Family Tension

"Where is he, anyway?" Naomi asked. "How could he let his new wife go back to her parent's house alone the day after the wedding? Doesn't he want to come to greet his in-laws?" Clasping her hands below her chin, she gave Isabelle a sympathetic look. "Oh, or is he too ashamed to step foot here? Maybe he doesn't have a nice suit to wear today?"

"Shut up, Naomi!" Isabelle snapped at her. How dare she make fun of her when she was the cause for all this! She should have never agreed to get married in Naomi's stead. How stupid could she be to think that the Cruzes would keep their end of the deal? When had they ever treated her fairly?

"How dare you talk to my daughter like that?" Lucy shouted, putting her cup down and shooting to her feet. "Only one day out of this house, and you're already behaving like an ingrate?"

"Lucy-" Francis tried to calm her down, but she held a palm out to him, shutting him up.

"The nerve of you to storm in here and start demanding money, as if we owe you anything. You are no longer a member of this family, do you hear?"

Isabelle folded her hands into fists as she met Lucy's hateful gaze head-on. In her peripheral vision, she saw Naomi rise from her seat too.

"Throw her out, mother. If I ever see her face in this house again, I might just throw up."

Isabelle scoffed. "So after having me marry him in your stead, you now declare that I'm not a member of this family?"

"You never were," Lucy told her, grabbing her arm and pushing her away. "Get out!"

Isabelle grind her teeth together as she caught herself on the table to keep from stumbling to the floor. She wished there was something she could say or do to make them keep their promise. But after everything they had put her through, she knew it would be in vain. They had used her as they wanted, and now they didn't need her anymore.

Straightening, she turned on her feet and stalked out of the room. Naomi went with her, escorting her to the door.

She opened it and as Isabelle was walking through it, she pushed her from the back, causing her to stumble onto the porch outside.

"Go back to wherever you came from," she sneered.

As Isabelle stumbled onto the porch, she was about to fall, but someone caught her in their arms. Puzzled, she looked up.

"Jacob?"

When Jacob got to his new in-laws house, he didn't expect to be welcomed by the sight of his wife all but being thrown out of the house.

As Isabelle stumbled onto the porch, he reached forward quickly and caught her arms, steadying her. "What's going on?" he demanded, taking in her face. Her face was flushed, her lips pursed,

while her eyes were teary and red.

"Nothing," she muttered, turning her face away from him and freeing herself from his grip. "What are you doing here?"

Jacob looked towards the open door, where Isabelle's sister had been standing a few seconds ago. Turning around, he spotted Kevin who was carrying several shopping bags. "Kevin, bring them into the house," he told him.

"Okay, boss," Kevin agreed and walked past the couple into the house.

"What is that?" Isabelle asked as she looked closely at the bags Kevin was carrying.

"Gifts for my new in-laws," Jacob answered, and then reached for her hand. "Come on, let's go inside."

As Isabelle went back into the house in Jacob's company, she wasn't sure what kind of reaction to expect. After all, she had just been kicked out of the family...

Lucy and Naomi were waiting in the living room, with Naomi already going through one of the bags Kevin had brought inside. Francis was nowhere to be seen, and Isabelle figured he must have disappeared into his study.

"Hello, Mrs Cruz," Jacob greeted politely, letting go of Isabelle's hand and shaking hands with her mother.

Isabelle held her breath at the exchange. Her fear was that her mother, or Naomi, would say something insulting to Jacob. Or throw them out together. After all, they didn't think highly of him...

"Oh my God!" Naomi squealed, attracting everybody's attention. She rushed to Lucy with a jewellery box in her hand, a tiered diamond necklace lying on the velvet interior. "Mum! This is the necklace I wanted you to get me!"

Isabelle's eyes widened as she gave another look at the bags Kevin had brought in. They were all from luxury brands... Oh no.

Recalling the brooch Jacob had worn to the wedding, she realised that they could all be fake. How else would he be able to afford such expensive gifts?

"Look at this scarf," Lucy said, reaching into another bag and retrieving a flowery silk scarf. "It's so beautiful!" Clutching it to her chest, she turned to look at Jacob. "Thank you so much, Jacob. These gifts are amazing. You're such a good son-in-law."

As her mother and sister cooed over the gifts, Isabelle rose to her toes and whispered in Jacob's ear, "They are fake, right?"

Before he could answer, Naomi hurried up to them with another jewellery box. "How did you get this choker? It was a limited edition when it got out and I didn't manage to get one...you're literally the best, Jacob. Thank you!"

Isabelle couldn't even focus on the irony of how Naomi was suddenly addressing Jacob after how she treated him at the wedding. Did she even remember offering him a job as a security guard? Or did she forget all of that the moment she saw the gifts? Her stomach was suddenly queasy as a feeling of dread took over. What would happen if they found out the jewellery were fake?

Rising back to her toes, she tugged Jacob by his jacket to whisper to him again. "If they find out, you can say it was my idea."

Jacob looked down at her, his eyebrows coming together. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "They are my family. I know how to deal with them."

What's the worst they could do to her, anyway? They had already kicked her out. They weren't going to pay for Hannah's medication. If they found out, she could say that she fooled them with fake luxury goods to save face for being married to a poor man. They would probably ridicule and insult her some more, but it wasn't nothing they hadn't put her through already.

It was quite hard for Jacob to contain his smile as Isabelle assured him of protection if her family found out that his gifts were counterfeit. In truth, they weren't. But the thought that she was willing to take the blame if they were and he got busted... It made him feel warm all over. Who knew his pretend wife would go so far to protect him even if they were just a nominal couple?

His attention was drawn from Isabelle when Lucy Cruz approached him, a flattering smile on her lips. "Thank you so much for your gifts, Jacob. They must have cost a fortune. You didn't have to."

"Do you really like them?"

She nodded. "Yes. And, they are all from my favourite brands. It's almost like you know what I love." Her gaze shifted to Isabelle. "I'm so happy to know that my daughter is in the hands of a capable husband."

Jacob refrained from scoffing out loud. While he had only seen Naomi pushing Isabelle through the door, before that, he had heard Lucy's voice asking Isabelle to leave. It was obvious that she didn't treat Isabelle with love. But now that he had shown up with expensive gifts, she was busy putting up an act in front of him.

He couldn't stand by and let these people continue mistreating his wife like that.

"Why did you throw her out of the house, then?" he demanded.

Lucy's eyes widened, as if she hadn't been expecting such a question. Crossing her arms across her chest, she stuttered, "Wh...what are you talking about?"

"You threw my wife out just before I arrived," he reminded her.

Lucy shook her head. "No, I didn't! Why would I do that to my own daughter?" She turned to Isabelle. "Did you tell him that I threw you out?"

"I heard it myself," Jacob told her.

"Look, there must be a misunderstanding. Isabelle was...she was...she had an argument with her sister-"

"I know what I heard, Mrs Cruz," Jacob cut her off. "And since it appears you don't treat my wife well, I have to take away my gifts."

Lucy's mouth fell open while Naomi exclaimed, "What?"

Jacob ignored them and beckoned to Kevin, who was standing near the entryway. "Kevin, put everything back into the bags and take it away."

"You can't do that!" Naomi complained, her grip on the box she was holding tightening.

"Yes I can," Jacob told her. "I meant to appreciate my wife's family for bringing her up and giving me her hand in marriage, but it happens that you don't consider her a part of this family. There's nothing to thank you for."