Pffff. Okay.*stretches fingers* I can totally do this.

For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, she was happy. Deliriously, unconditionally happy. She had never expected such happiness from her marriage, or any possible marriage for that matter. Marriage brought nothing but misery to women like her. She knew it from experience.

As a result, her present contentment was truly unexplainable.

As soon as she had accepted his proposal, she had fully expected to regret her decision. Calamities would start heaping on her as soon as she married Rhett. Rhett would start hating her, she would have a miscarriage, Melanie would die, and millions of other dreadful things she would rather not think about would happen to her and her loved ones. But strangely, Rhett was perfectly nice. Nobody had died yet. And for the first time since… she didn't even know how long anymore, she felt carefree. There was no need to fight against the whole entire world when she had Rhett's money to back her up.

And it backed her up marvelously. Her honeymoon had been a romantic whirlwind in New Orleans, full of lavish foods and deep rich wine, people who complimented her on her beauty, and beautiful clothes, and Rhett was always by her side…

It was becoming increasingly difficult to convince herself her new husband was not in love with her.

Sometimes he sat down beside her while she brushed her hair and gently took the comb away from her. Then he passed it through her hair along with his fingers. She could feel the warmth of his large frame behind her back, and she liked the comfortable silence between them. When he was done he kissed her softly on the shoulder, his mustache just a little bit prickly on her sensitive skin. And always, she felt a stirring in her chest that she couldn't quite identify.

But then at other times he mercilessly made fun of her and drove her mad. He teased her whenever she tried to use her naïve southern belle tricks on him, and assured her that she had horrible taste in clothes. Whenever they went out to a restaurant, he would point out that the charming man who had complimented her had almost certainly killed his mother-in-law, or that the gaudily dressed woman they had just talked to was an old courtesan who happened to have a rabbit face. At which point Scarlett couldn't help but giggle at his unabashed frankness, even though he did drive her mad.

When they had talked about a house, Rhett suggested something old fashioned and classical, of course. Scarlett was about to refuse when she remembered the gloomy old prison she had lived in inside her dream. She reluctantly accepted then, hurriedly adding that she didn't want any staircases in the house.

"No staircases?" he asked.

"No."

"Why on earth not, Scarlett?"

"Oh, why can't we have a house with no stairs? I've always wanted one," she pouted.

"It is a rather strange demand. No staircases? Are you quite certain?"

"Yes. Stairs are dangerous."

"I'm afraid I cannot fathom how a flight of steps could be harmful to your health, my dear."

"Well, someone could fall down."

"I see. And what is the real reason for your sudden vendetta against staircases?"

"I… but, this is the real reason."

He chuckled. "If you aren't about to tell me, then you will have to deal with the stairs. I still own the checkbook, and I do not hold any grudges against second floors, unlike you." Scarlett wanted to slap the grin off his face.

"Fine. You can have your goddamn stairs," she replied airily, to his surprise. Rhett tried to coax an answer out of her for the next several days, but each time she affirmed that she didn't want anyone to break their neck falling down that thing, that's all.

When she came back to Atlanta, the house was in construction. They were indeed planning on building a staircase. A big one. She had gritted her teeth and said nothing about it.

After supper in her beautiful hotel suite, which she spent in resentful silence, she informed Rhett that she was going to call on Melanie, and that Rhett needn't accompany her.

"Oh, Scarlett, you're back!" Melanie exclaimed when she opened the door. "I'm so glad. How was New Orleans? And Captain Butler?"

"Oh, they're both fine and dandy, Melly."

"Everyone is talking about how grand your new house will be. I knew you would build a beautiful, elegant house, unlike those strange ones the scallywags are living in."

"Thank you," Scarlett replied resentfully.

"Ashley! India! Scarlett is back."

India gave her an icy glare, and greeted her with obvious contempt. Ashley threw her a tired smile and kissed her on the cheek wearily. Scarlett no longer felt jolts of electricity when his lips met her skin. She was proud of herself for that.

Melly seemed as skinny as usual, and Scarlett was glad that she did not become pregnant during her absence. But maybe she should worry about her extreme thinness instead, considering how pale and frail she always looked. Ashley told her about the state of the mills, India studiously ignored her, and everything was as if she had never left Atlanta. Except that Rhett was waiting for her at the hotel, and she was married to him. It seemed almost normal that she should be married to Rhett when she was frolicking in Louisiana, but now, while she was sitting in Melanie's home talking about her honeymoon, it felt surreal.

When she ran out of amusing stories to tell about New Orleans, she headed back to the hotel, feeling a lot less angry at Rhett, but still unwilling to let go of her grudge.

"Why are you so aggravated over those stairs, Scarlett?" was the first thing he told her when she stormed through the door. It instantly made her furious again.

"It's not the stairs, it's you! You never listen to anything I say."

"You, on the other hand, are perfectly obedient, I suppose."

"I shan't listen to another word. I'm going to bed."

"Was Ashley home?" he asked casually, after taking a sip from his glass of brandy.

"Yes, he was home. And he was much nicer to me than you are."

"I see."

Scarlett sat by the mirror and angrily started removing pins from her hair. But then his question sank in.

"Why do you want to know about Ashley?" she shouted from in front of the mirror.

"Because you assured me you were no longer attached to the poor lethargic man," came his response.

"Well I'm not attached to him," she replied with annoyance.

"No, of course."

"I'm not. It's the stairs that have been bothering me, you know it."

"And why are you bothered by the stairs? They're only stairs."

"Because, because…" She sighed. Maybe if she went with a half truth, he would believe her.

"Because I had a dream where I fell down. It was very frightening."

"A dream?"

"Yes, I fell down some stairs, and it hurt a lot, and it was dreadful. I know it's a silly reason, and that you would tease me about it if I told you."

"You're right. I most certainly would have teased you about it." There was playfulness in his voice. He believed her. And even if he did not, he was in his normal mood again, and Scarlett suddenly realized that Rhett had been angry at her too when she had come back from Melly's house.

"You are a cad, Rhett," she informed him. But she was trying hard not to beam at her reflection.

She heard his footsteps before she saw him walking towards her.

"We don't need stairs if you don't want them," he said while enveloping her shoulders with his hands.

Scarlett looked at him. Suddenly, all her fears seemed utterly irrational. Why would she have a miscarriage? Why would Rhett ever leave with their daughter? The Rhett in her dream could, but the one she had married would never do such a thing.

"I don't care about the stairs anymore. You can have them," she decided. They really weren't worth arguing so stubbornly for.

"Really?"

"Yes. And I don't appreciate your comments about me and Ashley. Did you really think I would start an affair with Melanie's husband on the day I come back from my honeymoon?"

"A few months ago, I wouldn't have put it past you, Mrs. Butler," he murmured.

Rhett smiled back at her in the mirror. And his eyes were the same as Melanie's when she looked at Ashley.

It really was becoming very difficult to convince herself Rhett was not in love with her.

So it's rushed, and I'm sleep deprived, and absolutely nothing happened, but I'm all out of inspiration and I'm hoping this very short update might give me some. There should be some stuff happening in the next chapter, when I get around to writing it. I WILL write it. Maybe. Hopefully.