Jacob noticed the moment Isabelle noticed his brooch and frowned. He looked down at the pricey jewellery and smiled.
“Do you like it?” He leaned in, getting closer to her ear. Lowering his voice, he whispered, “It’s actually a replica of an artifact. One of my friends presented it to me.”
She nodded and pulled back, her face flushing. “Yeah, uh, it looks real,” she said, pulling her hand from his arm and stepping away.
He was happy his little lie had worked–otherwise, how would he explain wearing a priceless master-designed brooch when he was trying to pass off as a nobody? But he was also confused as his bride withdrew from him, as if suddenly shy of their closeness.
Mh. Was she putting up a show? According to his source, the eldest daughter of the Cruz family was anything but demure. He had expected to meet a bold seductress. But his bride seemed to be doing her best to avoid his gaze, and now, she was putting physical distance between them.
Before he could think of a way to draw her from her shell, the woman who had attempted to waylay him appeared, a man in tow.
“Hello, Jacob,” she greeted him, a tight smile on her lips. “I’m Naomi, Isabelle’s sister. This is Raymond, my boyfriend.”
Jacob appraised her casually. Now, this was the kind of reaction he had expected to get from the eldest daughter of the Cruz family. A woman who looked at him with apparent desire in her eyes. Not one who blushed so easily and avoided his eyes.
But, wasn’t she being a little too obvious in front of her sister? Not to mention she was with her boyfriend.
Jacob gave a cursory glance at his bride, only to find that her expression had changed. Her flustered look was gone, and now, she was staring at the two with a closed-off attitude. Did she not like them?
Raymond turned his attention to Isabelle, looking a bit squeamish. “Isabelle…uh, you look beautiful.”
Jacob caught a slight tightening in Isabelle’s jaw as if she was grinding her teeth. When she didn’t pay attention to him, Raymond stepped back to Naomi’s side.
“I heard that you’re jobless. It must have cost a lot to hire that suit. But don’t worry, since we are going to be family now, my boyfriend can offer you a job at his company,” Naomi told him before turning to Raymond. “Right, babe?”
Isabelle bristled at her sister’s shamelessness. How dare she say something like that? She looked towards Jacob, afraid that Naomi’s attitude had offended him.
She was surprised to find him regarding the two with a slight lift of his mouth, not looking offended at all. In fact, he looked more amused than anything. What came out of his mouth surprised her even more.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather be an idler than work for you.”
Naomi huffed, turning her nose up in the air. “So much pride. Are you planning on living on my sister’s money?”
Isabelle stepped forward and got in her sister’s face. “That’s enough, Naomi. We’d like to begin the ceremony now.”
Naomi scoffed but still stepped back. “Good luck with your pauper,” she said as she dragged Raymond with her towards the exit.
Isabelle was happy to see them go. The day was already unpleasant enough without having to see their faces.
With Naomi gone, the ceremony started and proceeded smoothly. Nobody from Jacob’s family showed up, but Isabelle decided that was a non-issue. What mattered was that the agreement between the two families was now fulfilled.
After bidding farewell to their guests, it was finally time for Jacob to bring Isabelle to their new home.
Jacob was relieved the ceremony was over. Now, all that remained was to take his bride home to show her the kind of life she was about to begin living. If he was lucky, she would cancel the marriage as soon as possible and set him free. That way, he would have fulfilled his mother’s last wish to marry the eldest daughter of the Cruz family. It wouldn’t be on him if she hated his lifestyle and divorced him…
According to what he had heard about the Cruz’s eldest daughter, she would probably not even want to spend a night in the small house he had prepared.
So when his new wife walked into the small, old house and told him that it looked nice, he was caught by surprise. While it was a tidy house, it was like a studio apartment–everything from the bedroom to the living room and the kitchen was all arranged together. The Cruzs lived in a huge mansion. How could she be so calm about the arrangement?
As Isabelle looked around her new home, she thought that it was inconvenient. She had hoped to have a separate bedroom from her new husband, but it seemed as if that wasn’t an option. There was one room and one bed.
