His to Claim, His to Ruin

Chapter 7

Lana

I felt stupid as my eyes began to blur. Any minute from now, the tears I've been holding back poured like a dam.

Salvatore went away.

“Unless you follow everything I say, then you're good muffin.”

To keep my head straight means I must be confident. “Let’s make the contract marriage duration six months,” I affirmed as I tried to negotiate.

Salvatore scowled. He gave her a mocking look. “I will be the one to decide when our contract ends,” he muttered with finality. “This isn't a charity. Six months is not enough to pay off 2 million, including other expenses I'll be providing. I'll be the only one who gets to decide when it is gonna end.”

I c****d my eyebrows. “Fine. A year?”

A year? f**k. I don't think you'd still be alive in your sixth month Lana! Bold of you to negotiate. Either way you're no longer alive.

“Questioning my decision means you're not willing to follow what I want. Heeding to what I demand is one of my conditions, have you forgotten?”

Shoulders are down, a lump in my throat, and Salvatore having the final say.

What else can I do when he refuses to make revisions and we do everything in his way? I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“Fine…” I said with a sigh of defeat.

Keeping my sickness a secret is my personal choice. Salvatore is wealthy, even if I ask him for help to regain my strength, it is useless because there's no cure. Troubling him with my problem is not what I wanted to do. He's doing everything for my family, and that's enough.

Asking for more is absurd.

Salvatore took something from the drawer of his table. First, he handed me a phone.

My forehead creased. “What is this for?”

“Your new phone. Use it to call me, and call me alone. Bring it with you everywhere you go. I can track you using this, especially when you're in danger.”

“So it has a GPS.” I retorted. My jaw moved. He didn't speak, and I knew what his answer was. “Being your wife doesn't mean you’ll invade my privacy.”

Salvatore gazes at me with a taunting glare. “No. Being my wife means I should know where you are, what you do, and who's with you.”

I just signed up for something I didn't ask for. Great.

“And this,” Salvatore handed me a black card. His name was written on it. “Use it to spend however you like. Be it for clothes, accessories, whatever. I don't care.”

Ahhh, so he doesn't really give a damn about money, huh? He speaks plainly, entrusting me with his black card. If this is how rich people treat their money, then he might as well give all his fortune to me. I need it more than him!

“You don't mind if I swipe it to buy a gigolo in a club filled with hot, sloppy men, right?” A smirk crept to my face.

“Dare me,” he said. Never back down, never what? Never give up. In fact, he's provoking me with a bluff I mentioned. “I’ll let him watch how I spread those legs and senselessly f**k you.”

I blinked twice.

A ghost smile painted to his lips. He wasn't joking, and neither am I. Salvatore saw me shutting my mouth as disbelief crossed his eyes.

“Let Rose take you to your bedroom.” Salvatore's stoic voice echoed in my ears.

The woman who accompanied me earlier got inside. Her eyes glanced in Salvatore's direction with a meaningful look before she gave me quite a smile.

“This way, please.”

One move and I felt my head spinning. With just a single act, I nearly lost my control, and my body was about to fall.

To my surprise, Salvatore was fast to grab my waist, pulling me closer to him. A moment of silence crept between us until countless unfamiliar memories resurfaced in my mind.

“f**k,” I muttered solemnly whilst bearing my head.

We were close momentarily, until I was the one who pulled my body away from him.

Holy hell, what was that? A few selected memories began to crash my mind like a chopped bracelet!

“Are you good?” There was a faint concern slithering in his voice.

I nodded. “Y-Yes. It might be the blood stain on the floor.”

Oh God. What was that? The memories appeared like a dream. Their faces and their voices were faint and blurry. Jesus, don't tell me I'm daydreaming wide awake?

Salvatore stared at my face for a second until he bobbed his head and turned around.

Gosh. He's so cold and intense!

His gray eyes keep melting me. His callous palm meeting with my skin is enough to make my whole body go goosebumps.

“There you go.” Rose respectfully affirmed the moment I entered the vast bedroom prepared for me.

The room was big, cozy, and full of flowers. Lilies are on the table; the curtains weren't dark, but light pastel colors dominated the room. From the cold-painted wall to the bedsheets, furniture, and even the floor. Meanwhile, the queen-size bed is wrapped in a soft pink mixed with white colors and a strawberry imprint caught my attention. The fabric used was different, and it's exactly what I like!

The comforter was thick, and it's similar to the pillowcase and bedsheet. A strawberry soft pastel imprint.

“Wow, it's so soft!” I muttered whilst sitting down on the bed.

When was the last time I had a good sleep on a comfortable bed? Probably the last time my mother was confined to a hospital, I believe.

My parents get the bed while I sleep on the floor. Lying down on the soft mattress made me smile widely.

“Is there anything you need Madam?” Rose inquired.

Rose snapped me back to reality. “N-nothing. Thank you.”

“Press the intercom at the side of your bed when you need me. All the things you'll be needing are inside your closet. Please help yourself, Madam.”

“Copy.”

Rose left my room just like that. There are more than one closet. The first one holds clothes while the other closets are filled with shoes, bags, and accessories. My arms swung the closet door open—the one Rose was talking about and I found a bunch of clothes inside.

A rosy pink lingerie dress caught my attention followed by a fur coat I like.

I stood in front of a full-length mirror as I tried to fit into the newly bought clothes meant for me. Upon careful reconsideration, I noticed each dress's tops, including my pants, are exactly my size.

The gifts he gave me a few days ago are the same.

I opened the other door and saw pink robes, a couple of pairs of pajamas, including a Cinnamoroll sleepwear.

My jaw dropped when I realized whatever the closet contains is close to my heart. The limited edition Cinnamoroll pajama collection is the one I've been eyeing for months. If I buy it, then there's no money for my mom. Every piece of clothing inside bears a high-end tag I won't dare to buy.

A vanity mirror stands at the corner where luxury perfumes and makeup caught my attention. A Miss Dior blooming bouquet caught my attention. I sprayed it on my pulse, and it's exactly the perfume I wanted.

Meanwhile, countless make-ups sit above the vanity. I took a blush and swatched it on my other pulse, and the shade matches my skin exactly. Oh my God!

$50,000 is not enough budget to buy everything. I bet he used more than fifty to fill in the room for a woman's needs.

But to be honest, that's not really the question that bothers me. It should be “how the hell did he know my preferences?”