Roses And Thorns

MeetingHisFamily

WENDY 'S POV

"Welcome Ma'am,"

I'm startled by the uniform greetings of the female domestic workers who are flanking the sides of the prodigious doorway, clad in identical but elegant attire, all of them bowing their heads with their hands clasped in front of them.

Reality dawned on me. I'm no longer a pauper, kicked about by the likes of my ex and other condescending people. I'm now someone with many who will be at my beck and call.

My husband's voice tore through the silence, causing me to turn my head. "This is Wendy, my wife and your new boss. You will obey her and never do or say anything that will put her in a bad mood. Am I talking to people?"

“Yes sir!” they chorused in a loud voice.

I shyly waved my hands at them, keeping a friendly look as I walked past, following after Kyle and the butler, Brutus Leojohn, a middle-aged man with graying brown hair.

One of the male staff members is behind me, pulling my two suitcases along, and when we get to the base of the stairs, I cringe at how many the stairs are. I wonder how many years it would take me to get to my assigned room.

I turned around, wanting to take one of the heavy suitcases. My eyes go wide with astonishment as I witness the rangy and unassuming young man carry both in his arms like they’re just cartons of groceries.

“Don’t mope around. " I don’t have all day,” I heard my husband say as he started scaling the stairs with the butler closely following behind.

I started ascending as well, placing my hand on the fancy but cold handrail.

Entering my assigned room, I couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment. Everywhere I look, my eyes are blinded by the shimmering luxurious decor. From the oversized TV, to the king-sized bed in the heart of the room, to the pumpkin-shaped chair and table at the extreme, down to the eye-catching navy blue and gold rug. And the bathroom is even bigger than my apartment!

The butler and the young man took their leave after bowing to my husband.

“This is where you’ll be residing for the next 365 days, Wendy,” Kyle reminds me and I nod in response.

"You should not leave without permission. You also must not associate with those from your old life. "Do not become overly friendly with my house staff, you don't know which one would poison your morning coffee or get you marooned,"

I nod again, letting the seriousness of his words sink in.

"Never come into my room, and except for today, I won't be stepping into yours either,"

"Noted sir," I meekly say, almost staring at my feet.

The smiling man I married was nowhere to be seen at that moment. Instead, he had an overbearing aura like a boss instructing his subordinates.

"When we're in public, you cannot act as you do now. You are my wife. Other than me, you will not lower your head to anyone. Most importantly,"

Silence lingers in the air before he resumes his instructions, "...never entertain the notion of falling in love with me. Don't ever think of seducing me or climbing into my bed,"

I placed my hand across my chest, "Cross my heart, sir. Rest assured, I will never entertain such notions."

"Good." With that, he takes his leave, gently shutting the door behind him.

...

Two days later, after taking me on a crazy shopping spree the day before, he took me to his family’s residence. Theirs didn’t lose to that of Kyle’s one bit; I dare to think that his parents’ home is even bigger.

As we tread along the paved path that leads directly to the entrance of the vast residence, Kyle holds my hand.

“Remember what I told you,” he says to me and I nod in agreement.

Together, we ultimately make our way into the grand sitting room. I see a middle-aged couple seated on an off-white couch. The blonde woman whom I assume is my mother-in-law is engrossed in crocheting. Her talent in this field is no joke.

To her left is her husband, whose eyes are glued to the contents of the newspaper as if it contained a map to a Treasure Island.

My husband clears his throat and both raise their heads.

Just as I had dreaded, they, especially my mother-in-law, cast piercing and unwelcome looks in our direction, focusing on me in particular.

"You finally know how to come, huh?" His mother asked, putting her needlework aside and rising to her feet, a scowl plastered across her face. "And who's this woman you brought along?"

“Mum, Dad, this is Wendy, my dear wife,” my husband introduced me, even snaking his hand around my waist and bringing me closer to him.

I almost let out a gasp but then, recalling the words of our agreement, I fixed on a warm smile, looking at Kyle as if this happens every day between us.

I held the glaring gaze of Karina, my mother-in-law, still maintaining my smile while internally praying not to let my discomfort seep through.

“Nice to meet you, Ma’am, Sir,” I eventually say. I don’t dare refer to them as mother and father for fear of what they could do to me in a moment of rage.

“Have a seat,” Kyle’s father says, returning to his newspaper as if it was softer on the eyes than my presence.

