Chapter 15

It was late at night. Fia went into bed despite how unwell she was feeling. She didn’t know why her lower belly was in discomfort.

Suddenly, she woke up and she could feel some warmth flowing out from inside of her.

She gave it a count and realized that her period was about half a month late. Ever since she started taking the medicine two years ago, her period had never gone according to schedule.

“Is it my period?”

She mumbled to herself as she got out of bed. She felt a different kind of pain in her lower abdomen from the usual pain she felt when she had her period.

She then remembered the needle therapy that she went through earlier, and so blamed her pain on the treatment. She changed her underwear and wore a pad before going back to bed.

Several minutes later, she looked at the lamp on the ceiling and couldn’t fall back to sleep no matter how hard she tried.

She looked at the time using her mobile.

It was two in the morning.

He was not home yet.

Did… Did he really go to Esme?

After being married to him for three years, she knew that he was not someone patient when it came to fulfilling his biological needs. Even if he didn’t love her, she would do what he wanted for him.

There were a lot of places in this mansion where there were marks of him making love to her.

And when the thought of him and Esme…

When the thought…

She didn’t want to think about it, but her thoughts were out of her control.

“Ah!” Fia screamed as she covered her head. Her heart was thumping in distress as her body shook uncontrollably.

She grinded her teeth together as she grabbed the edge of the blanket and stuffed it into her mouth. She chomped it to the point that her veins were popping, and her tears dampened the pillow.

After a long while, she finally let go when her body was out of strength and she was covered in sweat.

“Conrad… if possible… I’d rather you didn’t help me. I’d rather you didn’t become my big brother.”

Then, she wouldn’t have fallen in love with him that easily when she lacked love. After loving him for so many years, her love still was not reciprocated even though she sacrificed her own freedom for him.

The door was suddenly pushed open as the man walked into the room with cold air from outside.

Fia raised her head, surprised.

She thought that he wouldn’t come back.

Conrad gave her a cold look and went to shower after he took his pajamas. After he was done, he pulled the blanket over himself too.

Several minutes later, he said in an impatient tone, “Don’t tell Mrs. Taylor to call me again and again next time!”

She had never asked Mrs. Taylor to call him. She never thought that Mrs. Taylor would call him back home.

“Do you know that Esme is raising hell at home because Grandmother Thea is forcing her to get married?” The man asked in a serious tone.

Fia pulled the blanket again and answered dispassionately, “It has nothing to do with me.”

Suddenly, the man rolled over and put himself over her. One of his hands was on her collarbone as he gazed at her.

There was disgust in Conrad’s expression. “I always thought you were a kind woman during the three years that we've been married. Only now do I realize how manipulative you are! Despite saying that you’ll agree to the divorce, you asked your mom and your grandmother to help with dealing with Esme instead!”

“Is that how you view me?” Fia asked in a whisper as she took in a deep breath, trying her best to suppress the pain in her chest.

“I was originally planning to delay the divorce because your mom had terminal cancer. But seeing that this is how you deal with Esme, I don’t want to wait anymore!”

Fia’s coolness once again cracked as her breathing became tumultuous and her chest heaved.

Before she could say a word, the man lowered himself and kissed her lips before saying, “We’re husband and wife, after all. Don’t force me to abandon you completely!”

“Don’t touch me!” She screamed as she pushed him away, but he simply caught her wrist and held it above her.

Meanwhile, his other hand grabbed her collar as he said, “Since you don’t want to divorce, you’ll have to fulfill a wife’s obligation!”

Fia couldn’t breathe as he choked her because he was holding her collar. She pushed him away as best she could.

“I’m on my period!”

Conrad was stunned.

“Get off of me, you animal!” She pulled the blanket and covered herself as she trembled. It was both out of anger and sadness.

Conrad got up, obviously very agitated from it all.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you’re on your period.”

A thought suddenly crossed her mind. He came back after only three hours, and he still wanted her. Which meant that he didn’t sleep with Esme.

With that in mind, she was feeling much better.

Conrad cleaned himself up before leaving the bathroom. When he saw that Fia was still covering herself and hiding inside the blanket, it reminded him of how she would always look dispirited a few days before her period came. Sometimes she would even complain about having a stomachache.

“Are you feeling unwell?

“Do you want to see a doctor?”

She didn’t respond to him and simply hid inside the blanket to lick her wounds.

“Get up.” He pulled the blanket away and was about to grab her arm.

She moved away in shock like a wolf cub that had been injured. “Don’t touch me!”

Conrad frowned and said, “I’ll take you to the doctor.”

“No, thanks!”

The atmosphere was tense for a few seconds. Conrad didn’t push the issue and simply laid on the bed and closed his eyes.

The next day, Fia opened her eyes with heavy eyebags and saw Conrad’s face right opposite hers.

When she realized she was in his arms, she quickly moved away. However, her movement was too sudden, and she woke him up.

“Sorry for waking you up.”

The moment she said that, she immediately wanted to slap herself. That was because it had become a habit of hers.

She would always apologize for waking him up every time.

When she remembered how the man had hurt her lately, Fia gave him a blank face as she got out of bed, grabbed her clothes, and went to the bathroom for a shower.

She was still experiencing the sinking sensation in her lower abdomen and there was less blood compared to her usual period. However, she didn’t think much about it. Every woman hated it. They would be much more comfortable without it.

After she was done showering, Conrad was no longer in the bedroom. She put on some makeup to cover her eye bags so that her mom and grandma would not worry about her.

“Good morning, madam. Mr. Maxwell had just gone to the dining room. You should go have breakfast soon too.”

“Where’s my mom and grandma?”

“The driver and butler from the Lawsons are here. Mrs. Thea and Ms. Echo went out, saying that they would be back by evening.”

Fia was surprised. “Why didn’t they let me know and take me along?”

Mrs. Taylor said with a smile, “Maybe because they wanted to have some time alone and didn’t want to be disturbed.”

“Of course,” Fia answered. She then thought that after she got married, she rarely had the chance to cook for her mom. “I’ll handle the dinner. I’ll go get some groceries in the afternoon.”

Mrs. Taylor went silent for a moment before asking, “Then will you still be going to the acupuncture session that Mrs. Maxwell had arranged?”

“No. I’m having my period so that won’t do.” Fia was worried that Mrs. Taylor was going to get scolded too, so she gave her a suggestion. “If she calls you asking about it, just say that you did.”

In truth, Mrs. Taylor didn’t find the needle therapy to be an agreeable method. How painful it must be to have all those needles pierced into your flesh. Fia was already suffering from taking the medicine, so Mrs. Taylor agreed to her suggestion.

In the dining room, Conrad was having his breakfast when he saw Fia walk in. He then habitually greeted her, saying, “There are the sunny-side-ups that you like.”

Fia glanced at the dining table and simply sat down to have her breakfast. She didn’t acknowledge him at all.

After Conrad had finished his breakfast and put down his silverware, he said to her in a frigid tone as he laid his elbows on the table, “I hope you can convince Grandmother Thea to give up on forcing Esme into a marriage. Don’t force her.”

“She’s your childhood friend and old flame, not mine. If you find it to be too painful, you can ask Grandma about it.”

“Fia!”

Fia had only taken a few bites before she put her fork down and prepared to head out. The subject he brought up really made her lose her appetite.

“Where are you going?”

Conrad chased after her as she left the mansion.

Fia moved away to avoid his hand. “To the hospital to get my mother’s reports.”

Conrad swallowed what he wanted to say originally and instead said, “I’ll take you.”

“No, thanks. I don’t want to hear a word about Esme Manning from you!”