Chapter 4

Emily's POV;

I came to my house to give the contract copy to Father and mother. When I entered, I saw my mother and father sitting on a couch and talking to each other. I walked to them and stood in front of them.

Father, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be..."

Before he finished, I gave the copy of the contract and said, "Mr Hamilton asked me to hand over this to you, father."

He received the contract paper and looked at me with a confused and doubtful look.

I continued, "There's a lot of questions bolting inside my head since I got this from Mr Hamilton. And, I know I can't get answers to any of them. But there's been one which makes me ask you so bad. Can I ask?"

He looked at mom who was beside him and gave a nod to me, asking me to continue.

"Why did you adopt me, father? I haven't seen you and mom happy ever since I stepped into this house. And I never asked why. I don't know what made you pick me among the children in the orphanage but I was so happy that I got adopted. Thank you for providing me a house to stay and sending me to school. I didn't do anything which made you guys happy so far but I'm feeling happy now because through this wedding, I can be useful to you in some way."

Mother, "We planned to say this to you before the marriage but..."

"Please, mom." I took a breath and said, "I cried a lot since I received this from Mr Hamilton, I controlled myself not to cry before coming here. So, don't make me. Whatever reason you may have to make me marry that guy, but the only reason I married that person was I thought you'll be happy that I agreed to your decision. I'm a stupid to think that, right? Did you raise me to sell me off? Was that your intention from the beginning?"

Father stood up and said, "Leave my house. I don't want anyone whining inside my house unnecessarily."

"Sorry, Father." And I walked out of the house.

After a while, I came to Mr Hamilton's house.

When I stepped in, I saw Mr Hamilton sitting on the couch and reading a book in a fancy suit.

I walked to him and asked, "Do you have a minute, Mr Hamilton?"

He gave a nod and kept his book aside and said, "It's George."

I apologised and continued, "I'm thinking of continuing college. I have a scholarship which I don't want to lose. What are your thoughts about it? Can I go to college?"

"If you want to go, you can."

"Father said I shouldn't continue my…"

Mr Hamilton stood up from the couch and said, "You don't have to ask permission from me about everything. And, where did you go this morning? You weren't in bed when I woke up."

"I went to see my father to give the contract copy to him."

He gave a nod and called out Henry and said, "Ask her if she had breakfast, if she didn't give her. I'm leaving for the office." And walked out of the house.

Henry took the book from the couch and placed it on the table and asked me, "Did you have breakfast?"

I shook my head and said, "No."

"Come with me."

While I was walking after Henry, I asked, "Was he waiting for me?"

"Yes. He got worried that you weren't in the house this morning and asked us to look for you everywhere."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you before leaving."

"It's fine. Come and have a seat." He said while pulling a chair for me at the dining table.

I took a seat and waited for the food. Henry kept a plate of salad and said, "I don't know what you'll eat so the cook prepared the breakfast like how he does for Mr Hamilton. If you tell me your preference, I'll let him know and make him prepare the food to your liking."

I took a peek at the kitchen and asked, "Where's the cook?"

"He'll leave once he's done with his work."

"How many people are working here? I haven't seen many people around here since I came."

"Mr Hamilton doesn't like many people working in the house so the maids and butlers work here only on weekends. The cook leaves once he finishes cooking. The one who you can see everyday will be me and Keith, the driver of Mr Hamilton. Other than us, there'll be no one in the house on weekdays."

I gave a nod and continued eating.

He continued, "If you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Which college are you studying at?"

"ABC college, 3rd year arts."

"Ok, continue eating." He gave me a smile and said, "Call me if you want anything." And he walked away from the dining table.

I gave a nod and continued eating the salad in front of me. It tasted delicious to my surprise because I don't like eating raw vegetables. But the salad in front of me doesn't give me a raw smell or taste. It was more like half cooked, but still crunchy and it gave a nice aromatic and the way they cooked was really nice.

After I finished the salad, I took the plate and walked to the kitchen. When I entered, I felt like I stepped into some expensive restaurant kitchen. It was glittering with the silver colour cabinets and vessels. I couldn't keep the plate from being dirty because it would ruin the look of the kitchen so I washed it and placed it upside down for drying. I walked out of the kitchen after looking at everything in awe.

The silence inside the house made me a little bit afraid so I came out of the house and saw Henry talking to someone. I think that person is the one who Henry mentioned as Keith. I walked to them.

After seeing me, Henry said while pointing to the person he was talking before and said, "He's Keith. I told him about your college address. He'll take you to college everyday."

Keith, "Good morning, Mrs Hamilton."

After I greeted Keith, I turned to Henry and said, "I always take the bus to college so I'll go in the bus."

Henry said, "Sorry, mam. I can't allow you to do that. Mr Hamilton asked me to send you in a car safely."

Keith, "You can put your trust on me, Mrs Hamilton."

I nodded at them and headed to the garden which I saw through Mr Hamilton's room.

When I entered the garden, it gave off a refreshing smell from the plants around me. As I walked further, I saw so many different kinds of flowers blooming in their pots. I squatted down and sniffed their smell and looked at the full flowers which surrounded me. While I was admiring the beauty of the flowers, there stood a fountain in the middle of the garden like a king. I walked to the fountain and passed my hand through the water which was flowing from the top of the fountain. It felt chilly when it touched my hand. When I looked at my hand, I saw the wedding ring on my finger.

I sat beside the fountain and looked around the garden, the enormous castle-like house and the yard surrounding the house made me feel as if I'm inside a fairytale world. I looked at the wedding ring and thought, 'It would be so much better if this is a fairytale world since there'll always be a happy ending in it.'