Chapter 3

Nicole:

" And do you Nicole take Aston here to be your lawfully wedded husband? In sickness and in health, in poverty and In wealth, till death do you part?" The priest asked, droning on the age-long rites that everyone knew.

I swallowed. I could feel the tension in the air and the numerous eyes staring at me, as though waiting for me to disagree so they could pounce on me and call me ungrateful.

Remind me of my mother in the hospital bed, and tell me that if I wanted to save her I would have to get married to him.

In the pew, Tiffany bit her fingers wildly, as though she did not care that the cameras may focus on her unexpectedly.

My stepmother wriggled her fingers.

I had taken too long to answer so she had pulled the gown up my body, nearly zipping my skin along with the clothes because of how rough she was.

She had patted me on the back and whispered as my father came to take me to the aisle.

" I will make sure your mother lives," she said.

I toyed with the idea of running away and becoming a doctor. I wanted to run somewhere far, somewhere that they wouldn't be able to control me or look at me like I was Inferior.

But my mother held me back. I could not allow her to die when I knew I had a chance to save her life.

All these thoughts ran through my head as I finally opened my mouth and said.

" I do"

The crowd went wild with cheers, probably feeling relieved that they did not have to watch me embarrass the man in the wheelchair before me.

I took time to take in his features as we stood side by side.

He was devilishly handsome with a body that was a telltale sign that he had spent a lot of his time in the gym.

His jet-black hair was sleek back and almost looked too black to belong to a human.

His eyes were emerald green, a charming color that made me wonder just how lucky he must have been to get so many good genetics.

But his lips. He had them pressed tight in a scowl as though the mere thought of him being here nauseated him.

Throughout the wedding celebration, I half expected him to burst out angrily and shock all of us but he said nothing. He did not drink, did not eat, did not even smile when he was congratulated.

I was sad, I was dying inside but I managed to wear a small smile on my face as the people came to congratulate me and possibly mock me with their eyes.

They were all wondering how I would be able to cope with a liability like him.

My father walked up to me, his gait straight and his eyes precise as he stared around, a small smile of glee in his eyes.

I knew this had nothing to do with me getting married. He was probably having an orgasm just thinking about all the money he would make off of my marriage. No one cared to ask how I felt.

" Don't bother coming to the house to pack up your things. I will send the driver to drop them off at your new home this evening. At least you have been able to do something good for this family at last.

I could see the look in your eyes. It's the same crazed look your stupid mother has whenever she is about to do something foolish.

Don't even think about trying anything do you hear me? If I hear anything about you running away or you giving your husband a hard time I swear I will make sure I hunt you down with the last drop of my blood and make you pay." He said.

I was used to him saying harsh words to me. I would have felt uncomfortable if he had come up to me to become cuddly and kind on my wedding day.

But this just made me sadder.

" Did you ever love her?" I asked him, willing my voice to be strong but listening to it break as I talked to him.

He paused for a while as though he wanted to consider his next response carefully.

" She was a whore" he said finally and with that, he walked away. No greetings, No advice.

Just insults thrown at both me and my mother.

I got into the car beside my new husband, my heart throbbing in pain even though I still had the mask of a smile on my face.

We drove off almost instantly, crushing some of the rose petals that had been set on the floor and sending the rest flying with the speed of the car.

I thought that now that we were both alone, perhaps he would say something to me. Maybe ask me what my name was. But he said nothing.

That agitated look still took up a predominant amount of his face.

The new house I found myself in was huge beyond recognition.

It looked as though it had rooms that I would probably not go through for a long time.

My husband wheeled himself inside, taking off his shoes as he tried to go into a room that I suspected to be his.

" Hi, you did not ask for my name..." I called out meekly, immediately regretting my actions when he turned to look at me, eyes blazing.

" I don't care about your name that is why I never asked " He stated.

His words cut through me like a spear, leaving me jagged.

Did he perhaps think that this marriage was something I got into willingly?

" We will be staying together so at least we should get to know each other and learn how to tolerate one another," I said to him.

He flared up after that Statement, as though that was the one thing he had been expecting me to say.

" I don't need you! I don't want to know you neither do I want you anywhere in my house! So shut the hell up and live here quietly like the beggar that you are or you can get out and go back to your gold digger of a father! You are just a filthy gold-digging whore" He yelled, startling me.

Each of his words echoed through the house, leaving me in semi-shock.

" Oh, so you think I want to be here too? Do you think I want to be stuck with someone as arrogant and snobby as you? If I had my way I would have walked out of that wedding myself and left you there to get married to yourself since it seems you are not the only person you can tolerate." I said.

I could feel the anger and pain sweeping through me, controlling my mouth as I began to talk again.

" I left my dream! I left my job just to get married to you. You don't know anything about me so you have no right to talk to me like that or call me a whore. The one thing I want more than anything is to go back to my work. But I can't because I'm tied down to you. So you had better suck it up!" I yelled back.

I was heaving heavily after my outburst and I could tell from the burning glare in his eyes that he was not happy about it.