Marrying My Enemy

Chapter2

Xander arrived at the hospital and immediately saw the butler waiting in the entrance.

"Where's my mom? How is she? What happened?" he asked, the questions tumbling out as they walked towards the emergency room.

"The doctor is examining her now. Earlier, when I served her tea, she was on the phone. After serving the tea, as I was about to leave, she complained of chest pain and suddenly collapsed," the butler explained.

The doctor exited the room just as they arrived, and Xander immediately asked about his mother's condition.

"How is my mom, doctor?"

"She's stable now, Mr. Hamilton. Please avoid giving your mother any stress that could trigger her heart failure," the doctor advised.

"Yes, doctor," he replied simply. "May I see her?" he added, asking permission to enter his mother's room.

"Yes, of course. She's awake," the doctor replied, and they parted ways as Xander went inside and the doctor left.

Valerie was left alone at the bar after her best friend, Daphne, had to go home. Daphne had informed her earlier that she had work to finish and needed to be in the office early the next day.

Valerie took a deep breath and finished her glass of wine before deciding to leave.

There was only one place she wanted to go: her boyfriend's apartment.

After parking in front of Jayson's apartment building, she retrieved the spare key from her car's compartment and went inside.

Her boyfriend was a manager at Ross Enterprises, where he had been working for a year. Like her best friend Daphne, Valerie couldn't help but envy them for having jobs. She, on the other hand, had just finished her master's degree in business management, as her parents wanted her to be well-equipped before taking over the family business.

Unfortunately, the business she was looking forward to managing was now under the control of the Hamilton Group, the wealthiest family in their city.

The heir of the Hamilton Group was soon to be her husband. She was engaged to Alexander Hamilton, a man she hadn't seen in almost two decades. She wondered what he looked like now—perhaps a portly man with thick eyeglasses. Regardless of his appearance, it didn't matter to her because she loved someone else: her boyfriend, Jayson. She murmured this as she inserted the key into the keyhole.

However, she frowned when the key wouldn't turn. It seemed like something was blocking it.

Earlier, she had felt drowsy from the wine, but now she was suddenly sober, curious as to why she couldn't open the door. After several attempts, she decided to peek inside her boyfriend's apartment. She walked around and saw that the kitchen light was on. Through the glass wall, she saw the silhouettes of two people kissing. She knew no one lived there except her boyfriend. The thought of him cheating made her furious, especially if it was indeed Jayson with someone else.

Her dear boyfriend was cheating on her. She never imagined Jayson would do this. She had planned to bring Jayson to meet her parents, to convince them of their love and persuade them to cancel the arranged marriage that had been planned since she was young.

She hadn't come directly from her parents' house; she wanted to talk to Jayson with a clear mind, to avoid upsetting him. She wanted to explain everything calmly. She had even considered running away with Jayson if her parents refused to cancel the engagement with the Hamilton Group.

She pressed her face closer to the glass wall to see who was kissing inside.

The dim light made it difficult to identify the woman her boyfriend was kissing, but the man's body figure was unmistakably Jayson's.

The fact that Jayson was cheating on her made her want to go inside and confront him and the woman he was kissing. She started banging on the glass wall to get their attention.

It didn't take long. They turned and looked in her direction. She was shocked to see her best friend, Daphne. It was Daphne, her best friend, who had betrayed her, along with her boyfriend, Jayson. They were both betrayers.

What she had seen was more than enough proof of their betrayal.

She felt a wave of depression wash over her as she witnessed her best friend kissing her boyfriend. Her knees trembled, but she forced herself to walk away, heading towards her car. Jayson didn't follow.

She felt completely drained, betrayed by the two people she trusted most. She quickly drove away, her heart feeling as if it were being stabbed by a thousand needles. Tears streamed down her cheeks, blurring her vision.

Despite her blurry sight, Valerie noticed the red light ahead and slammed on the brakes, narrowly avoiding an accident. The sudden stop, though accompanied by a loud screech, brought a sense of relief. But then, she felt her car move forward, bumping into the car in front of her. Before she could react, the car in front began spinning in the intersection, like a scene from a movie.

Everything became a chaotic blur, too overwhelming to process, and she lost consciousness.

****

Xander carefully adjusted his mother's blanket after a quiet conversation with her. He heard his phone ringing and left the room to answer the call.

"Hello," he said, swiping the answer button, curious about the unknown number.

"Is this Xander Ross?"

"Yes, it is. Who's this?"

"This is Police Officer John."

"Is everything alright, Officer?"

"I'm calling to inform you that your girlfriend, Martha Stewart, was involved in a severe accident and was declared dead on arrival at City Hospital."

"What?" he said, shocked. He couldn't understand how Martha could have been in an accident, as he knew she was in Germany.

"You can't be serious," he mumbled, refusing to believe Martha was dead.

He sped to the hospital, where the horrifying truth was confirmed: his girlfriend was gone. The nurse handed him her personal effects. Martha's face was beyond recognition, destroyed in the car fire. Only her undamaged identification card allowed them to identify her.