"The bride is going to sing for her husband." The MC announced and the guests cheered.
Lia choked back a cry of protest, people were watching her, a little too closely at that.
Her mother had loved to sing so she had been the one to add that bit to the ceremony.
Lia didn't want to do it. Not because she couldn't sing, she could after all she was her mother's daughter. She had a beautiful voice that could move people but she didn't want to sing for him.
This was all a sham, why waste her gift on a sham?
"Baby, you don't have to if you don't want to. She's very shy." Fernando said beside her and Lia looked at him. She looked at his eyes, searching to find the truth in his words. "I mean it," he whispered under his breath. "Your mother had included that there despite my refusal."
Lia relaxed at his words glad that she really didn't have to sing in front of all these people who believed this was real.
The MC took the hint and moved on to the next item; cutting of the cake.
Lia rose to her feet accepting Fernando's hand that was stretched towards her and together like a happy couple, they walked towards the cake that Lia had actually picked out.
It was eight layers of cake with a mixture of red velvet, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavours.
Chocolate was her favourite, red velvet was her mother's, vanilla was Fernando's and strawberry was just an added flavor.
She stiffened as Fernando pressed against her, his crouch pressing into her butt. She forced a smile as he dug his fingers into her arm, a silent warning for her to behave.
"Spelling the bride's name to cut the cake. J."
Lia gulped and wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Of course her mother's name was the name the MC would call. She wasn't the bride!
She fought back tears focusing on cutting the cake. With each letter, a piece of her broke and she wished she could turn back time. She shouldn't have gotten married to him, she should have fought.
"T!" The final letter and she let Fernando do all the work. She just stood there while he pushed her hand down with the knife.
It was time for the couple's dance afterwards.
*******
The driver pulled up in front of a huge mansion and Lia stuck her head out to stare, her mouth hanging open.
Was this his house? He really was 'the Fernando'.
"Are you awake?" Fernando asked, stretching his neck and Lia closed her eyes hurriedly cursing herself for it.
Why was she closing her eyes?
"Well I guess you'll be spending the night in the car tonight then. I can't carry you, it's not my style since I'm not a gentleman."
Lia heard movement around but she didn't open her eyes or shake. Fernando would know she had been faking if she made a move.
"Liam, help me get the madam into the house." Fernando's words reached her ears and she relaxed glad that he wasn't going to touch her.
She heard her door open and then someone, Liam perhaps lift her into his arms. She relaxed against his chest playing along, not ready to wake up just yet.
She heard a door open and she opened her left eye slightly to peep and quickly shut it when she thought she'd be caught.
She was exhausted so it was nice having her feet up for a while. When Liam placed her on the bed, she stressed and rolled to one side attempting to wake up.
Lia was just about to open her eyes when something cold splashed on her. Alarmed, she cried and shot out of bed staring at Fernando who was standing in front of the bed holding a bowl.
Did he really splash water on her? What did he want now? "What is the meaning of this?"
"I'd watch your tone if I were you." He replied and walked away disappearing behind a door. Lia assumed it was the bathroom and suddenly wished she could take a shower. Surely such a big house would have a stall as elegant as the one in her hotel suite.
"Now, we have to establish some ground rules." He continued as he walked into the room and settled on a couch Lia hadn't noticed before.
Lia remained where she was even though the temptation to go back to the bed was great. "What kind of rules?" She asked, already dreading what was going to come out of his mouth.
"We are only married in the eyes of the world and nothing more. To the outside world, I am your husband and you are my wife. But inside this house, you're no better than my servants." He paused and Lia listened raptly, not sure she could do anything else.
She wasn't surprised by his words, to be honest she had expected something much worse. Or perhaps he still had other things to say.
And he did. "You will cook my meals, wash my clothes, make my bed, iron and prepare all my clothes for the day. I mustn't have to go without a suit simply because you haven't washed it."
"Of course."
"You're not to tell anyone anything. If word gets back to the media, things will get harder for you. By the time I am done with you, your mother will think twice before leaving a man at the altar."
Lia simply nodded, choking back sobs at his words. He was really hurt because she disappeared on their wedding day. No matter what he did or said, he was covering his pain.
Lia made up her mind there and then to ignore whatever cruel thing he did to her. The fact that she looked like her mother would only make things worse but she would take it all.
"Now I'm starving and the staffs are not around. Go make something for me. If it isn't edible, you'd suffer the consequences."
"Yes." She walked out of the room without another word and climbed down the stairs feeding her eyes as she went.
The house was huge and beautiful. There was so much to see and touch. Pictures of Fernando were nowhere to be found making her frown. Didn't he like taking pictures? He had taken plenty today at the wedding but those had probably been for the public eye.
With a sigh, she searched the big house for the kitchen praying it had everything she needed to make a decent edible meal.
She was too exhausted and battered to start thinking of a dish on her feet. Whatever the ingredients said, she'd do.
"Wow." She gasped as she walked into what looked like just another room except it had pots, pans and other cooking utensils. This was the kitchen. Why was it more beautiful than her house, the one she lived in with her mother?