I almost let out a defeated sigh. The tension in the air was palpable, and even the chair felt hot, but I could not show my discomfort before them.

“Which gutter did he pick you up from? What did you use on him? If I know anything about my son, I know he wouldn’t stoop as low as to marry a wretch,” Karina’s words drip venom, her frown gets even deeper, and she crosses her arms over her chest.

“I am my parents’ daughter and I didn’t do anything to him. I guess it’s just fate,” I say, softly caressing Kyle’s hair and gazing at him with what I presumed to be a loving gaze.

My mother-in-law scoffs at my actions. If glares could liquidate human life, I’d be long dead. “Kyle, whether you’re truly bound by marriage to this trash or not, you have to send her away. She is not worthy of our family name,”

“She is,” Kyle says, gazing at me and softly pinching my chin, bringing me closer to him.

Unanticipatedly, my heart started thumping wildly in my chest. I cannot explain why it's acting so. I feared my acting would be seen through at this rate.

“She is heaven’s gift to me, and I will never send her away,” he says firmly while still looking at me.

“How much did he offer you?” His father finally puts down the newspaper and speaks. “I’ll triple it,” he adds.

I rose to my feet, putting on a disapproving look, “I’m not with him for money. I didn’t even know his true identity before we got married. We’re in love and don’t even think about separating us,”

My father-in-law’s reaction was a snicker. “Maybe when you’ve been tortured for three days straight, you’ll cough out the truth,”

Kyle stands up as well, wearing a stern look, “Father, you will not harm the mother of my kids,”

“What?” his parents exclaimed in unison, their eyes dilated from the shock.

I could swear there was a third exclamation, and I was soon proved right when a raven-haired woman, only about a head shorter than Kyle, stepped into the living room.

“S-she’s pregnant?” the unfamiliar woman beat Kyle’s mother to the question.

“Yes, she is,” Kyle confidently confirms the lie, wounding his arm around my shoulders.

“How are you so sure that it’s yours, Kyle?” my mother-in-law probed, animosity still visible in her eyes.

“She was a virgin when we made love on our wedding night”.

At this point, I’m tongue-tied. How can he lie with such a straight face?

“You…” Karina clutched her chest, pointing her right index finger at us, seeming to be at a loss for words as her mouth kept opening and closing with nothing spewing out.

“You’re doing this to spite me, aren’t you? "You know we’re supposed to get married in a few months,” the raven-haired lady says, looking heartbroken.

"I never agreed to the marriage. I repeatedly emphasized that I didn’t want to get married to you. I view you as a sister, not a soul mate. Wendy here is my soul mate and none of you should think of putting us apart.’’

“You lie, Kyle! You will divorce her and marry me or else my father will not collaborate with your family any longer.”

“Kiera, calm down,” Karina now looks concerned as she tries to placate the enraged young lady.

I feel like a lost lamb among tigers here; I felt so out of place. This isn’t how I envisioned things to be. Kyle also never told me he had an engagement.

I feel so lost, my head has begun to spin.

“I hate you, Kyle. "I hate you!” Kiera yells before making a pivot and storming to the exit, the clicks of her heels aiding in expressing her rage.

“Why do I have a son like you?” his father shoots up from his seat. “If I had known you would turn out this way, I would have stood my ground and had your mother terminate you when you were still a fetus.”

“Thankfully, you can’t see the future, father,” Kyle says with a smile that irks his father more.

There obviously is more to this. Could it be that Kyle and his parents are greatly at odds?

“Get out,” his father says with a furious look and tone, already gesturing to the exit.

“Please calm down, Sir, Ma’am. "Anger isn’t good for your health,” I say gently, trying to cut through the thick tension.

“Shut that sewage you call a mouth, Wendy,” Karina bellows, her expression ugly.

I turned to Kyle and asked with a pout, “Honey, does my mouth smell like sewage?”

“Of course not, sweetie,” he answers me, shocking me with an unexpected kiss.

On My Lips!

“My wife’s lips are the tastiest treat in the world. I would never settle for another,” he says to his parents with a provoking smirk.

“Don’t ever say you’re my son from this day onward,” my father-in-law raged, his hands balled into fists, teeth clenched.

Kyle scooped me into his arms. “What a relief,” he said before dodging the wine glass that his mother threw our way.

“Have a great day spent as a childless couple,” Kyle adds before departing with me in his arms.