But as soon as she opened the door, she thought of something: “So what exactly do you want to do about the wedding night? Are we playing chess again, or are we finally going for it?”
She enjoyed a few seconds of his horrified expression and then burst out laughing: “I’m kidding, I already have them set up in the kitchen. I’m taking white.”
“Why you?!” he protested. “I always play white!”
“Because I’m the bride today!” floated back faintly from the hallway.
***
After exhausting preparations, teefu Tay Taris and Mishi Fasenoa stood before the altar. It happened on the third month of the autumn triad of the year 373–5, and despite all the dramatic expectations they had for this day, it proceeded smoothly. The attending journalists spent weeks repeating how beautiful Mishi’s dress was, or who showed up at the ceremony and why. They told the story of an ill, ordinary girl who found happiness in the arms of her superior. They described a grand wedding where both shone in the happy ending of her touching tale. For a time, Mishi became the most watched woman in Areneán, and nothing about the Tarises escaped attention. Except the most important thing. That they weren’t real.
…
They returned to the same house on the outskirts of Kita, but they did not live together. Tay continued his life at the palace as he was used to. Sometimes he came to see Mishi, to discuss upcoming events they had to handle together. But if he didn’t have to stay, he preferred sleeping in hotels during his business trips.
Mishi, who had left her job according to the agreement, was at first depressed by the sudden amount of time she had. With the surname Taris, an entirely different world opened to her. In these new circles, she met women who constantly shopped, founded charities for show, and attended parties in clubs that bore little resemblance to the ones she had spent her life frequenting. But Mishi had no desire to join this society. Everything there felt foreign. She threw away incoming invitations and shortened calls whenever one of the wives of Tay’s business partners tried to reach out.