Lia spent ten minutes checking all the available cupboards in sight and ended up surprised and amazed at what she found. This wasn't a regular kitchen, it was a gourmet one; the kind of one found at restaurants.
Did Fernando love cooking or was it just a part of the elegance the house spoke of?
She opened the fridge and stared at the ingredients. Someone had definitely gone grocery shopping. There was lots of food there and she had too many options for dinner.
If she wasn't so tired and if it had been a different situation, she would have taken her time and thought about a befitting dinner. But right now, she scanned through the ingredients and she chose some eggs, bacon, spaghetti, some fresh tomatoes and other things that she could throw together.
Spaghetti it is.
***
The aroma of something sweet reached Fernando in the master's bedroom and his stomach growled.
The food, the caterer that had been hired for the wedding had made didn't quite do it for him. If the food Amelia was cooking tasted as good as it smelt then, he was never letting her go.
He loved food. Being a chef himself, he had installed his own gourmet kitchen so he could produce his own food.
He had lied, he didn't have servants. Apart from Liam who was his driver, Susan, his housekeeper and the gardener, he had no other workers. He told her that so she could behave.
Amelia was a sweet girl, innocent in every sense of the word. She didn't deserve to be punished for her mother's crime.
If his plan worked out perfectly then Janet Lawson and not Amelia would pay for her crimes.
He just had to play his cards right. In the meantime, he planned to enjoy his time with her. If she could cook this well, then perhaps this wouldn't be such a bad arrangement after all.
He'd hate to punish her for a crime she didn't commit but he couldn't turn a blind eye to what Janet Lawson had done to him.
No one had ever humiliated him as much as she had. She did it and without much effort.
He was so close to letting Amelia go but when she kept defending Janet, he got angry and reacted.
Marrying Amelia was an impulsive decision he hoped he wouldn't come to regret when all this was over.
No doubt she hated him and never wanted anything to do with him. He couldn't blame her but he also couldn't let her go.
He had to make one of the Lawson women pay dearly. If ber mother took his bait then she'd be free to go.
His phone rang pulling him out of his thoughts and he sighed reaching for it. It was his business partner, Adam.
"Congratulations on your wedding man. How is the Mrs doing?"
She ran away. He thought but said instead. "She's fine, cooking dinner."
"Already? That's not right man. Couldn't you have checked into a hotel for at least this night? It's your wedding night man."
'Wedding night ' Fernando thought in disgust. "Well I wanted to sleep in my own bed. What's wrong with that?"
There was laughter on the other end. "Nothing man. Don't you dare show up for work tomorrow, you're fired for the week."
Right, it was his honeymoon. Fernando scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed. How had everything gotten so bad?
Why did Janet leave? Did he offend her without knowing? Everything had been going so well. Why did she have to ruin it?
The door of the room opened and Lia walked in looking beautiful in her mother's wedding gown. Fernando tried to imagine what Janet would have looked like in it and anger bubbled inside him.
"The Mrs is here man, I've gotta go. Take care of things and call me if anything…"
Adam hung up before he could finish, the dialing tone ringing in his ears. Fernando gritted his teeth in anger.
***
He used his eyes to follow Amelia's movements and knew the exact moment she felt his eyes on her.
She stiffened and pulled her gown closer to her chest.
Time to execute a part of the plan.
Fernando rose up from the bed and walked towards her aware of how uncomfortable she was getting as he inched closer.
Be scared and hide , Amelia. You have to pay, you have to.
"It's our wedding night Amelia."
Lia woke up with a start, screaming and coughing. She had been drowning in her dream. Fernando had been standing there, watching her but he made no move to help her. "Finally, you're awake." She heard and sat up quickly moving towards the head of the bed. She had fallen asleep in the wedding gown too tired to change. Fernando was on the couch watching her. How long had he been there watching her? Feeling self-conscious, she pulled the gown closely to her body as memories from last night assailed her senses.>>>>>>>"It's our wedding night, Amelia." Fernando said as he walked towards her. Lia wished the wall would magically grow a door so she could disappear and never show her face again. If wishes were horses…."How should we celebrate it? I have don’t have to go to work tomorrow, since I’m the boss. So technically, I have enough time to spend with you.”“Newly weds do have honeymoon after all.” He added chuckling. Lia shivered and pushed back against the wall willing it to move a
"Are you getting that?" Lia asked raising her head up, Jane nodded scurrying off to the next section.Lia chuckled and looked down at her phone. She couldn't believe how much had happened and it was just 3pm.>>>>>>>>>>Jane had been all worried about Lia falling asleep at her house thinking that for sure, Fernando was going to raise hell.Lia had been scared too, no terrified was the appropriate word. Fernando was being way too nice for someone who had promised her nothing but pain and suffering on their wedding day."Why didn't you wake me earlier?!"Lia jumped off the bed and raced into the bathroom turning on the shower. Water poured from the shower head and she set her hands under it, splashing some on her face.She couldn't believe she had slept off last night. Fernando was going to have her head for it and she didn't blame him.He gave her the chance to spend the day doing whatever she wanted, and she misused the opportunity.She shivered turning off the shower, bending her hea
