That cold voice instantly silenced all the servants in the room. Arrabella, who had been examining the wardrobe, slowly turned around.
Nareswara stood in the bathroom doorway, his face expressionless. His hair was still slightly damp, and the shirt he wore was not yet fully buttoned.
The man's gaze immediately fell on Arrabella, then shifted to the several suitcases the servants had just brought in. He did not need to ask any further. From the scene before him, he already knew what the woman was doing.
“Who gave you permission to come in here?” Nareswara repeated. His voice remained calm, but its chill was enough to make every servant lower their head.
Arrabella merely smiled faintly. “No one.”
Nareswara raised an eyebrow slightly. “Then get out.”
The servants lowered their heads even further. Not one of them dared to move. Mirah even unconsciously gripped the hem of her own clothes. She could already imagine what was about to happen. Nareswara had never allowed anyone to contradict him. Especially not in his private bedroom.
Yet Arrabella did not move at all.
“Why can't I come in here?” she asked calmly.
“I said get out. Are you deaf, Arrabella?”
“I heard you.”
“Then why are you still standing there?”
Arrabella looked straight at him. “Because I don't see any reason why I should leave my own bedroom.”
Nareswara's gaze instantly sharpened. “This bedroom is mine.”
“It was. Now it's mine too.”
Those words made the atmosphere even tenser.
Nareswara stared at Arrabella as if he could not believe the woman had just said that to him. “What do you mean?”
“Now that you're married,” Arrabella said. “I'm your wife.”
“That doesn't mean you can take over my bedroom.”
“I'm not taking it over.”
“Then what are you doing, Arrabella?”
“I'm occupying the master bedroom as the lady of the house.”
Several servants exchanged glances. Mirah swallowed with difficulty. They all knew that Nareswara hated the fact that Arrabella was his wife. That was why he treated Arrabella so badly.
Nareswara let out a short laugh. There was not the slightest bit of warmth in it. “The lady of the house?”
“Yes.”
“When did I ever give you permission to claim that status?”
Without the slightest fear, Arrabella shot back, “Since I became your wife. From that moment on, everything that belonged to you became mine!”
“I've been too foolish all this time, letting everyone forget that status. But I won't let them trample me like that anymore. I am the lady of this house.”
The smile disappeared from Nareswara's face.
Arrabella then turned toward the servants standing stiffly behind her. “Isn't that right?”
No one answered.
Arrabella raised an eyebrow. “I asked you a question.”
The servants grew even more nervous. They glanced at one another, unsure whom they should answer.
In the end, Mirah gathered her courage and raised her head. “Yes, ma'am.”
Arrabella nodded slowly. “Good.”
She then looked at the servants one by one. “Who is in charge of this house?”
Mirah answered cautiously, “Nareswara.”
“And who is his wife?”
“Arrabella.”
“Then who is the lady of the house?”
Mirah fell silent for a moment. But this time, she no longer hesitated. “Arrabella.”
A faint smile appeared on Arrabella's face. “Good.”
She turned her gaze back to Nareswara. “So if I ask for my belongings to be moved into the master bedroom, I'm not doing anything that violates the rules of this house.”
Nareswara clenched his jaw. “You!”
Arrabella immediately reached out, grabbed her husband's chin, and said, “What is it, my husband?”