The Ruthless CEO's Most Wanted Ex-Wife

Chapter Five

Stone was frowning profusely as he looked at her with disgust. "God forbid indeed that I accept you with open arms as my wife if it were left for me to decide. What was Sevyn thinking?"

At high speed, Elspeth shifted backwards away from him, afraid that he might lay his hands on her, again. With such a look that he gave her, she felt like she was the monster and not him.

Was this really the man that she loved? Clearly, she’d heard him call his own father by name.

"G-Good morning—" She thought to greet.

"Save the greetings for yourself." He rudely shot at her, suspending her sentence. "I am only here to apprise you of rules that I'd rather let you know in person just before I step out."

"I would have loved to do it over breakfast, but it seems like you're the kind that likes to delay people from going to work early as they had planned."

"I'm sorry." Elspeth apologized without meeting his eyes and rather, she heard him hiss with distaste.

"You will not be expecting me to give you any money or allowance as long as you're in this home. Only your parents and siblings will be receiving such treatments." He began. "As long as you're eating my food, sleeping on my bed and making good use of my home, I believe that's enough for you."

Not our home?

"And if there are any essentials that would be important for you to have, you will meet Emilia and have her get it for you." He went on. "There will also be no stepping out of this house except under my permission. Even if it is to see your loved ones. That's all. If there are more, I'll let you know."

Without waiting to have knowledge on whether she had any questions or not, he turned away and began to head back downstairs.

Unluckily for her, he hadn't gotten far before he stopped and turned around, again. "Oh, and as from today, you're the one doing the cleaning of my room and yours. Expect no maid to do it for you." Elspeth saw the smirk on his face right before he turned away once more. "After all, you're now my wife."

Oh, such heartless being indeed! Elspeth concluded in her head. She was beginning to understand the rumors that she had heard of him. Wicked, rude, ruthless, disobedient, stony-hearted, just like his name. Albeit that she had still stupidly kept her love strong for him.

First, he forbade that he would accept her as a wife and now he made sure that she heard the heavy sarcasm in his voice when he called her one? As much as she felt broken and shattered to the core, she still stood her ground on doing it for her family. She would rather suffer in this house and let mother, father, Tracy and Emmanuel enjoy.

They didn’t need to know what she was going through.

She made sure she was done reminding herself of what would keep her strong before she straightened her expression from her depressed look and went back inside to complete her dressing.

What was left was the usual scarfs she liked to place over her head and she picked a blue one from the clothes she previously had to match the blue dress. Then, she stepped out of the room, closed her door and took the same way that Stone had left through, knowing that it led her back to the ground floor, for the mansion had two floors with extremely high ceilings.

At the staircase going down, she encountered one of the maids and as soon as the woman set eyes on her, she expressed a considerable amount of shock that left Elspeth confused.

"Oh, my!" The woman exclaimed, stopping right in front of Elspeth in the middle of the imperial staircase. "What are you wearing?"

Puzzled, Elspeth looked down at herself and seeing nothing wrong, she gave the woman a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Darling, because your husband is not giving you the attention you deserve does not mean you should not dress like a proper lady!" The maid said as she quickly took Elspeth's hand and began to lead her back up the staircase. "Who gave you this dress anyway?"

What was this woman saying?

"I took the dress from the new clothes." Elspeth tried to explain but the woman was already pulling her along so fast that Elspeth nearly skipped a step along the way.

Once they entered her bedroom again, the woman rushed to open the wardrobe that contained her new set of clothes. "What nonsense is this?!" She seemed baffled as she took in the view of the content of the wardrobe.

"I knew I shouldn't have let Emilia do the shopping. The gowns are all so ugly." Then she began to throw them out one by one, and Elspeth had to dodge half of them from hitting her face.

Some of the gowns managed to land on the bed and the rest landed on the floor. The act was so funny that Elspeth had begun to smile. She chuckled even. This woman was a case!

"And madam even wore the worst of them all." The woman sighed when she finally paused from her hustle and faced Elspeth with an unimpressed look.

Elspeth observed the woman that stood in front of her with her hands on her waists. She resembled one that was in her late forties. Yet, the long black dress and white apron which covered her down to her ankles fitted her like a young youth.

Her black hair was packed into a neat bun and her face appeared friendly. "What is your name, madam?" The woman eventually asked.

Elspeth also perceived that she must have not been the one to knock at her door earlier. Clearly, the last lady was comfortable to call her Mrs Gerardo.

"Elspeth." She replied, gladly and with a pleasant smile. She suddenly felt a bit more relaxed.

Noticing this, the woman also expressed much calmness and came closer to stand right in front of Elspeth with a little smile on her face. "I'm sorry, Madam Elspeth but do not mind Emilia. She must have just bought the first clothes she saw in the boutique. It's how she is, always too serious. Perhaps it is why she's Master's favorite."

Elspeth remembered the name. It was the same person that Stone had referred her to whenever she needed anything.

"I might not have a choice, though." Elspeth told the woman, sadly. "My husband already instructed that she must be the one I go to when I want to request for new things."

"No, no, no, madam. You mustn't be downcast.” The woman reached out and cupped Elspeth’s cheeks so that Elspeth looked no other way but into her warm gaze. "I, Celine will take care of such issues and I will also change this horrible new clothes of yours."

"Because darling, if your husband doesn't love you, I'll make him! You're too beautiful to go to waste. Even Derrick has a crush on you already!"

"Who's Derrick?" Elspeth found herself asking.

"The butler of course." Celine answered, dropping her hands and sitting her fat buttocks next to Elspeth on the bed. "He has an eye for pretty women and so do I. And mind you, you're one of the two percent of women out of a hundred that Master Gerardo has brought to this house. Only difference is he married you."

"Really?" Elspeth felt her spirit gaining existence, again.

"Of course!"

Elspeth didn't feel so bad anymore. Thanks to Celine. She was glad that at least in this miserable house, there was someone with a contagious amount of light-heartedness.

"But first! Take this off already." Celine proclaimed and Elspeth's scarf was taken off from her head at once. “I can see a huge potential of you looking very pretty if only you’ll start wearing just the right things. And yet you wear a scarf to cover your lovely hair?”

Elspeth laughed. She hadn’t seen it as much of anything bad to wear the scarf. Maybe it was because she was so used to hiding her face from men in the streets each time she stepped out of the house because they tended to whistle at her a lot.

Indeed, she was a pretty lady! If only Stone will just see it.

"Now let's go to eat and come back for all this later. Maybe it'll make you feel much better to eat in peace now that Master has stepped out and then we will see what we can begin with here." Celine stood to her feet and pulled Elspeth's to hers, too.