Chapter Four

They arrived home, and Mrs. Hampton came out to welcome them and help with the stuff. Claire seemed brighter than usual and followed Alexander closely as he entered.

He stopped and turned around abruptly, facing Claire who was right behind him. “Why did you go there?”

“What? To the store?”

“Did you go there to win her favor?”

“No, no, I went there because she called me.”

“Are you that stupid? I told you to avoid them. Ignore them completely like they don’t exist! Is it that hard?”

“Did you just call me stupid? And what about you? You married me because you had no other option, and how was I supposed to know they’re such bad people? You don’t tell me anything!”

“I never said I was in love with you when I asked you to marry me, did I?” He took a step closer. “I’m not who you think I am in the slightest. I’m not even close to him. I married you because I needed you, and you accepted because you needed money, so don’t try to get smart with me. You’re nothing but a poor girl I picked up and changed her life.”

“You bastard,” she raised her hand to slap him, but he held it and pushed it away.

“Three months will soon be over,” he said lastly and walked away.

She tried hard to suppress her tears, but they flowed freely anyway. She quickly tried to hide it when Mrs. Hampton, who seemed to have been listening to their conversation, appeared from the kitchen.

“I’m sorry, Madam, he wasn’t always like this.”

“I don’t care. He’s such an evil bastard.”

“He’s easily triggered when it comes to his stepmother. He suffered a great deal at her hands growing up.”

Mrs. Hampton proceeded to explain how his father remarried shortly after his mum died in an accident when he was seven. It turns out his dad had been having an affair even before his mum died, and the woman already had a child. His life became hell after they moved in, and he ran away from home frequently due to the maltreatment from his stepmother. His dad was barely around, and even when he told his dad, he didn’t believe him. He had to survive somehow and was forced to grow up quickly, which affected him, and it’s been hard for him to trust or open up to anyone ever since then.

Things got better for him when he started working in a small part of the company, while his brother Charles worked in a major part, but he's known to be abusive to workers and everyone around him. After his father died and the will was read, his stepmother and her children were left with crumbs, as everything was willed to Alexander, even the house they were living in and that did not really sit well with them.

Claire could kind of see where he’s coming from after that, but she still believed he could have been nicer. She went to her room to collect her thoughts and she dozed off. She was woken up by a call from her mum’s doctor; it was nothing serious, but she just wanted to leave the house and clear her head.

Mrs. Hampton came at the same time and asked her to come down for dinner. She grabbed her tote bag and prepared things she might need to stay with her mum overnight at the hospital.

She came downstairs and met Alexander at the dining table, eating, and her food served.

“Mrs. Hampton, can you put my food away please? I’m going out and I’m not coming back home tonight.”

“Alright, ma’am.”

She was not expecting a reaction from her cold-hearted husband, but it kind of hurt a little when he didn’t actually react at all and just kept eating. Like, at all. Was this the same man she spent a night with?

She waited for a few seconds before she finally left the house to go to her mum. Her surgery was scheduled for two days' time, and she wanted to be with her before she went in for surgery.

“How did you manage to pay for my surgery?” Her mum asked her.

“I... I took a loan,” she lied. She definitely can’t tell her mum she got married for money and for just three months at that. Not to mention the fact that her husband was one of the most mean, rude, and cold persons on earth.

She came back the next day and was on her way to her room when she heard Alexander’s voice. “Where are you coming from?”

She froze and turned to see his silhouette sitting on the sofa. “And why do I have to tell you that?”

“Because for three months you’re my woman. So answer me, where are you coming from?”

“Don’t you try to lay any ownership on me. I’m not your woman.”

He stood up and walked over to her, tipping up her chin to look at his face that was clouded in a dark expression. “I think I’ve let you off easily all this time. You don’t talk back when I talk.”

“You don’t get to decide what I do and don’t.”

He said nothing more and just stared down at her small face. “Get ready in an hour; we have an event we have to attend together.”