Chapter 2

YSABELLE

I am in the bathtub in my room, naked and feeling lost, to wash away the events that had saddened my soul.

My heart and whole body were crushed by the numbness I experienced last night. 

I choked back my tears and ran my fingers, devastatingly, through my hair.

Candice and the DNA test report.

What could that mean? 

I didn't let my curiosity kill the cats. I only saw the upper part of the paper. I'm afraid to see whose DNA test results those papers belong to. 

But I should not overthink unless he will open up about it first.

As I bit my lower lip and gazed at my frail figure, my heart ached. I stared at the gray bruises on my thigh, particularly on my wrists. He had just eaten me up last night. My entire body was covered in evidence. 

I never would have imagined letting him do this to me. I was consumed with my feelings and let him do whatever made him happy. 

Is love always like this? Is loving someone as painful as this? 

Unbidden tears welled up in my eyes.

Why is it so painful to realize the truth that he couldn't reciprocate my feelings? 

I knelt with my face down and wept in silence. I hope something will change a bit in our marriage.

After taking a shower that took me almost an hour, even though I couldn't move properly because of the pain down there, I still decided to head downstairs to prepare something for our breakfast, but Ronan had already left for work. 

I sigh in dismay. But don't worry, there's still dinner later to celebrate our second anniversary. I hope today won't be the same as what happened on our first anniversary last year when he didn't come home and didn't even greet me. 

“Where do you think are you going?”

I stopped midway in the stairs as I met the raging eyes of my mother-in-law.

She rarely visits the house, and I'm always nervous whenever she comes over because she never treated me as her daughter-in-law. More on like a babysitter and maid of Ronan.

“Good morning Mother–”

“Are you slacking off? You dared to go out and have fun by spending my son's money? You're nothing but a pest in our life!” I flinch when she shouts at my face.

I'm used to it.

The way she looks down on me as if I'm the biggest pest who entered in their life. Those painful and insulting words… I'm used to hearing all of that. 

I cleared my throat as I lowered my bag on the couch. “I'm only doing grocery, Mother–”

“Don't give me that excuse! Are you really treating my son well? Why is the house so dirty?”

Dirty? The maids have already finished cleaning the house.

“Mother–”

“What are you still doing? Start cleaning the house now! What a useless wife!”

I bit my lower lip because having her here would be a nightmare for me.

I don't have any choice but to obey my mother-in-law. I took the vacuum but she said it was a waste of electricity, so she gave me a mop. 

I sigh as I stare at the mop. 

“What are you still waiting for? Christmas? Move and clean the freakin house!” 

She pushed me hard enough for me to fall on the floor because my legs were still weak from the aftereffects of last night. 

“You're not only an idiot but also weak. Stop acting like you're Cinderella. This is not a fairytale woman.” She snickered and kicked the mop on my feet.

I do really feel like I'm Cinderella. But I don't think my prince charming will save me. 

My eyes welled up in tears as I stood up, groaning in pain. Before I thought I was too pathetic right now, I started mopping the floor but her presence made me uncomfortable. 

“What a useless woman. You should at least give my son a child. But here you are, robbing my son.”

I glanced at her and saw her reading the list of the goods I was supposed to buy. She wrinkled the paper and threw it at me.

“Ronan deserves another woman who can fill the role of his wife and I believe that's not you. I don't know why my husband chose you over anyone else. Did you also seduce my husband?”  

I don't know why she loves insulting me and accusing me of something indecent. But I endured everything and remained silent because I respected her as my elder.

“You gold digger.” 

She left the living room with a smirk on her face.

My eyes welled up in tears but I brushed it off immediately and continued mopping the floor.

She keeps saying that I should bear a child because that's my role as a woman and wife. But how can I do that alone?

She keeps blaming me for this marriage and thinks it's a huge mistake that I'm his son's wife.

Enough thinking, Belle. It will only cause me a heartache.

I just focus on cleaning the house so that I can finish early.

***

I was groaning in pain all over my body as I slouched on the couch. The house was now squeaky clean.

My mother-in-law tortured me the whole day. I'm grateful that she didn't stay for dinner. She didn't even invite me for lunch earlier, and that's why my stomach has been complaining about anything since this lunch.

I feel like I'm going to collapse but I always remembered that all of my sacrifices were for Ronan. Thinking about him made all the tiredness suddenly disappear.

“Why is life so hard–” 

My heart sank when I caught a glance at an empty wall where we were supposed to hang our wedding picture. But Ronan doesn't want to see all of those pictures. 

‘For what? Are we that happily married couple, Belle? Have you already forgotten how I was forced to marry you just to get what belongs to me? Do you want to display those pictures? To make me face the nightmare you caused me that day?’

It was not like that, of course.

I didn't argue with him, but I couldn't help but be saddened. That is the only picture of us together. So I have it in my wallet for keeps. That's my happiest moment, marrying the person I love, but for him, it was a nightmare.

I glance at the window if it's getting dark, but my eyes widen that it's already dark outside.

Fudge!

I immediately dash to the kitchen and cook anything I can find in the fridge to make things faster. As I was about to wash the meat, the faucet broke. 

I tried to fix it, but it got worse. The water overflowed from the basin and any moment now, it will come out to the dining area.

While panicking and not knowing what to do, I was suddenly surprised when a voice spoke behind me. 

It was Ronan's rage-filled voice.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?” 

With a tight lip, my fingers fidgeted at my soaked clothes as my mind went blank, and didn't know what to say.

“You should have called someone to fix that, are you that dumb?!” He shouted again. “Can you just fucking stop troubling me?! You did nothing but make my head hurt! Why can't you just be gone out of my life?”

My heart pinched a million times. 

It's okay… I'm used to his harsh words. I'm used to hearing those from him.

“WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DIE AND LEAVE ME ALONE?”

But his next words made my world shattered.