DETECTIVE SANDERS' SURROGATE

CHAPTER 9

Miami, Florida.

NATALIE'S POV.

I had wondered how exactly a father would have the heart to do such a wicked thing to his own child. Two years ago, I had been made to marry the son of my late father's Admiral friend against my will. While being dragged away from New York, all the way to Miami, I hadn't stopped thinking about how I was going to lead this new life of mine. A life of living with a man I had only had the opportunity of seeing twice. The man was always cold all the times we had come across each other, and I couldn't imagine being under the same roof as him. Nonetheless, I had landed Miami to meet a man who had been preparing to leave for a peacekeeping mission the next day.

That day, we were made to get married immediately, in order to ensure I was already his wife before he left. I had been given off like a piece of potato, but now, the supposed husband I was meant to be with was leaving with no plans of returning anytime soon. Not that I wasn't relieved he was living, but what was I supposed to do all on my own, in a city I almost knew nothing about? That night of our wedding was a day I'd never forget in a hurry. I still felt disgusted at myself till date. Yes, I wasn't a virgin or new to s*x, so having s*x with him didn't leave the pain it was going to leave on a normal day. I can't forget how I panted and moaned wantonly as the fine man who had turned out to be my husband drove into me that night. At first, I had told myself I wasn't going to let the man touch me, but then, when things had escalated out of hand, I couldn't help but succumb to his wicked touches.

I really felt so ashamed for feeling the way I did, but why did he have to be so breathtakingly handsome? Why couldn't the man I had been forced to marry just been an ugly ogre? The plan had been to get me pregnant with a child before he left, so I decided not to think much of it. After having s*x many times that night, morning came and I woke up to see him, wearing the same hard and stoic face I had seen the day before, dressing up to leave for his mission. He looked at me, sprawled on the bed and all he muttered was 'see you when I do'. See me when he does?!! Was the i***t f*****g kidding me? He brought me all the way from my home, down to Miami, and married me just the day before, only to leave me all alone now? As he walked out of the room, so much tears brimmed up in my eyes, but I willed myself to not say a word. He wasn't to blame, my father was.

After going back to sleep and finally waking up, I woke up to two women in my room. They had been discussing other matters of interest to them and hadn't even noticed when I had woken up and looked at them.

"Hello?" I croaked out, and they both turned to me at same time. Immediately, I recognized one of them as she had been present at my wedding the previous day. She had been the one who had given me the wedding dress I had worn, and helped arranged my hair, as well as apply a light makeup to my face. My husband's sister.

"Oh sweetie!" She called out, making her way towards me with a wide grin. I had wondered what she and the other lady had been doing at her brother's house, which was now our matrimonial home, until she had informed me of her parent's decision to move me into the family house until their son was back from his naval operation.

There I was, thinking I was only going to be living with one stranger, not knowing that fate had other plans for me. Plans like living with 6 different strangers until my cold husband saw it fit to return......

"Natalie!" Jemimah ran towards me as she called me in an excited manner. Jemimah.... she was my husband's youngest sister. It was such a suprise how much fate really had in store for me. Before, I had been so appalled about the idea of living with my husband's family but somehow, they had managed to become MY family through the years, and I honestly couldn't trade them for anything else. The way my parents-in law cared about me was sometimes saddening because if my late father had actually shown so much amount of care and love, I wouldn't be in a loveless marriage at the moment. Yes, you heard me. Loveless marriage. In as much as my husband's family were sweethearts, it was quite unfortunate that he wasn't.

He had returned from a successful mission just a month ago. I finally got to see him again after two years, and he was a lot more grumpier..... and hotter, sadly. I wasn't asking for a romantic relationship, but a good marriage wasn't much to ask for either. It turns out that just like me, he was never interested in getting married, but sadly, I was the only one hoping for something more now. Not really something more, but something manageable at the very least. God knows I wasn't ready to spend the rest of my life trapped in a marriage without love or the slightest bit of care and attention. How could I even raise a child in such an environment? Thankfully, I hadn't gotten pregnant after the first time we had s*x, before he left. In as much as my father had been a rigid and strict man, it was no secret that he loved my mom very much, even if she couldn't really influence so much of his decisions. But atleast, there was love. I turned to Jemimah and flashed my 100 watts smile at her.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's another letter from home, Natalie. It's from your mom." She pouted. "Please promise me you'd read this one before trashing it, at the very least." She gave that puppy dog eyes, making me sigh in guilt. I always hated to turn down Jemimah, but then, this was a 'no go' area. I had cut her off for good, and that was it. I only hoped that William and Lilly were both fine. I knew Lily hadn't returned home yet, and that only did nothing but fuel my anger against my mother the more. Dad was dead now, so she was the one that would keep suffering the brunt of my anger.

"I'm sorry, Jem." I muttered, making her slump her shoulders in defeat. After a moment she looked at me in concern.

"You look worried. Natalie are you okay?" She asked, making me shake my head with a smile. This was typical Jem. Always worried about my wellbeing.

"I'm...." I sighed, not knowing how to relay the way I felt. "I just...."

"It's okay." She interjected with a small smile playing on her lips. "Would you love to accompany me to the gardens? A walk would do you good."

"I would like that." I smiled in appreciation and let her intertwine our arms together, gently pulling me towards the doorway. We made our way out and she asked the question I had never expected her to ask.

"Do you want to opt out?"

"What?"

"Natalie, I know you perfectly understand me." She softly chastised. "Do you want to opt out of your marriage with Damien? Do you want an annulment from my brother?"

