Chapter 4

 Claire shook Alex's hand and she replied, "Okay, I agree."

Alex's lips formed a smile.

Which made Claire mutter to herself. 

Damn it! This guy looks even more charming when he smiles.

After a few seconds, Alex removed his hand from Claire's soft one.

"There are only two rooms in this house. You will occupy the room on the left, while I will occupy the room on the right."

"Then I'll go to my room."

Alex nodded and let Claire walk away from him.

As soon as Claire left, Alex's attention turned to his ringing cell phone. Alex answered it immediately.

"Hello, Mr. Knight. Congratulations on your marriage to Miss Alice," said Vincent, who was none other than Alex's personal assistant.

"You're wrong, I'm not marrying Alice, I'm marrying her stepsister, Claire Jhonson."

"What do you mean, Mr. Graham has another daughter besides Miss Alice?"

"I just found out today, too. I think it was all arranged by Graham. He switched my bride on purpose." A wry smile spread across Alex's lips.

"Impertinent! Should I teach him a lesson for deceiving you?" Vincent asked. 

"Wait, Vincent. Don't be in such a hurry! I'm curious about the woman who became my wife. But can you help me with something else? Please find out everything you can about Claire Jhonson!" Alex asked his personal assistant.

Of course, Vincent immediately agreed.

*** 

In the evening, Claire prepares dinner for herself and Alex.

Even though their marriage would only last a year, Claire did her duty as a wife.

Alex had just come out of his room. He was surprised to see the dining table covered with dishes. The fragrant smell of cooking caressed his sense of smell.

"You cooked all this?" asked Alex as he approached Claire who was setting the table.

Claire nodded and smiled. "That's right. I don't know what your favorite food is, but I hope you like what I cooked tonight."

"Your cooking looks really good," Alex praised as he sat down in a chair and began to sample his wife's cooking.

Claire also sat across from Alex and watched her husband's expression.

"This is really good. I didn't know you were such a good cook."

Claire's face flushed at the compliment. Alex's blue eyes stared at her even more, making her blush.

Looking at Alex's face, Claire's eyes continued to watch him closely.

Alex realized that he was being watched by his wife. So he looked back at Claire with a furrowed brow. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Actually, I want to ask you something."

"About what?"

"About your face," Claire replied.

Alex smiled. "Surely you want to ask about the rumors circulating about the condition of my face?"

Alex was right. Claire nodded her head.

"They said your face was disfigured after a fire in your house eight years ago. But when I saw you for the first time, I was surprised that your face wasn't what they said it was."

"I have burns on my face. Would you like to see them?" Alex asked.

Claire replied with a nod of her head.

Then Alex's right hand removed the bangs that partially covered his forehead, leaving his forehead clearly exposed.

It was true. There was a burn mark across the top of Alex's forehead. Claire gasped at the sight.

The burn was not visible because it was covered by the fringe. It was long, but not too wide.

Still, the burn did nothing to diminish Alex's good looks.

"Eight years ago, there was a fire in my house. While I was trying to save myself, a burning object suddenly fell on my forehead and caused this injury. I was taken to the hospital and treated for my face."

"Then, I don't know how, there was a rumor that spread very quickly that my whole face was deformed. Everyone immediately believed it and called me ugly, and I had no intention of correcting the rumors about me," Alex said at length.

Claire was stunned.

She hadn't expected the rumors about Alex's facial deformities to be a figment of her imagination.

After finishing her meal, Claire said goodbye to Alex and went to bed because she had to get up early in the morning.

"Where are you going tomorrow?" asked Alex as Claire washed the dirty dishes.

"I'm going to an interview at a company," Claire replied.

"You're going to work?"

"Actually, I already have a job. As a clerk in a flower shop. But now that we're married, I think I need a job with a salary that can support us financially."

"Claire, you don't have to do that."

"It's okay. Let's just say we're a team now. Until you get a job, I'll try to help with our finances. If you get a job later, then we can divide the tasks," Claire said with a sweet smile.

This comment made Alex look at Claire in amazement. Amazement at his wife, who turned out to have a good heart.

"Alright." Alex replied with a slow nod.

"I'm going to bed first. Good night."

"Good night," Alex replied, then let Claire go to her room.

Alex took a deep breath, then let it out quietly.

"She thinks I'm unemployed?" muttered Alex, smiling to himself.

It seemed that Claire didn't know that the man she thought was unemployed could actually get a thousand jobs if he wanted to.

*** 

"Mr. Knight, why did you choose to live in this little shack? Why didn't you bring Miss Claire to the mansion?" Vincent asked Alex.

Vincent came to Alex's house to give him a file with information about Claire.

However, he was surprised to see his master living in a small house when Alex owned a luxurious mansion in the center of town.

When he heard Vincent call him 'Knight', Alex immediately gave him a warning look.

"Remember, Vincent, don't call me that unless I'm in the office!"

Of course, Vincent was surprised by Alex's decision. 

How could Alexander Knight, CEO of 'Golden Era Enterprise', the number 1 richest company in New York, be willing to leave his luxurious mansion to live in a very simple house? 

"Sorry, Mr. Knig-uh, I mean, Alex." Vincent quickly corrected his words when Alex gave him a look. 

Alex sat down in a chair and opened the file Vincent had given him.

"So Claire's parents divorced because her father was having an affair with his own boss?" Alex read part of the file.

Several pictures of Claire were clearly displayed.

"That's right, sir."

"Claire also had a boyfriend before she married me? His name was Noah. They dated for three years?"

Vincent nodded. "And their relationship ended exactly three days before your wedding day. Noah had an affair with Alice."

Alex's lips quirked. "Apparently he's a loser."

Then Alex's eyes went back to check the rest of the page. Until he found something that surprised him.

"Claire's biological mother was in the hospital for a month for cancer? And she's 80 thousand dollars behind in hospital bills?"

Alex's brow furrowed. His mind began to connect the pieces of information one by one.

Until he drew a conclusion.

"Could it be that Claire agreed to marry me because of her mother?"