Chapter 3

Catherin left her room and headed to the dining room on the first floor, while her room was on the second floor. She descended the stairs slowly, looking around, observing what was in the house, which resembled a palace. Her eyes stopped at a very large photo hanging not far from the living room. It was a photo of her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and also her husband. Judging from the photo, it seemed that Nolan was the only child of this wealthy family. Then why did Louis want her as a daughter-in-law? Why didn't Louis and Emma seek a daughter-in-law from a prestigious family? Big question marks arose in Catherin's mind.

"Come on, Catherin, hurry up, don't daydream there," said Emma, snapping Catherin out of her reverie. Catherin smiled at her mother-in-law who had been kind to her from the beginning.

"Yes, Ma," she replied briefly.

Catherin sat next to Nolan - her husband. The man still seemed indifferent to his wife, but Catherin had gotten used to his attitude. Since the incident in the room earlier, she knew that Nolan didn't want her as a wife. At least she would prepare herself mentally for all of Nolan's coldness and harsh words later. Catherin looked at the dining table filled with delicious food, and she swallowed saliva as she looked at each item one by one. There was a lot and it looked delicious.

The spread on the dining table looked like a feast, and Catherin felt like she was truly getting married that day. Previously, she didn't feel like there was a celebration at all. Instead, there was just heartache because of her husband's rough behavior.

Emma served rice to her daughter-in-law, wanting to show her affection so that her daughter-in-law would feel comfortable staying there. Catherin immediately took the scoop of rice, of course, with manners. "Let me do it myself, Ma."

Emma then handed the rice scoop to Catherin and let her daughter-in-law take the food as she pleased.

"If only this wasn't at my in-laws' house, I would have already eaten all the food in front of me. Or at least I would have tasted each one, just by looking at them they are very tempting," Catherin thought. As a farmer's daughter, she had never enjoyed luxurious food like what was in front of her now.

"If you need anything, call Mona, or Ma," said Emma. Catherin nodded slowly and smiled.

"If possible, you two should have children soon. Dad can't wait to cuddle his grandchildren." This time it was Louis who spoke, who was none other than Catherin's father's boss and also her father-in-law. Catherin was quite surprised by Louis's request, but she just nodded because she didn't know how to react.

In her heart, she wondered how she could get pregnant if she and her husband weren't even like ordinary newlyweds.

"Nolan is our only child, he's good at making money but not at finding a wife. We finally chose you. Be Nolan's wife and the mother of our grandchildren," Louis spoke again.

Catherin could only smile and nod again. The woman glanced at Nolan, and once again her husband paid no attention to her and instead busied himself with his food.

Nolan finished eating first, then stood up and excused himself to go to the bedroom. Catherin, who hadn't finished eating yet, reluctantly followed her husband, feeling uncomfortable at the dining table with her in-laws. Everything in the house felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable to her.

Upon reaching the room, Catherin made sure to lock the bedroom door. Then she looked at the floor, which would serve as her bed. Just looking at it made her shiver; she had already felt cold earlier.

"Can I use a blanket there?" Catherin bravely asked Nolan. If she didn't dare to ask, she was afraid of feeling cold all night sleeping on the floor without any padding.

"Up to you, as long as you don't dream of sleeping with me in this bed," Nolan replied curtly. Catherin didn't care about her husband's attitude; just being allowed to use a blanket made her happy. Her suffering was caused by her in-laws deliberately emptying Nolan's room and only leaving a bed. It was as if Louis and Emma knew that Nolan didn't want to sleep in the same bed as Catherin.

Catherin walked to the walk-in closet and took two blankets. One for her bed and the other to use as a cover. Before going to sleep, she washed her face and changed her clothes. There was a feeling of reluctance because she only wore nice clothes for dinner. Nevertheless, the pajamas she was wearing were also nice. It could be said that all the clothes her in-laws bought for her were expensive to her.

"Why did you want to marry me?" Catherin suddenly asked after she lay down on the blanket. Seeing her husband busy with his phone and continuing to ignore her made her curious. Although she was afraid of being scolded for asking, she was still curious.

