"You old fart, what have you been up to, Vanessa?" The yelling from my mother-in-law, who had been in the living room watching TV, returned. I heard her walking closer and closer.I wiped the sweat dripping down my forehead and neck, then glanced at her. "It'll be done soon." I replied as I continued to sweep the room.Since the morning, I hadn't stopped doing this and that all day. I cleaned the house, washed clothes, and prepared breakfast until I prepared dinner later, but none of the work was done by my mother-in-law. I didn't mind, though, I knew she was pretty old and probably tired and didn't have much energy left. But my mother-in-law scolded me too much. Almost every day, she would complain about me."You really are useless." I tightened my lips at her words, my heart beating rapidly, making an uncomfortable feeling in my chest. Every time she said something like that, I felt like a weight was tightly gripping my heart, making it impossible to ignore the pain. "There's nothin
"I've really had it with you." Jaxon looked at me with disgust, his gaze so unfriendly and painful. "You can't give me offspring when you know I want offspring so badly. But even now you're not showing any signs. Besides, look at you!" Jaxon pointed at my appearance with his hand, making me take notice of my current build. "You look shabby, shabby and not pretty. What do you expect from me, Vanessa? Are you asking me to put up with you looking like that?"I clenched my jaw. I couldn't accept her giving such an excuse. "I'm like this because I don't have time to take care of myself. All day and even into the night, I keep taking care of the house. Taking care of you, taking care of your mother, you guys asking me to do this and that until the only time I have for myself is to rest." I let out the grievances that I had been holding back.At first, I always accepted and tried to understand, to be patient with him for all the treatment I didn't deserve. But they didn't understand. They di
"Now that you're here, it's time for you to take over the family business." My father sat in front of me with my mother. We were having tea together in the back garden, enjoying the peaceful afternoon.I gazed at the back garden, the large yard that used to be my place for fresh air, as I was pretty happy to stare at the sky with its various colors and feel the wind blowing past me. It was unimaginable for me to come back and see that place again after I chose to leave."Vanessa?" I turned my face towards my mother."Yes?" I stared at my mother for a moment and then turned to look at my father's face."Are you listening?" She probably thought I was lost in thought, but I was listening to what my dad was saying. "I'm listening, Mom." I smiled at her, lightly stroking her hand because I knew she was worried about me. But there was no need because I was fine so far.Well, not that good. Perhaps I would have been ruined if I still loved Jaxon, but other than the hurt from their treatment
"You scared me." I tried to sit up by pushing my hands on the mattress. "What are you doing? How did you get here?" I was sure I had completely locked my bedroom door, but how could he be here?Andreas looked at me with a look in his eyes that made me feel uneasy every time I saw him. "I missed my brother who I haven't seen in a long time." His excuse made no sense to me.I wrinkled my face when I saw it. "Still, you shouldn't have come into my room. You can wait until morning, and we live in the same house anyway. We're bound to see each other."He seemed to be quietly listening to me, now that I noticed him presence really made me uncomfortable. What's more, what's with his clothes? Why is he shirtless and exposing his upper body like that? But I admit, those muscles are perfect. They were beautifully sculpted, I wanted to touch them and feel how hard they were and feel their warmth. I shook my head quickly, realizing my dangerously wild thoughts about Andreas. I cursed him silently
"There's a lot of business that needs to be done, so stop joking around, Andreas," I told Andreas.My heart was beating noisily, and it was starting to make me distracted and uncomfortable.Andreas looks at me flatly, ignoring what I tell him. He pulls my hand, bringing my body closer to his. Our faces were facing each other, our lips almost touching if I didn't stop it by covering Andreas' lips with my hand. "We are family." I reminded him again firmly. I could feel the warmth in my palm as I silenced his lips. At the same time, his eyes looked at me intently without moving. "I don't want our family relationship to fall apart over something like this."Andreas began with his unreasonable attitude, making it difficult for me to deal with him.Andreas was silent, and he didn't reply to my words. But his jaw hardened, the expression on his face looking determined."I'm exhausted." I returned his gaze with some frustration. "I want to rest soon. There are many things I'm going through r
"Are you guys going home yet?" Eva looked at me with her clear brown eyes. She stood up and placed the tray of cookies on the counter.I hugged her for a moment, feeling again the scent of cookies lingering on the delicate old woman. "Yes, Ev. We've been sitting here for quite some time. It's good to see you again after all this time."Eva smiled at me. "Come visit next time." She patted my shoulder kindly. The woman was always warm and pleasant.I nodded, then set my sights on Jhonny behind the counter. "Jhonny, we're leaving first. It was nice to taste your milk tea again." I waved goodbye to him.The old man was still wearing his glasses so he could see me. "Don't stop coming, Vanessa." He then looked at Andreas behind me. "Andreas, keep Vanessa coming to this place."I looked to the side, where Andreas was standing. I saw Andreas smiling at Johnny. "Of course, we will continue to come together to this place." I glanced at him, who made the promise unilaterally.We left the small c
