Welcome To Hell, Dear Wife-Chapter 21: The Search Party

Chapter 21: The Search Party
"Hello, Miss Lorena. I am Miss Davies, the head of household. And before you come in, we will need to inspect your belongings."
That was the first thing Mira heard as soon as she stepped through the reinforced steel entrance of Lucas Atkins’ home.
Her fingers tightened on the strap of her purse and the one box she had intentionally packed, despite her mother telling her over and over to take more boxes.
It was like she was telling herself she wouldn’t be there for long anyway. She needed to believe that by all means.
The woman who had spoken stood before her with two others on both sides of her. The one in front was older, with sharp eyes and gray hair pulled back in a very tight bun. She looked like she had never smiled a day in her life.
She wore a simple black dress while her hands were clasped in front of her.
"No," Mira finally said. "These are my things and you can’t just go through them."
"All property entering Mr. Atkins’ home is inspected," Miss Davies replied. Her voice hadn’t changed at all, and it was like she had said something like this a thousand times.
"It’s all for security and for our records. So the items, please."
Mira could not believe her ears. Just minutes ago, she had been wondering why this place was built like some sort of prison that even the luxury could not hide.
The walls were too high, the steel gates were like some sort of fortress. It was the total opposite of the Sanders’ home that had gold and glitter to show off.
Back when she had come here for the first time, she hadn’t been focused enough to look around because she was literally in a robe with no slippers on and had been shoved into a car.
But now? Everything made her feel uncomfortable. Even right now, in this very place where they received guests, there were only polished stone floors with plain white walls.
No photos. It was clean, perfect, and completely dead.
And now, they wanted to do what? Search her bags?
She closed her eyes as she forced herself to calm down. "Security? What do you think could be inside any of my bags? What could I be hiding? A bomb? This is just insane, I’m not a prisoner nor a criminal."
"The bags, please," Miss Davies simply repeated, her hand still outstretched like she couldn’t give a damn what Mira was talking about.
Mira had told herself that she would avoid any outburst today, so even though she was feeling a mix of fear and rage, she slowly slid her purse off her shoulder and handed it over alongside her big box.
She felt even more pissed as one of the younger women took it and started pulling everything out of the purse first: her wallet, her lipstick, a pack of gum, and many more things laid on a cold marble table like they were evidence in a case.
After that, they got to her big box, not minding her privacy, and shoved out every bit of underwear and clothes.
She thought the humiliation was over as she proceeded to grab back her purse, but she was dead wrong.
Miss Davies’ cold eyes moved back to her as she said, "And now you."
Mira’s brain froze. "What did you say?"
"A physical inspection of you is required too."
The words didn’t make sense at first, but then they soon did. A hot and sick feeling of shame washed over Mira.
"You are telling me right now that you want to... to pat me down?" she whispered, her voice shaking more than she would have liked.
"I let you take my bags! And now you think it’s okay to put your hands on me too? Do you realize how disgustingly invasive you are?"
"It is standard protocol," the woman stated so nonchalantly, as if she were discussing the weather.
"Like hell it is! You are not touching me!"
"Let the woman do her job."
The voice that broke the air came like it was from above, and it was.
Mira’s head snapped up to see Lucas standing at the very top of a wide staircase, leaning down on the railing.
He was in a perfect black suit, looking down at them with a faint and amused smile on his face.
It was clear he had been watching the whole time.
Anger pushed aside Mira’s shame as she blurted out. "She is doing her job already! She took my things! But I am not an animal to be checked for fleas! She is not putting her hands on me!"
Lucas started walking down the stairs in a slow manner. "That is also a part of her job, and you’re making it difficult for her."
He reached the bottom step and looked down at her.
"If you’re so against being patted down by her..." he paused, letting his cold eyes run over her body. "I guess me doing it myself would make you feel better?"
And before Mira could even react, he had moved and was suddenly right in front of her. His hand came up to skim the side of her hip as he headed for the pocket of her jeans.
Mira’s hand flew up and smacked his away. "Don’t you dare touch me!" she screamed.
Everyone in the room seemed to freeze at that outburst. Miss Davies hadn’t moved, but even her own eyes widened like no one had ever dared smack Mr. Atkins that way.
Lucas, on the other hand, didn’t even get mad. He simply looked at his hand and then back at her.
"You have a choice," he started in a very quiet voice so that only Mira could hear it. "Her. Or me. Pick one, because you’re definitely getting patted down whether or not you like it."
Mira’s heart pounded so hard from the embarrassment. She looked from Miss Davies’ face and then at Lucas.
One touch would be treating her like a piece of meat, and the other was a different kind of violation, a more dangerous one.
Tears started to burn behind her eyes with helpless anger. She hated this situation more than she’d admit.
Her voice came out like a choked whisper. "Her."
She chose the housekeeper, and Lucas gave a tiny nod. "Proceed."
He didn’t walk away but leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and watched.
Miss Davies stepped forward. "Arms out, please, Miss."
Mira stood there against her choice as the woman’s cold hands patted her down. They ran over her arms, her back, her hips, and then the side of her legs.
It was quick and professional but still a very degrading experience for Mira. She didn’t know why it felt so different from airport patting, but she felt like an object.
Especially since she could feel Lucas’ gaze on her as he watched her humiliation like it was some sort of interesting show.
Finally, it was over and Miss Davies stepped back. "She’s clear, sir."
"Good," Lucas said as he pushed himself off the wall. He looked at Mira, who was still staring at the floor. "Now that we all understand how things work here, we’re on a schedule. So go get ready."
Mira finally looked up in confusion. "Ready for what?"
"My company’s anniversary gala. It’s tonight, and you’re going with me. We’ll be announcing our marriage to everyone."
The words didn’t make sense. "What? No... you... you told my mom that we would have a small wedding first. You guys agreed on a ceremony."
Lucas scoffed. "I told your mother what she wanted to hear to get her to shut up. I was never going to waste my time on some fake wedding for you."
His eyes swept over her in a judging manner. "If you want to wear a pretty dress so badly, you can just wear one tonight. Or are you not ready?"
"I’m of course not ready!" Mira protested. "I thought I had time. You don’t just throw it at me, I need to prepare for something like this!"
"I don’t need you to be ready," he said, cutting her off. "All I need from you is to be quiet, look beautiful, and just stand next to me. I’ll do all the talking. Your only job is to smile and act like you’re crazy in love with me."
He said the last part like it was the most disgusting job in the world.
He then looked at his expensive watch. "You have thirty minutes. Your clothes are already picked out too. Don’t waste my time."
And just like that, he turned and walked away, while Miss Davies stepped forward again and said, "This way, Miss."