Without another word, Alexander grabbed my hand and started dragging me away towards the mansion. His grip was so hard that it felt like my bones were being crushed, but I was afraid to say anything, and just stumbled to keep up with his long strides. He didn't glance back, he didn't care if I was hurting or could keep pace. All he was focused on was the anger blazing out of him.
When we reached inside the mansion, he swung open a door and practically shoved me inside what looked like a bedroom.
"Stay here," he ordered, already turning to leave.
"Aren't we going to the family dinner?" I blurted out. "Shouldn't we greet your parents?"
He stopped dead in his tracks, his back to me. For a moment, I thought he wouldn't respond. Then, his voice came, void of any emotion. "My mother is dead," he said. "And my father… don't worry about him. He doesn't matter." With that, he was gone, leaving me alone in the room.
I sank onto the bed, my mind consumed with thoughts. Men with guns. Brothers who looked at each other with hatred. A dead mother and a father who didn't matter. What kind of family was this?
Before I could make sense of it, the door opened again. An older woman in a maid's uniform entered with a kind smile. "Good evening, Madame," she greeted. "I am Martha, I'm here to prepare you for the night."
Prepare me for what night?
Then the realization of what she meant hit me and my stomach dropped. The wedding consummation. I have never be touched by a man before, and now… oh God.
"I don't…" I started, but couldn't finish. What could I say? That I was scared? That I had no idea what to do? I couldn't even imagine myself with that man.
Eventually, Martha helped me out of my wedding dress and took out the hairpins, letting my hair fall down in waves. She slipped me into a nightgown, a beautiful white made of silk.
After she was down, she took me to the bed and sat me down. "Master will be here shortly," she said, making a few adjustments before leaving.
Once she was gone, my heart began to hammer with different questions. Would it hurt? Would he be gentle? Would he talk to me first or just… take what was legally his?
I tried to control my breathing, but images kept flashing through my mind, making it difficult to breathe. My hands started to sweat and my head began to spin. I waited for what seemed like forever, each second feeling like a ticking time bomb.
An hour passed. Then two. Then Three.
Yet he didn't come.
I didn't know if I should feel relieved or insulted. Was something wrong? Had he changed his mind about the wedding consummation? What was it?
My eyelids grew heavy, as exhaustion from the day began to creep in. Maybe this was for the best. I wasn't ready. Might never be ready for a man who I had no idea why he married me. I curled up on the bed, trying to push my fear away, and eventually, sleep claimed me.
****
"Boss, your father wants an explanation concerning the wedding."
"Tell him I owe him no explanation," Alexander hissed, not bothering to look up from the papers in front of him.
He hadn't been himself all day. He should have been satisfied now that he was a step closer to getting what he needed. The merger was almost completed, Steele's industries would be practically in his pocket soon, he didn't have to worry anymore. But instead, his irritation only deepened, crawling under his skin like fire ants.
"But boss," Ethan began cautiously. "Your father was quite insistent to know why you married the illegitimate Steele daughter instead of…"
"Ethan!" he growled, cutting him off sharply.
His assistant immediately fell silent, taking a step back. Alexander was still seething with anger, and he dare not mention her now. Everything had started with those purple marks on her arm; needle wounds barely cleaned up for the wedding. If he hadn't seen them, his blood wouldn't be boiling.
George Steele. That bastard. He had the audacity to touch her. To hurt her, even when he warned him not to, he disregarded his words, and it had taken every ounce of self-control not to grab George by his expensive tie and introduce his face to the church floor.
How dare him?!
He pushed back from the chair and grabbed the revised contract, throwing them at the edge near Ethan. "Take that to George Steele," he ordered. "Tell him the deal is no longer 50-50. It's now 80-20."
Ethan's eyes widened slightly. "Boss, if you do that, the Steele's major company would fold. He depends on this deal to stay in the market."
"He should have thought about that when he disregarded my words to keep his filthy hands off my bride." His voice was dangerously low. "Now leave."
Ethan bowed slightly and walked out, taking the papers with him.
Alone in his office, Alexander leaned back in his chair as his thoughts circled back to earlier. He could still remember the look in her eyes when he appeared in the church.
What surprised him more was that she knew who he was, and he hadn't known she existed until the day her father came crawling with desperation.
"I have another daughter," George had declared on his knees like a beggar.
Shock. Yes, that was what he had felt that day. Claudia had never once mentioned she had a sister. Then again she never mentioned beyond what she wanted or needed. She was just like the rest of her family; greedy, conniving, and self-serving.
Marrying Claudia would have been a mistake. He would still get whatever he wanted from George Steele without having to tie himself with someone as calculating as Claudia.
But Anna… he didn't know much about her, but what she did earlier said something about her.
Naive. That was what she was. Naive enough to cling to a family that has no place for her. Naive enough to believe they would ever.
Alexander scoffed under his breath. He never seen anyone as foolish as her.