"Stop looking at me, Andreas." I closed the page of the report my father had asked me to study.Beside me, Andreas was busying himself with staring at me the whole time. I tried to restrain myself and didn't comment because I was sure that if I reacted even with a small reaction, he would become even bolder.But I couldn't help myself from his gaze. That made me uneasy and uncomfortable. His blue eyes ensnared my every move so tightly that it was difficult to move.I turned my body to the side, right where Andreas was sitting. Our gazes met each other. "Don't you have anything else to do now, Andreas?" I asked in a slightly offensive tone.But Andreas was not at all affected by the way I spoke. He remained unmoved and looked at me from where he was sitting calmly. "I'm currently working, don't you see?"I snorted and started to get annoyed. Andreas had been playing with my emotions since yesterday. "You've been watching me, Andreas." I pressed my sentence heavily while gritting my tee
"It's pretty quiet now that Andreas isn't home." I smiled as I sipped the tea and gazed over the back garden.Today, Andreas was away for work. He didn't say exactly where he was going and for what in detail, but I didn't care because honestly, thanks to his work that kept Andreas busy, I could feel a little relieved.But I guess my relief didn't last long, because my phone rang and his name appeared on my screen.Could he stop appearing and let me calm down for a moment?I picked up the phone that I had placed in my desk bag and stared at it lazily. I let it ring for a few seconds and then picked it up lazily, "What's wrong?" my voice sounded flat and somewhat annoyed."What's wrong with your voice?" His voice sounded not much different from mine. I could imagine him frowning and making a long face."What's wrong with you calling me?" I ignored his question and directly asked his purpose. I didn't care if he was annoyed or what because I was also annoyed by his interruption.A sigh w
Vanessa's POVI stepped into a beautiful place with a vast expanse of grass. I hadn't seen Andreas since earlier, so I wondered to myself. Where else would Andreas be? Why did he suddenly disappear?I took a deep breath. I tried to ignore my thoughts about Andreas and chose to enjoy this beautiful place I was visiting. This place is so lovely. I didn't get tired of stretching my arms while occasionally taking a deep breath of air. I was really in love with this place.I've been struggling with my feelings of comfort for a while when Andreas suddenly appears behind me. The man smiled sweetly at me as he handed me a bouquet and a box of cakes. "Vanessa, I brought you a bouquet and some cake," Andreas said.I smiled enthusiastically. I immediately grabbed the bouquet and cake with my right hand. Meanwhile, my left hand stretched out to cup Andreas' free wrist. "You're so romantic, Andreas." I smiled mockingly at him. Being nosy is my hobby these days with him.Andreas chuckled. "How was
Vanessa's povI was annoyed when he took me away from our still-unfinished wedding party. Was it okay for the guests to stay without the person who owned the event? I mean, was it polite to just leave them there? But Andreas didn't seem to care.He impatiently carried me into the room without turning my head to the right and left. I then put my hand to hold on tighter to him. In case he was having trouble, I murmured near his ear, "I hope this marriage continues to work well, Andreas."I saw Andreas nodding. "Sure, this will go on forever." He lowered me from his arms and then took off his suit. The man then smiled and walked towards the bed.I, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, did not dodge when Andreas suddenly touched my arm. And was groped my arm until I have amused myself. "Andreas, stop it! I felt ridiculous when you touched me."Instead of stopping the touching, Andreas moved to grope my neck. Then, his palm moved to my back until he embraced me completely."Why are you
Vanessa's POVStep by step, I walked closer to him, slowly gazing at him. The moment felt very sacred like it was filled with blessings and happiness. Each step I took toward him made what happened and what I went through with that man flash in my head.I felt like I was the one who rejected him so harshly, the one who mistreated her and denied my feelings, and when I thought about it now, I felt guilty for him, especially after seeing how much effort she put into making our relationship an approved one.Throughout his absence, I kept cursing him, not knowing what he had secretly prepared for me. He kept his promise to me, kept his promise to his father, and melted his mother's heart. He almost did everything just to accept me into his life.I laughed, looking at him on the other end, who gestured with his hands for me not to cry. We laughed at this happiness that was about to be achieved and only a few steps away.Right in front of me, as we stopped by the Altar, Andreas extended his