"Stop talking to me, I don't like hearing your voice," Nolan replied angrily, not answering Catherin's question. As Catherin had expected, she could only grin and turn her back to her husband from where she was now.

It hadn't even been 24 hours since they got married, but Catherin had already suffered a lot because of Nolan's rough and selfish attitude. However, Catherin had to get used to Nolan's attitude because they were now husband and wife. Catherin also couldn't ask for a divorce, no matter how bad her husband's behavior was. Not only because she was afraid of her father's anger, but also because for her, marriage was not something to be taken lightly. For now, she would try to be a good and obedient wife.

Catherin woke up earlier than usual because she couldn't sleep soundly. Besides feeling cold, she also felt strange in Nolan's room. It was her first time there. She then straightened out the blankets and took a shower.

When Catherin had finished showering and changing clothes, Nolan looked at his wife intently. "Are you in college?" he asked loudly, and Catherin nodded without responding with words.

"Are you mute?!" Nolan shouted, startling his wife. How could he shout at his wife so early in the morning?

Catherin was furious; she stared at her husband with narrowed eyes. "You said you don't like hearing me talk. What do you want?!" Even though she knew her attitude this time would be in vain, she just wanted to express how she felt.

Nolan approached Catherin, who was standing not far from the walk-in closet door. He grabbed her chin tightly, causing Catherin to feel pain and whimper in pain. "Do you dare to shout at me?" Nolan asked, seemingly angry because his wife had shouted at him.

"Sorry," Catherin said sincerely from her heart. She realized that whether angry or not, whatever she did would always be wrong in her husband's eyes, and she couldn't defy her husband. Nolan released his grip on his wife's chin and then gently pushed Catherin's face.

"Don't speak unless I ask you. Answer me when I ask. Are you so stupid that I need to tell you?" Nolan said sharply, staring sharply at his wife. Catherin nodded slowly. "No answer?!" Nolan shouted.

"Yes," Catherin replied shortly.

"Are you going to college today?" Nolan asked, his voice lowering.

"Yes, I'm only asking for a day off," Catherin replied.

"I didn't ask, I just asked if you're going to college or not. Answer as necessary; have you forgotten I don't like hearing your voice?!" Nolan's words made Catherin more annoyed. How could she not be annoyed when everything she did was always wrong in her husband's eyes.

"Sorry," Catherin said, but she wasn't sincere. If it weren't for her parents and siblings, Catherin would clearly not sustain her marriage, which only made her heartache.

"Just sorry?" Nolan was still standing in front of his wife, while Catherin was now sitting on the floor.

"You don't want to call my name?" Nolan's question confused Catherin.

"Sorry, Mr. Nolan." Catherin really didn't know what to call her husband. She just chose a term she thought was polite.

"What?!" Nolan shouted in disbelief, startling his wife because of how loud it was. Fortunately, the shouting wasn't heard by their parents because their house was very large.

"Am I that old that you call me 'Mr.'?" Nolan still seemed angry.

"Then what should I call you?"

"You should prepare a term for your husband," Nolan said quietly while pushing his wife's head with his right index finger, right on the forehead.

"Darling?" Catherin asked shyly. She herself didn't want to mention that endearing term, but she tried to please her husband.

"Do you want me to vomit hearing that word from your mouth?" Nolan's words once again left a wound in his wife's heart.

"Fine, then just call me whatever you want. I'll call you whatever you want because I don't know what to call you," she said softly, feeling frustrated with her husband's behavior.

"Fine, I'll punish you this time," Nolan said, startling his wife with his words.

"I'll just call you Nolan, okay?" Cornered, Catherin chose to call her husband just by his name. She thought it was simpler than having to use endearing terms.

Nolan seemed silent, then looked at his wife intently. It seemed that he agreed to be called just by his name, even though he and his wife had a considerable age difference.

"Behave like a wife in front of Mom and Dad. If you don't want me to punish you," Nolan said, ending the session. He then left his wife alone.

To be continued...