Chapter 3 MARRIED AND UNWANTED

" How dare you get married to this..." the man looked at her entire length and then back to her face. "...pauper of a girl?!".

This man in front of her was the father of Alexander, Micheal King. She recognized him from the tabloids she read about her husband.

Alexander stood quietly before him and a beautiful woman, who happened be Alexander's stepmother walked to Micheal side and held his hand. He dragged his hand from her and yelled.

" Why will you do this, Alexander?! Is it to run it on my face and disobey me?!". He shouted.

Alexander did not flinch but she was already on the verge of tears.

" Michael, can you just allow them to come already?". The woman pleaded. His father walked away.

Alexander stepped in without acknowledging the woman and dragged Sophie along with him.

He sat down in the big sitting room and faced his father. Sophie sat beside him nervously shaking.

" I just came here to introduce my wife, Sophie King". Alexander said plainly. " It absolutely does not concern me if you have a problem with this".

His father looked at him sharply. " You do not need to do that now! The news already carried it for you". He shouted. " You promised to tell me everything that concerns you and the company!".

" This does not concern the company!". Alexander said.

" Oh really, what benefits does she have to add to my company, Alexander. Do answer me. You went ahead to marry a poor girl. What family does she even belong to?!".

Alexander shot up from his seat. " It is my company if I must remind you. My grandfather owns it and gave it directly to me".

Sophie could feel the heat in the room. Alexander stepmother signalled for her to join her where she stood. Sophie stood up and went to her.

" My name is Helen, Alexander's stepmother, and I am sincerely sorry for the behavior of my husband". She said as they walked after from the rising conversation behind them.

" He clearly does not like me very much". She shrugged.

" And I don't want that to affect you, dear". She said. " By the way, I love your dress. Where did you get it from?". She smiled at her.

" Alexander got it for me". She said to her.

" That's really lovely of him to actually get married after such a long time. And I am really happy for the both of you". She said.

Her name was suddenly called and she walked back to Alexander.

" We are leaving!". He said. She waved to Helen and walked quickly to match his pace.

" You would divorce her right this moment!". His father shouted. " Is my father that made you marry this girl?".

Alexander paused in his steps for a while and continued walking.

On getting to the house, he left her in the car and walked into the mansion. She followed closely behind him.

" I need to know why you actually married me, Alexander". She said to him.

He did not stop to answer her.

" Why don't you ever answer the questions I ask you?". She asked furiously.

" Because I choose not to. I am your husband and that does not mean I am entitled to answering any of your questions. Do you get that?". He shouted.

" I am not your slave, Alex".

He stood in front of her. " Do not ever call me Alex. I am Alexander to you. Maybe you really are just a little pauper". And he walked away.

With tears in her eyes, she ran to her room and wished she never existed. She felt heartbroken and disgusted in herself. Most people's wedding day ends in joy but hers was the direct opposite.

She had never felt so sad in her life and felt like she was loosing herself to darkness more and more. She drifted off to sleep.

Few resounding knocks on her door pulled her from sleep several hours later.

" Master requires that you meet him in the dinner". She heard the butler say.

She groaned. " I am not hungry". She said.

" He specifically asked that you must come down to eat". He said and she groaned even louder.

" Tell your master that I am not coming down neither am I going to eat!". She said and screamed into her pillow. She might be acting like a child right now but he was the cause of it all.

She heard his footsteps as he walked away and she thought she could go back to bed when few minutes later she heard his footsteps again.

" Mister Hutchins, I really appreciate you but I am not coming down". She said.

" Would you rather come down or would you prefer I come to drag you from that room myself?". A deep voice which did not belong to Mr Hutchins said.

She quickly straightened her back when she heard Alexander's voice.

" Go away!". She said to him.

" I have the key to your room and I will not hesitate to use this moment!". He said and she quickly got out from her bed.

She opened the door and met a very annoyed face staring daggers at her.

" In my house, I do not condone any form of childish acts". He said and she was about to open her mouth when he walked away.

She slowly followed behind him to the large dinner and took a seat farthest away from him. He eyed her quietly. She stared at the wide spread food and fruits in front of her and decided to settle for an apple pie and juice.

" I apologize for referring to you that way earlier". He said.

She kept silent and watched him as he recited his halfhearted apology. He eyed her as if waiting for her to say something.

" Did you hear me?". He demanded.

She shook her head. " I cannot. I am too far from you remember". She said.

He caught unto her words and nodded.

" You should eat more". He stated.

" Is this your way of apologizing to me?". She asked.

" Don't let it get to your head. I don't like you". He clearly said.

" I never said you liked me, Alexander. It clearly states in the contract that no feelings are allowed". She said taking a sip of her drink.

He ate his food quietly.

" Are you going somewhere tomorrow?". She asked with the hope of actually having a decent conversation with this man in front of her.

" My whereabouts are none of your business". He said and got up from his seat, walking away.

She took a deep breath. She scolded herself for not learning to shut up her mouth.

After she was done, she packed her plates and Alexander's towards the entrance of the kitchen. The old maid saw her and immediately took them from her.

" That is not your job, ma". She said with a smile. " But thank you".

" I can wash if you will like. I mean I can help you in here although I cannot cook anything". Sophie said.

The old maid laughed. " It is alright to not know how to cook. I know a lot of people who doesn't. And that is okay".

She felt grateful. " Maybe I can have a friend in this house after all". She said.

The old maid said, " Master is a really nice man". Sophie gave her a tight smile. " He pays for my daughter's college fees and my house rent and a hefty salary and he makes sure I have a decent life".

Sophie narrowed her eyes at her. " He never speaks nicely to me. I have not done anything to him".

The maid held her hands and said, " it will get better. The master will see you for who you are".

" Thank you!". She said. " Have you eaten?".

" Yes, we have a little dinner for the staff in the house just around the corner. The master makes sure we are well fed".

" Staffs?". She asked. " It's just you, the driver and the butler that I saw. Are there others?".

" No, just the three of us. And the butler is my husband. We have worked for the master for the past fifteen years".

" The butler is your husband? You are nice, he is..."

" Tough?". Sophie nodded. " He tends to act all professional around people but he is just a softie at heart, I promise".

" Can I help with the dishes?". She asked.

" No way, how about you take a well-deserved tour of the mansion?". The maid suggested.

Sophie decided to take her suggestions and walked to the rooms at the ground floor. She saw different guest rooms and the last room was the inbuilt library.

She walked into the room and saw variety of books. This might as well be her most favorite room in the entire mansion.

She ran her fingers through the sections of different books on history, technology and lifestyle.

Sophie paused in her steps when she saw a figure behind her and she almost screamed out in fear.

She turned to find Alexander glaring at her. " What are you looking for?". He asked.

She calmed her racing heart and spoke. " I was taking a tour of the mansion and I came across this library".

" Do you read?". He asked. She was surprised as that was the first ever personal question he ever asked her.

" Yes, I love books especially historic books ". She stated. He hummed and walked away. He sat at the reading chair at the center of the room.

She could feel the heat of his gaze on her back and she completely ignored it.