Vanessa's POVMy wedding day finally arrived. Two days before the wedding day, the others and I had prepared a private jet to take you to the private island where our wedding would be held.It wasn't for nothing that the island was chosen as the location for the wedding. Father decided on it because he knew his daughter well and didn't like her private life to be highlighted by people and enjoyed by the public. Even though I realised that I had become a public figure, I didn't want that kind of thing, on the contrary. I hoped that everything would go smoothly."Vanessa, I'll put the necklace here, then return later." Maria put down the jewellery box I knew contained a necklace she gave me yesterday.I nodded my head. "Yes, ma'am. I'll make sure to ask them to wear it." I glanced at her, who passed beside me with a nodding smile.It was hard for me to look at her because I felt like I was being used as a mannequin by the makeup and fashion artists in charge of my appearance today.They
Vanessa's POVI was walking out of the house doorway with my eyebrows raised when I found Andreas pacing back and forth incoherently with a worried expression like that. He was worried about something. He didn't usually look that worried.I let out a short breath. I tried to steady myself before stepping towards the man who now made me feel better than ever.He turned to me. "Vanessa?" he sounded panicked for no reason, even though I had only been out of sight for a few moments.Suddenly, I heard a voice that sounded worried. Andreas quickly pulled my hand away, and I was told to face him fully, close enough that my breath and his breath almost met.Andreas touched my cheeks hard enough to make me feel out of breath. I patted his waist, and sure enough. Andreas immediately released the choke hold."I've been waiting for you. What took you so long?" Andreas asked later. He seemed incoherently annoyed. "What are you guys doing?"I stayed where I was standing. I let the seconds pass by,
Vanessa's POV"I don't think this is a necklace that just anyone can wear. Why did you give it to me?" I touched the necklace carefully around my neck, then looked at it in the mirror with an enchanted look.That necklace was so beautiful. It was like wearing a tiara around my neck and seeing firsthand the necklaces that nobles used to wear years ago. Compared to how much it could cost, I was more fascinated by the history of what it had gone through to reach this generation, and it was still well preserved. One thing I was sure of was that this necklace seemed to be a precious treasure belonging to the Andreas family.My fingers clenched into fists, and suddenly, my courage to touch it shrank. "Are you sure you gave it to me?" I turned to her, staring doubtfully.Maria nodded her head. Now I understood why when I saw the sapphire stone, I felt familiar and like I had seen it before. It was because the blue stone had the same colour as her eyes, the same as the colour of Andreas' iris
Vanessa's POV"Let's take a short walk before we go home." Andreas stood up from where he was sitting and extended his hand to me.I grabbed his hand and pulled him so I stood beside him. "Where are we going?" I asked him, holding my hand tightly as we walked out of the café where Steve and I had signed off on our project."Mmm... just walk around here. I saw a park when we were walking here earlier. It's nice outside, so let's go outside." He glanced at me with a warm smile on his lips.I nodded my head, walking out of the place with him. The park, she said, is not far from there. The park was near an artificial lake in the city's centre, but even though it was an artificial lake, the lake's size was quite large.The atmosphere in the garden looked very shady and pleasant. In the sunny weather with a brightly lit sky, the garden showed its dominant, alluring green and brown colours. Walking there felt cool because the wind first hit the leaves and made the breeze feel cooler.I sighe
Vanessa's POV"Are you sure you want to join us for the meeting? Don't you want to wait in my room?" I asked him as he opened the car door for me.Andreas shook his head. "Why, you don't want me to interrupt your meeting with him?" he glanced at me with a serious look, even though I knew he was joking, while extending his hand to me.I grabbed his hand and joined him, walking out of the car. "I'm not." I denied it. He was still being nosy about it. "I'm just worried that you'll get bored waiting for us to talk about work," I replied casually. I was hooking my arm tighter around his.Andreas turned to me with his eyebrows knitted together and a fierce look on his face. "Me? Bored with talking about work?" He twitched her lips with a playful face. "Seriously, have you forgotten who I am?" he pretended with his annoying face.I stare at him in astonishment, right? For a moment, I forgot that Andreas was someone like that. He was a workaholic, and it was impossible for him to feel bored w
Vanessa's PoV"Are you tired?" I asked him with my hand gently stroking the head. As he breathed deeply into my shoulder, I could hear the sound of his breathing in time, with his heartbeat beating in a matching rhythm.Andreas shook his head. "I'm tired of talking to them, welcoming their congratulations and other pleasantries." He raised her head slightly, peering at me. "I bet you went here too because you were tired of everything."Andreas laughed. He looked at me with a nosy expression, like he had read what was going through my mind. "You must be getting sick of them talking like sycophants, right?" he grinned.I raised my eyebrows at him in astonishment. "You're just like a psychic." How could he know? Was he reading my mind? Or was the expression on my face too evident and easy to read? I furrowed my eyebrows.He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm not psychic. I know you well." He replied with a smile on his face that seemed to tease me. "Let's go out. We ne