"How long has she been missing for?"Lia gave Jane a look and sighed. "it's been two days. Can you find her?"She was trying not to get upset at this man but he was testing her patience. He had been asking irrelevant questions. Wasn't the job of a Private Investigator to find the person? What did it matter how long the person has been missing for?"Can you find her, Brian? George wouldn't recommend you if he didn't think you could." Jane squeezeed Lia's hand as she spoke, trying to calm her down."I apologize for my earlier behaviour ma'am. I just wanted to be sure you knew what you were doing." At Lia's raised eyebrows, he sighed. "I have had clients who only wanted to use me. Anyway, I apologize.""It's okay. How long do you think it'd take to find her?"Brian adjusted his glasses and looked at her mother's picture sitting on the table. "It shouldn't take long. A month tops.""But I need to find her as soon as possible." Lia sighed and Jane sent Brian an apologetic smile."I'm sure
"Lia wake up!" Jane stormed into the room and pulled the covers off her friend's body. "Prince charming is here."Lia opened one eyes and groaned. "Too bright, it's too bright.""Get up woman, your man is here.""Please let me sleep." Lia begged, shutting her eyes turning on her back. Jane sighed and walked off mumbling under her breath."I'm so sorry, she's fast asleep and it's usually a pain to wake her up in the morning." Jane smiled apologetically. Fernando chuckled and rose to his feet."I don't want to disturb her. Let her sleep. I only came to see if she was awake so we could go for breakfast at the restaurant."'This idiot!' Jane thought and smirked as an idea slipped into her head. "Give me a second, I'll have her ready.""I don't want to.." Fernando tried to stop her but Jane was already making her way into the bedroom.He chuckled again, shaking his head as he took his seat. She was a character, he could see why his wife was friends with her.His wife. This was all crazy, i
"I didn't know you were such a child." Lia commented, taking a bite from her ice-cream.Fernando brought them to the park after leaving the restaurant. She still couldn't wrap her head around this side of him. It was quite strange.He got them some sugar doughnuts the minute they walked in and now they were eating ice-cream and having small talk.All through the time he dated her mother, Lia had never spent more than a few seconds alone with him.Not because he was too scary or too boring, she just never saw any reason to. But now, life was presenting her with so many firsts. It was incredible."What's on your mind?" He asked, pulling her out of her thoughts and she took a bite of her ice-cream again."Just thinking about how life is full of unexpected twists and turns." Her ice-cream was melting fast.Fernando noticed and he brought out a saviet. "Here. That's going to leave a mark."Lia watched wordlessly as he used the saviet to wipe her chest where the ice-cream was starting to le
"I kissed him." Lia confessed and covered her face with the pillow. She still couldn't believe what she had done.Jane's expression showed that she couldn't believe it either. "You kissed him? As in on the lip?"Lia rolled her eyes but didn't remove the pillow from her face. "You know what a kiss is, Jane Austin.""Of course I do I'm just shocked that you, Amelia Lawson, the shy 21 year old actually initiated a kiss."Lia took the pillow off and frowned at her friend. "I don't know if i should take offence or.."Jane shook her head. "I didn't mean it like that, I'm just shocked. What did he say then?""Who?"Jane rolled her eyes. "Fernando, stupid."Lia sighed and buried her head in the pillow again. "I didn't wait to see his expression."Lia raised her head from the pillow and found Jane's mouth was hanging open. It was so funny Lia wanted to laugh but she couldn't. Embarrassment was eating her up big time and she had no one to blame but herself. Why did she have to go and kiss him
Apparently even walking up the stairs took a lot of work.Lia winced as Fernando pressed the cotton wool on her bruised knee. She could die of embarrassment in that moment and no one would blame her. Who couldn't walk up a couple of steps without tripping and falling on their faces? Since when did that become a chore?Liam was probably having a good laugh at her expense after all he had offered to help her up but she had turned him down stubbornly."It's not so bad. It doesn't hurt so much, right?" Fernando asked and Lia could see he was trying very hard to hold his laughter."It's okay." She sighed, her shoulders sagged. "You can laugh at me because I'm so stupid. I mean who falls on the stairs?"Fernando shook his head as his face turned serious. "A lot of people do, babe it's called an accident.""I'm not.."Fernando shook his head cutting her off. "Don't do that. You tripped and you bruised your knee. Who cares if others don't? I'm just angry that you got hurt not because you wer
"What are you doing here man? You should be with your wife." Adam said as Fernando walked into his office.Fernando rolled his eyes as he took his seat, hanging his coat on the hook behind the door."Well? Where is your wife?"Fernando shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "She left."Adam frowned, not understanding anything. "What do you mean she left? You said she came over to watch a movie with you.""That's because she did. We watched a movie together but she left as soon as it was over."Adam gasped fighting back a laugh. "Damn man, what did you do?"Fernando frowned, struggling not to be offended by his friend's words. "Why do you think I did anything? Couldn't she have done something?"Adam shook his head and hands with a smile. *No man, they're never wrong and it will do you well to remember that."The frown on Fernando's face deepened. "She didn't actually do anything and neither did I.""Well?""She just said she had to go back to her friend's place." Fernando filled Ada