CHAPTER 2
1300 Words
DAHLIA’S POV
As the man beside me fell silent, I assumed he had fallen asleep.
Despite the cold and rain outside, I felt warm and comfortable with Hector's presence. My mind began to wander with the sound of the rain.
I thought about the arranged engagement between the Smiths and Jones families, which had been planned years ago.
But fate had other plans, and the Jones family's fortunes declined, forcing them to hide in a small village.
Hector, once a proud man, was now disheartened and resorted to fighting and stealing. He was penniless and had a reputation as a local hooligan.
No wonder Ophelia refused to marry him. But the Smith family saw an opportunity to gain a substantial dowry and forced me, their illegitimate daughter, to take Ophelia's place.
I still remember Ophelia's condescending words, "Why would I marry such a hooligan? You're more suitable. Your mother is a slut anyway, and your younger brother is a bastard from God knows where!"
My father’s words were."Dahlia, marry Hector Jones, and I'll give you a sum of money. You can use it to pay for your mother's treatment and your younger brother's education." His eyes were cold, full of condescension.
My stepmother pointed at me, her voice venomous: "You b***h! You're an illegitimate child, be grateful for this opportunity to get married. Don't be ungrateful!"
I woke up with a start, realizing I had fallen asleep. Hector was already gone, so I got dressed, washed up, and headed to the small kitchen.
I found some eggs, vegetable leaves, and noodles, and made two bowls of noodles. Just as I brought them to the table, Hector jogged into the courtyard, his bare chest glistening with sweat.
His strong muscles and rugged appearance made my face flush. I tried to compose myself and greeted him, "Have you eaten breakfast? I made noodles."
My voice was steady, but my heart raced as I took in his manly appearance.
As I offered Hector the noodles, he didn't refuse. Instead, he walked over and sat down at the table, taking a bowl and saying, "Must have been hard work."
I stuttered, "No, it's okay." I couldn't help but sneak a glance at the muscles on his body, then look around at the sandbags, dumbbells, and other items in the yard.
I swallowed hard, thinking about the rumors of his fighting and wondering if he would hit me if he got angry.
Hector picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks and looked at me, frowning. "You eat too."
I quickly sat down, picked up my chopsticks, and started eating in small bites. We sat opposite each other, eating in silence.
I couldn't help but peek at Hector from time to time, noticing how he ate his noodles with refined elegance, unlike the local ruffian I thought he was.
"Hector seems like a decent person," I thought to myself.
But looking around at our bleak surroundings, the rundown house, and even the rain leaking through a roof tile, I shook my head, dismissing the absurd thought.
After finishing his noodles, Hector gazed at me with an unreadable expression, making me nervous. I wondered if I had something on my face and awkwardly touched my cheek.
I longed to know his plans for our future, but hesitated to ask.
How would we support ourselves? Where would we live? I bit my lip and asked tentatively, "Um... What are you going to do today?"
Hector stood up, stretched, and replied, "Exercise. Why?"
I then mentioned my plan to return the wedding dress, trying to sound casual despite my growing unease.
Hector seemed indifferent to our wedding details, unaware of the trouble I had gone through, like renting the dress.
But when he saw my downcast expression, his frown softened, and he stopped me from clearing the table, saying, "Wait a moment."
"What's wrong?" I asked, confused. Hector walked to the broken mahogany lacquer cabinet, took out a small carved wooden box from the bottom drawer, and handed it to me.
"What?" I took it, feeling its weight, and opened it to find a crystal-clear jade bracelet lying quietly inside.
Even though I didn't know how to appraise jade, I could tell it was worth a lot just by looking at its color and quality.
Hector glanced at the jade bracelet, and I sensed a hint of respect in his gesture.
"This is all of our belongings. Since we are married, this bracelet will belong to you from now on."
I was stunned - wasn't Hector a pauper? How did he have such a valuable thing? I held the wooden box, feeling dazed, and opened my mouth to say, "Ah, such a valuable bracelet..."
"Take it," Hector said, without looking at me again, and walked out of the house.
I realized this must be the last valuable thing the Jones Family has.
I must take good care of it for Hector! I exhaled, closed the wooden box, and put the bracelet back in its original position.
I finally arrived at the city after a long journey on the rickety bus, exhausted from washing and drying the wedding dress.
My stepmother and father hadn't provided anything for my wedding, and I'd spent all my money on my mother's treatment, leaving me with no choice but to rent a dress.
I'd chosen this shop in the mall because it was affordable and pretty. As I lugged the heavy bag into the shop, the assistant looked up from her phone, eyeing me with disdain.
She pinched the hem of the dress, her voice dripping with contempt.
"You just got married, and you've managed to ruin the dress? What's that smell?" I felt a surge of embarrassment and frustration at her tone, knowing I'd done my best with limited resources.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and tried to explain, "I washed it with soap, it's very clean, I promise!"
But the assistant cut me off, her tone dripping with disdain.
"You've only been married for a day and already you've ruined the dress? Did you wear it to feed pigs in the countryside? You're supposed to dry-clean it, do you even understand that?"
She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "What a country bumpkin."
Then, she started typing away on the calculator, her fingers flying as she tallied up the damages.
"The dry cleaning fee is 3,000 yuan, the compensation for the wedding dress is 5,000 yuan, and the rental fee is 2,000 yuan. That's a total of 10,000 yuan." She handed me the bill with a smug expression.
I was stunned - the dress itself wasn't even worth that much! The rental fee alone was only a fraction of that price. This was outright extortion, and I felt my anger rising.
I gritted my teeth, refusing to back down. "This is ridiculous! The dress isn't even damaged, why should I pay 10,000 yuan? I won't give it to you!"
The assistant sneered, "Fine, you're trying to renege on your debt? I'll call the police to arrest you right now!"
She picked up her phone, but just as she was about to dial, a voice interrupted her.
"Who are you going to call the police to arrest?" I turned to see Hector walking in, his eyes scanning the scene before settling on me with concern.
He strode over, his frown deepening as he took in my red-rimmed eyes.
"Are you extorting customers with sky-high prices and threatening them?" he asked the assistant coldly.
She seemed taken aback by Hector's sudden appearance, but still shot us a disdainful glance. "You two are just poor wretches, delusional to think you can afford anything. You can't even buy a wedding dress, and yet you're trying to negotiate?" she spat mockingly.
- Writer