"What?!" I exclaimed in shock. "I couldn't do that now. No, I can't. Not at all."

"But why?" She asked yet again.

"I can't break your parent's heart by doing so." I muttered, and was surprised at the way she looked at me. She looked at me like she was seeing something I wasn't seeing. "What is it again?" I asked, wiping my face with my palm just in case I had anything on my face.

"You know, Damien may not see it now, but you're the best thing that has happened in his life."

"How do you mean?"

"What I mean is I clearly remember the day you had been dragged down to Miami. You had been in tears and was very unhappy. You were being forced to marry someone you didn't have the slightest bit of attraction for. Dad had always told us about his old friend back in his upcoming days in the force. His friend had ended up serving in the police force, and he had decided to serve in the navy. They had become kind of separated due to their choice of service, but the friendship was clearly still there. But stillll..... we never knew so much about your family. It came as a shock when Dad had informed Damien of his plans for him to marry you, over dinner a certain night. The point I'm trying to make is.... you both weren't cool with it initially, but right now, everyone can clearly see how much you're trying your best to salvage what's left of your marriage the best way you can."

"Jem..." I tried speaking, but she held her hands up, indicating she wasn't done talking yet.

"Natalie, I know I haven't ever had a conversation about my brother with you, ever since you came over here and became a part of our family. But now, I believe it has to be done. Damien was never so cold. This mission he had been away on, for so long must have made him a lot more distant. He was never one to outrightly humiliate a lady, talk more of his wife, no matter how unhappy he was. I'm so sorry about this morning." She held my hands, turning me to her and making me look into her eyes. No one had to further convince me. I saw the sincerity in there.

"It's fine, Jem." I said, trying to dismiss the topic, but she wasn't having any of it. It only made me think back to what had happened this morning. We had been all having breakfast when I noticed his lips had been stained with the ketchup from his meal. I stretched my hand and tried cleaning it off, only to have him angrily pull off my hand, and tell me he could very well do it himself.

If that had been all, it wouldn't have been so humiliating, but he still went ahead to stand up and leave the dinning. I felt so bad as everyone's apologetic eyes were on me. Never in my life, had I ever imagined that my husband would turn out to be someone who made others pity me.

"No, it's not. Damien doesn't realize he has gold until he finally loses it." She muttered, before looking up at me. "You have a good heart, and you deserve to be treated better. You deserve to be happy."

"Don't worry, it's only 4 weeks since he returned. He would change, just give him time."

"Give him time? How much time does he need? You both have already spent two years apart. Isn't that more than enough? You've been here these past years, trapped in Miami under the guise of being married to an ass."

"Jem!" I chuckled. "Language." I cautioned, making her shrug. "Mind you, I'm not trapped. Yes, I agree that initially I did feel trapped. But I stopped feeling that way when I got to know you all. I'd rather spend a century here, than to go back to my mother. Yes, I terribly miss my siblings, but I'd get used to it in time. I only thank God that my younger brother had been strongwilled enough, as not to let my father push him into an unwanted marriage just like me. I can't help but imagine if this is the same turmoil he'd be going through every single day." I watched as Jemimah sighed deeply, looking very sorry. "Let's change the subject already. So how was your date with Charlie yesterday?" I asked, giving her that knowing smile as she blushed furiously. Oh Jem! The girl was in love.

***********************************************

I hadn't expected to see him walking into my room by that time of the night, so I jumped up in a mix of suprise and shock. Shock, because of the present look of anger he had on his face. The man towered feets above me, so having him in such a modd could be quite scary. It was no secret that since he returned, he hadn't shared the room with me. Instead, he had continually talked about his plans for us to move out of the family house and buy one of our own. The apartment we had stayed in the night before he left 2 years ago, was on a lease. So when the lease had expired, we hadn't bothered renewing it as I had moved into the family house and wasn't sure when he'd return either. So what was he doing in my room now?

"W..what are you doing here?" I stuttered, standing my ground and looking up at him.

"It's crazy you ask such questions, especially after making my dad make such stupid requests of me."

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"Oh! So you're trying to tell me you didn't know the unneccessary stunt you had pulled off these morning was going to make my Dad be drawn to, and bothered about our relationship as a married couple?" He still wasn't completely clear with me, making me let out an irritated sigh.

"If you only came to my bedroom to rant at me, you should as well get out." I said, slowly feeling my anger rising.

"It's the temerity of you! After putting me in a tight spot with my Dad. My Father demands I perform my fillial duties with you and birth a grandchild before I get called out on my next mission."

"It's my fault now?!" I finally let my anger loose. "You practically treated me like I was filth this morning, and it somehow turns out to be my fault? All I had been trying to do was help!"

"Well, your unsolicited help has landed me in a position where I have to f**k you, Miss goody two shoes." He spat, making me narrow my eyes at him. The ingrate!

"Get out!" I shouted, pointing towards the door.

"Watch it with your tone and the pitch of voice. You surely don't want to alert my parents. I'm sorry, but I can't leave. Trust me, the last thing I want to do is to begin sharing a room with you."

What did he mean by that? The way he said it like I was filthy only infuriated me the more.

"Then get the f**k out of my room, you i***t!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The look on his face was one I had never seen in my entire life, as he looked between me and the door in complete fear. This man was so terrified of his father. If that wasn't such a suprising thing.

"Stop. Shouting." He said, counting his words. Just as I was about to respond and ask him to leave my room once more, a knock came on the door and we both froze.

"Damien and Natalie, open this door right now." Oh no! That was my father in-law.