Chapter 5

Belle's POV

The look on their faces was priceless. I saw different expressions in them. His father was annoyed, his mother disgusted. As for Gabrielle, hers was expressionless but I knew she wouldn't have flowers to give to me.

"Belle?" Lucy called. "Belle?" Your ex-girlfriend who abandoned you on your sick bed? She's your wife?" She asked, eyes wide in shock. I wasn't surprised at her attitude, but the way she spoke about me abandoning Christian, as if they had nothing to do with it was disgusting.

Christian didn't reply. He only nodded his head. He was a man of very few words who wasn't swayed easily by baseless talks.

I didn't speak either. He had commanded me not to. They didn't need to know that being his wife also sounded ridiculous to me, because unlike him, weddings were sacred to me.

"You got married in St Louis?" His father asked sternly, cutting me stern looks while addressing his only son.

"You got married without any of your family members present? How could you do that?"

Christian scoffed arrogantly. 

"Did you even have a proper wedding Christian?" Alexander continued. "Were there witnesses to your so-called marriage?"

"Weddings are a little bit old fashioned father. Don't you think?" Christian asked all of them. "Wedding gowns, suits, guests, cakes and other whatnots are no longer relevant these days. I don't know why you guys still live in the past, this is the 21st century for crying out loud."  He added to everyone's dismay.

I turned to look at him, surprised that something that harsh was coming out of his mouth. He used to love weddings and classy ceremonies. The thought that my disappearance must have broken him, shattered my heart.

"It's not about relevance." His father screamed at him. "It's about the family's honour. It's about our face and reputation. You brought back this girl, this low life, who doesn't have a single class to her name, someone who abandoned you, not caring if you had died or not..."

"Father!" Christian screamed cutting him short.

"You brought her back as your wife? " Alexander continued, not minding him. "You brought her back to bear the family's name? Now there are going to be rumours all over the media. 'The only son of the powerful Martin Constructions, married to an unrecognizable slut...'

"Well, allow me to deal with the rumours." Christian said cutting him short. "Belle is my wife whether you like it or not and there's nothing you can do to change that." He said with clarity, daring anyone to say otherwise.

Lucy cleared her throat. She looked at me sternly and later on, went forward to hold my hands. I was surprised at the gesture, but I knew it was only a charade to get Christian to calm down. She never liked him to be annoyed.

"Well, the marriage has happened hasn't it?" She said smiling at me. Then she turned to Christian. 

"I'm hurt though."  She put her palm on her chest. "I would have wanted to plan your wedding ceremony, every mother deserves that at least." She added, making a pitiful face at him.

I saw Christian give her a soft look. He wasn't totally calm, but he adored his mother. I knew that fact at least, he didn't like her  hurt or upset.

"There was no need. We've been seeing each other..". He turned to me. "And decided to have a very simple wedding."

Lucy nodded her head, releasing me.

"You're still very beautiful, Belle. Welcome to the family." She said and went back to the dinning room.

Michael, Gabrielle's father walked up to me and placed a kiss on my cheeks. 

"Whomever Christian has chosen is always welcomed to the family. So welcome, Belle." He said and also went back to the business of devouring his dinner.

I turned to look at Gabrielle, but she didn't say anything to me. She walked over to her cousin and looked at him.

"Was this what was so important that you couldn't come back for the function yesterday." She asked but didn't wait for a reply from him. She turned and walked back to the table.

I sighed in relief.

I had expected the meeting to be much worse than this.

So far, so good.

"How is the construction of the drive-in cinema going?" Alexander asked when everyone had settled down to eat. There was a lot of meal courses on the table but I had no appetite to eat. Not with they were staring at me.

"The drive-in cinema is quite spectacular. It will add a lot of bubble to St Louis City. People would go there to ralax and see a movie after the day's struggles." Christian answered.

His family members were beginning to talk about the work he had gone to see in St Louis and contracts he had signed. 

"I actually see no reason for a drive-in cinema. People should go home after a tiring day, don't you think?" Lucy asked them at the table.

Alexander scoffed arrogantly, not hiding the fact that his wife knew nothing about business.

"It's not just for after work woman." He said. "People can go there on dates. It would give couples the opportunity to do whatever they wanted, without the need to hide from the stares of people." He added and grinned at Gabrielle and her father.

This was how a dinner of a rich family was. Talks of business, business balls and activities. There wasn't much on personal life.

"So Belle". Gabrielle suddenly called my name after she had squeezed Lucy's hand after the embarrassment and I turned to look at her.

"What have you been doing for the past five years?" She asked "Did you complete your education?"

"No." I said immediately without thinking about it. I knew she wasn't asking because she cared. She just wanted to remind everyone at the table how unfortunate I was.

