“You look happy?” she added eagerly.
“Huh?”
“The outing must have been so nice.”
“Oh, the wedding! Oh my goodness, you missed it, Alice. The son of Percy was nothing like the rumors said. My goodness, my eyes were blessed today. He was so… handsome…” Patricia collapsed on the couch, grinning as she remembered Christian.
Alice scoffed, a new feeling of anger rising within her.
“Is he really that handsome?”
“Very handsome, Alice,” Patricia said, lost in her thoughts.
“Is he disabled?”
“Not in any way. Even if he was, with that face and body, I don’t think any woman would refuse him,” she said. “And you’re happy you gave him to another woman?”
At that moment, Patricia came to her senses and realized her daughter must be upset and hurt by her words.
“Alice,” she called softly, reaching out to touch her, but Alice moved away. “I’m sorry, Alice, but… but…” Patricia stammered, pulling out her phone and showing Alice a picture of Christian and Clarisse at the altar. But Alice’s eyes were fixed on the man in the photo, whose image was captivating.
Alice’s lips parted, and her heart started racing. She wanted to meet this man and see him for herself.
“How can you even be sure this is their real son? You said the husband was away on a business trip.”
“Yes, but…” Patricia hesitated.
“What if this is the secretary, or someone just standing in so she wouldn’t be alone?” Alice said, folding her arms across her chest.
“That could be true, but then again…”
“At least they’re married. Let’s have a dinner party to celebrate their union, that way we can be sure.”
“You’re right. I’ll do that. I’ll arrange it for you,” Patricia said, trying her best to make sure her daughter didn’t look worried or upset.
“Who’s that?” one of the maids asked Ally as she went back to her duties.
“Just some men,” she replied, not giving the maid much attention.
“Oh, some men are already coming to look for you… tell me, is that your new crush?” the maid teased, but Ally didn’t respond. “He is good-looking though.”
“You should get back to work. He’s not my crush or anything,” she replied coldly.
“Tsk, you’re no fun,” the maid pouted and left her.
Ally resumed what she was doing, but her mind felt unsettled, disturbed, and guilty.
“I shouldn’t have said that much,” she muttered, sighing and falling back on her butt as she scolded herself. She had just told a total stranger things she felt like she shouldn’t have. And that was because she was so angry at that moment that she couldn’t stop herself.
A few minutes ago:
“Who are you?”
“I’m her friend.”
“Clarisse doesn’t have any friends.”
“She does now. I’m her new friend, but I feel like I don’t know anything about her. She constantly zones off and doesn’t tell me anything, so I felt like I should make an inquiry about her myself, that way I can provide her some company and comfort,” the stranger said.
“She needs that. She needs someone,” Ally thought to herself. “What do you want to know about her? I don’t know much either, but let’s see if I can provide you with some answers,” she said.
“What kind of person is she?”
“Clarisse is a very kind person, fragile and simple. All she ever said she wanted was happiness.”
“I heard she was once married.”
“Yeah, she… unfortunately, got married to a devil,” Ally answered, getting pissed just by remembering the kind of person Victor was.
“A devil? Were they not on good terms?”
“Never, not for once. He never treated her like a wife. Not anyone in this family did.”
“How then was she treated?”
“She’s never eaten with them at the dining table. She only gets to eat once a day, and that’s only when she doesn’t accidentally bump into any of them.”
“Like… in the middle of the night?”
“Exactly. How can they treat human beings like that?”
“And her husband?”
“Ugh! Don’t mention that animal. He was obsessed with Clarisse’s cousin and blamed her every time for being the reason he couldn’t marry her sister. He made her sleep in the basement, and not only that, that bastard once violated her, which caused her to get pregnant. She fainted the night she found out about the pregnancy under that tree. He had sent her out of the house because he brought Alice home.”
“He cheated on her? With her sister?”
“Yeah, it was raining that day,” Ally said, crying. “She was so happy that she wouldn’t be alone again. She said she was going to have her own flesh and blood, and even though she was haunted by the memories of that night, she still wanted to keep the baby. She said it was going to be her source of joy and wished it would be a son. It was like she wanted to be protected, but those bastards took it all from her. The last time I saw her was at the hospital, but she didn’t even know I was there. She looked so blank and lifeless, like she had no hope in this world. I couldn’t stay and watch her, so I just left.”
The stranger sighed. He was both touched and angry. He knew this report would piss off his boss, but he had to do his job.
“Don’t cry. She’s in safe hands now,” he said, assuring Ally. One thing he knew about his boss was that, even though he was ruthless and domineering, he had morals.
“Please, take good care of her,” Ally pleaded.
“Don’t worry. She’s in safe hands,” he replied.
Alicia sighed as she remembered.
“What happened to Clarisse that night isn’t something I should have shared. It’s like I’ve hurt her dignity. She did nothing wrong, but I shouldn’t have told anyone that,” Ally said, feeling guilty. “I’m sorry, Clarisse. You were the only one who treated me like a friend, not just a maid. I should have done better. I’m sorry,” she whispered to herself, but she was silent afterward.
Christian led Clarisse into the building. The attendants and guards bowed as they walked by, with a man and a woman following behind. They arrived at a spacious room that looked luxurious and beautiful, with a brown couch and a glass table in the middle. There wasn’t much in the room, but the expensive furniture and paintings made it feel very luxurious.
She immediately looked down when Christian turned to her. The man and woman excused themselves, leaving both of them alone.
“Let’s have a seat,” he gestured, and they both sat down.
Clarisse sat down, preparing herself for similar words and situations. She wasn’t expecting anything from him or the marriage. She was filled with resentment, not toward anyone in particular, but toward the universe and heaven for taking everything away from her. They had taken everything, and she felt like she was just an extra in the world, wanting to be left alone.
Chris noticed her absent-mindedness. She wasn’t looking at him, and though he couldn’t tell what she was thinking, he knew he needed to start a conversation.
“I know the wedding was arranged, and we haven’t had a proper chance to meet or get to know each other, but you’re free to ask me anything you want to know about me,” he said. “And let me introduce myself properly. I am Christian Charles.”
“I’m sorry,” she muttered, still not meeting his gaze.
“Hm?” He wasn’t expecting that. “Why are you sorry?”
“It wasn’t me you wanted to marry.”
“Yeah… I guess?”
“Of course. I’m sorry that I’m the one you married.”
Chris was confused. He didn’t understand what she meant. He didn’t have anyone he specifically wanted to marry. He’d been told the woman he was supposed to marry wasn’t available, so he was marrying her sister because that’s who had passed his mother’s test.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.