Agreement Behind Her Marriage

“You, stupid wench!” Mr. Martin yelled with his eyes glaring at Lily.

“Keep in mind that there would be a cost associated with every freedom, Lily… You are naïve!”

“A fool like you can’t escape from me!” her father’s voice continued to resound against her ear

No, Dad! Lily extended her hand to her father so she could feel his warmth. Instead, she received a hard blow from his cane. He repeated until her thin body became numb.

“No, no, nooooo!” Lily sobbed, getting up from her nightmare. She gave herself a hug and began to act insane, frantically stroking her arm and leg, which were now hurting.

“Lily!” said Drew.

Lily appeared to be living in her own world as she replayed the sequences of her nightmare. Her body was trembling constantly, and her eyes remained bulging while she kept wiping her body.

“Mr. Walton, hold her. Her wound will swell even more,” instructed the doctor, who was present in the room.

“Babe, calm down…” Drew stopped her hands from moving.

“D-Drew?” Her whole body shivered as she tried to recognize him. Tears streamed down her face, and she struggled to recover from her bad dream. Her husband caressed her back while she sobbed. In Drew’s presence, Lily consistently experienced a profound sense of security.

Whenever he was close, her chest would warm, as if he possessed the unique ability to bring her comfort.

Before allowing the doctor to proceed with another examination, Drew ensured that Lily had a moment to compose herself. Just as the doctor was about to administer medicine to her leg, Drew intervened and halted the process.

“Let me…”

The doctor gave Drew the medication in his hand right away. “I’ll go now, Mr. Walton. Please phone me if Mrs. Walton requires additional medical attention but getting her to the hospital is much better. I’ll be returning to check on her in a couple of days.”

Drew’s brows furrowed when he nodded.

Orion, who was equally upset, responded, “I’ll send the doctor out, boss.”

“You could go home as well. You can rest and I’ll take care of Lily,” her husband said.

Drew made the decision for the two of them in the comfort of their home, even as Lily continued to sob. Gently, he shifted her head to rest on his leg, his long fingers delicately stroking her hair to offer comfort with each tender touch.

“Why did you go there, Lily? Why didn’t you let Orion defend you?” asked Drew. She could feel Drew’s irritation, but he restrained himself from getting angry at her.

“B-because he’s my father, Drew. Did you not yearn for your father’s affection?”

For years, she yearned for her father’s love. He was the sole recipient of her affection after her mother’s passing and before her marriage. Lily had always aspired to be cherished by her father in return for embracing the role of his daughter.

Why did his attitude toward her suddenly change?

Drew answered Lily’s question. “My dad… He’s a scumbag! He might have a personality that is similar to your father’s. So, my answer is ‘no’! I never once demanded that he consider me as his son. One of my attitudes that makes me think of him makes me really detest it. He’s a womanizer. I frequently saw my mother sobbing as a result of his various mistresses…

“Until one day, my mom lost it! She went crazy. I’ve always understood that too much love is crazy. Even with my friends-” He didn’t finish his sentence, holding back further comment while clenching his jaw.

That piqued Lily’s interest.

His friends…

Other than Finn, Kori, Orion, and Lauren, he doesn’t regard anyone else as a friend. Does he have another friend who has likewise lost his mind to love?

“Your father, is he still alive?” Lily asked curiously. It was the first time she had heard of Drew’s father, and she didn’t know whether Drew still had parents. She had only spoken to Drew’s grandfather, Master Walton, who had raised him and had a last say in all matters.

***

Applying the ointment, Drew tenderly soothed Lily’s swollen cheeks. The crimson marks, accompanied by a faint bluish bruise on her face, stirred a sense of unease within him. Despite his promise to protect her, she ended up injured.

Contemplating Lily’s question led Drew to reflect on his past. He harbored an enduring resentment toward his father for the role he played in his mother’s demise. She struggled with anxiety, dissatisfaction in her marriage, and mental incapacity in her final days, ultimately succumbing to these challenges. This tragic experience shaped Drew’s commitment to loving only one woman for the rest of his life.

“I don’t fucking know where my father is, and I have absolutely no intention of finding him. I’ve removed him from my senses. Let’s forget about myself, Lily. I understand you are Mr. Martin’s daughter and that you may feel obligated to make up for that shithead in your life. But Lily, as your father, he has that duty.”

