Vase after vase flew towards River-rose and she was beginning to run out of room to dodge them. Suddenly, a vase hit her in the side of her head and she screamed. It had come out of no where. Her bare feet crunched over the shards of glass, but she didn't feel it. She was numb.

The walls closed in as the tall shadowed man neared her. She held her breath as he stepped into the light and then another man followed behind him, making her press herself into the wall.

As her eyes slowly focused, she realized it was Nico who held a teasing smirk on his face. River had to hold back a gasp when Hayze then came into view. He looked as intimidating as ever and he towered over both Nico and her. His face was blank and now that she thought about it, she'd only ever seen two clear emotions from him and neither of them involved a smile.

"You said you'd be good," Hayze said in a low, mysterious voice. She hated the disappointment laced in his voice.

"I-I know. I have been."

Before she could even blink, River was slammed up against the wall and the dam holding back her tears broke.

"Wrong answer babe. You haven't been loyal," Nico tsked. That's when the realization hit her and she knew she deserved the punishment she was about to receive.

Nico raised his hand. "It's time you learned to be a good girlfriend." Too bad I'm married then

River shot up straight in her bed, gasping for air. Her fluffy pillow was wet with tears and she was sticky with sweat.

She took a moment to calm down her racing heart before going into her bathroom which was connected to her pretty bedroom.

When she first walked into the room, she was surprised to see how nice it was. It had lavender colored walls and a big white fluffy carpet right in front of a queen sized bed. Everything was colored light grey, lavender or white and the room was fairly simple.

Hayze had spoiled her with the big poster board above a white desk which had her laptop for school work. It was very 'teen' and she was surprised Hayze had given her a room like this. She was a married woman now and the room didn't exactly fit 'married woman.'

She entered the bathroom and stripped before hopping underneath the large shower head that sprayed water like a light waterfall instead of a shower.

She didn't know this but Hayze had it specifically designed just for her because he somehow found out that she adored the sound of rain and she had a thing for water.

Hayze had prepared a lot for River to make her comfortable. He had her room painted a calming lavender and he had a hovering bench installed beside her bay window so she could sit and look out the window into the flower garden. He also wanted to take her out so he could buy her more furniture for her room but he hadn't yet built up the courage to show interest in her because he didn't want to be rejected.

River showered until she finally could feel the chill on her smooth skin. She wrung out her dark hair before drying off and slipping into her underclothes. When she turned, she immediately came face to face with her reflection.

Her black hair hung dull and limp around her soft face. Her eyes stood out boldly against the contrast of her hair and the bags from lack of sleep and crying were even more prominent.

She slowly brushed the hair away from her neck and her eyes zoned in on the marks on her neck. She could see the faint evidence of a hand print and to cover it up, Nico had put love bites in its place.

River never really did like having Nico's love bites anywhere on her. They made her feel uncomfortable for some strange reason. Maybe because he made them so dark and huge that it would take a blind person to miss them. Sometimes they would even feel sore or they'd hurt when Nico did them.

She didn't think love was supposed to hurt. But apparently it did.

Nico didn't like when she tried to cover them up with concealer but he was okay with her covering the few freckles scattered on her nose.

After realizing she had stared long enough, she turned away and slipped on her pajama set that her mom had given her right before she got married.

Her pajama shorts fell loosely right below her butt and the waist band came just above her belly button to meet the cool fabric of her cropped loose pajama shirt. They were comfortable but she couldn't believe that her mother had gotten them for her. Her mother would usually freak out if she dared showing so much skin.

Quietly, she exited her bedroom and lightly made her way down the stairs through the dark. The house was a lot more lonely at nighttime and that was saying a lot because the house was quiet during the day as well.

River froze when she heard clicking over the floor but then she let out a breath when she realized it was just Blue who woke up to accompany her. She pet his fluffy fur before gently grabbing it in her small hand and walking with him to the kitchen.

She hadn't searched through the kitchen herself so when she looked through every cabinet and shelf that she could reach and she didn't find a cup, she wanted to stomp her foot in annoyance. She held back though because she didn't want to wake up Hayze; which she most likely wouldn't.

Her gaze drifted to the highest cabinet and she huffed before carefully lifting herself onto the counter. Just as she felt her hand graze a glass, the lights flicked on, momentarily blinding her. She squealed and fell backwards off the counter, the glass hitting the floor right before her.

She cried out, not because of hitting the ground, but because of the shards of glass that had made contact with her hands and the backs of her thighs.

Hayze hissed through his teeth like he felt her pain as she hit the ground. He rushed forward, tiptoeing around the glass and mumbling Italian obscenities as he went.

"Bella ragazza, cosi maldestra. Cosi stai facendo sui taualo?" he said as he picked her up from under her arms.

She began to get nervous because she was scared Hayze would be enraged because she had dropped his nice glass. Nico would have been.

Hayze entered into the nearest bathroom and set her down on her feet. He grabbed the small trash can and put it to the side of him.

"Put your hands out, bella rosa," he said softly.

She blushed as she put her hands out. He gently took one of her small hands and began taking out the shards of glass. One by one.

"What were you doing River?"

She bit her lip to hide her smile. She never knew hearing her name would sound so good coming from him. "I needed water and you put your glasses so high."

He looked up from her hands which were now free of glass. "I'll bring them down and build another shelf that you'll be able to reach."

She smiled brightly. "Thank you. Um, you don't seem to have many mugs. Why?"

"I usually get my coffee from the café in the mornings since I leave so early," he said as he stood up straight. "Turn around."

She shyly turned around and she could hear him inhale sharply.

"Merda. My poor little Rose's pretty thighs," he said as he caressed her soft skin with his thumb. She began blushing like crazy.

His fingers delicately picked the glass out of her thighs and she was amazed at how gentle he was with her. She didn't think a man could be so careful and gentle.

He shushed her every time she felt him pull a more stubborn piece from her thighs. She froze when she felt his hand brush right where her shorts fell.

"There," he said as he ran his hand over each leg. He got up and leaned into her, putting his mouth near he ear which earned him a shiver. "Good girl," he whispered.

Her knees suddenly felt weak and her hands flew forward to grip the sinks. He chuckled and backed away from her.

"If you'd like, we can go shopping for that mug you promised me and anything else you'd like."

"So you're not mad?" River asked shyly.

He frowned. "No. There's no need to be. Mistakes happen."

Why didn't Nico think that?