Bargain Wedding

Musk And Lilies

Jona looked at his phone and it flashed "home calling..." He was having dinner all by himself, so he disconnected the call. The phone buzzed again and this time, he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Master Jona," the voice of the maid was panicked. "It's ma'am Axel. She isn't well. Something has happened to her." The panic resonated in Jona as he stood up immediately.

"I am on my way. Call Dr. Choi."

☘

"Lohan, what the hell did you do? I asked you to put one drop in her food. How much did you put in there?" Ms. Suzuki asked with her gritted teeth.

"A whole bottle," Lohan replied, unwary of the consequences he'd brought. Mrs. Suzuki knew that Axel meant a great deal to Jona. Sure, she hadn't seen the mutual feelings from Axel, but she knew what Jona would do to them if Axel died or if he found out it was them.

Hell would break loose.

The fear-stricken faces were giving away their heinous crime. Ms. Suzuki composed herself and sent Lohan to his room, instructing him to not come out until the next morning. Lohan wasn't the smartest pea in the pod and his mother regretted the moment when she asked him for help.

Dr. Choi has been the family doctor since Jona's birth. They trusted the man with anything. The convenient thing was that he resided in the same block. Jona barged in thirty minutes later, almost running, and he witnessed Axel lying unconscious on the couch in the living room as maids surrounded her.

Jussy and Dr. Choi had pulled up her sleeves to her elbows and pants to her knees to apply the medicinal gel over the skin within their reach, which had formed red blebs all over, along with inflammation.

Jona looked at Axel and asked the doctor as he crouched down and patted the girl's head. "What is it? What happened to her?"

"It was an allergy, Jona. This is going to take some time to wear off. She caught some serious dose of allergen," the doctor informed. "But don't worry, she is going to be fine now."

Jona's face now was hot-to-trot, his eyes were like daggers, and his face all but flushed due to fury. He immediately carried the girl to their room. Nobody dared to go after them except the doctor. Ms. Suzuki motioned Jussy to follow, but she was s**t scared of Jona right now. She didn't budge.

Jona gently put her on the bed and turned to close the door. "Is she going to be okay?" He absentmindedly asked the doctor again.

"Of course, Jona. Don't worry... I arrived on time, but you need to see to it that it doesn't happen again. Allergies, if they occur repeatedly, can put the human body in shock. It could have been fatal if treatment was delayed. Make sure she stays away from sunflower extracts."

Jona sat beside Axel, holding her hand gently so as not to brush against the delicate skin.

"Here. Apply this to her body and remove the tight clothes," the doctor handed Jona a gel ointment which he candidly accepted. "It will help her skin to soothe down, otherwise, she'll wake up with a burning sensation all over her body."

Jona indeed accepted the medicine, but many thoughts kept wandering in his mind. How could he touch his precious girl without her permission? "I will be off. Don't hesitate to call me if you need me." Jona nodded to Dr. Choi and followed him out.

Once the older male was gone, he returned to see Axel's slightly puffy face as she laid peacefully, looking innocent and pure. If he was removing Axel's clothes, she might get upset and maybe even hate him more. But, if he wasn't doing it, then it would hurt her physically. He decided on the latter, not caring about the hatred Axel would throw his way.

Patting Axel's face mildly and calling her name, Jona leaned down. "Axel, can you hear me?"

Axel just yawned.

"I need to put this medicine over your skin," Jona was almost cooing in her ear and Axel nodded faintly, her lips separating as though she wanted to speak, but the sedatives were working with their full essence, prohibiting her to open her eyes or even move. Jona reached out for her belt and the younger's hands stopped him as a reflex. "Can you do this yourself? Can you open your eyes?" The man asked the raven-haired woman, but the latter shook her head unhurriedly.

"May I please apply the medicine to your skin?" Jona asked as he stroked Axel's hair again. He was half lying on Axel's side of the bed, perching his elbow on the mattress when he caught Axel nodding.

"I need to take off your pants. May I?" Axel shook her head again.

Jona was brushing her hair as lovingly as he could. "Do you hate me that much?" He asked with his voice wavering as he tried his best to not let the tears win over him.

Axel remained steady before she shook her head again, making Jona smile a little. "Jona," her faint voice called.

"I am here," Jona held her palm carefully.

"Why did you leave me alone?" Axel asked in a dry, hoarse voice. Jona had to lean down towards her lips to hear it. His heart ached when he heard the words. He couldn't say anything. "It itches... bad," Axel mumbled slowly.

It made Jona stop thinking anymore as he turned off the lights, so he couldn't see Axel's body, not like that. Under the dim lights, he undid Axel's pants, sliding them down carefully to not let them rub against her skin. His hands began to unbutton the shirt the girl was wearing. Axel instinctively turned towards Jona to bury herself under his body for warmth as sudden cool air attacked her bare skin.

