5. The First Night

Nightfall dawned on the sky when Gerald opened his heavy eyes. Through the blurry vision, he realized that he didn’t wear his suit anymore, just sleepwear. He had been asleep for quite some time now, thanks to the injected medication the doctor gave to him. He remembered what happened before this. His chest was in torturous pain until Harold carried him into his room, and the doctor gave him something to ease the pain. His weary eyes searched for someone that was there before the doctor came.

“Virginia … ”

Michelle, who was half asleep beside her father, quickly woke up. The joy in her heart was indescribable upon seeing the sickly man now had woken up. The teenage daughter hurriedly held his hand. “Dad? It’s me, Michelle. Thank God you’re awake now.”

“Where’s my wife Virginia …?” he asked, ignoring the fact that his daughter had been there all along. He pushed the covers aside and tried to get out of bed. “Who changes my clothes?”

“What do you need, Dad? Let me do it for you,” insisted the daughter, “the doctor says you need to rest, don't force yourself to sit, Dad. It’s Cedric that changed your clothes.”

“No, I need Virginia, Michelle … ” he said after coughing heavily. “Where is she? Why she isn’t there?”

Realizing that his father didn’t want anything with her, Michelle grumbled and frowned. The joy that filled her heart was gone now, replaced by bitter feelings toward that one woman named Virginia. She faked a smile before letting go of her hand and saying, “I’ll call her, Dad. just wait there.”

She walked out of Gerald’s room and looked around, searching for a woman she deeply despised. Michelle’s eyes caught a glimpse of a woman dressed in a white gown who was slightly messy, hugging her knees at the hallway’s end. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and stomped her feet closer to that woman.

“Hey. My Dad’s looking for you,” she muttered, without even glancing at Virginia, and made the grieved woman’s eyes widen.

“H-he did? Is he awake now?” asked Virginia who immediately stood up and wiped her tears.

“Obviously, duh.” Michelle rolled her eyes in annoyance hearing her stepmother’s answer. “You’re not the brightest bulb, are you?”

Virginia didn’t say a word, trying to ignore the insult given by that teenage girl who was pestering her by bumping into her intentionally on the way to Gerald’s room. Just before her hands reached the doorknob, Michelle called her one more time.

"Hey, my Dad suffers because of you.” Michelle glared as she pointed her fingers at Virginia. “If you make him sick again, I won’t be sorry if something bad happens to you. You got it?”

The threatening message made Virginia’s thoughts foggy again. She knew Gerald’s condition wasn’t her fault at all, but she had no other choice besides nodding in agreement toward Michelle. She swung the door open and went in.

“Gerald?” Virginia flicked the switch on, allowing the chandelier to lighten her husband’s room. Her eyes quickly darted toward him who was lying in bed, still looking pale but slightly better than before. A relieved sigh escaped from the woman’s mouth as she quickly threw herself into Gerald’s arms.

“I’m glad you’re all right,” she whispered and held her husband’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Virginia … ” Gerald spoke out of the blue, “tonight should be that time we spend together as a husband and wife, but I fell sick and ruined our wedding. It supposed to be an intimate moment, you know?”

The woman’s heart touched when she heard Gerald’s apology. It seemed every single family member blamed Virginia for his deteriorating health, but Gerald showed something different. He asked for his new wife’s forgiveness for something that accidentally happened out of anyone’s control.

“No, Gerald. It’s all right,” replied Virginia with a warm smile, trying to hide the feelings she had. “We still have that time together. After all, do you remember what we said during the wedding vows? That we’ll take care of each other during good and bad times when we're healthy or sick.”

He coughed a bit before Virginia helped him to drink a glass of water. After taking a few sips, he let out a sigh and leaned on the bed’s headboard. Virginia continued speaking, “I’ll do my best to take care of you, Gerald. Promise me you’ll get healthy again.”

“I promise, my love … ”

The husband nodded and held Virginia’s hand, tracing the diamond ring circled her ring finger. Gerald realized that this woman had become his legal wife, so all Virginia said about her duty to take care of him was right. He lifted her hand before planting a kiss on the back of her palm.