"I wasn't able to complete it. My parents had no money and their death didn't give me much to live on." I replied.

"Oh. Your parents are dead." Lucy said. "Was that why you were back? Because you have nothing on you and want to leech off my son?"

I didn't reply to her accusation. I turned to Christian to see if he was going to have my back but he didn't say anything to her.

"You don't have an answer Belle?" Alexander asked. "Surely that wasn't such a difficult question to answer." He added, a look of disgust on his face.

"Of course she wouldn't answer." This time it was Gabrielle who spoke. "Hurting people and coming back when things go south for them is common among ordinary people. They have no dignity"

"Let her be, Everyone." Christian finally spoke when he noticed that the accusations weren't about to stop on its own. I was angry that he was only cutting in now, when they had already done their damage. He was the one who asked me not to speak much, so he should be defending me from them.

"There's really no need to do whatever you all are doing" he added.

"I am mad at you Christian. I don't know how you could manage to bring Belle back into your life. How you can even bear to look at her face is beyond me." Gabrielle said forcing Christian to turn to her.

"Have you forgotten what you suffered? How you..." She continued but was cut off arrogantly by him.

"I said Let it go Gabrielle." He replied sternly, forcing Gabrielle to look at him. "You don't have to like her. She's my wife and that's that." 

"Do you know how many times you've told us that she's your wife?" Gabrielle asked, using a table serviette to clean the side of her lips. It's almost as if you are also trying to convince yourself that she is, indeed your wife." She added.

"Gabrielle!" Christian screamed her name, making his mother jerk in shock at the tone.

Gabrielle stood up from where she sat and dropped the serviette on the table. Then, she turned and walked out of the room.

Lucy turned to Christian.

"You never speak to her like that Christian." She said, reminding Christian of how soft he usually was towards his cousin. Even I, was shocked at the way he screamed at her.

"I speak to anyone the way I see fit mother." Christian defended with no atom of remorse.

"Yes, you do. But not to Gabrielle. This girl is back to change your life and you are allowing her to." Lucy continued to push on her narrative.

I had heard enough. I needed air to breathe. The accusations were pouring in from different corners and it was sickening. I excused myself and went into the bathroom.

It was a large area so I had the opportunity of sitting down and shutting the door. I took out my phone from my purse and called Bernard.

"Belle." He said immediately he answered the call. That was his signature response. He was always a quick person.

"I can't Bernard. It's suffocating." I said immediately, without any introduction.

"What is suffocating Belle?" From his tone, I knew he had stopped whatever he was doing to talk to me.

"Christian, his family, this whole marriage arrangement. It's suffocating." I said, closing my eyes, trying my best not to cry.

"I told you it wasn't going to be easy. You shouldn't have agreed to this nonsense, it doesn't make sense. We would have figured out other ways to save the house."

"I just..... I...." I was trying to speak, the words were just not forming in my mouth.

"Take a deep breath baby." He said calmly. "Breathe."

I took three successive breathe-ins and outs.

"You are fine". Bernard said when he was sure that I was done.

"I still don't know the real reason why I had accepted. What if I had accepted because I was still partly in love with him?" I asked as the realization that I badly wanted Christian began to hit me even though I truly didn't want his family back in my life.

"Belle...." Bernard called but I continued.

"He won't look at me. I disgust him Bernard. The whole marriage is just an agreement for him." I said calmly.

"That's what it should also be for you, Belle. A contract. You need to remind yourself that your marriage was a contract. That's the only way you can be able to endure it." Bernard reminded me.

"His family hates me and I'm so scared. It's suffocating." I said again.

"I'm so sorry that you are going through this B. I am. I wish I can do something for you right now." He said his voice filled with pity.

I took three deep breaths again to steady myself.

"I'm fine." I called out after about a minute.

"Of course, you're fine. You're Belle." He said and I smiled. 

Of course I was Belle and Belle endured everything. 

When I ended the call with Bernard, I felt a little better. I needed to see through the night till it's end and go back to the house I and Christian shared. The house where I had to deal with only hatred from Christian and not his entire family.

I had known they weren't going to accept me even before signing the contract. The reason I was hurt from it was beyond me. They were accusing me with a straight face, as if they weren't the main reason I had walked out from Christian five years ago. It was disheartening.

I washed my hands and left the toilet. Immediately I opened the door of the main bathroom, I halted at the sight of Lucy; Christian's mother who was possibly waiting to speak to me.

I arranged my composure and opened my mouth to speak.

"Mrs Lucy, I........"

The slap came hard upon my face, I had to hold the edge of the door to steady myself from falling.

"You gold-digger!" She called.