Charlotte sat at the table, leaving two seats between her and the guests. Being the only one on her side, she indulged freely in the food she took, while Elijah sat next to her.
"Eat properly, Charlotte."She paused, glancing at her plate. Everything was neatly arranged, but she had a small appetite and wasn't particularly hungry."I'm eating fine, Elijah."He pointed to a drop of sauce on the tablecloth. "Is that fine? No, Charlotte. If you're going to eat, do it properly."Raising an eyebrow, she looked at the small stain on the fabric. His attention to detail was impressive; despite her plate being covered, he still noticed.She pulled her plate closer, ensuring no food fell, and continued eating."We both agreed that no one would know we're married, right?" She nodded, still chewing. "That night was before our wedding."She stopped eating. "This is the first time we've talked alone. I'm sorry for that night, Charlotte. I don't know what came over me."She could never forget what he did, especially when he punched her in the stomach. Elijah was a different person that night, and the memory haunted her."We got married because of that, Elijah. We don't love each other. Your actions bound us together without love. You can do what you want, and so will I. Let's continue living separate lives as if we're not married. After all, we're only married because of your mistakes."She resumed eating, and Elijah remained silent until she finished. Leaning back in her chair, she removed the hairpin from her hair."Charlotte, you and Elijah, go to the center. Dance—a romantic dance," her mother said as she approached their table."A romantic dance, how?" she asked.Her mother smiled. "Like this, dear. Elijah, come here first." Elijah stood up and followed her mom's instructions. "Place your hand, Charlotte, on your spouse's shoulder while he holds your waist, then just sway slowly. We have a gift for you while you dance.""Is that necessary? Why not just give us the gift without dancing, Mom?" she suggested.Her mother's eyes widened slightly. "That's not possible, dear. Even if you only had a civil wedding, you still have a celebration, like dancing in the middle. You didn't even cut the cake to feed each other. Are you not going to dance?"She bowed her head slightly and closed her eyes. It seemed her mother forgot that their marriage was forced because of what happened, yet insisting on these things felt like guilt-tripping."No, Mom. It's a waste of time."Her mother's enthusiasm faded, so she avoided her gaze. She was surprised when Elijah pulled her toward the center of the living room. As she furrowed her brow, she looked at Elijah, who had a serious expression."What are you doing?""Dancing.""But I don't want to. Why did you bring me here?"He glanced at her mom, who was smiling while looking at them, and other family members stood beside her to watch.Elijah placed both her hands on his shoulders, while his hands were around her waist. Music filled the room. She didn't move, and neither did Elijah."Sway, you two!" her mom shouted.She secretly grimaced, but she felt Elijah slowly starting to move, so she followed. Her family gathered around, and as they swayed slowly, some of them pinned money to their clothes. She glanced at the money pinned near her shoulder, all in denominations.It was something she often saw in wealthy families, so it felt normal to her since she could handle it, but it was different this time. Those were gifts because she was now Elijah's wife.Elijah paused and looked at her. "If you want to hurt me, just punch or slap me.""Huh?"He bent down, so she followed his gaze downward. She was surprised to realize she had stepped on Elijah's shoe; nearly half of her shoe's sole was on top of his. It didn't have heels, but the whole shoe was heavy, so it was painful."Sorry, I didn't notice."He just smirked before refocusing on their dance.Her mother approached, pinning money to their clothes. After her mother finished, she suddenly held their backs tightly, forcing them closer, almost as if they were about to embrace each other."Mom!"She looked at both Elijah and her. "Come on, this is a one-time thing; be sweet."She closed her eyes at her mom's playfulness."Okay, Mom," Elijah replied.She furrowed her brow at Elijah's response, but she was even more surprised when he pulled her closer."Just pretend, Charlotte."They continued to dance slowly, with Elijah holding her tightly, her hands still on top, while Elijah's hands were clasped around her waist at the back."Move; you look like a stick," he teased.She reluctantly followed his movements. With the heavy cloth draped over her, it felt like a burden.When the two songs ended and the money-pinning was done, they sat down. While removing the money pinned to her, she counted secretly, and her eyes widened slightly, seeing that the cloak placed on her was worth one hundred thousand pesos, aside from the others pinned around her waist, which were made like a skirt."Here, put this aside."Elijah suddenly placed the money on the table in front of her. It was thick. Their families were generous.She shifted her attention to the sweet dessert prepared by one of the helpers. It was creme caramel, so she gave Elijah the money-covered cloak."For you to have a purpose, remove these one by one from the plastic.""What? In front of our family?""Yes, is that a problem?""Yes, you could've done it later and quietly. Not now, Charlotte."With the wealth they had, he didn't mind the money. Elijah could take care of it; she could set it aside for the future. She took the money again and placed it on the other seat.She'd eat the creme caramel first; she rarely had a chance to eat it, only during big occasions at her parents' house. She noticed her brother looking at them; he smiled at her, but when he looked at Elijah, the smile disappeared. She then looked at Elijah, who was also staring at her brother.Elijah’s POVAs he sat quietly, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the side of his stomach. He looked over at Charlotte, who was staring blankly at his abdomen."What are you doing, and why are you moving around so much?" he asked.Charlotte held up the money she was trying to count."I told you to focus on that later. Why are you so restless?""I have nothing else to do, so I started counting the money, and I've finished eating.""Aren't you ashamed of what you're doing? You look like you're counting money."Charlotte stopped what she was doing and turned to face him, wearing a serious expression on her face. "I'm starting this now because I have classes tomorrow," she explained."But you had time the other day," he pointed out."I have somewhere to go that day," Charlotte replied.He raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?""Just to see a friend," Charlotte reassured him."Are you sure?" he asked skeptically."Yes," Charlotte replied, ignoring his doubts and continuing to separate th
