From Grass to Grace, he rose

2. A begining

Before it all happened, Alexander was a 22 year old mechanic who found himself a wife, Angelica. She was very beautiful and was a student back then. It happened that Alexander graduated early from school because of his brains but a tragic occurrence struck his family.

His mother who had been sick died. He couldn't take it easily cause he was now all alone in the world. He stayed for some years living all by himself and wallowing in pain. No company would hire him.

He began to do the little he could to get himself together. It was Angelica that found him at his worst and brought him to light.

He fell in love with her. At that time he was so young and jumped into marriage thinking it was all roses. Angelica's family didn't accept him because he wasn't rich. They eventually did when Angelica cried, claiming she loved him.

Who knew she jumped into the relationship only because he was handsome and also, because she mistook attraction for love. Even after marriage he still hadn't found a decent job to fend for him and his wife until her father suggested he stayed with them.

He did most of the chores around the house, especially the cooking.

But it came with taunts and the family's hatred. Each time, Angelica would be the one to defend him but slowly she began to change.

She became a total different person but he still hoped she would come out of it. He took it as a phase that would pass.

On a Saturday, Angelica stood in the kitchen, watching as Alexander cooked dinner for the family. Her brother, Carter, and her sister, Katherine, were sitting at the kitchen table, making snide comments about his cooking.

"Are you sure you know what you're even doing?" Carter asked, giving him a malicious look.

"You don't want to poison us all, do you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Alexander said, trying to ignore their taunts. "I'm just trying to make a nice meal for everyone."

"Nice meal, my foot!" Katherine said, rolling her eyes. "Look at that sorry excuse for a roast you're making. It looks like it's been cooked for days!"

"It's not that bad," Alexander said, his voice growing defensive. "I followed the recipe exactly. Although, I don't know why it's not turning out right."

He really did follow the recipe. He could have gone ahead cooking from the usual daily menu of the house but these siblings would do anything to make his life hell. They chose something he had never cooked before.

"Well, it's certainly not up to our usual standards," Carter said. "Maybe we should just order takeout instead or we might end up dying today"

Angelica watched the exchange with a smug smile on her face. She loved seeing Alexander being put down by her family. It made her feel powerful and in control.

She was the queen bee and was above her husband, Alexander. She could do whatever she wanted, and he would all just have to take it because he loves her.

She always wanted an easy way out of the marriage but he would resolve the matter thinking she wasn't serious about it and was just annoyed at him.

He wouldn't take hints and figure out she was already tired of the marriage.

As he focused on his cooking not trying to let their taunts faze him, Angelica came nearer to see what he was cooking. She was merciless in her criticism of his culinary skills. "I don't know why you even bother to try" she said, her voice dripping with contempt.

Alexander's face burned with embarrassment and anger, but he forced himself to keep his cool. "I'm just trying to please your siblings," he said, trying to maintain his composure. "It's not like I'm claiming to be a professional chef."

"You might as well be claiming that," Angelica shot back. "The way you chop vegetables, it's like you've never even held a knife before. And don't even get me started on your seasoning skills. It's like you just dump everything in without any thought."

Alexander could feel his hands trembling as he tried to keep a lid on his emotions. He was close to losing his temper, and he knew that would only make things worse.

But it was hard to stay calm when it comes to Angelica's relentless criticism. Carter and Katherine were watching the exchange with obvious amusement.

They seemed to enjoy seeing Alexander squirm, and Angelica seemed to be feeding off of their reaction.

Alexander's mother-in-law, Mrs Rockefeller, stormed into the kitchen. "This has gone on long enough!" she said, her voice quivering with anger.

"You need to divorce my daughter, Angelica. She needs to be free to find someone who can give her the life she deserves. You're just dragging her down!"

Alexander was stunned by her words. He had endured and regarded her as just being bitter. But now, it seemed like she just wanted him out of the picture so that her daughter could  find someone richer and more successful. He felt hurt and betrayed, but he also felt a sense of resignation.

It seemed like he was never going to be able to live up to her standards."I'm sorry, Mrs Rockefeller," he said, his voice heavy with sadness. "But I love Angelica, and I'm not going to give up on our marriage. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm going to do my best to be a good husband to her."

Mrs Rockefeller looked at him with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "You fool!" she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "You'll never be good enough for my daughter. You're just a loser, and you'll never be able to give her the life she deserves. She deserves someone better than you."

Alexander felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He had never imagined that she would be this cruel, and it hurt to hear her speak of him in such a dismissive and insulting manner.

But he refused to let her words get to him. He knew that he loved Angelica, and he was going to do everything he could to make her happy.

"I don't care what you think," he said, his voice firm and determined. "I'm going to make Angelica happy, no matter what you say. And I'm going to be the best husband to her. That's more important to me than anything else."

Mrs Rockefeller looked at him with a mixture of frustration and disbelief. She clearly didn't think he would stand firm on his decision. Well, she wasn't born to give up. She’ll find a way to get rid of this useless son-in-law of hers.