“Virginia … can you get me some food?” he asked.

That woman smiled and responded, “Sure. Wait for me, okay?”

She walked out of Gerald’s room and went downstairs to the kitchen. She saw Susan was there, chatting with the other servants. Virginia went and chimed into the conversation.

“Hi, Lady Virginia!” Susan turned around and realized the bride’s presence in the kitchen, “can we help you?”

“Hi, do we have something soft like porridge for Sir Gerald?” she asked.

“Oh, he’s awake now?” one of the servants went enthusiastic hearing the news.

Virginia nodded and answered, “Thankfully, yes. He’s all right, but he needs to eat before taking his medication.”

“Let me see.” Susan headed to the pantry and looked for something there. She exclaimed in joy, “A-ha, luckily we still have some of these. Please wait, Miss Virginia!”

Susan was quite busy at the pantry cooking something simple yet nutritious for Gerald, her master. Once she went back to Virginia, her hand carried a silver tray containing a bowl of vegetable and chicken soup.

“Voila!” smiled Susan proudly before saying, “Let me help carry this for Sir Gerald.”

“You don’t have to, Susan. I can take this by myself,” Virginia refused gently.

“No, I wanted to see his condition as well,” insisted the maid.

Virginia chuckled before agreeing to what Susan wanted. The two then went upstairs and began to chat as they walked down the hallway.

“Susan, I can’t thank you enough for your kindness toward me,” spoke Virginia as she held her hand together. “Besides Sir Gerald and Harold, you are also the one that cares about me.”

“No need to bother with that, Lady,” replied Susan as she carried the tray. “Sorry if my question is presumptuous, but are other members of Sir Gerald's family acting indifferent to you?”

The new wife sighed as she hung her head. “Sometimes I feel like their eyes gaze angrily at me, especially Lusiana and Michelle. It feels like they want to get rid of me for being an outsider and causing Sir Gerald to fall sick.”

Susan’s pupils dilated upon finding out the truth. She cleared her throat in response and said, “I’m terribly sorry to hear about that, Lady Virginia. As far as I know, Michelle was so close to her late mother. It must be difficult for her to accept that her father remarries someone who was far younger, even only two years older than his firstborn son Cedric.”

“I guess she just needs time to adjust,” continued Susan as they turned to the left and stopped at the biggest room in the mansion, Gerald’s room. “I hope you can make it through the hard time here, Lady.”

Virginia nodded and replied, “It’s reassuring to hear your consolation, Susan. Thank you.”

The Lady then swung the door open, then headed toward the bed where Gerald was waiting for her. She smiled shyly as she carried the bowl. “Here’s your food, Gerald. Susan made you a vegetable and chicken soup.”

“I hope you get well soon, Sir,” Susan bowed down politely before leaving the newlywed couple alone.

After Susan’s footsteps faded into the hallway, Virginia took a spoonful of the soup. She blew it lightly to lessen the heat before feeding it to her husband. “How was it, my dear?” asked Virginia apprehensively.

“It’s delicious as always,” responded Gerald, “Susan always knows my favorite food.”

Virginia smiled in relief as she feed him more. Surprisingly, Gerald finished all of the soup until there was nothing left. Virginia put the bowl aside on the bedside table and searched for her husband’s medication. She had a glass-bottled package with some pills in her hand, then popped the lid up and got two of the pills on her other palms.

“Here’s your medicine,” said Virginia as she handed the pills to Gerald. The man swallowed the round pills that the doctor prescribed before flushing all of them with water. Gerald sighed in relief as he leaned back.

“Thank you, Virginia,” said Gerald.

Virginia nodded as her eyes peered at the grandfather clock in the mafia boss’ room. It was past 9, she knew that Gerald needed to rest, and so did she. The woman stood up and made Gerald raise his eyebrows.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Uh, I’m going back to my room,“ she responded, still slightly in fear.

“No, Virginia.” Gerald shook his head in disagreement, “You’re my wife now, we should be sleeping together.”

The woman gulped down, realizing that Gerald was right. Not wanting to disobey him, she nodded and said, “Let me change my clothes first, Gerald.”

