Ryan's POV
The door is locked.
My hand is on the doorknob still. Then I turn it again but it won't budge.
It has been locked from the inside. Without thinking of a single reason why the woman I just got married to a few hours ago is locking me outside my own bedroom, I raise my hand to knock.
The knock is loud enough to wake the dead. She can't possibly tell me that she locked the door and slept off. I only spent thirty minutes outside trying to let everything sink into my head and also to think of what to do after this damn thing is over.
I have been trying to get over how she ridiculed me at the church wedding. She didn't let me kiss her on the lips. Isn't that part of the pretense? We are to make believe that we are real and beginning to like each other, isn't this what she said?
I felt humiliated. What if someone had seen that?
Fortunately, no one was quick to observe anything between us. Not even the tension and despise we feel for each other.
There is no answer.
"Valerie, open the door", I call her name loudly as I continue to knock.
Isn't she going to answer me? Is this woman I call a wife crazy? How can she do this on our wedding night?
I already know the exact type of personality she possessed when I first met her. She can do and undo. She doesn't even feel intimidated by me.
"Val?" I call out unconsciously. This is what her parents called her at the wedding reception. She is indeed good at acting. She was all smiles and clingy to me as we took pictures.
It was irritating the shit out of me, probably because I didn't like how touchy she was since we aren't real or because she rejected a kiss from me.
Me.
Girls die to have that one kiss.
Who the hell does she think she is?
With a mixture of anger and frustration, I bang on the door and it is thrown open instantly.
My gaze falls on a white towel and a hand wiping her hair.
Was she in the bathroom all along?
Without saying anything, I walk in but her face appeared from nowhere and she stops me, blocking my way with her hands spread out wide.
"Why were you banging the door that way?" She questions, her small face in a deep frown, as though the house belongs to her.
There is another towel wrapped around her bosom showing her smooth skin and her curvy shape.
"Excuse me", I say and she rolls her eyes without moving away for me to go in.
This is the penthouse. Mother insisted that we come here for our wedding night and I am sure they think we would consummate our marriage.
I can't bring myself to watch her for too long because the first impression of that ugly woman is still stuck in my head.
"Hey, go out", she utters with a tone of authority and I arch a brow at her, thinking I heard wrong.
"What?!"
"I said go out. First, I need some privacy because I just came out of the bathroom and secondly, this is my room, isn't it? We aren't couples, are we? We shouldn't spend the night together, should we? We can't share the same bed either."
She sounds breathless but I know better than to fall for her trick. She is full of pretense.
Gritting my teeth in annoyance and desperate to get out of this tuxedo so I can get into the bathroom and have a cold shower to ease the stress of the day's affairs.
"Move out of my way, woman!" I can't help but shout.
This isn't what I planned for. This is why I don't want to be married. Women can be handfuls and I am not going to let her boss me around simply because I need her more than she needs me.
I make the rules.
"No, husband. Go to the other room or find a nice couch to sleep on", she mentions and tries to push me out.
I grab her hand and shove her away to go in.
"What the hell!" She screams and attacks me from behind. I feel her boobs from behind as she tries to push me back outside.
I let her do as she wishes but pushing me out is impossible for her. Within minutes, she is breathing heavily like someone who just did a marathon race.
She lets go of me and when I turn back to face her, the edge of the towel comes running down and she squats down quickly with her eyes wide open, to prevent me from seeing her nudity.
"Get away from here, you pervert", she cries out.
I would love to make her feel more uncomfortable by continuing to stare since she can't get up and find some clothes to wear without exposing some part of her body.
But I am the better one. I want to be the better one. I am not going to be as childish as she is.
Turning my back to her, I stroll to the closet to get a towel before going into the bathroom.
There is no towel where I usually hang it. Then I remember she has two towels with her; one on her body and the other on her head.
Shit!
"Jerk!" I hear her murmur to herself, still squatting down.
I take off my jacket and remove my pants, leaving me in shorts only. I have no problem undressing in front of her, she is the one making a big deal out of exposing her body when she is legally my wife.
Besides, I didn't give her the impression that she is attractive, so why would she even think I would find her attractive or seeing her naked body will have any effect on me?
I am not that kind of man.
I have my ideal type of woman and Valerie is definitely not one of them. The ridiculous way she was dressed and the stupid makeup she had on her face gave me a bad impression of her and I doubt if I can ever look past that appearance she had on that day.
When I turn back, thinking of asking her to give me one of the towels, she glares at me coldly, still on the floor, crouched in an uncomfortable position with her two hands around her body.
I am making a mental note to get another towel from the main house.
I never thought I would be spending my wedding night here so there were no provisions made for spending the night here.
It just happened.
Our two families are bent on making this marriage work without knowing that Valerie and I have other plans.
I only come to the penthouse to escape from the bustling noises of the main mansion.
There are two bedrooms but the other bedroom has been turned into a home office which leaves us with just one bedroom.
I take long strides to the bathroom door without sparing her a glance.
Whether Valerie likes it or not, I am sleeping here tonight.
