The Unwanted Bride's Revenge

Elaine Smith sneezed feverishly, her slightly weak body aching from the force. She pulled the large, thick blanket around her waist closer, shivering as her temperature rose higher.

Resting her back against the soft, huge bed, she stared at the white ceiling above, sighing in frustration at what her life had turned into.

"Do not marry a man if his mother hates you! You will be so frustrated. I don't want that type of life for you, Elaine."

Elaine closed her eyes in slight regret as the words of her mother echoed in her mind. Just eight months ago, her mother, Beatrice Smith, had held her hands tightly, pleading with her to dissolve her engagement to her fiance, Alexander Rogers.....

But she had gone ahead with her own plan, trying to prove to Alexander's mother, Margaret Rogers, that she was good enough for her son.

Truth be told, Alexander had been so good to her, never giving her a reason to worry about anything. He was charming, he was sweet and he was kind.

But his mother was adamant on frustrating her. She had a 'better' wife for him and couldn't wait for her to get out of the way.

Even after their court wedding six months ago, she was still indifferent to their union, refusing to accept her as a member of the Rogers bloodline. Elaine sighed, her lips curving in a sad smile. Truly, she was a miserable bride.

Less than two months into their marriage, Margaret Rogers never failed to show her how much she hated her presence in their home, their massive villa. Elaine couldn't imagine going through this for the rest of her marriage t-

"Elaine!! Elaine!!!...."

Elaine paused, snapping out instantly at the sound of her name echoing outside her bedroom door. The voice got louder with every second that passed which was proof that the owner of that voice was getting closer to her bedroom.

That voice....

Elaine threw the blanket aside and jumped to her feet instantly, almost falling over as her weak body couldn't take such a violent force. She held tightly to a table and gasped for a few seconds to steady her fast heartbeat.

Turning around, she gathered the little strength she had and walked quickly across the room.

Opening her bedroom door and stepping out, she came face to face with the angry glare of her mother-in-law who was ready to pounce on her at any moment. Elaine straightened her back and lifted her head, staring down at Margaret Rogers with an unreadable expression.

Elaine sighed inwardly, preparing for war.....

Margaret Rogers might be the wife to the biggest billionaire in New York when compared to her, the random daughter of her poor parents, but that was not enough reason for her to allow her mother-in-law bully her every single time.

Sometimes, she had to forget the differences in their financial background and speak up for herself.

"Good evening, Mrs Margaret. How may I help you? What brings you here?" Elaine mumbled stiffly.

Margaret scoffed, still glaring at her. "Are you saying I can't go anywhere I want? In my own villa? Do I have to alert you before I come over to my son's chamber?"

Elaine inhaled slowly. "You are twisting my words, Mrs Margaret. That is not what I mean. You hardly come over here when Alexander is at work"

Margaret tapped the end of her shoe on the tiled floor, getting impatient. "I told the Head maid, Priscilla to call you over thirty minutes ago. Why didn't you show up?"

Elaine looked away, remaining silent. What type of answer where you supposed to give when your mother-in-law expected you to join the maids in scrubbing the floors and doing the dishes?

There was nothing wrong in doing those chores, she had done them in the past countless times. She was not looking down on the maids, they were 'normal' human beings too. Elaine knew her mother-in-law was trying to pass across a nasty message to her, proving that she was only worthy to be a maid and not the wife of her son.

"I am talking to you, you peasant! Don't you dare disrespect me!"

Elaine thinned her lips, flinching inwardly at the sound of the word 'peasant'. She had no right to call her that.

"I beg your pardon...." Elaine muttered, the side of her lips set firmly as she felt her anger rise. "....don't ever call me that again. If you do, I'll have no choice but to believe you are insulting and demeaning my parents and I will not take that from you"

"Save your breath!" Margaret yelled, her nostrils flaring up in rage. "Who exactly do you think you are to threaten me?"

Her voice echoed across the empty hallway causing the young maids cleaning down the hall to scurry away in fear of being her next target. The head maid, Priscilla walked down the hall hastily till she reached Mrs Margaret's side.

