CHAPTER 2
1548 Words
Laura found her way back to the room amidst her blurry vision. Since the news about her marriage to Luther, she had done nothing but shed tears.
As she flung herself onto the bed, her mind raced with possible ways to escape her ordeal, but the only thing they all guaranteed was Andrew serving jail time. Luther was a wealthy and powerful man, with connections all over the world, so, running away was not an option, and they had even contemplated the idea.
She needed to brace up, she thought to herself, as the next 48 hours were going to be the most difficult 48 hours of her life. With her resolve came the impulse to sleep and within minutes she was fast asleep.
***
Luther stood side by side with Laura as the Priest stood in front of them, conducting the marriage ceremony.
“Do you, Luther, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?” He asked, his voice towering above the light mumbling in the church auditorium.
Laura’s late coming to her ceremony had sparked side talks that were yet to die down.
Luther's voice was deep, rich, and calm, “Yes, I do.”
He had always been this way – calm in the midst of tension, a quality that had endeared him to many.
The Priest turned to Laura, his expression unchanged, “And do you, Laura, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”
Laura gulped hard, she wished the ground could open and swallow her up.
Turning her head momentarily in Andrew’s direction, they both exchanged glances as the entire auditorium went silent and everyone awaited the bride’s response – the same bride who had kept them all waiting for over an hour on her special day.
Laura returned her gaze to Luther, her heart pounding fast, as the words escaped her lips, “I do.”
The Priest finally declared, “I pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride.”
Luther covered her lips quickly with his in a fleeting kiss as the crowd cheered the newly wedded couple.
***
Samantha’s eyes were filled with tears.
“What had she expected; that the rich and powerful Luther Castro would go as far as marrying his housekeeper?” She asked under her breath.
Samantha had seen the kind of women Luther associated with; they were sophisticated and classy and she was nothing like that. It’s not that she wasn’t beautiful, she was, but Samantha couldn’t afford to dress like them, and even if she could, she didn’t believe she needed to dress that way, just to win a man’s heart.
Samantha sobbed softly. “By now the ceremony must have been over,” he told herself.
Luther had personally invited her, but how could she go?
How could she watch the man she loved getting married to another?
Her gentle sobs graduated into more intense crying.
Samantha had fallen in love with Luther from the first time she laid eyes on him.
She had seen the ad in the paper that he needed a housekeeper and had called the number that came with the ad, requesting the job.
By the following day, she was at his home. She had showed up earlier than their agreed time and as she knocked on the door, he had come to open it, shirtless and sweaty, looking incredibly gorgeous.
“Oh I’m sorry” she had said before recognizing him.
“Luther! Is that really you, she asked, amazed by how much he had changed.
His instinct was to hug her as he recognized her as well, but he held himself back.
“Samantha! Where have you been? Please come in.” He said as he moved from the doorway.
“I should be the one apologizing for showing up looking this way,” he added.
She had managed to compose herself, shutting down that inner voice that had been yelling at her to kiss him.
“When we spoke yesterday concerning the housekeeping job, I had no clue you were the one at the other end of the phone.” She said excitedly.
Luther laughed as memories of their past emanated from his heart.
“I still can’t believe it’s you. I’m so glad I came to Fanville when I did. My company just closed a major deal and I came to personally oversee the project. I have been working from our Farmville branch for some weeks now. I got tired of moving from Riverpool to Fanville back and forth, so, I purchased this place 5 weeks ago.
He believed it was fate that brought her back to him. A part of him had wanted him to ask her so many questions but he had said something else instead.
“The job is all yours. How soon can you move in?”
That was eight months ago. Now he was getting married to another woman.
Struggling to put herself together, Samantha got up and headed to the living room.
“He’s married now and I have to forget about him,” she counseled herself, her eyes still threatening to let out more tears.
She was going to try to focus on her work from now and forget everything about how she felt for him, she decided painfully.
***
Outside the church auditorium, there was a lot of cheering as Laura and Luther entered the limo.
Luther had stopped to greet friends and well-wishers as photographers took multiple shots of him and his new bride.
“He seemed to be having the time of his life,” she thought to herself as anger welled up within her.
She shot him an unpleasant look, “So, where are we heading to,” her voice sounding as unpleasant as the look on her face.
Luther’s expression was that of surprise, “and she finally decides to speak to me.”
“How about, darling, where are we heading to?”
Her laugh was more of mockery than humor; “was that why you married me?
So, I could stroke your ego?” She asked, unrelenting in her effort to make him pissed.
“I married you to do more than to stroke my ego,” he said, laughing heartily.
He knew she was trying hard to upset him, he had known from the moment she walked into the church auditorium.
“But if she disliked him this much, why had she gone ahead with the marriage,” he wondered.
“Why didn’t she refuse and allow her brother to face the consequences of his action?” He asked himself.
He had the power to call this whole thing off and demand the arrest of her brother, but for some reason, he didn’t want to.
“We are heading to my home in Fanville,” he said, staring at her.
“You look beautiful, by the way,” he added, smiling as he said so.
All her attempts to get him riled up had failed. “She would just remain silent until they arrived at his home,” she thought.
She laid her head back against the limo’s seat as they pulled in front of Luther’s residence.
***
Samantha heard the limo pull up in front of the house.
“They are here!” She exclaimed.
She had walked into the living room with the intention of re-inspecting the decoration but had gotten lost in her thoughts.
Luther had insisted that the house be decorated to welcome his new wife and Samantha had supervised it from start to finish, ensuring that everything was done perfectly well.
Despite her feelings for Luther, she couldn’t bear to see anything ruin his plans of welcoming Laura.
As they approached the door, Samantha opened it instinctively, forcing a smile on her pale face.
“Welcome, may I….” But before she could finish her statement, Laura pushed her aside, almost throwing her to the floor.
Luther flared up, grabbing her by the hand. “You will never disrespect any of my people like that again. Do that again and I won’t hesitate to throw you out the door, and you know what that means.”
Laura was shocked to her bones; she had never seen Luther flare up like that before, not even when she tried to make provocative statements.
“Do you understand me,” he asked, his appearance even more intimidating.
Laura nodded in affirmation, her hand hurting her at the place where he held her.
Luther immediately released her hand as he reached to help Samantha up.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He prodded.
“I’m fine,” she answered, still shocked by Laura’s misdemeanor.
“Alright, I’m sorry about that. Please can you help with her bag?”
Samantha nodded and walked out to get Laura’s bag.
Laura, still stricken with fear, followed Luther to the bedroom in silence.
“If she had been looking for ways to anger Luther, then she had just found it,” she smiled to herself.
- Writer