Valerie's POVDetermined to get on his nerves tonight, I lay sprawled on the bed fully clothed. The moment the shower goes off, I close my eyes to pretend that I am asleep.I can't let him sleep with me on the same bed. We can't share the same bed.I love my privacy and space. I never had any reason to share a bed with anyone, except Fred and I am not ready to get to that stage with Ryan.I know we are supposed to sign the contract tonight but I am seriously not going to give him the chance to sweet-talk me into letting him sleep here tonight.The bathroom door opens and I imagine him coming out of the bathroom with a bare chest trailing with water from his wet hair and a towel wrapped around his waist.I imagine the glare he will throw my way when he notices I'm already asleep on the bed, sprawled with my legs apart to prevent him from getting into bed with me.Today is our first night as a couple and I want us to stick to the rules of the contract to ease the whole period we will be
Ryan's POVShe practically jumps on me, scaring the shit out of me. I sit up immediately, letting her slide down with a big grin on her face."What was that for?"She shrugs nonchalantly like she hasn't done anything wrong."I need to sleep", I almost add, please. I am already tired of arguing back and forth with her. It is obvious she isn't going to let me be."Please?" She demands, raising her brow. This is when I notice her hand on mine. I yank my hand off immediately.Turning back to the bed, I comment. "Please."Then, I lay down, hoping she will let me be now."I didn't ask you to sleep yet", she jumps down from the bed and drags me up. Now I am more than convinced that she jumps for a living. Why the hell is she jumping like a monkey all over the place? What does she even do for a living?I know I married a stranger but I should have asked her if she had a job so she won't be a complete liability. Having to help her parents is enough."We need to sign the contract first of all…
Valerie's POV My nose twitches and my eyes flick open, the rays of the sun setting on my skin. I sit up and glance around as the memories of yesterday's event come rushing as well as last night. I turn to the curtains to see them open. Did Ryan open them? I look towards the door and it is still locked. Maybe the curtains were drawled to their sides last night. I get out of bed and move towards the door, rubbing my two hands on my eyes to rub off the sleep. I am damn hungry and I could eat a horse right now. I unlock the door and get out. Finding my way to the kitchen, I get to the living room and my eyes fall on Ryan sleeping on the floor with his blanket hanging on his leg, half of it on the couch. Did he fall from the couch or he purposely slept on the floor? I almost chuckle at the sight of him sleeping with his legs apart. I know he might want to go to work since there is no talk of a honeymoon and I really don't want him around for the whole day. Maybe I should wake him
Ryan's POVLike an erupting volcano, I burst into my parent's mansion with anger coursing through me and stormy red eyes.I stalk towards the second living room when no one is in sight the moment I enter, except for the maids whom I do not feel like talking to.The person I want to see is my mother. And dad.They both caused this. If only they didn't try to force me or blackmail me into marrying that crazy woman in the penthouse, maybe I won't be this frustrated, angry, and sad, and I would probably be on my way to work, excited for a new day's challenge.They caused this so they should answer for this.During the wedding yesterday, I realized mother was the one behind it all. She was the one who reminded my dad about it and pushed him to force me into this.This is just unfair. This is unfair.This is sheer wickedness.Just before I get to the living room, Nita appears. When she spots me, she smiles and waves her hand but I shove her away and enter to see mom sitting on her usual cha
Valerie's POVFrederick is the type of man who loves a woman with everything he possesses. He was the exact type of man I wanted; one who loves fiercely and passionately. One who loves me for who I am. One who doesn't criticize my shortcomings but accepts and loves them as well.A man who looks at me and smiles for no reason. A man who loves even my dirtiest moment.That is Fred.This is the exact definition of Fred. He is that man. And it was so hard not to fall deeply in love with him.The way he loves me, the way he smiles at me, and the way he shuts me up with a kiss whenever I am in the mood for an argument always gets me weak in the legs.I keep loving him every single day for loving me despite everything.But one thing is an obstacle.His cheating nature.I doubt if Fred would ever stop doing that. Being with Brenda is what broke the camel's back and I don't ever want to be with him again, even though it hurts.It hurts so much.My heart hurts. It feels like a fire is in my hea
Ryan's POVMy gaze darts outside the car window, watching the rain pattering and the droplets sliding down the window as I ignore the fear consuming my insides.I left the office before the rain began so I could come back to my parent's mansion to see mom or dad.But on second thought, I decided to see Anita instead. Mom will never tell me what it is. Dad must have sworn to secrecy never to tell me either and it's breaking me. Curiosity is killing me.My mother is dying and I didn't even notice a strange thing? Is this how much I have distanced myself from my family?What exactly is happening? Where exactly is it hurting? Why did Anita use the word "dying" instead of sick? Is it something incurable? Mother doesn't even look sick. She looks as healthy as always. She even looks more beautiful recently and the thought of it almost makes me tear up.My mother can't die. No.I will do everything in my power to see to it that she survives this but first I need to know the source of the ai
Valerie's POVIt thunders continuously and I scramble out of bed with agitation. This is the third time I am getting out of bed because of the scary rambling of the thunder.Right now, I am done with the idea of sleeping alone in this goddamn cold room.When I was home, whenever it rains and there is thunder, I always run to my parent's room. Whenever I feel uncomfortable running over to them, I take solace in Fred.That fucking idiot.Now I hate him so much for thinking I will overlook what he did with Brenda simply because she was the one who seduced him.How could he allow her to do that to him on two different occasions and he expects me to take him back?If I hadn't gotten married to a man like Ryan, would he have called me so we could meet?Even though my heart still beats for him, I want to get rid of all the memories I had with him and I know the best way to do that is to have good times with someone else so it will be easier to erase the ones I had with Fred.It will be quite
Ryan's POVI was slightly frightened when she spoke up. I never thought I would meet her up here in my room. It was the least I expected.My banging headache, my sorrow and the bad effect the rain has on me today aren't helping matters.I came into the room with my eyes close. I just wanted everything to go back to normal; the way it used to be when I had no problem in the world and even if I do, I always go home to talk to mom about it and it will be resolved. Most of the problems I always had always had to do with my company. Mother is always ready to help.Sometimes, when I need Dad's help, I indirectly sort out his help by going to my mom. She is my backbone. She gives me a shoulder to lean on. She is my mentor.She is a good woman with a heart of gold. Why is Valerie in my room? I ask inwardly when she waves a hand at me to jerk me out of my reverie.The headache I am feeling is a result of the accumulated stress and also the thinking I have been doing all morning. I am supposed