"Is there a problem, ma?" She asked softly, trying her best to ease the tension in the hallway. "Mr Alexander and your husband will soon be back from the company. It won't be good if they come back to a chaotic ho-"

"Oh, just shut your mouth Priscilla! Are you trying to say I am causing chaos?" Margaret yelled causing the head maid to move away, settling a few steps behind.

Elaine rolled her eyes as those words echoed across the empty hallway. Why did Margaret always think everyone was trying to attack her? She really didn't want Alexander to meet her fighting with his mother....

"If there is nothing left to say, I'll take my leave now. I have to rest before my husband returns from wo-" Elaine mumbled with a low voice.

"Your husband?" Margaret burst into a loud laugh, the sound of it irritating Elaine's ears.

What exactly was funny? Elaine wondered, frowning at her mother-in-law.

"I don't care how many days or weeks you've been married to my son, Elaine! Even the sound of your name disgusts me!" Margaret huffed in anger as she rested her plump hands on her rounded hips....

"You will never be welcome into this family. Never! Nobody here really wants you. Alexander is simply blinded by your seductive charm but I will see to it that he gets rid of you. You are way below him and you will always be!"

Elaine exhaled softly, leaning against the wall behind her as her tired body could no longer stand straight.

"Alexander loves me regardless of what you think about me. His father, Mr Frederick is pleased with me. I need nothing more." Elaine whispered as she held Margaret's gaze.

She watched as her mother-in-law's nose flared in rage. "You think you can seduce my son and take over this household, right? You are nothing but a disgusting peasant! A gold digger! Your peasant parents are probably waiting...."

Elaine's head jerked up instantly and her voice moved a decibel lower "Watch what you say, Mrs Margaret! Don't ever talk about my parents that way again unless-"

".....unless what?" Margaret retorted, daring her. "Your peasant parents are probably waiting for you to return with a truckload of riches after seducing my son and stealing his money but that will never happen. Your white wedding will never take place! Go back to your wretched life!"

This was the limit. Elaine moved away from the wall, stood straight and glared at the woman in front her.....

"You're absolutely right, Mrs Margaret. But as a gold digger, we are not really different. You were also a wretched peasant before you seduced and married Alexander's father, Mr Frederick Rogers."

Elaine stared at the face of the woman standing in front of her and she loved what she saw.

She watched as the maid, Priscilla covered her mouth in disbelief as those words tumbled out of her lips before focusing her gaze on her mother-in-law once again...

Margaret's eyes widened in raw shock and her lips remained slightly open. Obviously, those words hit her hard. Elaine could tell that she had hit the right spot and she was pleased with her little moment of victory.

She had put up with this harsh and terrible woman for a long time just because she was the mother of the man she loved but not anymore. At least, not at this moment!

Before Elaine could blink, Margaret rushed forward and grabbed the front of her dress, holding it tightly, her other hand clenched in a fist.

"How d–dare you? You fool!"

Maid Priscilla ran forward immediately "Mrs Margaret, please restrain yourself. It wouldn't be good if Mr Alexander comes home to see this a-"

"Move aside, you piece of trash!" Margaret yelled at the maid and focused her attention on Elaine again. Her lips trembled with her rising rage. How dare this young brat?!

Elaine glared at Margaret, remembering what she said about her parents. She had no right to talk about them like that. Her parents were not poor because they were lazy. They had worked so hard for years but life just wasn't fair.

"You are so triggered, my dear mother-in-law..." Elaine muttered, her voice filled with sarcasm. "....you are only proving that the rumour is true"

Margaret's hands tightened on her dress "You disgust me"

"You disgust me even more" Elaine replied calmly "I used to think you were respectful and elegant but as I've gotten to know you....from the way you talk to the way you treat people, even your own maids, I have realized there isn't even a drop of elegance and self-respect in you. You still have the ghetto blood running through your veins."

"Just because you finally married into the Rogers family, you think you can talk to me anyhow" Margaret released Elaine's dress and stepped away, a sly smile on her lips "I see you get comfortable in places you do not belong too fast."

