Chapter 3

Jacob noticed the moment Isabelle noticed his brooch and frowned. He looked down at the pricey jewellery and smiled. “Do you like it?” He leaned in, getting closer to her ear. Lowering his voice, he whispered, “It’s actually a fake, borrowed it from a friend.” She nodded and pulled back, her face flushing. “Yeah, uh, it looks real,” she said, pulling her hand from his arm and stepping away. He was happy his little lie had worked–otherwise, how would he explain wearing a brooch worth two million when he was trying to pass off as poor? But he was also confused as his bride withdrew from him, as if suddenly shy of their closeness. Mh. Was she putting up a show? According to his source, the eldest daughter of the Cruz family was anything but demure. He had expected to meet a bold seductress. But his bride seemed to be doing her best to avoid his gaze, and now, she was putting physical distance between them. Before he could think of a way to draw her from her shell, the woman who had attempted to waylay him appeared, a man in tow. “Hello, Jacob,” she greeted him, a tight smile on her lips. “I’m Naomi, Isabelle’s sister. This is Raymond, my boyfriend.” Jacob appraised her casually. Now, this was the kind of reaction he had expected to get from the eldest daughter of the Cruz family. A woman who looked at him with apparent desire in her eyes. Not one who blushed so easily and avoided his eyes. But, wasn’t she being a little too obvious in front of her sister? Not to mention she was with her boyfriend. Jacob gave a cursory glance at his bride, only to find that her expression had changed. Her flustered look was gone, and now, she was staring at the two with a closed-off attitude. Did she not like them? Raymond turned his attention to Isabelle, looking a bit squeamish. “Isabelle…uh, you look beautiful.” Jacob caught a slight tightening in Isabelle’s jaw as if she was grinding her teeth. When she didn’t pay attention to him, Raymond stepped back to Naomi’s side. “I heard that you’re jobless. It must have cost a lot to hire that suit. But don’t worry, since we are going to be family now, my boyfriend can offer you a job at his company,” Naomi told him before turning to Raymond. “Right, babe?” Isabelle bristled at her sister’s shamelessness. How dare she say something like that? She looked towards Jacob, afraid that Naomi’s attitude had offended him. She was surprised to find him regarding the two with a slight lift of his mouth, not looking offended at all. In fact, he looked more amused than anything. What came out of his mouth surprised her even more. “Thanks for the offer, but I’d rather be an idler than work for you.” Naomi huffed, turning her nose up in the air. “So much pride does not suit a poor man. Are you planning on living on my sister’s money?” Isabelle stepped forward and got in her sister’s face. “That’s enough, Naomi. We’d like to begin the ceremony now.” Naomi scoffed but still stepped back. “Good luck with your pauper,” she said as she dragged Raymond with her towards the exit. Isabelle was happy to see them go. The day was already unpleasant enough without having to see their faces. With Naomi gone, the ceremony started and proceeded smoothly. Nobody from Jacob’s family showed up, but Isabelle decided that was a non-issue. What mattered was that the agreement between the two families was now fulfilled. After bidding farewell to their guests, it was finally time for Jacob to bring Isabelle to their new home. Jacob was relieved the ceremony was over. Now, all that remained was to take his bride home to show her the kind of life she was about to begin living. If he was lucky, she would cancel the marriage as soon as possible and set him free. That way, he would have fulfilled his mother’s last wish to marry the eldest daughter of the Cruz family. It wouldn’t be on him if she hated his lifestyle and divorced him… According to what he had heard about the Cruz’s eldest daughter, she would probably not even want to spend a night in the small house he had prepared. So when his new wife walked into the small, old house and told him that it looked nice, he was caught by surprise. While it was a tidy house, it was like a studio apartment–everything from the bedroom to the living room and the kitchen was all arranged together. The Cruzs lived in a huge mansion. How could she be so calm about the arrangement? As Isabelle looked around her new home, she thought that it was inconvenient. She had hoped to have a separate bedroom from her new husband, but it seemed as if that wasn’t an option. There was one room and one bed. In fact, it looked so much like the servants’ quarters tucked away at the back of the compound of her family’s compound. Practical, but nothing luxurious about it. But at least it looked nice. While it was a far cry from her adoptive family’s mansion, it looked homely and tidy enough. The size wasn’t an issue to her. Before Francis and Lucy adopted her, she had lived at the orphanage, sharing a dorm with many other girls. She had learned from a young age to be thankful for having a roof over her head. Not many orphans were as lucky. The one bed…that was the real issue. There wasn’t even any extra space where she could move in an extra bed for herself. Her eyes landed on the three-seater sofa in the house. She could fit there, right? While his new bride took in her new home, Jacob moved to the bed and removed his jacket. Maybe she was okay with the house, but had she thought about the mechanics of the entire arrangement? There wasn’t much privacy in the room. They would be sharing a bed, a bathroom, and everything else. Would she be able to maintain her cool if he undressed in front of her? As he reached for his tie, he turned around to face her. She was beautiful, that much was clear. Her black hair was gathered at the top of her head in some kind of fancy bun. A few strands at the front were untamed, framing her round face. She was actually kind of cute too… He shook his head at that thought. Cute? God, how mushy. Besides, he didn’t care whether she was cute, hot, or plain ugly. He wasn’t planning on staying married to her for long. He saw the moment her eyes reverted to him as he unbuttoned his shirt. She blushed instantly and turned away, muttering apologies. Jacob smirked, finding her reaction amusing. She faced the wall and even brought her hands up to cover her eyes. They were going to be sharing this house from today onwards. Was that how she was going to react any time he changed? She was bound to see his naked body at some point. “Would you like to take a shower first?” he asked her.