Chapter Text
"I'm heading off to work, Salt!"
"Bye dear, I'll see you tomorrow!"
OJ slammed the door shut. He left his partner staring at the brown hinged rectangle, its shiny golden door knob reflecting back at her.
This was their marriage. This was how they ended up. No matter how much she loved him, she always felt that lingering thought in her chest and brain, that painful feeling. She loved him. He wouldn't have married her if he didn't love her back, right?
"𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺-𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴!! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵?"
The woman never listened. Her parents always acted like how her and her husband did. Isn't that what love is? Pepper was wrong, she'd convince herself. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. What her and OJ had was way better than whatever they saw on TV. The movie stars always said that!
Ever since that day, she buried herself in those movies, surrounding herself in the fantasy called living her dream lifestyle. She already is, at least she thought she was.
There was no such thing as a mistake, especially when marrying the love of her life! He was smart, charming, rich and looked very good. He even ran a hotel with his business partner. It was deadly obvious, Salt knew there was something going on between them. Something way more than just business partners running a hotel. It ticked her off just thinking of it.
But she knew that this whole marriage ordeal was about their inheritance, their family run businesses, their image, the money. It was always about the money. That's why her parents agreed in the first place. That's why OJ's parents agreed, despite his constant disapproval. Why did he even disapprove initially? It's not like Salt was annoying or bratty, right?
Her phone buzzed with notifications. Messages from Pepper and Balloon were talking about some "plan arranging" with other annoying people but that doesn't matter. She adjusted her necklace and walked over to her vanity, examining her appearance as usual. It was always funny how she felt as if there was always something wrong with her appearance. Her hair was too messy, her eyeliner was wonky, her jacket was lopsided.
She looked down at the table to where her hands were. One hand had a shiny, sparkling ring that fit perfectly on her ring finger. When it was presented to her, she was told it was real diamond and cherished it like it was her greatest possession. But beside her ring was a golden wedding band on the table. Salt frowned. He forgot his ring, yet again.
She shook her head, chuckling unsurprisingly. Oh, what a man he was.
Hm, a day off work and nothing else to do.
𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵.
The sound of heels skipped down the stairs. Their mansion was what people described as huge, modern, 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵. Chandeliers hung off ceilings and spiral staircases led up to hidden rooms from white marble floors. Everything she had always dreamed for in a house, was right in front of her. A question often bugged her. Why was she always watching her TV shows if she already had what she wanted? She worked her hardest to push that especially out of her mind.
A loud creak broke the silence. Standing before her were two flowers. One glowing in the darkness and one she could hardly see. OJ's daisy was blooming with a bright light radiating out of it, so it wasn't her flower that was glowing. It wasn't 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, she thought. Her golden flower. Salt felt tears in her eyes. Her love wasn't equal. Her yellow carnation was darkening.