"Can you hear yourself?" Elaine laughed and leaned against the wall as a surge of weakness hit her tired body. "You do not belong here too and you have gotten too comfortable over the years just because Mr Frederick covered up the fact that you're even from a poorer background than I am-"

"Shut your mouth!"

"You think too highly of yourself, Mrs Margaret. Your case is even worse than mine and yet you think you have the right to call me a peasant! You have no shame! At the end of the d-"

"I said shut it!!"

"At the end of the day, you are the real peasant. No, you are worse than a peasant. I wonder how all your elite rich friends would feel if they get to know your real past and how you've lied to them for so many years. That would be very interesting, don't you think?"

Margaret scoffed and smacked her lips. Her left eye twitched in anger. "A–are you threatening me?"

Elaine remained silent, glaring at her. "What does it seem like?"

Margaret laughed, a cunning smile at the edge of her lips. "Go on. I'll like to see you try to hurt me. I don't care about the rumours of my past one bit but don't forget that I can ruin you and bring you to your knees if I want to with just the snap of my fingers. One thing I have that you can never have is money. Lots of it. I'll like to see what you want to do"

Elaine rolled her eyes. "You hype yourself more than you should. Anyway, I have decided to stay with Alexander and I am going to do just th-."

"I dare you! You have taken my calmness so far for granted....." Margaret cut her off. "....I am going to make sure I get rid of you from my family but not just that, I will make sure you are alive to see my son get married to the woman I want for him, Suzy Bernard. I don't need to give you reasons why she is a better choice for Alexander than you will ever be"

"I am already married to your son legally. Alex will never allow that to ha-"

"Don't be a fool, Elaine! Can't you see that at the end of everything, he will choose me over you? You are an outsider! It's always family first."

"You know nothing about your own son. He is not like that."

Margaret's voice went low, an unreadable expression on her face. "Don't tempt me, Elaine. You still have time to quietly leave this marriage before the white wedding. Don't push me to the wall. I can be nasty, very nasty when I am determined to get somethi-"

Elaine felt the hair on her neck rise. "What will you do?"

Margaret chuckled "Who knows? If that's what it takes to bring you down, I could go as far as hurting the most precious people to you. You know, like your bubbly friend, Jessica, the one whose an upcoming videographer or those people who raised you this far...."

Elaine's eyes widened and she flared up in red hot anger at the mention of her friend and parents. These people were so precious to her. The thought of them being harmed made her boil with rage....

"Coward! You are nothing but a delusional, wicked old hag and you will be punished soo-"

Margaret raised her hand and smacked Elaine's right cheek so hard and before she could understand what just happened, Margaret smacked her other cheek harder.

Elaine felt blood rush to her head and her legs suddenly felt too light to carry her weak body. She staggered backwards till her back hit the wall behind her and then fell to the ground, her body going limp.

Margaret laughed at the sight in front of her "Watch your disgusting mouth, you imbecile! I've taken enough disrespect from you and i will make you pay f-"

The sound of the main door leading to the hallway opening made Margaret pause. She turned around and blinked in shock as her husband, Frederick and Alexander walked in laughing and smiling at each other.

Elaine flipped her tired eyes open the moment she heard Alexander's voice. She slowly stretched her weak hand forward, reaching for him on the cold floor where her body lay.

Alexander stood still the moment his eyes met his mother, a confused frown appeared on his forehead "What is going on h-? Elaine!!"

His eyes widened in fear as he saw her body on the floor, waves of shock hitting him instantly.

Elaine pressed her hot cheek against the cold tiled floor and smiled as he ran towards her immediately he set his eyes on her....

But before Alexander could get to her side, her exhausted body shut down and she slipped into the darkness.

"What on earth did you think you were doing, Margaret?!" Alexander heard his father, Frederick Rogers shout angrily in the sitting room.

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything!" Margaret yelled back at him.

The door to the sitting room opened and Alexander walked in, glaring at his mother. He moved closer till he was right in front of her and stared down at her petite frame angrily. "Did you hit my wife?"

Margaret looked away, keeping her eyes low and remained silent.

