Chapter 1 Stop worrying about us

Xavier gazed towards a woman holding a bouquet of flowers in

her hands. The woman slowly approached, wearing a simple white dress that clung

to her petite frame. The onlookers witnessing their wedding admired the woman's

beauty. However, Xavier showed no reaction. He just stared straight ahead with

no expression or admiration for his bride.

Until finally, the woman stopped in her tracks when she

reached the altar, where Xavier stood upright, staring at her. Even the woman

hesitated to respond to Xavier's current cold gaze. Similarly, Xavier forced

himself to reach out when he saw the woman's trembling small hand, trying to

respond to her gesture. Especially when Xavier began to grip her hand, as if

her delicate fingers could shatter with the strong grip he gave.

They then stood in front of the altar to exchange their

sacred vows, promising to be faithful to each other and to love each other

forever. Her soft voice, which sounded like whispers at times, occasionally

made Xavier shift his gaze towards the side of the woman's face who would

become his wife. Xavier didn't know why he had to deceive himself, marrying a

woman he didn't even want. This made Xavier sigh or grunt several times.

Xavier didn't even seem to focus at all while reciting their

vows; it was as if it were just a sentence he had to read aloud. Xavier's

current focus was on a woman sitting in one of the chairs as a witness to their

wedding, his first wife.

His first wife displayed a stoic expression that seemed to

conceal her sadness. This left Xavier clenching his fists as he felt powerless.

Of course, his heart was deeply wounded seeing Anita could only reluctantly

accept her husband marrying another woman.

Until they finally finished the vows they had pledged to each

other, causing Xavier to finally turn back to face the woman named Nadira, who

was now his legitimate wife. The next step to complete their marriage was to

exchange rings on their respective ring fingers.

Even for their wedding rings, it was Xavier's mother who

chose them. Xavier had no knowledge of the preparations for his wedding with

Nadira. He simply arrived and now stood in front of the altar. That's all he

did.

After the wedding rings encircled their ring fingers, Xavier

finally, for the first time, looked towards the woman who still seemed

reluctant and fearful to meet his gaze. Xavier had no other choice but to grasp

her wrist firmly and press their lips together.

Xavier didn't care if it looked rough or not overly sweet.

He just needed to end this wedding ceremony as quickly as possible because

Xavier couldn't stand staying silent and suppressing his frustration any

longer. With the kiss that Xavier gave, which was more of a mere pressing of

their lips, their wedding ceremony finally concluded. Xavier even hurriedly

stepped down from the altar and distanced himself, leaving Nadira holding the

bouquet of flowers.

Until another woman approached, extending her hand and

gently touching Nadira's face. That was the last thing Xavier saw as he left his

bride at the altar. Meanwhile, he immediately pulled Anita's hand to leave,

making Anita feel slightly uncomfortable as the other guests stared in her

direction. Her husband's wedding did not invite outsiders; only close family

and friends were present, but they still looked down on Anita.

Xavier immediately pulled his wife into his embrace,

rendering Anita silent. "Forgive me," Xavier said, and that was the

only sentence he could utter to soothe Anita's heart. Anita immediately

returned the embrace from her husband.

"Why do you have to apologize? Isn't this what I wanted

too?" replied Anita with her soft voice, causing Xavier to release his

embrace and look at his wife, who smiled gently at him. But Xavier knew that

the pain Anita was enduring at the moment couldn't be healed by anything.

Xavier then extended his hand, gently caressing Anita's face, causing her to

grip Xavier's hand tightly.

"Don't show that expression; pity your bride over

there, whom you left behind just to comfort me like this. Don't you see how

they were looking at us earlier?" Anita said, making Xavier sigh in

frustration.

"Stop worrying about what other people think. Can't you

just think about my feelings? How I stood at the altar and waited for another

woman. Can't you think about the suffocating feeling I'm experiencing right

now?" Xavier said, feeling a bit irritated by Anita's ability to remain

composed even though she witnessed her husband's wedding.

"Let it go; besides, it's all done," Anita said.

"Everything happened because you asked me to. If you

had refused their request or rebelled a little, I would always be by your side.

I would do anything to ensure you wouldn't be hurt like this. But foolishly,

you begged to hold my hand, causing my defenses to crumble against them,"

Xavier said with a raised tone, leaving Anita silent, observing how sternly her

husband must have been angered.

