Her Disabled Heir

Chapter 4: Mr. Chase Williams

“Sit down, we need to establish some ground rules,” Mr. Williams said leisurely like he was offering me a cup of tea and not ordering me around.

Having lost all my will to fight for the day, I obeyed and sat on the edge of the bed, awaiting the next words that would come out of his mouth.

My mother had just left the mansion and my life for good and Mr. Williams and I were back in what was now supposed to be my new room.

My newly acquired husband rolled his wheelchair forward until we were just a few spaces away from each other. Under the lighting and with such proximity, I could see him better. I could observe and study everything about him that I needed to.

His hair, the structure of his face, his eyes, his nose, his lips, everything.

“To the rest of the world, you are my wife, you are my better half, but in this mansion, in this room, you are just another human being I have agreed to co-habit with, do you understand?” He asked with an eyebrow arched.

In all honesty, I had expected him to say something vile and wrong like half of the other men on this planet, but his request sounded reasonable. I nodded. Co-habit was something I knew how to do perfectly well.

“This means I do not want you poking your nose into any of my business. We would do what we have to do as a couple, but that is where it ends. There will be nothing more, nothing less.”

Once again, I nodded. I had no interest in his businesses and, quite frankly, I didn’t plan on developing one.

Mr. Williams paused. His full pink lips formed a thin line and his eyes seemed to probe into everything that entailed my very existence in an instant.

Feeling uncomfortable, I shifted in my seat.

“You seemed very talkative early today. What changed? Do you not speak anymore?” He inquired.

When I failed to utter any words, he asked, “Is this about your mother?”

His words struck a powerful chord in me. “I do not have a mother. You are my only family now,” I told him.

The intensity of my words seemed to hit in a soft place because, for a slight moment, his eyes held a bit of remorse, but before I could make any comment about it, it disappeared.

“Why did you marry me? You could have had anyone else, so why me?” I found myself asking.

Mr. Williams's eyes darkened and the mood in the room changed drastically from sorrowful to intense. “Wrong. You are wrong. There is so much that you do not know. You are naïve, Eleanor, and that is what made you the perfect bride.”

I waited for him to elaborate, to maybe say a bit more and make me understand, but that was it. He offered no more answers and I decided not to push any further.

An uncomfortable silence blanketed the room, and I was scared to know what would happen next. In his very words, I was now bound to him, and he could do with me as he pleased, and that in itself terrified me to my bones.

“Goodnight, Eleanor,” Mr. Williams greeted, breaking the silence.

He began to roll his wheelchair away and I couldn’t help the words that hurriedly fell out of my mouth. “Wait, we’re a married couple now. Aren’t we… aren’t we supposed to spend our wedding night together?”

Mr. Williams stopped in his tracks with his back still turned to me. “There will be enough time for that later, I promise you. For now, good night Eleanor.”

A wave of relief washed over me. “Good night, Mr. Williams.”

“No, call me Chase from now on.” And with that, he rolled his wheelchair out of my room and left.

“Good night Chase,” I whispered.

The night was cold and tormenting. All alone in this big room that I was now made to call my own, I could only think of all the terrible things I had been through. In one day, I had lost a mother and gained a disabled husband whom I knew nothing about.

Each event from today played painfully in my head, making it even more difficult to sleep. My head throbbed, and my mind relented, throwing a million questions and accusations my way until I decided that I had had enough.

Standing up from my bed, I decided that I needed a distraction from my thoughts and myself. I decided that I needed my husband.

I made my way towards my door, opened it, and shut it firmly behind me.

Looking both to my right and left, I began to rethink my decision. The hall was so vast, that it made me realize that finding Chase would not be as easy as I thought.

Just as I was about to give up and go back into my room, I heard yelling. The voice was not so loud from where I stood, but the deep baritone tone that went along with it reminded me of the disabled man I had just married.

Curious and worried, I followed the sound. As I walked forward, I heard more voices and more yelling and it only fueled me.

I pressed forward until I came face to face with a brown door. From how loud the voices sounded, I could tell that Chase was in fact inside that room.

“You’re the one that wanted me to get married fast, so I could provide an heir to the Williams’ line!” I distinctly heard Chase shout.

The curiosity I had before only tripled.

Perhaps this was what Chase meant by there were so many things I had yet to find out.

A rush of adrenalin overcame me and, suddenly, a crazy idea popped into my head. Fully aware of how much trouble this could put me in, I let my insanity lead the way and I opened the door ever so slightly.

I had my heart stuck in my throat as I held onto the door handle, and I silently prayed that Chase and whoever he was arguing with didn’t notice the door opening.

Holding my breath, I opened the door until I had enough room to see what was going on and when no one said anything or looked my way, I released a sigh of relief.

“Don’t be stupid! When I told you to get married, I didn’t mean that you should go ahead and marry a thief’s daughter. I raised you better than that!” the voice yelled back.

If I had heard any of this a bit earlier today, I would have protested or given a smart retort, but things had changed now. Now, I knew the truth. My heart sank to the depths of my belly and I couldn’t help the teardrop that fell down my cheek. The man had a fair point. My mother was a low-life thief, and I was nothing but her unfortunate daughter.

Wiping my tears away, I positioned myself, so I could see what was happening.

Apparently, the man that Chase was arguing with happened to be old. Other than that, he happened to have a striking resemblance to Chase and that was when it dawned on me. This was none other than Chase’s father.

“What will you do when she finds out about our family secrets, huh?! What will you do when the media starts talking about this marriage scandal?! What will you do when she finds out about Lola?!” His father yelled at Chase once again.

The tension in the room thickened and so did my fear and curiosity. I wanted to know all the answers to the questions he asked. I wanted to know exactly what I had gotten myself into by accepting this marriage.

A loud sound interrupted my thoughts, and immediately I was pulled back to the scene playing in front of me. Chase had just slammed his fist on a nearby table. His eyes formed into slits and from where I hid, I could feel the rage emanating from him. Deep down where my sanity met with fear, I could tell that what would happen next wouldn’t be good for any of us.

However, I could never have anticipated what happened next. Mr. Chase Williams, my disabled husband, got up from his wheelchair and I couldn’t help the loud gasp that escaped my lips.

My eyes grew wide and my heart thundered. Chase opened his mouth to say something else to his father, but before he could, my phone rang, and that marked the beginning of my end.

Chase turned, and our eyes met in an instant, holding each other in place as the rest of the world dulled around us.