"I'm asking you a question, Mom!..." He yelled in her face, causing Margaret to jump in shock. He had never raised his voice at her, ever. "...I said did you hit my wife?!"

"Has the doctor attended to her?" Mr Frederick asked, worried about Elaine.

"Yes" Alexander replied sharply, getting angrier as he remembered what he saw when he carried Elaine into their bedroom.

The redness of her cheeks with a faint mark of a hand.....

How high her fever was....

Plus, the doctor had said Elaine was under a lot of shock and emotional stimulation before she collapsed....

"Are you really going to believe what your wife tells you over what I say?" Margaret asked, sniffing as pretentious tears gathered in her eyes.

"Make sure you sniff those tears back into your eyes. I'm not having your fake pitiful attitude today"

"Alex, you're my son. How can you say that to your mother? Do you really think I would hurt my own daughter-in-law?" Margaret pointed a finger at the door "You can ask the maid, Priscilla about what really happened. Ask her to tell you the real truth"

"Just stop it, mom! We all know that Priscilla is under your control. You've probably threatened her behind my back. Do you think I'm so stupid to figure that out?"

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Margaret." Frederick voiced out as he scratched his slightly grey hair. "What did Elaine ever do to you? Do you have to hate her so much when you have been in a similar position like her before?"

Margaret riled up instantly as she heard those words. She yelled at her husband, the pitch of her voice getting higher by the minute "And so what?! Are you going to use my past to attack me now? If you think about it clearly, Frederick, you will remember that I never agreed for her to marry Alexander b-"

"It doesn't make any sense no matter how much I think about it. Even if you don't like her as my wife, you don't have to make her life here so miserable. Are you trying to push her to the limit where she has no other choice but to leave?!" Alexander yelled at the woman in front of him.

The one he had called 'mother' for years....

He sighed, completely exhausted from the stress of work plus coming home to meet something like this.

All of this was his fault.

He should have listened to Elaine when she told him it would be better if he buys another house for them to move in to after their court wedding.....

But he had refused, at that moment. He thought that allowing her to live in his family villa would be an opportunity for his mother and her to become closer and get to know each other.

He had been aware of his mother's disapproval of her but he thought that as his mother spent time with Elaine, she would see things clearly and get to know the 'real' Elaine, the kind and sweet woman he had fallen in love with.

But standing right here, looking at the angry frown and determination on his mother's face, he knew that Elaine would suffer a lot if he didn't take her away from here.

Margaret hissed. "Wouldn't it be better if she leaves? She has brought nothing but disgrace to you and this family anyway!"

"Margaret! Mind what you say!" Frederick thundered and raised a finger, pointing at her. "Don't you have any shame? You are supposed to be the most welcoming person to Elaine considering the fact that you've walked the same path as her a-"

"Give me a break, Frederick!" Margaret eyed him and hissed, folding her hands under her breasts. "Is that enough reason to pick her as Alexander's wife? Just because I came from a poor background-"

"Poorer...." Alexander chipped in, his eyes fixed on his mother, daring her to deny the truth.

Margaret lost it. Her nostrils flared up in rage. "Yes! Yes, alright! A poorer background! And so what?! Every mother wants their son to have a 'better' wife. Can't you see I am doing this for you?"

Alexander rolled his eyes. "Here we go again....."

"You went against my plan for you and got engaged to Elaine, of all people. What were you even thinking?! Her family has absolutely nothing! Not wealth, not power, not fame. You deserve way better-"

"And by better, you mean?" He asked, irritated by her stubbornness.

"Who else?" Margaret said. "Of course, it's Suzy Bernard! She's a far better choice than the woman you brought here. She is kind, sweet, warm and presentable!"

"Elaine is all of those things and even more. You can't change my mind. I am staying with her and we will build our own family together. I'm glad that at least father can see what I see and he likes Elaine more than Suzy." Alexander replied calmly, acknowledging his father's presence.

Margaret fisted her hand. "Don't you get what I'm saying? Suzy's background is perfect for you. You won't face any uncomfortable situation in public having her as your wife. Besides, she's also in love with you. It's a win-win situation."