Xavier, who also realized that he had raised his voice at

Anita, could only roughly rub his face before gripping his wife's hand.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to shout at you. I just...

you know, none of this was ever in my life plan," Xavier said, looking at

Anita with his serious gaze.

Xavier felt confused and didn't know which words could

describe his currently chaotic emotions. All of this happened a few weeks ago

when his extended family invited Xavier and Anita for dinner. Xavier had

initially been happy, thinking that his extended family was finally accepting

Anita after a year of their marriage.

Their marriage had indeed garnered a lot of controversy,

especially from Xavier's grandmother, who vehemently opposed it. Xavier had

married Anita for love, even though it faced rejection from some members of the

extended family because Anita was an ordinary girl raised in an orphanage.

Although Anita had now built a successful career as a recognized designer, it

seemed that it wasn't enough to be considered worthy of accompanying Xavier,

the heir to the Chandrawinata Group, a large family that dominated import and

export trade.

Xavier had tried hard to prove himself with his own efforts,

such as becoming the owner of a five-star hotel chain that he had built from

scratch in several major cities. However, his efforts appeared to be

insufficient to convince his parents and grandmother. Xavier vividly remembered

how they eventually accepted Anita, on the condition that she must produce the

next heir for the Chandrawinata Group. Xavier and Anita had happily accepted

this condition.

However, their dreams turned out to be too simple, because

after one year of marriage, Anita still couldn't conceive a child. This became

a significant issue, especially for Xavier's grandmother, who decided to marry

Xavier to Nadira, a woman of her own choosing.

Xavier roughly rubbed his face, recalling his love journey

with Anita. Xavier felt incredibly guilty for not being able to make his wife

happy. He thought his love for Anita was enough, but it was still far from what

he desired. Xavier's thoughts halted when he felt a gentle touch on his stern

jaw.

"Don't we often hear the saying that we can plan, but

God determines the outcome? Let's just consider this the best plan that God has

given us," Anita said, causing Xavier to stop his hand's movement and

gently kiss her palm. Anita couldn't turn away from the man who always gave her

so much love.

"I'm truly ready to accept any punishment you might

give me. I'm willing if you might torture me, no matter how severe it might be,

because it can't possibly compare to the pain you're enduring right now,"

Xavier said, making Anita laugh with amusement.

"What if I leave you?" Anita asked, immediately

making Xavier look at her with a displeased expression. "Except for that,

I can't accept it if you want to leave me," Xavier said, making Anita

laugh again.

"Even though that's the harshest punishment I could

give you. If I were just going to give you punches or kicks, it wouldn't make

your muscular body hurt, right? You can see the difference in the size of our

fists," Anita said, teasing her husband, finally making Xavier unwillingly

display his broad smile. Xavier knew that at this moment, Anita just wanted to

divert from the heavy conversation.

"Yes, even with just a slight grip, your hand would

definitely be crushed," Xavier said, then gifted a gentle kiss on the back

of Anita's hand, making her smile at him. They didn't realize that their

conversation was secretly being observed by a woman who had just entered their

midst.

Nadira, seeing how Xavier's loving gaze was directed towards

his wife and the tender words he uttered for Anita, somehow wondered whether it

was right for her to just enter their love like that and disrupt everything.

Nadira herself didn't want something like this. How could she ruin another

woman's happiness? Nadira had just been about to leave Xavier and Anita before

they noticed her presence. However, it seemed too late when a cold voice that

pierced her small back halted Nadira's steps.

"Stop right there," Xavier said, making Nadira

close her eyes tightly. Xavier then walked slowly closer. A few moments ago,

Xavier felt like someone was watching him, although he didn't pay much

attention to it. Xavier didn't care if there might be someone else listening to

their conversation. However, when Xavier saw a faint white dress behind the tree,

he knew who had been eavesdropping on their conversation. The anger that had

dissipated a few moments ago suddenly returned, squeezing at his chest. Xavier

immediately turned and looked at Nadira, who seemed to be about to leave.

Xavier quickly held Anita's hand and walked towards Nadira, who was still

facing away from him.

"It seems you really enjoy eavesdropping on other

people's conversations," Xavier said, leaving Anita silent, observing her

husband who appeared emotional again with his stiffened jaw.

