Fiona was missing her home.

People say home is where our heart is. Her heart, on the other hand, is in the place where her best friend lives. After all, we humans are the ones who make a house or a flat our own home by pouring our souls into it and creating a countless number of memories in it. 

Why in the world did she have to leave her house and live with he-who-must-not-be-named?

It is worse than staying at a stranger’s home. At least there, one can have some sort of conversation with the unknown. But here, it is pure torture. She feels so out-of-place as if this house is forcefully keeping her in it and cannot wait for her to leave this place for good.

Fiona honestly expected Justin to strike up a conversation with her after the awe-not-so-amazing vacation, especially after the supper with Oliver.

But no!

His goddamn ego is bigger than the whole god darn universe.

The moment Oliver greeted them goodbye, Justin straight-away returned to his humble abode without uttering a single word and shut the door of his room behind him. It felt like a slap on the face. The next day was nothing short of a repeat performance. Their return journey was similar to the previous one, with Justin doing a lot of work on his laptop and Fiona reading an excellent book.

Alas! They reached his home, and he conveniently went to his room without acknowledging her. 

Another slap on the face.

More than hurt, she was feeling frustrated. She should have known Justin to feel hurt, which she didn’t, and after observing him for such a long time, she did not even want to. Everyone has a tolerance level. And she was getting close to her breaking point.

Similar to Justin, even she walked into her temporary room. She changed her clothes into more comfortable ones and sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed. Fiona was facing the door, staring particularly at nothing but clearly trying to figure something out. Her and Justin’s equation had devolved into nothing less than a code, with a formula akin to an algorithm that was becoming increasingly complex day by day for her to decode.

She was so bored and irritated out of her mind that she came up with an idea. It might sound ridiculous, but that was the only logical course of action she could think about. Furthermore, it should work for her—a perfect way out for her to get out of this trap.

It was crystal clear that their marriage was doomed to fail, as Justin’s behavior was perspicuous with how things had been going. It was pretty evident that he had a zero interest in her. But only for the sake of her grandmother; she was willing to take a chance.

Well! At the very least, her Grams should think she gave it her absolute best. So Fiona decided to give Justin a year, but only for the benefit of her grandmother. She will give Justin time for atonement, which he ideally and technically lost. Fiona does not want anyone to tell her in the future that it was she who didn’t try harder than she actually did. And finally, this will make her Grams stop interfering in her non-existing love life.

A year, three hundred and sixty-five days beginning from the day they got married, and if they don’t even form a decent friendship, she will leave this hell for good. But for a year, she would have to endure him and be a prisoner in this Azkaban.

Survival is going to be an arduous task here. But Fiona is an independent woman with self-respect and dignity, and she will be dammed if she uses anything in his home except basic amenities, which are well provided in her room. Call it her ego, but she had enough bullshit that he had been dishing out to her. She is a self-made woman who has worked her tail off to reach where she is now. She may not be a millionaire like him, but she is well secured in what she has earned financially and emotionally. She will never allow him, or anyone else for that matter, the liberty to taint that.

Fiona was pissed that her husband didn’t even have the decency to give her a tour of this place, his so-called home, which technically should be hers too. However, it isn’t. Therefore, she will not use his kitchen for cooking or anything other than drinking water. No one should refuse water. So, water is an exceptional case in this scenario.

Thanks to the restaurant and her best friend, the food could be arranged. Emily does not like Justin, so her best friend will not compel her to stay at Justin’s house; instead, she will be welcomed at her best friend’s house, which was formerly hers (and, according to Emily, still is). Moreover, it is only for a year. It will be tricky, but not impossible. It might also get tough from time to time, but she will find a way through it. 

She has to.

After figuring out everything that she possibly could, Fiona drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face. Whereas Justin was concerned, he was apprehensive the entire night. He did not like how everything was turning out. He certainly needed to sort himself out and then talk to Fiona. He could at least make her stay at his... Their home comfortable. Their bizarre relationship is going to take a lot of time to get back on track, so the least he could do is to make her feel at ease.

