Contract Marriage: My Callous Husband

“Hello, Ms. Brown, your father Luka Brown’s surgery is fast approaching. Please pay the surgery and hospitalization fees as soon as possible to avoid any delays.” “Amy, when are you going to pay me back? Your family is in a mess, can I still get my money back?” “Damn you b***h! Pay me the money now or you’ll die a horrible death!” Amy sat in a daze at the dresser. Her petite body was wearing an elegant and beautiful wedding gown. She barely had any makeup on yet she looked fresh and gorgeous like a blooming daisy on a Spring morning. She was just a smile away from picture perfection. Amy, who was about to marry into the wealthiest family in New York, the Fontbonas, was full of anxiety. She gazed with a heavy heart at the screen of her phone. The messages kept coming in, not of well wishes but tenacious demands for payments. Each message felt like the noose tightening around her neck... Amy found it difficult to breathe with all the stresses and problems that she suddenly had to shoulder. As soon as her father’s businesses stumbled, his hard-earned estate was carved apart and squandered by all the shareholders, leaving her with only a pile of bad debts. In just one night, she fell from the heavens into a dark and cold abyss. The usually kind relatives were now eager to rip her apart and obtain whatever remaining assets that her father had. Amy really wanted to cry, but she forced back her tears when her stepmother Lucy Collin flung the door open and stormed into the dressing room. “Amy, what are you still waiting for? All the guests had arrived. You’d better not screw up the wedding or you won’t get a single penny!” Amy sprung to her feet and pleaded. “Mom, can you give me fifty thousand dollars now? Dad’s surgery can’t be delayed anymore, otherwise...” Smack! She received a hot slap on the left cheek before she could finish her sentence. Lucy sneered, “How dare you ask me for money without realizing who you are now? I gave you some leeway when that old fart father of yours was still in power. Now that he is terminally ill, who do you think you are? If you want money, get on with the marriage. You won’t get a penny of the Brown family’s estate after from now on!” She stormed out of the dressing room and slammed the door. Amy was startled by the commotion and felt totally disappointed and hopeless. To think that her father had adored Lucy throughout their marriage and now she was so heartless to deny him a life-saving surgery. She trembled as she felt a chill run down her spine. How could a wife be so heartless to her husband? She was absolutely disgusted with Lucy and felt the chills even as they were in the middle of a scorching summer. The coldness of their hearts made her feel as if she was in a frozen cave in the artic. Charles Fontbona was the rightful heir of the family business. Unfortunately, he was disabled. The whole city knew that this semi-paralyzed man was irritable and eccentric. She had agreed to be married to him to save her father. If not for her father’s urgent need for the surgery, she would never have surrendered her right to choose who she married. Amy immediately thought of Henry, who had been in love with her for many years and must be heartbroken that she was forced to marry another man. Yes, she still had Henry and now, she could only depend on him to save her! It was as if he was her guardian angel who was always there to guide and help her. This time was no exception. Amy’s heart warmed up with flames of hope as she imagined the handsome Henry appearing in front of her, reaching out his hand toward her, and saying, “Baby, don’t be afraid, I’m always here for you.” As her eyes welled up with tears, she grabbed her phone and ran from the dressing room. There were people along the corridor who called out to her but she did not bother to explain to them. She ran all the way to the end of the corridor, went into a stairwell, and called him. Henry, help me... help me. She heard the familiar and distinct ringtone that she had set up for Henry’s cell phone. Amy was stunned and slowly looked up only to see Henry kissing passionately and embracing a woman. Amy’s heart sank instantly, her phone slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. “Grace?” She stumbled several steps backward and leaned onto the wall. “What are you doing? Henry, she’s my step-sister! How could you do this?” They stopped their raunchy encounter when they heard her and did not even appear flustered. Henry chuckled softly and walked down the stairs with his arms around Grace’s waist. He stopped several steps above Amy and said, “There is no need to pretend anymore. Do you really think that I love you? No, I hate having to give in to your tantrums and demands like a spoiled princess. If it weren’t for your father’s estate, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere around you every day! Oh, my dear princess, it’s time to wake up from your fairy tale dreamland.” Grace grinned smugly and said, “Yes, Amy. In fact, you should thank us for working together to ruin Dad’s business