“Maybe I truly do feel that way, Drew. But I love my father dearly. Even if he continues to view me as being useless, even if he’s just using me.”

Drew’s chest squeezed even more as she cried.

“No matter how much physical suffering he causes me, I love my dad, Drew…”

“What if he doesn’t intend to reciprocate your love despite your continued love for him?”

“I will keep waiting for him as his daughter, no matter how much it hurts.”

Drew’s fist clenched as he struggled with his lack of tolerance for his father, finding himself envious of Lily for her contrasting attitude. The sound of her pitiful sobs felt like a dagger being driven into his chest. The desire to either confront Mr. Martin or set fire to his home burned within him.

All he could do was bide his time until the proper moment for retribution!

Later, as he began to apply medication to his wife’s other bruised body parts, each bruise his fingers landed on caused his chest to constrict. He couldn’t help but grit his teeth in a seething rage.

After a few minutes, his wife began to calm down. He ensured that Lily was asleep before heading to his personal office on the third floor. He called his grandfather, who was resting in their mansion, to report a few events that had transpired in their office.

During the call, he broached the topic of his marriage to Lily. “Grandpa, can you tell me why you chose Lily to be my wife?”

His grandpa had obviously heard the puzzlement he had when he asked this question. “Because she’s good; she’s the appropriate choice! Is your marriage with her not going well?”

“No! We’re fine. I asked because I knew that you and Mr. Martin didn’t get along well, either. I mean… For sure, you wouldn’t want to get close to him or have him join your family. What are you gaining from their family? In this marriage, you won’t really gain anything financially.”

“All I need right now is his support, so I have to treat him like a member of my family. And why exactly do you think I receive nothing? Instead of going out to parties, your marriage made you stay at home! You might end up like your dad if I didn’t let you wed Lily!”

After Master Walton named his father, he balled his fist. “You know that I don’t like him! We are not alike!”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

His grandfather huffed. “But you didn’t notice that you had several women with you in the past, right?”

“I’m different! I paid those women! They have no duty to love me, and I have no responsibility to them!” He became enraged because his grandfather had made him appear like his father. Didn’t he understand that was why he preferred to hire a woman before?

“But what about Lily? She’s your wife and having sex with her is a necessary part of your marriage. Did you also see her as a woman who was being paid, in which case she wasn’t obligated to love you?”

This simply increased Drew’s wrath and made his veins obvious on his neck. “Lily won’t ever be one of those women because she is my wife; even if we separated one day, there would be no harm done because we understand one another.”

“But, Drew, that is what I was asking. Does she really comprehend where she is in your life? I’d like it if she loved you!”

“That is no longer your concern, Grandpa! Bye!”

He gritted his teeth in irritation. Instead of receiving any helpful information from his grandfather, all he got was a source of displeasure. He remembered his grandfather emphasizing the importance of Mr. Martin’s assistance. But for what? The Martin’s manufacturing business wasn’t that substantial.

What exactly was his grandfather’s true motivation?

***

At the Walton Mansion…

Drew’s elderly grandfather reclined in his comfortable chair, satisfied with the knowledge he had gathered from the investigation about his grandson and Lily. It pleased him to learn that Drew often stayed at home and refrained from engaging in intimate relationships with any woman.

The butler continued to observe him.

“What?” he inquired.

“Master, Ms. Lily visited their house this afternoon, and Master Drew witnessed Mr. Martin beating her… According to our investigation, Master Drew intended to end the relationship between Ms. Lily and her father.”

With a sigh, Master Walton commented, “He thought that ‘scum’ would easily accept releasing Lily from his claws!” Referring to Mr. Martin as the jackass.

“I am doing this for Drew’s sake, but it seems like he wasn’t aware at all! Invite him and Lily over here; I want to see how strong their relationship is.”

The butler nodded stoically, concealing his emotions, aware that Lily was the most ignorant player in the game. The diligent butler could only hope that Drew would safeguard Lily until the very end. As the couple only perceived what lay on the surface, akin to the visible portion of a colossal iceberg, the substantial and potentially perilous half remained concealed beneath the murky water…

It would undoubtedly cause pain for both of them.