Chapter 7 At my expense
JANELLE
Kara smirked. "Well, your future husband is…"
"The O'Connells are here!" a servant suddenly announced.
I turned around and saw a man in a wheelchair being pushed by someone. He had striking facial features and was very handsome. Even though he was in a wheelchair, anyone could tell how formidable he was.
Was this man the same person who was flirting with that woman in the dressing room? He was the eldest son of the O'Connells?
I remembered that in the fitting room, there hadn't been any sign of a wheelchair. I even saw him stand at one point when he told the woman to go get more dresses. What was happening now?
I was almost certain that the Moore family they talked about was mine. It couldn't be a coincidence. Could this man be pretending to be crippled? But why would he?
Gary suddenly shouted at me, "Come over here, Janelle! Come meet your husband-to-be."
I walked over quietly.
"Sir Donovan, this is Janelle."
DONOVAN
I frowned as I looked at my wife-to-be. Even though I didn't want this marriage, I had at least expected her to be good-looking. But the girl standing before me looked skinny, young, and slightly malnourished.
I had known about my arranged marriage since I was a child. I had never thought of disobeying my family's wishes or breaking the agreement. I simply accepted it. I didn't believe in love or any of that nonsense. I just thought that when the time came, I would marry her, keep her at home to have and raise our children. She could also do other things she wanted, as long as it didn't tarnish my family's name.
But when that incident with Laura happened, I had to take responsibility, so I knew I had to end this engagement to be fair to Laura. I released news of being in a terrible car accident. I announced that it had left me disabled and impotent. I thought that would make the Moore family dissatisfied and lead them to break off the engagement, since I couldn't do it myself.
But I was surprised that they didn't.
And now, I was looking at a girl who didn't seem like she was really Gary's daughter. If she were Gary Moore's daughter, why did she look so miserable? It looked as if they had dressed up a maid in expensive clothes. Was he trying to trick me into marrying someone else in place of his daughter? If he didn't find me worthy enough, he should just call off the wedding. That was the very reason I pretended to be crippled in the first place.
As if reading my mind, Gary said, "My daughter has been living with her mother in the countryside. She's a very hardworking girl, but I told her she doesn't need to work anymore from now on. So don't worry, soon you'll see how beautiful she is."
I scoffed. Beautiful, my foot. So this man still wanted to marry off his daughter to me, no matter what horrible things I had said about myself?
I looked at the girl and taunted coldly, "I got crippled two months ago. The doctors say I'll never be able to walk. Sure, we might have lots of servants to assist me, but as my wife, you'll be my number one caregiver. And I won't be able to satisfy you in bed. I can't get you pregnant. Do you want that kind of life for yourself?"
"Yes," she answered immediately and bluntly.
I blinked, surprised. What was the deal with this family?!
JANELLE
Something about him unsettled me,, and I already knew this marriage wouldn't last. Not that I hoped it would. I already had a deal with Gary, and I would play my part. Once I married this man, Gary had better keep his promise.
I also kind of understood why this man was pretending to be crippled. It was because of that woman in the dressing room. He couldn't call off the marriage, so he wanted the Moore family to do it for him. And it seemed he didn't fully expect Gary would still insist on his daughter marrying him.
Donovan's glare pinned me, as if he wanted to scare me off with his stare. I tried not to be intimidated. I refused to be that weak and powerless girl anymore. I needed to rise to the top, no matter what. So I said to him, "We've been engaged since we were little. No matter what has happened to you now, it's not enough to break the agreement."
His eyes grew even colder. "You…" I saw him take a deep breath, as if trying to control his temper. Then he said, a bit calmer, "Yeah, you're right. Nothing should break the agreement."
I swallowed and nodded, then looked away from his chilling gaze.
"Well, that's settled!" Gary announced, breaking the silence.
I could tell he was happy to be in-laws with the O'Connells—at my expense.