Her husband agreed and let Virginia go back to her room since all of her clothes were still there. Not so long after that, the woman went back to Gerald, wearing a satin robe with lingerie underneath. The man smiled from his bed at the sight of her. Gerald waved his hand and called her gently.

“Come here, Virginia. Lock the door first.”

Her heart raced, knowing that this could be the moment she shared a deeper intimacy with Gerald, a mafia boss that she had just recently married. Virginia walked closer, then put herself close to Gerald. The man cuddled her and sniffed her dark hair before caressing them tenderly.

“Now that we’re already a legal couple, I want to do it with you.” Gerald leaned on her and whispered in Virginia’s ear.

Virginia understood what her husband meant immediately, but a slight fear rose from her heart. She asked, “Are you sure about that, Gerald? I mean, you’re not fully recovered yet. I’m afraid something would go wrong there.”

“Don’t worry,” he responded with a husky voice as his thumb rubbed Virginia’s ripe lips. “I can do it, trust me.”

Soon, the two shared a deeper and more romantic kiss. Gerald tasted the sweetness of his bride’s lips as he slipped the robe down with eyes closed. Virginia shivered in pleasure, this was the first time she felt romantically touched by someone, despite her love wasn’t that big for him.

Gerald who was turned on by the kiss now began to strip the lingerie Virginia wore. A shocked look was visible as he parted his lips from that woman, ready to devour her delicate bosom.

“What are these, Virginia? Who did such a terrible thing to you?”

Gerald saw tens of scars all over Virginia’s bosom and abdomen. Some of them he identified as a whip and burned cigarette scars. It didn’t stop there, some bruises were clearly visible and in contrast to her fair skin. He backed away and shuddered to see all of those before asking once more with an emphasis on his tone, “Answer me, Virginia. Who did these?”

The woman sat still and was looking confused. For as long as she could remember, her stepfather’s friend never complained about her scars and just went ahead to screw her up. Even worse, some of them even added those scars by whipping her until her skin bled or burning her skin with a still-smoldering cigarette. All of them, even Patrick didn’t give a damn about her screaming and begging to stop the torture as they laughed and enjoyed her pain.

Virginia mustered her courage as she quietly spoke, “My stepfather and his friends … they tortured me as they forced themselves on to me.”

“What do you mean? Did they fuck you?” asked Gerald who was still in disbelief. “Is your stepfather the one that brought you to me?”

A somber look from Virginia, followed by her nod made Gerald’s jaw drop. The utter horror that his wife must endure before they met was something awful, not to mention the terrible thing her stepfather did toward his own flesh and blood.

“My God … that’s insane.“ the mafia boss’ shoulder slumped as his mind still comprehend what Virginia just explained. He tilted his head, staring at the pair of innocent eyes that Virginia had. Gerald bite his lips as he crawled closer to her and embraced the abuse victim.

“Oh, Virginia. Those must be awful for you,” Gerald said as Virginia stared blankly at the bedsheets. He put her body to bed and tucked her with the warm blanket as his palm caressed her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Gerald … ” whispered Virginia with remorse.

He shook his head, “You don’t have to, Sweetheart. Now let’s get you to bed, we can have this moment later on.”

After ensuring that Virginia was fast asleep, Gerald landed a kiss on her forehead. He still felt rage toward the man named Patrick that had put his bride through years of suffering. The torture and assault he and some of his friends did toward Virginia had made the mafia’s blood boil. The man edged off his bed and left his room, looking for someone he completely trust.

“Harold? Where are you?”

Not so long after that, his trusted bodyguard arrived from downstairs. Harold noticed the frightening glare his boss had, totally different from what he saw when Gerald was around with Virginia.

“What is it, Sir?”

“Do you remember those men who brought Virginia to us? One of them is named Patrick, right?” asked Gerald as he gritted his teeth.

“Yes,” replied Harold with no doubt, “What do you need in regard to that, Sir?”

“Find them, and brought them to me.” Gerald pointed his finger at himself. The flames in his eyes were still blazing at the thought. “I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done to my dear Virginia.”