In fact, it looked so much like the servants’ quarters tucked away at the back of the compound of her family’s compound. Practical, but nothing luxurious about it.
But at least it looked nice. While it was a far cry from her adoptive family’s mansion, it looked homely and tidy enough. The size wasn’t an issue to her. Before Francis and Lucy adopted her, she had lived at the orphanage, sharing a dorm with many other girls. She had learned from a young age to be thankful for having a roof over her head. Not many orphans were as lucky.
The one bed…that was the real issue. There wasn’t even any extra space where she could move in an extra bed for herself. Her eyes landed on the three-seater sofa in the house. She could fit there, right?
While his new bride took in her new home, Jacob moved to the bed and removed his jacket. Maybe she was okay with the house, but had she thought about the mechanics of the entire arrangement? There wasn’t much privacy in the room. They would be sharing a bed, a bathroom, and everything else.
Would she be able to maintain her cool if he undressed in front of her?
As he reached for his tie, he turned around to face her. She was beautiful, that much was clear. Her black hair was gathered at the top of her head in some kind of fancy bun. A few strands at the front were untamed, framing her round face. She was actually kind of cute too…
He shook his head at that thought. Cute? God, how mushy.
Besides, he didn’t care whether she was cute, hot, or plain ugly. He wasn’t planning on staying married to her for long.
He saw the moment her eyes reverted to him as he unbuttoned his shirt. She blushed instantly and turned away, muttering apologies.
Jacob smirked, finding her reaction amusing. She faced the wall and even brought her hands up to cover her eyes.
They were going to be sharing this house from today onwards. Was that how she was going to react any time he changed? She was bound to see his naked body at some point.
“Would you like to take a shower first?” he asked her.
A shower? Isabelle looked towards the bathroom. It was the only private place in the house. It at least solved one of her problems. She would never have to change in his presence. She wished he did her the same courtesy and stopped undressing in front of her. “Yes,” she said, nodding. Still keeping her gaze from him, she walked towards where her suitcases were sitting. Opening one, she looked for a towel and a change of clothes. Then, without another word to him or a glance towards his side, she hurried towards the bathroom, opened the door, and disappeared inside. The bathroom was not as spacious as the one back home, but it had enough space for a shower, the toilet, and counter space. There was no bathtub, but that was fine. She could live without those relaxing herbal baths she had gotten used to at her family home. A small price to pay, she decided. Looking at herself in the mirror, she cursed softly. Her face was still covered in all the makeup she had worn for the wedding.
Isabelle’s heart hammered away in her chest. Why was he suddenly asking that? Had she said something to give herself away? If he found out the truth and cancelled the marriage… No! She couldn’t let that happen. If he discovered her family’s deceit, her parents would no longer cater for Hannah’s treatment. “Of course I am,” she replied, crossing her arms across her chest. “Why would you ask that?” He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his eyes narrowed as he continued to stare at her. It made her even more uneasy. “You are the Garcias' eldest son, right?” she asked, attempting to shift the attention from her to him. Jacob shoved his hands in his trouser pockets and rocked on his feet. “I am.” She nodded. “Well then, it’s all good, right?” Was it? Jacob wondered as he studied Isabelle. Knowing that he was going to marry a strange woman to fulfil his mother’s wish, he sent someone to investigate the eldest daughter of the Cruzes. He had needed to know about her so he could figur
Isabelle’s face burned red at Jacob’s words and proximity. Why was he suddenly acting this way? She had already made it clear she wasn’t going to share the bed with him, let alone sleep with him! He must be teasing her!His lips so close to her ear, he whispered, “What do you think?”What did she think? She couldn’t think, for one. The only thing she knew was that she needed to get out of that situation…Quickly, she ducked under one of his arms and sprinted across the room to the bathroom. She didn’t care how she looked like running away. She would deal with the embarrassment the next day. Now, all she had to do was remain in the bathroom until he went to sleep and she could slip back into the room.Heaving a sigh, she walked to the mirror and took in her appearance. Her face was a raw shade of red, and when she touched her fingers to it, she felt how hot it was. Whenever was she going to stop having such a reaction to him?When Jacob woke up the next day, the first thing that regist