Taking the soft covers, he put them over her carefully. His heart was so loud, he could hear it clearly in his ears in the silent room. Slowly, he pumped the gel over his fingertips and started to rub it over Axel's thighs. From top to bottom of her leg, it took some time for Jona to finish it. The girl under him trembled at the touch. It flustered Jona when he elicited a moan from her lips. Not thinking much of it, he continued to apply the gel to her frontal body, her face, her ribs, and belly, until her panties' waistband. The girl moaned again as the soft finger ran across her torso.

Jona turned her around and started to apply the gel to her back. His fingers unhooked her bra for more access and Axel gasped. Jona continued moving his hands slowly, letting his wife take comfort in the cool touch. He could feel the rough, puffy pouches on the skin against his hands. His throat tightened, thinking of the pain she must be going through. He had to take care of her first, and the next thing was to make sure that everyone responsible for the kitchen was fired.

Axel was waking up little by little as the sedative started wearing off. She slowly opened her eyes after almost an hour. Jona was sitting right by her side. Just as she saw him, she tried to slide back. "Don't move. I will go."

Jona stood to leave when Axel held his hand. "Don't go." She asked with her dry throat.

Jona sat back down, blinking softly at her. "I had to remove your clothes." He spoke slowly.

"I know," Axel replied faintly and gulped. "I need water, please."

☘

"You are all fired," Obasaan and Jona's stepfamily were watching a furious Jona, petrified, as he reeled off.

"Obasaan," Jona craned his neck towards the head of the staff. "I want the replacement by tonight. All groceries that come into the house from now on will have to be monitored carefully by you and CCTV will be installed in the kitchen." Jona stated nonclamantly and entered the kitchen to prepare food for Axel.

"Son, don't you think that CCTV is a bit too much?" Mr. Suzuki lurked towards the kitchen.

"Mother, I have decided. I don't like it when my decisions are challenged. I hope you will respect this fact. Now, please excuse me. I will have to get to work." Jona revolted, and Hana looked at the ground, sighing heavily and slowly, unable to speak another word after that.

Jona prepared soup, avocado toast, and an omelet for the younger one. As he carried the food into their room, he saw that Axel was still sleeping. When he spectated from up close, the puffiness and roughness on the girl's skin had subsided, but there was still visible redness.

Jona carefully put the tray on the table and called her name softly. "Axel, wake up."

Axel wiggled in the bed and opened her eyes slowly. She sat upright and her back was visible to Jona from where he stood, while her frontal and lower body remained tucked inside the covers. Jona got flustered looking at her so he avoided gazing at all costs.

On the other hand, Axel was comfortable enough. Probably because she'd done many semi-nude fine-art photoshoots in front of strangers for her modeling projects, and it wasn't that big a deal for her. Besides, her skin was stinging as she scratched it in her sleep because of the itch.

"I have brought you some breakfast. Are you hungry?" Jona asked sweetly, uncovering the dishes. "Your clothes are on the pillow." He informed her when his phone rang.

He picked up the call immediately, turning around, so his back was facing Axel. "Tell me. What is it?"

"I have the contracts ready, but I urgently need to go to China. There is an issue with the Beijing plant installation. The fuckers want someone from us to go and settle. Worthless pieces of s**t!" Coco bellowed from the other side.

"That's alright. You can go. I will take a look at the documents later."

"No, Jona. These are for Aokis. They need urgent attention." Coco emphasized that Jona was the one to create a sense of urgency for this task for days.

"I can't come to the office today. I will let someone bring them to me. Hand them over to Ms. Milly." Jona responded instead, perplexing Coco.

"Why? Is everything alright?" Coco's voice exhibited concern.

"Something personal came up. I will talk to you later. When will you be back?"

"In three days, if everything goes well. I will keep you informed," Coco answered.

"Come back safe."

"Don't worry about me. Worry about Axel," Coco snickered. Jona knew that Coco was flashing a huge grin, judging by his tone.

"Do I even have to ask?" Jona asked tiresomely.

"Of course, not. If it wasn't for Axel, you would have hauled your ass here right now." The best friend chortled.

"It's unhealthy. The amount of obsession that you have with my ass-" Jona suddenly stopped talking as soon as he uttered the words and looked back at Axel, who was now dressed and was trying her best to not look like someone whose husband was talking about his ass with somebody else.

"Bye!" Coco guffawed before he disconnected.

"T-That was Coco." Jona wanted to kick himself in the balls for the stutter.

Axel pursed her lips and nodded twice. Jona was relieved when she allowed him to tend to her earlier at night. After the look he saw in her eyes in the club, all of his hopes had gone astray. He knew Axel would never love him. It was worthless to hold on to that one sliver of hope, and he made peace with it. After all, it was a forced marriage. But something in Axel's gaze changed since then.

As if on cue, they heard a knock at the door. Axel grabbed her brassiere and slid it under the covers while Jona answered the door. It was Obasaan, looking grim to her bones. "Master, please will you reconsider? Those poor people have nowhere to go." She pleaded with her head down.

"What happened?" Axel asked from behind and both Obasaan and Jona looked at each other.