Elijah's POVAfter staring at what he was reading for a long time, he blinked multiple times. He glanced at the clock, which was already eleven at night, but he didn't hear anyone trying to open the door. He put down the papers he was holding, as well as his eyeglasses, and stepped out of the room. It was obvious to him that his household staff were already asleep in the house, and the downstairs appeared clean when he peeked.He went to the adjacent room, slowly opening it and peeking inside, but Charlotte wasn't there, nor was she in the third room.Where could she have gone again?He descended the stairs and checked the entire house, but Charlotte was nowhere to be found. He was about to go to the servants' quarters to see if she was there, but he refrained, not wanting to disturb them. Now he stood in the middle of the living room, contemplating, but when his gaze drifted to the row of car keys, one was missing.He approached and looked at the keys. Would Charlotte be capable of d
Charlotte's POVShe stayed in Elijah's room after he left. She had a terrifying dream where Elijah's actions replayed in her room. It felt like she was back in her room while Elijah was doing something. She was even more scared when she woke up in the position he had left her in earlier while trying to wake her up. Perhaps it was because she was lying next to Elijah and she didn't realize that he had already carried her into the house and placed her inside the car. She glanced at the clock, it was already six in the morning.She stood up and looked at what she was wearing. She hadn't changed clothes, so she wondered why she was still lying in Elijah's bed, especially since he didn't like dirt or changing clothes.Surely, the bedsheet, blanket, and pillowcases would be changed later.She went to the bathroom to look for an unused toothbrush. She opened the cabinet above and found one. She took it out of the plastic wrapping brushed her teeth and washed her face. Then she went out with
Charlotte's POVShe went upstairs to ask Elijah about clothes. She just opened the door without knocking. She didn't see Elijah inside, he seemed to be in the bathroom, so she went to the closet to see if there was anything that would fit her, she would figure out the styling later.She opened two cabinets, but none of them had anything suitable for her. Only the last cabinet was left unopened, maybe there would be something, so she opened it but frowned because all the clothes hanging and folded at the bottom were women's clothes.Why are there women's clothes here?The bathroom door opened, so she looked. She looked away from Elijah because he was only wearing a towel around his lower body."Why are you poking around in that cabinet?""I just wanted to see if any of your clothes would fit me, but in this last cabinet of yours, why are there only women's clothes?"Elijah approached her, so she slightly moved away from the cabinet."These belong to my sister, whenever she stays here."
Charlotte's POVShe stepped out of the room and walked out of the house. Elijah was already inside the car, waiting for her to get in."Where are you meeting your friends?""At my friend's house."She noticed Elijah's eyes squint slightly. Maybe his vision is getting blurry."Which friend?""Mary."He nodded and started the car. She wondered why, with so many cars, Elijah only used one when going to their house. There were a lot of cars parked inside the yard, why weren't they used?"Do you know how to drive a car?" Elijah asked."No.""But you know how to start it?""I've seen my dad and brother do it.""Did you know what you did last night while you were asleep in the car is dangerous? Even if the car is running, there's a tendency to run out of gas. What if it runs out? The engine will die, and there won't be any air inside. Don't do it again, Charlotte."She didn'
Elijah's POVHe was standing in front of his house, waiting for Charlotte, it was already five o'clock, and she still hadn't arrived. On the first day of their agreement, it seemed like she was already breaking it.When six o'clock struck, he decided to go and pick her up. He knew where Charlotte's friend's house was because he had followed the tricycle she rode earlier before finally leaving the area.He stood outside, arms crossed, as he watched the gate. Suddenly, a woman who seemed intoxicated stumbled into his yard.He quickly walked over to Charlotte. "Good thing you didn't break our agreement right from the start." She didn't respond, just kept her head down, but her stance was unsteady."Charlotte.""Hmmp.."Something was off about her. He lifted her chin to meet her gaze. Her eyes were glassy as she looked at him."Are you drunk?"Charlotte furrowed her brow. "N-No..."He brought his n
Elijah's POVAs he was waiting for his maid to finish cooking, he went into his room to retrieve some medicine. He always kept medicine in his room due to the sudden illnesses that he would often experience as a result of working long hours.After collecting the medicine, he returned to Charlotte's room. She was wide awake and looking around."Take this medicine after you eat." He placed the medicine on the table beside the bed."Where am I?"He raised an eyebrow, noticing her reaction to the room."In your room.""My room?" She looked at him in confusion."Yes, this is your room now.""Meaning, this is the room next to your room?" She nodded. "I thought I'd be sleeping in your room.""I thought you didn't want to be near me? So, why ask?""I mean, didn't you want to make it easier in case our families called?"He sighed. "Perhaps you would prefer to have your room if you do n
Charlotte's POVShe blinked when someone held her hand, slightly turning to Elijah, who was wiping her arm. It made her ponder what he said earlier. Why did she choose marriage over putting Elijah in jail? What exactly crossed her mind when she chose marriage? Was it just a sudden decision, or does she not have the heart to put him in jail even though he harmed her? Was it because she was raised by her parents to be good, so she couldn't seek revenge against those who wronged her? Did she let her soft heart prevail, leading her to marry him with no turning back? If she were to be asked, it would be fine if she and Elijah didn't get married, and she wouldn't want to see him in jail either, but her parents didn't want that; she was touched, so they said Elijah had to take responsibility for her.She gazed at Elijah's face as he reached out to wipe one of her arms. Even without a smile, he was quite handsome, with a smooth complexion and no visible blemishes. However,