When Jacob got to his new in-laws house, he didn’t expect to be welcomed by the sight of his wife all but being thrown out of the house.As Isabelle stumbled onto the porch, he reached forward quickly and caught her arms, steadying her. “What’s going on?” he demanded, taking in her face. Her face was flushed, her lips pursed, while her eyes were teary and red.“Nothing,” she muttered, turning her face away from him and freeing herself from his grip. “What are you doing here?”Jacob looked towards the open door, where Isabelle’s sister had been standing a few seconds ago. Turning around, he spotted Kevin who was carrying several shopping bags. “Kevin, bring them into the house,” he told him.“Okay, boss,” Kevin agreed and walked past the couple into the house.“What is that?” Isabelle asked as she looked closely at the bags Kevin was carrying.“Gifts for my new in-laws,” Jacob answered, and then reached for her hand. “Come on, let’s go inside.”As Isabelle went back into the house in J
Isabelle was taking in the spectacle unfolding before her when Jacob took her hand and led her towards the front door. Of all the ways she had expected Jacob’s visit to go, that was definitely not one of them. She could still hear her mother and sister’s grumbling as the door closed behind them.Jacob kept his hold on her hand all the way to the front of the house. When he let go, he came to a stop and regarded her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to your parents’ house?”She looked towards the door, half-expecting her mother to appear with more flattering words for Jacob. While she did, she jogged her brain for an excuse to give Jacob. It wasn’t as if she could tell him that she came to collect money that her parents had promised on account that she married him…“Isabelle?” Jacob’s voice urged.Looking away from the door, she faced him and said, “I’m sorry about that. When I left the house, I got a call from my father asking me to come by immediately. I didn’t have time to te
After settling in her new home, Isabelle had one more thing to do: find a job. The sooner, the better. She was no longer getting any money from her parents, and Jacob’s financial situation wasn’t the best.So the sooner she got a job, the better it would be for all of them. Once she found a job, maybe she could look for a new apartment to rent. While the house they were living in wasn’t exactly the worst, it was practical at best. Living with Jacob in the same room when they were only pretending to be a couple had its own share of challenges she wished to fix soon.With a good job, she could be able to afford to rent a good apartment where they could each have their own rooms. Also, once she found a job, she would have fewer things to worry about and finally focus on finding ways to raise funds for Ruth’s medical bill.She had high hopes of finding a job quickly. Just the other day, she had received a call for an interview from Larson Group, a famous design company that was renowned i
“Yeah, please do tell us,” the man sitting next to her encouraged.Ann crossed her arms across her chest and pursed her lips before saying, “I just don’t have a good feeling about her, that’s all.”“That cannot be a good reason to not hire her,” someone pointed out. “It sounds as if you have a personal grudge against her. You need to give a good reason why you don’t recommend her for the position.”“I do not have a personal grudge against her,” Ann claimed firmly. “But yes, I know her from school. We were classmates. That’s why I know she might not be the kind of person we want in this company.”“What kind of student was she?”“The kind that cheats on exams,” Ann said. “Look, I didn’t want to bring this up because I’m not sure it’s relevant now, but who knows? Maybe she hasn’t changed at all. Back then, she copied a classmate’s design and won an award with it. The other student was disqualified. I have no idea how she managed to convince the professor that she was the original design
Isabelle looked up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She eyed the pamphlet in his hands and shrugged. “Yeah.”Then she looked away again and focused on her laptop. But Jacob didn’t miss her tone, and how her face fell at his question.“And?” he urged.“I didn’t get the job.”“Oh,” he mumbled, frowning. “Can I take a look at your resume?”“Sure.”He took the document and sat back on the sofa. The more he scrutinised the document, the deeper his frown grew. From what he was seeing, it didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t pass an interview at the Larson Group.According to her resume, she was a top student at her college and even won a scholarship after winning a design contest. That aside, she had recently won a design championship. Both were enough proof that she was a brilliant upcoming designer.“Why were you rejected?” he asked after looking through her resume.“Probably because I didn’t pass the exam,” Isabelle replied. But even as she said that, she doubted it. She