was scanty, and there weren't any servants in sight. He wondered where they all went. Did Paige finally decide to leave? If she hadn't left, then he was going to personally deal with her before she caught a scent of what was going on.

Placing Sam's wet body on the bed, he knelt to her level and looked at her. He was concerned but he definitely wasn't going to show it, but maintaining his bland expression was going to be hard with the way she kept staring at him. She looked frightened, flinching at every slight touch, and he felt a pang of sadness at her actions. What was going on with him? When did he suddenly start caring about anyone other than himself?

"Excuse me," Sam's voice came out, croaking before she managed to squeeze herself out of his grasp and made a beeline for the bathroom. Desmond just stared at the door and wondered what had just happened.

*********

Sam stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was speechless. She didn't know what to say. She could not know what to say -- she had almost died! She was angry and hurt that Desmond didn't listen to her when she tried to tell him that she couldn't listen to him. Of course, he never listened to anyone, and who was she to him that he would listen to her? She was just his contract wife, but that didn't mean that he had to kill her!

She peeled off the outfit that she had on slowly as her throat still hurt from taking in so much pool water. After putting the clothes in the hamster, get into the shower and take a long, hot bath. She didn't want to catch a cold. The thought of going back out there to face Desmond didn't sit well with her, but she couldn't just hide in the bathroom forever. She definitely had to go out at some point.

She wrapped a towel around her body and on her head, left the bathroom into the room, and saw Desmond fiddling with his phone by the window. She resisted the urge to scoff at him, but she still managed to roll her eyes at him, and she was avoiding having any conversation with him. He didn't need to impress her with his monster skills today.

She went to the wardrobe and saw that her outfits were all arranged properly. She picked out a black dotted flare gown that reached her knee and a pair of black underwear to go with it before dashing back into the bathroom to put on her clothes.

Meanwhile, Desmond pretended to be fiddling with his phone immediately after he heard the shower stop running. He knew that she was about to come out. Although his gaze was on his phone, he could feel her eyes on him. When he didn't feel that way anymore, he looked up and saw her picking out an outfit before making a beeline for the bathroom again. He was the one to make the other feel uncomfortable and not the other way around, but why was he then feeling guilty? It was almost lunch time and he needed to take a shower before leaving for the sitting room, but then he remembered that he had an impromptu guest that needed to be taken care of.

He couldn't exactly call Baron into the room as he used to because he no longer was the only occupant but decided to take care of it later. The door creaked open and Sam stepped out, looking stunning in the black gown that she wore, but he wasn't about to go about complimenting her beauty when the atmosphere was still tense. As much as he wanted to make her flustered, now wasn't the time. So, he went into the bathroom to take a light shower before getting ready for lunch.

Coming out of the bathroom, Desmond found Sam sitting by the edge of the bed, holding her phone in her hand but lost in thought. As much as he wanted to say "Earth to Sam," he couldn't. He shoved that thought down the back of his mind as he took out a brown khaki and black striped shirt and paired it up with black slides. He turned towards Sam and coughed lightly, getting her attention.

"Let's head down for lunch and save the maid the trouble of coming to get us," Desmond said, taking his phone from the table in the room and then watching as Sam stood up and walked up to him before taking the lead out of the room.

********

They both walked side by side without saying a word to each other until they got to the second-floor sitting room. Desmond groaned internally, and he was greeted by Paige's presence. As usual, he pulled up a chair for Sam opposite his chair before sitting down after her. The maid started serving the meals. Desmond watched as Paige piled food onto her plate, making him scoff lightly, but it didn't go unnoticed by Paige. She lifted her eyes and looked across the table at Desmond.

"Do you have something to say to me?" Paige said, totally ignoring Sam's existence.

"As much as I'd like to respond to you, you are a total waste of time. More like dirt and dirt needs to be kept in the trash can where it belongs," Desmond said, making Paige red with anger. She was ready for a comeback response, but Sam wasn't ready to get in the middle of it. If anything, she was avoiding having a conversation with either of them, but knowing Paige these last few days, she was sure to drag her into it.

Looking at Paige now, Sam didn't feel that dread she always felt whenever Paige was around. She twirled her forks around her plate, picking some veggies from the bowl, some meats, a piece of salmon for protein, and two scoops of rice, putting them all up on her plate. She tried as much as she could to eat in silence, although Paige was starting to get on her nerves. She wasn't going to intrude, but then she heard her name in their conversation.

"Really? You don't want to talk to me but you sit comfortably with that glutton you call your wife. Just look at the amount of food she has on her plate. Do you think the money that is meant for me is supposed to go into feeding you both? It is my MONEY!" Paige continued ranting, and Sam couldn't take it anymore. She slammed her cutlery on the table, earning a glare from both Desmond and Paige.

"Miss Paige, why don't you eat your food in silence and stop making noise? You're disturbing the peace of the environment," Sam said slowly but deliberately. She saw as Paige's mouth went agape with shock. Sam grinned internally before saying, "Shut your mouth, you might attract some flies into your system."

"How dare you! You wretched girl!" Paige fumed in anger.

"One more thing, Desmond is my husband and not yours, so watch your words and tone with him, do you understand me?" She turned to Desmond and caught a glint of amusement in his eyes before looking at Paige as she held the glass tail in a firm grip, but it didn't bother her. She had said her piece even when she didn't want to. Sam picked up her plate that contained her meal and went back to her room to have her lunch in peace. Any of her personal maids could come to pick up the plate later.

Sam strode majestically back to her new room, ignoring the existence of Paige and Desmond for some minutes.