ventures and causing him to suffer from a cerebral hemorrhage. His hospitalization bills and expensive surgeries now gave you the chance to marry into the Fontbona family. You must cherish this opportunity. Take it as a wedding gift from your dearest sister.” She laughed sinisterly like a witch. Amy felt goosebumps all over her body. The repeated emotional blows were one too many for her to handle. She felt her surroundings spinning, felt dizzy, and almost fell down the stairs. “Grace... Henry...” Amy braced herself against the wall and slowly lifted her head. She looked at them with bloodshot eyes and said angrily through gritted teeth, “This is not the end of it!” “Bring it on, you b***h! Do you really think I’ll be afraid of you?” Grace sneered, suddenly lunged forward, and gave her a hard push. “Go to hell!” Argh... Amy fell backward and tumbled down the stairs. Her arms and legs were lacerated and blood soon oozed from the wounds and stained her beautiful white wedding gown. She felt as though her bones had snapped. She was in a lot of pain. However, the physical pain was eclipsed by her emotional trauma. The sinister laughter above her continued and reverberated through the stairwell. Henry’s disdainful gaze and Grace’s ghoulish glare were the most terrifying images she had ever seen in her life. Devils. They were demons! When her father’s business collapsed, Amy did what she could to secure some of his assets and money for her stepmother and sister. She even spent her last bit of money to buy Henry a birthday gift to please him. Who would have thought that everything she did was for nothing? She was determined to seek revenge and wanted them to pay for their sins and misdeeds. On the night of her wedding, Amy realized the creepy aspects of Charles Fontbona. Charles had been paralyzed for many years. Although he was sitting in a wheelchair and at a height much lower than her, his cold, sharp eyes were like those of a falcon soaring high in the sky, staring at its prey. His stares sent chills down her spine. That chiseled and handsome face was particularly captivating, but he exuded an aura that repelled people miles away. Anyone who saw his expression would be so intimidated that they bowed their heads. “Mr. Fontbona, shall we... rest?” She walked over with her head lowered and wanted to reach out to help him onto the bed. “I’ll help you get into bed.” “Go away,” Charles mumbled coldly. Amy really wanted to do as he said and escape as far away as possible, but she could not do it. She needed to take good care of him so that she could survive in this family and take care of her father. Amy mustered a smile and said, “Doesn’t Mr. Fontbona like me? We’re already married, and I’m your wife, so...” “I have never accepted you as my wife. It is my mother who wanted you to marry me. So, you can sleep with her if you want to.” Charles pushed her to the ground, then spun the wheelchair around, and wheeled himself away. Amy did not give up. She massaged her arm and knees and then caught up with him in the study. When she saw him open his laptop to prepare for work, she wisely helped him make a cup of coffee. “Mr. Fontbona, have a cup of coffee.” She just placed the cup of coffee on the table and he immediately swept it off the table without even looking at it. “Ouch! It’s so hot... so hot!” Amy covered her face in pain, collapsed to the ground, and curled up while trembling painfully. Charles did not even show a hint of compassion and said frostily, “I’ll say it again for the last time. Get the hell out! Otherwise, it’ll be worse than hot coffee the next time!” Amy hesitated for a long time before struggling to her feet and leaving the study without saying a word. She stood in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw a pathetic-looking woman with her hair in a mess and a scalded face. She could not recognize herself. She used to be her father’s little princess and was totally pampered by her father. She once lived in a carefree world and had a man who she loved. Today was her 18th birthday and the heavens really played a trick on her on this significant day. Amy sobbed while looking at herself until she vaguely heard the sound of the bedroom door closing. She knew that it was Charles who had entered the room. She quickly composed herself, forced herself to smile, and then left the bathroom. “Let me help you, Mr. Fontbona.” Amy rushed over to him when she saw him struggling to get from the wheelchair onto the bed. Just as she touched him, he hit her so hard that she was knocked onto the floor. “You are not allowed to stay in my room,” he said frostily. “But...” Charles lost his patience and temper. He grabbed her hair and slammed her head onto the bedpost. Amy felt a blinding pain on her forehead and almost blacked out. She felt the bump which was getting bigger and had begun to bleed. “Leave and I never want to see you again!” he snarled. She could not hold back her tears anymore and wept silently as she left the room with her tail tucked between her legs like a despised b***h. She felt like she was a pile of s**t.