Chapter 1 - The D-Day

VIOLET

This is the D-day. When my husband, Stewart Johnston will be showing me off to the world as his wife. I had waited long for this day. My endurance and patience had finally yielded a positive result.

With a cheeky smile, I stared at my reflection in the vanity. I couldn't help but fall in love with the woman in front of me. What she looked like today was the result of the endurance she had practiced. I admire her strength and I would want to be like her if there was another world.

Making a 360 turn, I squirmed as I paid keen attention to the detail of my dress. Stewart got the dress for me. That was the first time he would be gifting me since we got married.

"And what are you doing?" A sharp rude voice rang through the air, jerking me out of my reverie. The moment I comprehended who the voice belonged to, the smile on my lips froze.

"Oh, my God! This is the wrong timing. She isn't supposed to come now," I mumbled in my head, gritting my teeth and tightening my eyes shut.

"I know you can hear me, Violet. Don't add to my frustration this morning," The voice reverberated again. This time, it wasn't just rude but was filled with anger.

Opening my eyes, I let out a heavy breath and twirled around so that I could face her. "You are here, Katie," I remarked, forcing out a smile that was reaching my cheekbones. "I didn't think you would want to be in a room like mine. Can you please say what you have to say on time so that you can leave before the horrible air in my room suffocates your Highness to death?" I made gestures with my hands as I spoke out sarcastically.

Katie's face grew fiercer at my utterance. She opened her mouth, stared at me for a few seconds, and closed her mouth back without formulating a word. "Okay. What are you doing with that dress? Why the hell are you dressed?" She asked, darting a disgusted gaze over me.

My expression grew wider with a part of my brows lifted. "What do you mean by that, Katie? A party is going on in the house today and it is only right if I get dressed and look like one of the mistresses of the Johnston family," I explained, my voice getting high at the last few words.

Katie burst into a peal of laughter at my statement, clapping her hands.

"What did I just hear you say, Violet? Did you just call yourself a mistress of my family?" She spurted out, widening her eyes and closing the gaps between us. I wouldn't lie, my heart missed a skip when I saw the glimmers in her eyes. They weren't affection but hatred. That is it. I still don't know the reason Katie and other family members hated me despite being married to their first son.

I swallowed hard, tilting my head backward and gaping at her in trepidation. "I was just...," I stuttered, blinking at every word.

"You must think highly of yourself. You aren't a mistress in this house, Violet. You are just a maid. A maid who was brought to this house by Grandpa. Get that in your head and stop expecting too much," She yelled, intentionally spitting in my face.

I took steps backward and wiped her saliva off my face. I wouldn't dare raise my head and look at her but I had a lot to say. "You cannot talk to me this way, Katie. I am your elder brother's wife. You should accord me the same respect you accord him with," My voice was low but audible enough to reach her ears.

Taking steps toward me, she asked, "Did I just hear you speak back at me, Violet?' She scoffed in disbelief. "Where did you get that courage from? How did you summon it?" She stopped in front of me, leaving just a half inch between us. Before I could take a step away from her, she snatched my hair and dragged it aggressively. "Are you suddenly suffering from Amnesia and forgotten your place? You are a nobody in this house, Violet. You are just a moocher who is here to mooch on my family's wealth," She barked in my ear, reminding me for the thousandth time that I got married to her brother because of money.

I know that. Do I need to be reminded? Anyone who was in my position at that time would opt for the same option without thinking twice. Old Johnston, who was Stewart's grandfather was saved by me two years ago in a traffic accident. He fell in love with me immediately and proposed that I get married to his grandson. I rejected the offer on the same spot without thinking twice, however, getting to the hospital where my mother was admitted, I found out that her health deteriorated and she needed a heart transplant with alacrity. Miraculously, a donor was gotten but I needed to pay a sum of $2 million to the donor.

It was my mother's situation that took me back to the old man and he gave me the money in return that I will become his grandson's wife.

"Can't you hear me? Cat get your tongue suddenly, huh? Are you not the one who spoke to me rudely a while ago? Don't even try to play the dumb game with me, Violet," Katie shouted, pulling my hair violently.

Tears rushed to my eyelids, lingering and threatening to roll out in a blink. Don't get me wrong. I wasn't about to cry because of Katie's bully. This wasn't the first time she had done this. I have gotten used to the Johnston family bully. I wanted to cry because I remembered the darkest hour of my life. After doing everything for my mother, she lost her life. Yes! The surgery was successful but she ended up dying while recuperating. The doctors were equally surprised because she was fine after the surgery. Nobody knew what went wrong but it happened.

A drop of tears slid out of my eyes as the scenes from the day I lost my mother rewound in my head. At the same time, I yanked Katie's hands off my hair suddenly, causing her to stagger backward. Thankfully, she was able to control herself before she could slam her butt on the hard floor.

She was surprised. Her eyes widened. "You, bitch! What are you doing?" She shouted, dashing toward me. She didn't expect the retaliation. Honestly, I didn't expect that too. I was just controlled by the emotions surging within me.

"What does it seem like, Katie? What do you want from me? Can't you just let me enjoy today without stressing the hell out of me? We have guests in the house. Do you want to show them the real you?" I blurted out without restriction, frustrated by her obsession. Yes! She is obsessed with me. That is the only explanation for why she always finds a problem with me. The only reason cannot be because I got married to her brother.

"The real me? What! What is the real me? And did you just raise your voice? Did you just yell at me?" She screamed, anger visible in her eyes.

I knew I was in trouble and no trick could get me out of it. I couldn't believe that I foolishly got into Katie's trap. I should have ignored her and allowed her to do whatever she wanted.

Since I was already in trouble, how about I just let out my mind and put her in her place for the first time since I got into this house?

Mumbling a silent prayer, I sighed. "Yes! I shouted at you, Katie. Can you stop frustrating me? I got married to your brother because of money. And so fucking what? How is that an offense? If you really hated that I got married to your rich brother because of money, how about you get married to a poor man so that you can be portrayed as a saint? You are suffocating me, Katie. Focus on your life and leave me the hell alone. This is my marriage, stop butting in," I spat out, my hands trembling due to the excessive anger that was dominating me.

She blinked with her dropped jaw. She was stunned. She couldn't believe what she just heard. Yeah! She never expected that someone like me would have the balls to look into her eyes and say those words.

"Did you just say those words to me?" She asked.

"Yes, Katie. I said those words to you. Just spare me some slack today. I wouldn't want to ruin this great event because of our madness," I told her and immediately she raised her hand and struck me hard on the face.

"How dare you!" She shouted. At the same time, the door opened.

And before I could catch a glimpse of the people at the door, Katie slumped onto the ground, hitting her butts on the hard floor and she clutched her cheeks as though she had just been smacked by me.

"Why did you have to slap me, Violet?" She cried out in a shaky voice.