He thought of talking to Fiona in the morning while going to work, as they both work at the same place. Fiona is an employee of Carter Enterprise, and she is very adept at what she does. He has looked at some of her work, and it was impressive. She is a member of the IT team who works on website development.

After getting ready and having his breakfast in the morning, he called Fiona’s name to offer her a ride to work with a lot of courage and a strong mindset. It was an excellent excuse to start a conversation with her, but unfortunately, she didn’t respond. He called out her name once again, but there was no verbal reaction from her side. So, he went to her room, and as he was about to open the door, his phone rang.

“Dude, where the hell are you?” James, his best friend, asked him.

“Home. I am leaving in about five minutes. That is, as soon as Fiona shows up.” He explained, looking at the door of Fiona’s room. 

“Justin, Fiona is already here. She has been sitting at her desk for nearly fifteen minutes. She told me that you were running late, so you asked her to go ahead. Look, I get that you guys were forced into the situation, but seriously, this is not cool. It is bad enough how you have been treating her, but...” However, Justin cut him off.

“James, I honestly had no idea that Fiona had left. I was going to approach her right now by offering her a ride, but she had already left, and I guess... Forget it. Look, I know my actions are wrong, and I have realized that I may have acted more impulsively than I should have. But trust me when I say this: I will figure something out. Anyway, I will speak with you when I get there. See you in a few.”

Well, Fiona was not entirely wrong to leave without him, but she could have informed him at least.

Justin was greeted with lots of flowers and congratulations from his staff as soon as he was in view. He politely thanked them with a smile and gratitude and went to his cabin to begin his work. As soon as he sat on his chair, James barged in. He didn’t look pleased.

“What the hell were you thinking? Leaving Fiona all alone in the hotel room,” he questioned Justin while sitting on the chair in front of his desk. James wanted to give his best friend piece of his mind sooner, but Justin always managed to dodge the subject. But not anymore.

“She was not all alone in the room the entire day. She was out and about on her own and even struck up a fun conversation with Oliver.” Justin rolled his eyes. He is still bitter about Oliver’s situation. He didn’t have any right, but he just could not help it. 

“And whose fault is that? You should be thankful that she is a nice person who did not rat you out like a whiny bitch. Look, Justin. Fiona is a good person, so you better get your act together. I may not know her that well personally, but I know her enough to say that you are seriously going to hurt her with your antics. You better believe me when I say that you are going to live with this regret for the rest of your goddamn life, whether or not this marriage works out.” James told him the bitter truth, which he himself was gradually realizing with each passing day, but did not want to accept it.

“I know that, James. I simply require some time to speak with her. There has been too much silence between us, but I will work this through. I promise.” He tried to explain it to James. But in reality, he was trying to push time.

“I understand. But I hope your time comes sooner than you want it to,” James stated, praying that his friend would come to his senses. Too much silence could lead to the breakdown of Justin and Fiona's marriage. James liked Fiona. He has had a few encounters with her, and she appeared to be a good person.

“Anyway, how’s the candidate’s list coming along? We need to hire the new executive by next week.” Justin asked his friend, trying to shift the focus of the conversation.

“I know. I have asked Suzy to contact each one of them. Interviews will take place on Monday, as decided.” Justin responded with a nod and a thumbs up. Suzy was James' secretary and was very efficient at her work.

James was about to leave the office when Justin called out to him. “Look after Fiona for me, James. Make sure no one is troubling her in any way whatsoever. You know how people can sometimes be. I don’t want anyone to harass her just because she is married to me.”

“Why don’t you do it yourself, Justin? At the very least, this will give her a sense of assurance that you do care about her. A bit, if not a lot.” James desperately wanted his best friend to speak with Fiona.

“I know. But I really need some time to think this through. I do realize that I have messed this up. I just need a little more time so that I can apologize to her properly, and hopefully, she will forgive me.” Justin spoke from his heart.

James sighed in disappointment. “Whatever fits your shoe, dude. Whatever fits your shoes.” 

He then walked away.