The Beauty And The Billionaire Beast

"I prepared the marital chamber in your room, flamingo," Seren opened the bedroom door and guided them inside.

Erica and Patrick were stunned by the petals arranged on the flood leading into the room. Candles placed in between two sliced pieces of oranges and lit filled the room with an orange light and a sweet mint scent.

"Come in."

The married couple walked in awe. Taking in the thoughtfully decorated room. Lights in the shape of hearts hang on the walls, along with heart-shaped red balloons.

The room had a romantic feel to it that the fake tears streaming down Erica's cheeks paused. The water tap turned off, and her clear eyes shined once more.

Candles lit the room from the bedside table. A heart was drawn on the bed with red rose petals. 'Pat weds Erica' was written in the center of the heart with pink, red, and white petals.

"You can celebrate the wedding night here. Tomorrow, you can decide whether you'll live in separate rooms or not," Seren uttered, her voice breaking the long silence.

"Okay," Patrick and Erica answered in unison.

"The food is here, ma'am," May entered the room. She set the food in the sitting area in the bedroom and made for the exit.

Seren fetched two glasses of water from the water dispenser next to the coffee table and set them down next to the set of food. "It's late. Why don't you both eat and get some rest," she suggested.

She hugged Erica for the first time in three years and held her close to her relieved heart.

"Your wedding and welcome back gift is in the envelope under the pillow. I love you, baby sis, and it's good to have you back home," she expressed in a notch below a whisper.

Seren kissed Erica on the cheek. She stepped out and locked the door on her way out.

"Save for your younger sister, you have a lovely family, Erica," Patrick admitted.

The love he felt being given to Erica was more than he'd ever yearned for from his loved ones.

"I know," Erica said indifferently; she rushed to the bed and drew the envelope Seren had left her. She sat down on the sofa and opened it to see the gift her sister felt was worthy of her.

An identity card fell out of the envelope. As she had turned eighteen in prison a few months back, she didn't think about applying for one. She felt grateful to Seren for going out of her way for her.

Aside from the ID card, she found papers containing details of her new bank accounts containing seventy-five billion zass and several credit cards linked to the bank accounts.

The corner of Erica's lips curled up. The money was enough to let her live the rest of her life peacefully without having to bother with the family company.

As she wanted no part in the Lim empire or felt the need to beg her parents for money, she appreciated her sister taking the initiative to seek her financially.

"That's a lot of money!" Patrick reacted from over her shoulder.

"The Lim family is worth trillions of money," Erica responded, inserting the credit cards into her new wallet.

"Is your sister trying to keep you from going after the company by giving you money? How can she be so cunning?"

"Don't be too easily fooled by surface affection or disdain," Erica said, picking up her meal from where she had ad left off. "My allies in the family are my sister Seren, Camille, and Carlos. My father and Stephanie act nice but they are manipulative and shrewd to their core," she let in.

"What?" Patrick missed her accusations from the sweet welcome they received downstairs.

"My father could've made all the charges on me disappear with a wave of his hand but chose to watch me go to prison. He kept my family and friends from visiting or keeping in touch with me for three years and left me lonely and friendless. Don't be fooled by his kind appearance," she explained.

Patrick felt he misread Mr. Matthew Lim completely. He hadn't expected such viciousness to exist underneath his sweet smile.

"Stephanie is a jealous little devil who has her eyes set on getting a share of the family wealth. Not to mention Inngit's sister," Erica dropped the information lazily. "She's part of the plot to frame me for my nana's murder as it eliminated one more contender for the inheritance, the mastermind. Her sweet nature is an act so watch out for her."

"Are you going to kill her?" Patrick asked.

"I will, one day," she answered, her eyes staring emptily into the air. "Early death is too good for her. She'll have to suffer for three years as I did in jail before I send her to meet my nana and her sister!"

"I had no idea," Patrick plopped down in disbelief. "Is that why you acted so innocent in their presence, to fool them?"

"Not really. I used to be innocently naive growing up. I'm keeping up appearances to avoid too many eyes on me," Erica answered honestly.

"Why can't you just get revenge on them and leave them to karma?"

Erica finished her first bowl of pork balls. She licked her fingers before picking up another bowl. "Do you know the first thing I learned in prison?"

"What?"

"People are good liars. They take the parts they don't want people to see and shove them at the back of the closet and wear a mask of who they want you to believe they are," she said out of nowhere. "I don't wish to punish my enemies. I want them to apologize to my grandmother for ending her life way too early. That can only happen if they go to where my granny is," she added.

A momentary silence filled the room. Erica munched down on the delicious balls uncontrollably.

"So, I'm prepared to stain my hands with their blood to get my nana the apology she deserves. That is my justice," she summed up.

Patrick had his meal while silently pondering Erica's words. The words Erica uttered weren't one a young lady her age should utter with a firm resolution.

He blamed fate for hardening her heart too young. Instead of worrying about crushes, make-up, and fashion like other girls her age, she was committing murder and planning more in the future.

"They framed me as a minor and that's the only reason I got a short sentence. I became an adult in prison...in a cruel environment...I'll be satisfied when they are all dead and forgotten," she cleared the dishes.

"You grew up too fast."

"I had no choice. Prison offers limited choices to people."

She walked into the bathroom and returned adorned in a simple see-through red nightdress.

"We should sleep."

Patrick found pajamas in the bathroom, and he, to,o, stripped out of his wedding suit. He took a cold shower to clear his head.

His mind raced back and forth on the information he attained about his young wife. She was nothing like he expected her to be.

The running water washed away his worries of yesterday and left him fresh to conquer the rest of the night.

Seven minutes later, he dried himself with a clean towel and moisturized. He changed into comfortable sleeping wear before walking back into the bedroom.

Patrick found his wife tucked in bed but on her phone. "It must be nice sleeping on your bed after all this time, right?"

One glance from Erica was enough for him to know that he shouldn't pry any further.

He sealed his lips shut and slid under the blanket. "What do you plan to do with your life if you aren't going join your family's company?"

"I plan to lazily spend the billions of money I have. I don't want to stress myself with unnecessary pressures of life," she said.

"You could go to college," Patrick put the idea out there for her to think over.

"Yes, I'm sure lots of colleges will proudly admit an ex-con who graduated high school in jail," Erica let out sarcastically.

Patrick internally scolded himself for raising the idea. He hadn't thought that far; with the unforgiving and unforgettable world they lived in, people were bound to use her past against her for as long as she had breath in her lungs.

"I have no interest in giving people chances to mock and bully me for crimes I didn't commit. I might end up adding more people to my kill list than needed," she added.

Patrick gulped. The utterances that flowed out of his wife's mouth scared his pants off because he knew she meant every word.

Erica put her phone away. She kissed the corner of his mouth and said, "Goodnight, hubby."

Leaving Patrick stunned and unable to move, she switched off the lights and went to sleep.

It was then that Patrick realized she had already blown out all the candles. He rested his head on the plush pillows and switched off for the night.

"Good night, wife," he murmured.