"She's not in love. She's obsessed in a toxic way...."

"Alexander!" Margaret yelled, her jaw tightening in frustration.

"Mom!" He returned her rage. "Don't you get it too?! You can't just grow deep feelings for someone in a day. I spent time with both of them and I know who is better with me. It's Elaine!"

"Margaret, it is time for you to stop all these nonsense...." Frederick muttered firmly, worn out from his wife's endless nagging .

"It's all your fault, Frederick. You supported Alexander! Don't you know the dangers of marrying someone from a poor background? Especially among our elite friends and colleagues?"

"I survived despite all of that. Alexander will make it through too."

Margaret glared at her husband, her face turned red like someone had slapped her. Truly, that felt like a slap to her face. "How can you say that to me, Frederick?"

"You're missing the point, mother. Father is simply sayi-"

"You have a guest, Mr Frederick...." The Head housemaid, Priscilla echoed outside the sitting room.

Alexander frowned and glanced at the huge clock above him on the wall. 10:20pm.... Who could it be by this time?

To their surprise, Suzy Bernard walked in wearing a corporate light blue gown that clung to her slender figure with a bit of her full cleavage exposed. She smiled, holding a sleek black packaged box in her hands.

"Suzy?" Margaret beamed, her eyes lighting up. She walked closer and stretched out her hand to the young lady. "This is unexpected but you're very welcome. What brings you here?"

Suzy glanced at Alexander and gave him her sweetest smile. Her smile disappeared when Alexander frowned and looked away.

"Good evening Mr Frederick, Mrs Margaret...." She moved her gaze to Alexander again. ".....and you, Alex"

"Welcome Suzy. Have a seat" Mr Frederick replied, pointing at one of the sofa armchair.

"Have a seat for what?" Alexander blurted out, a deep frown on his face.

Margaret gasped as she sat beside Suzy and covered the young lady's hand with hers. "Is that how you'll welcome your guest?"

"She is not a guest at this moment. No guest comes to a person's house this late at night. We need to rest. She knows this!" Alexander glanced at Suzy and almost spat in disgust when he saw the familiar look of fake innocence on her face, acting like she didn't know what she was doing, when she actually did.

"....What are you doing here by this time? Aren't you tired from working all day? Don't you have a family? We're not even family friends, so what are you doing here? Since when did our bond become so strong that you now come to visit us at almost 11pm in the night?"

Suzy shifted uncomfortably where she sat. She turned her face in the direction of his mother, Margaret and curved her lips downwards in a sad smile like she was about to cry from being falsely accused.

"Alexander. Are you trying to make her cry and chase her away? She is already here. Show some respect and treat her well"

Suzy plastered a fake smile on her face and raised the black box beside her. "I just wanted to pay a visit to see how Elaine is doing. I heard she was sick a--"

Alexander's eyebrow twitched. He looked at his mother "I can see that news within these four walls travels fast to the ears of outsiders. Don't you think so, mother?"

Suzy placed a hand over her mouth, suddenly realizing what she just revealed.

Margaret stood up and smiled nervously at her son. "It's nothing serious, Alexander. I just wanted to l-"

"You came to confirm if my wife is almost dead, right? You probably want to know if there's space for you" Alexander muttered.

Mr Frederick sat quietly all this while, watching the mini drama playing in front of him. He could see through the whole thing and he was so glad he never supported the marriage between Suzy and his son. His son's peace of mind was more important to him than any 'business deal' Suzy's mother had to offer him.

Suzy was a pretentious wolf and she had to stay far away. If not for the business bond he had with her mother, he would have banned Suzy from showing up in his villa.

Alexander rubbed his neck and voiced out. "I'm not expecting any answer from you, Suzy. That would be all for today. I already know what I need to know. I have had a long day and I miss my wife. Good night everyone."

He turned and walked out of the sitting room, catching sight of the jealous expression on Suzy's face.

Alexander knew her so well.

She was relentless. Just like his mother. She was probably even worse than his mother.

They never stopped until they got what they wanted.

He only had one mission now.....

To protect the love of his life, Elaine with all he had.