"Did you hear me?" Xavier asked again, finally

making Nadira reluctantly turn to look at Anita and Xavier with her fearful

expression.

"So, after you've listened to all our conversation,

what plans do you intend to make? Are you going to report to my grandmother or

my parents?" Xavier asked with his cold tone, making Nadira immediately

shake her head. Xavier just contemplated, seeing the innocent response on

Nadira's face that she always showed to her extended family. However, Xavier

was determined that he would never be fooled by that puppy-like, pitiful

expression.

"I won't say anything to them. I was just asked by my

grandmother to call you," Nadira replied in a soft voice that made Xavier

look at her with raised eyebrows.

"Then, why didn't you just call me and instead

eavesdropped on our conversation? Don't you know proper etiquette?" Xavier

asked, making Anita immediately grip his hand. Anita seemed to feel that Xavier

was pressing too hard on his second wife.

"Let's go. It seems we've been away from the venue for

too long, especially since this is your wedding party, right?" Anita said,

making Xavier roll his eyes lazily.

"Wedding party," Xavier mumbled, belittling

himself. "I don't consider this my party. Yes, in a movie, just consider

me as an extra," Xavier replied, looking at Nadira who remained silent.

"It's better we go back. Grandma will definitely be

angrier if we don't meet her immediately," Anita said, not wanting to pay

any more attention to Nadira. Of course, there was no reason for Anita to be

friendly with her husband's second wife. While Anita agreed to all of Xavier's

extended family's plans, it didn't mean she had to be friends with another

woman in her husband's life.

"Yes, you're right. If not, maybe this woman will cause

problems for you," Xavier said, immediately pulling Anita back inside to

continue their wedding party. Even though it was just a continuation with the

meal, Xavier still didn't want his beloved grandmother to blow a minor issue

out of proportion and dump it all on Anita.

They left Nadira behind, still silent and motionless after

the sharp words Xavier had thrown at her. Xavier didn't care, because from the

beginning, he had no plans to be gentle or accept another woman into his life

when he was still wholeheartedly in love with his wife.

Xavier's steps halted again when he heard a voice that

immediately inquired about the woman he didn't care about.

"Where's Nadira?" Nenda, Xavier's grandmother,

asked, making Xavier finally turn around.

"Why is grandma asking me? Wasn't she in this room all

this time?" Xavier said, as if he had no knowledge of Nadira's

whereabouts.

"I told her to find you earlier. And also, why did you

leave your own wedding reception? I've been seeing Nadira sitting alone without

you by her side," Nenda said, making Xavier sigh deeply.

"I had to talk to Anita for a moment," Xavier

replied, making Nenda immediately cast her cold gaze in Anita's direction, a

gaze that Anita had become very accustomed to receiving from most of Xavier's

family members.

"What? You only talked to her now? Shouldn't you be

concerned about your wife, Nadira, right now?" Nenda asked, making Xavier

return his grandmother's displeased gaze.

"Isn't Anita also my wife? I can't keep hovering around

that woman, can I?" Xavier replied.

"And that woman is now your second wife. You should be

thankful that I didn't force you to divorce Anita. So, try to be fair if you

still want to maintain your first marriage, before I impose my will

again," Nenda said. After that, she immediately walked away with the help

of her cane and her personal assistant, leaving Xavier clenching his fists. Of

course, Nenda's words could not be challenged by his family because Nenda was

the eldest pillar of the Chandrawinata family, as were Xavier's parents, who

couldn't dispute their grandmother's words.

Xavier then turned to look at Anita. Of course, Xavier knew

that his grandmother's words had hurt his wife's feelings deeply, even though

Anita always said she was used to the cold treatment she received.

"I could already guess that Grandma would say that, so

now, instead of Grandma continually blaming me, you should try to think about

being fair, because you're the one who insisted on maintaining our marriage as

Grandma said, right?" Anita said.

Anita had indeed initially chosen to step aside when

Xavier's extended family urged him to marry another woman. But seeing how

Xavier pleaded with her melted her heart because Anita loved her husband deeply

and couldn't bear to leave him alone.

Anita was confident that her efforts to maintain their

marriage would bear fruit. Until her thoughts stopped when suddenly a scream

from another direction caused everyone in the room to become agitated,

including Xavier, who looked towards the corner of the room and widened his

eyes as he saw that his second wife didn't seem to be in a good state.