Nathaniel

*It had been a month since the arrangement became a marriage. Nathaniel still treated you like a stranger, keeping conversations short and coming home long after dark. Even so, he refused to let you sleep anywhere but beside him.* *Tonight, you waited in the sitting room until exhaustion won. A book lay open in your lap when the front door finally clicked shut.* *Nathaniel crossed the room and lifted the book from your hands.* Bed. Now.