The Tycoon's Son-in-Law

Lucas's pov

‘‘Ding!’’ The oven chimed into the silence, startling me shortly as I rushed to turn it off. I brought out the steaming hot strawberry cake and left it in a tray to cool up.

“Lucas!!’’ It finally came, Lady Wright's yell that I'd been expecting. I stepped out to catch her gaze from the dining area where they were all seated, awaiting desserts. 

From Lady Wright, my mother-in-law, to Ava, my wife and the only reason I'm in the Wright mansion, on to Daisy, their daughter-in-law whose father owned a famous corporation. She lived here with her husband, Romeo who runs the family business. And lastly is Ava's cousin, Natasha. 

‘‘How much longer will desserts take, isn't there a single thing you can do right?’’ Lady Wright spiked.

‘‘I'm sorry, I'll serve it now.’’

“Please tell me you'll wash those filthy hands before touching anything,” Daisy called out, referring to the cleaning towel in my hands. 

‘‘Oh c'mon, he should know better than that.’’ Natasha scoffed.  

“You can't be so sure, they probably use rags for a dish mat where he came from.’’ Daisy cursed and I swallowed.

“Dessert will be out in a minute.’’ I ignored their mean gestures as I stepped back into the kitchen. 

It didn’t really faze me, the privilege to reside in this opulent mansion without having to fend for my expenses outweighed anything. 

Compared to the struggles of my past, scrapping with my menial jobs, this is a welcome respite. The benefits make the occasional humiliation worthwhile. I get to work a few menial jobs now and comfortably save up to manage the bills for my mother's heart problems. It was all that really mattered to me. 

I divided the desserts into four servings and took them out to them, but Ava’s voice made me halt by the door as she nagged Lady Wright. 

“I want that outfit for the party, you know it's been a while since I changed my wardrobe.’’ 

‘‘Then do it, you have a husband. He should get you the dress as well.’’ Lady Wright replied, and all eyes darted to me. It was no use remaining on my spot anymore so I advanced to serve them. 

‘‘You know he cannot afford fifty-two thousand five hundred dollars.’’ It felt heavy on Ava's lips as she mumbled out. 

I always felt sorry that I couldn't meet up to her standards. It wasn't her fault that Lord Wright made us get married, neither was it mine either but I should at least be able to satisfy my wife. The fact that I didn't even have one outfit for the same party Romeo was hosting. Well, not like I ever attend any parties with them. 

“Why are you still married to him then, he's obviously a gold-digger who can't even afford a dagger,” Natasha swore, not minding my presence, and her words cut through my heart. 

They didn’t agree that Lord Wright had simply taken a liking to me and married me to his granddaughter. It was no different from my feelings when Lord Wright spelt it to my face that afternoon that he wanted me to marry Ava. 

“You know it was grandfather's greatest wish.’’ Ava expressed the only reason she was still with me and it was the truth, we didn't love each other.

I loved her in the beginning but she has never felt the same way. How could she, I couldn't even express my love for her.  She's a skinny tall brunette with naturally moisturized curly locks. She doesn't join them in criticizing me but I believe it's only because she was the one tied to me. 

‘‘And where's grandfather now?’’ Daisy asked a sarcastic question which everyone knew the answer to. 

“Can you all stop this? I'm the one attached to this mess but you guys keep making it even worse to manage.’’ Ava recounted. 

Not like it doesn't get to me. Their criticism stings, but I've been through worse that taught me to tune it out. My life has been a sphere of adversities where every fortunate situation is either ephemeral or binded with inauspiciousness. 

My father disappeared shortly after my birth, leaving my mother to shoulder the burden alone. I witnessed her tireless struggles to provide for me those three years I spent with her, it's why the agony of losing her to cancer still lingers in my heart. I got adopted by an average couple, and life gained back some of its taste but only for a few years, my foster dad, Mr Williams, died in a car accident and my foster mom was diagnosed with heart problems when she couldn't stop mourning her husband. 

I've worked as a waiter, a server, a delivery guy, and every other menial/part-time job mentionable. It was in my course as a delivery guy I encountered Lord Wright who passed on just eight months after my marriage with Ava.

“What do you have to say about this, Mr gold-digger? Aren't you going to save your wife of the shame?’’ Daisy said as I dropped her serving of dessert, and my mind drifted to the fifty-five thousand dollars under my bed. I contemplated badly on giving it to Ava or depositing it at the hospital. 

For the past ten days, I've juggled multiple jobs to scrape that amount. My mother's heart condition recently worsened to a severe heart disease that requires surgery – a staggering six million dollars which I've been saving up for.

“I mean don't you even have a bit of shame? How can you be so greedy! You clearly saw that we're not your class yet you agreed to the marriage, what were you expecting?’’ Natasha taunted me. 

“I blame Ava for accepting a duck like him.’’ Lady Wright chimed. 

“What could I have done?’’ Ava yelled. 

“You've been working these days and getting paid, are you also stingy to give out?’’ Daisy asked me, but Lady Wright beat me to it. 

‘‘Well your wife needs something, you have to provide it for her and you will.’’

“He's saving up for his sick mother,’’ Ava muttered. 

“I see you don't want a new dress. There's a whole collection in your wardrobe anyway.’’ Lady Wright dropped her fork loudly to leave. 

“I’ll pay for it.’’ I swallowed hard.  Since my mother's condition is not at a critical stage, I could give the money to Ava and save up again. 

‘‘So where's the money?’’ Daisy asked. 

I left to get the required amount and handed the cash to Ava who wasn't enthusiastic about it. She counted it and confirmed the amount. 

“You had the money all this while and pocketed it?’’ Natasha scoffed in disbelief. 

“He's not only wretched but also stingy, a perfect definition of a gold digger!’’ Lady Wright spat before walking away. 

I wished I could disappear, but my cell phone saved me when it rang from a distance. I excused myself to take the call and my heart shrank when I noticed it was the hospital line calling.