"Nothing for you to worry about, Axel," Jona conveyed to her with a modest smile and walked out of the room along with Obasaan as he gingerly closed the door behind him.

"Please, Master. They have no homes to stay in," Obasaan was tearing up.

Jona hugged her gently. "Obasaan!" He rocked the frail body in his arms gently. "You can't do that to me." He whined like a child.

Obasaan chuckled lightly.

"Alright! But they need to be careful. Train them again, please. There is no scope for the next mistake." Jona warned stoically.

"God bless you, son... Thank you so much. May you be blessed," Obasaan muttered blessings as she walked back and Jona kept looking at her.

She was the one in the family from the time when he wasn't even born. He had an attachment to Obasaan like no one else. She took care of him and wiped his tears silently when no one could see them after his mother died. He always hid his pain from his father, not wanting him to worry about him. It was this woman who remedied his pain in tough times. Ms. Suzuki tried on multiple occasions, especially after Mr. Suzuki was declared sick, to get rid of her and hire someone young, but Jona had made it clear that she was a part of the family. She was more like a mother to him.

☘

Jona was working from home as he signed the contracts before placing them back in envelopes with the word confidential written over them in black and bold. Walking out to the security room, he handed the envelope to the driver. "Take them to Axel's father and call me once you have handed them."

"Sure, sir," the driver bowed his head before leaving immediately.

Once the driver left the house in the car, Jona sighed in relief. He was worried about Aokis' and he, of course, knew how grotesque the situation had gotten for them. But that was not the reason enough that he gave the card to Axel. It was also because Axel was under his legal responsibility now, and she was still quite young and didn't have a job yet. He wanted to give the world to her.

Axel had many Suzuki properties transferred to her name, which included three farmhouses, a few restaurants, an industry in South America, and a few million dollars to her name in her new bank account when they got married. A car and a platinum card were nothing.

He'd called Dr. Choi again for a follow-up the first thing in the morning. It was now the time that the doctor had arrived and was checking his wife. Axel's skin was still a little red. Dr. Choi inspected it carefully. "You are perfectly fine, Axel," he declared with a smile. "The side effects will cease to exist in the next few hours. I recommend you take a rest today, hm?

"Thank you, doctor," Axel was happy that the doctor talked to her about her health today, unlike last time.

"Don't mention it, and I want to see you healthy the next time I visit, hm?" The man chuckled softly and got up to leave. Jona saw the old man off before filing back to his couch.

"Thank you, Jona," he heard the small voice.

"For?" He asked as he craned his neck to his right and c****d his left brow at Axel.

Axel kept fiddling with the border of the sheets. "For taking care of me," her voice was below the human decibels. Jona read her lips as he was gawking at her. "I need someone to stay with me when I am sick. Thank you for being there."

"I did nothing," Jona put simply as he walked towards the bed and sat beside Axel after sighing heavily. "What did you eat? Do you remember anything?" He asked with concern.

"It was chicken and thyme soup," Axel replied, blinking her innocent eyes slowly.

"I am really sorry that it happened in the house. And I am even more sorry that I wasn't here when it happened," Jona apologized, softly, which made the young woman's heart warm and she shook her head. "Do you want to go see mom?" Jona asked, looking into her eyes, and then the gaze was cast to her lips which were still a little swollen while Axel nodded.

Jona admired everything about her. The softness with which she embraced him during their first dance, her tiny head shakes, and small nods were something he could die for. She hardly spoke, but she wouldn't shy away from speaking her mind if need be. The way she spoke so slowly that he had to pay more attention to her words, the way she blushed, the way she smelled of musk and lilies all the time, her elegance, her confidence, her inked arm, the side that demanded to be kissed, her adorable cheeks which always compelled him to want to pinch them softly and place chaste kisses over and over, her pink lips — too hard to resist, the lips that parted whenever she got confused, drunk, or fell asleep, Jona fell for everything.

To Jona, Axel was the definition of perfection with her daintiness and tough exterior.

"I will take you. Tell me whenever you want to leave," Jona tried to stroke her hair as his hand went up but came back down at the last moment.

Axel also recoiled at that, and it suddenly became awkward between the two. "I will go alone," she mumbled, followed by pressing her lips together.

"I won't tell them you make me sleep on the couch," Jona replied cockily, making the girl's cheeks burn. Poor thing couldn't do anything and just blushed.

"I will go take a shower," Axel responded as if the words were on the tip of her tongue, and to her liking, Jona's phone rang. She walked towards the bathroom, thinking that Jona was such a tease. She had never seen this side of him before.

"Hello," Meanwhile, Jona answered the phone while walking around the room.

"Sir, I have the details. He studies at Sophia University. Final year student."

Jona's heart suddenly felt a burn of jealousy. As if on cue, Axel's unattended phone suddenly buzzed, which was kept on the nightstand. Jona's gaze fell on the notification from someone named Minhaj.

"What is the name of this boy?" Jona asked over his phone in a serious, low tone.

"Minhaj." The voice replied.