CHAPTER 002

Alphonse faltered on his feet, his ears ringing clear, while his eyes bulged out of their sockets, his eyes darted around the room and he could see the various looks of indifference and disgust in their faces, he gulped loudly before finding his voice once more, his mouth slackening while he spoke,

“Sir?!”

Lady Magaret gave a long hiss while glowering at him,

“What is it that you do not understand fool?! You're nothing but a servant in this home as you do not contribute anything, you feed and clothe from us, and that makes you a servant!”

She huffed and then a frown etched her face before she rolled her eyes and continued,

“What am I even saying?! A servant is way better than you are, at least a servant contributes to the home, but you do absolutely NOTHING!!!”

She shrieked at Alphonse, while still glaring at him, and Alphonse could see the pure hatred emitting from her eyes, a part of him wanted to cower but he didn't, but his body unconsciously flinched, and he shut his eyes briefly.

Mr Thomas barely acknowledged him before he went on,

“You'll serve on that day and there's no going back, if you have an issue with it, then you may as well pack your bags and get the hell out of my home you freeload!”

Once again, Alphonso flinched at the attacks, he drew in a breath and opened his eyes, the eyes finding Vivian who had her eyes lowered a little as she looked over at him. Alphonse rolled his eyes before he expelled a breath,

He was fine with the name-calling, they could call him whatever they wanted, and insult him all the days of his life, but the one thing he wasn't going to take, was being reduced and devalued! He was also a part of the family, married to their daughter, cleaned the house, and went on every necessary and unnecessary errand without fail nor complaint, so his mother-in-law was far from her claims,

The more the thoughts coursed Alphonse’s mind, the more he began to feel more rage within, his fists clenched tightly, almost digging blood into his palms, and his breath was becoming heavy by the minute. He had no one to support him, not defend him, not even his wife, but he'd defend himself or die trying!

In defiance, he lifted his head and his eyes found that of his sneering father in law, Alphonseo gazed at him intensely, refusing to break eye contact as he found the courage within him to utter the word,

“No!”

At his blunt refusal, Margarate, Sophia, and Tyler busted out into a deep guffaw, clutching onto their stomachs as they bent over in laughter, almost rolling on the floor.

Mr Thomas was taken aback by the defiance, as his eyes slightly widened before he masked it and quirked his eyebrow at Alphonso, his eyes turning crimson,

“What did you just say?!

He snapped, raising his voice a notch while still staring at the insignificant insipid that had dared to defy his orders. Alphonse flinched a little, but his stance remained unmoving.

Thomas walked over to Alphonse and looked him dead in the eyes,

“If you remain adamant about not doing this job, then I will have no other choice but to kick your sorry ass to the trash where it truly belongs!”

He stood toe to toe with Alphonse, breathing on him and daring him,

“Trust me, I wouldn't mind throwing out your sorry excuse of an ass out of my home, and rid my home and child of the burden that you are!”

While he went on with his insults, they each felt like a bullet, and at every word thrown, Alphonse flinched a little and had his eyes closed, trying to draw strength from within, but even his strength had eluded him, leaving him all alone.

Passing across his orders, Thomas sneered once more and began to make his way towards the stairs, he had said all he had to, and there was no going back, for Alphonso, it was either; serve on that day, or leave their home, and Thomas greatly preferred the latter option.

He walked away without a backward glance at any member of his family, fuming within as he made his ascent,

Lady Margaret and the others who were done having their fill of laughter, sneered and curled their lips at Alphonse, hissing as they did, Sophia passed by him, purposely brushed her shoulders against his harshly, and then glowered at him,

“Get out of the way!”

Without a word, Alphonso stepped away, while she walked away dragging her boyfriend alongside. Lady Margaret turned to look at Vivian and a look passed between both women before she shook her head and stomped upstairs.

Sighing deeply with resignation, Viviain rolled her eyes before covering the little distance between herself and Alphonso, sashaying as she did. With a gleam in her eyes, she stylishly trailed her finger down his arms, and Alphonso shivered, Vivian smirked smugly to herself but hid it,

“Alphie baby, I know your pride has been bruised, after all, you're a man” she almost scoffed at the statement, but refrained herself before she twitched her mouth into a small frown, and continued,

“You’re still my beloved husband and nothing can change that. This request of Daddy is a small thing that will be over as soon as it's started. Daddy has some important dignitaries coming for the event, and he doesn't trust anyone else to take care of them except you”

She could see that his resolve was tracking, so she notched up her game by standing in his front and batting her eyelids at him before she trailed her fingers once more down his chest, her finger hovering around his pant’s band, causing Alphonso to hitch a breath,

Despite being married for almost a year, they had yet to consummate their marriage, and he had stupidly held on to hope for change in that aspect.

Vivian smirked to herself, the man was like putty in her hands, and it was beautiful to see the directions she could turn him in, she stood on tiptoes and whispered into his ears,

“If you agree to Daddy’s request, we'll have our very first night as a couple on that day”

She promised with a leer, and to prove her point further, she placed her warm lips on his and kissed him deeply, cutting the kiss short before Alphonse could respond; the kiss had left him breathless; a promise of what was to come. Once again, Alphonse found himself holding and clawing onto his wife’s vow.

To solidify her actions, Vivian masked her face into a sad smile, a frown etched on her face while she spoke,

“If you do this, I'm sure you'll be in Daddy’s good books and it's a good thing for us, and it'll also make me happy”

Their eyes met and she nodded before giving him a sad smile,

“Daddy has promised to give me the money for your mother’s treatment…”

Alphonse’s head snapped up and she nodded in response, before continuing,

“If you don't agree, then you won't be able to help your mum and we don't want that”

Alphonse nodded in agreement, with his gaze slightly cloudy. Vivian smiled at him with a gleam in her eyes and pecked him before she finally asked him smoothly and sweetly,

“So what's the verdict?”