Chapter 2 I’m Your Husband

Cecelia took 30 seconds to snap out of a daze and realize what was happening. She blinked her large, bell-like eyes and said, “Um, I only have one bedroom. As for the sofa in the living room, you can see that it’s very small and narrow.” ‘It isn’t an excuse, it’s not!’ Cecelia forced herself to stay composed under William’s sharp gaze. William looked her in the eye and asked, “How big is the bed?” Cecelia was unaware of his intentions for asking such a question. Consequently, she casually replied, “Huh? It’s a double bed.” Perhaps it was because she had grown up in the orphanage with a small bed. Hence, now that she was bigger, she felt that the bigger the bed, the better. William got up and headed for the bedroom. “Just nice!” he said as he was about to enter it. ‘He meant...’ Cecelia immediately caught on. “Um, don’t be deceived by the living room. It’s only a front cover. My room is a mess with dirty socks, clothes, and rubbish all over the place. You’re a guest...” Cecelia was unable to finish her sentence and was interrupted. “Wrong!” “Huh?” Cecelia had always thought that she had good communication skills. Hence the question, why was she finding it so difficult to communicate with the man in front of her? While Cecelia was still dumbfounded, the man’s thin lips once again moved as he uttered a few more words, “I’m not a guest.” “Huh?” ‘We just met today and it’s his first time coming to my home. If he isn’t a guest, then what... ‘Wait!’ Cecelia realized that she had forgotten something very important. ‘We are married!!! ‘He is my husband!!!’ Cecelia finally understood the reason why he had followed her home. ‘We are married and there is nothing wrong with us staying together. But... but...’ “Um...” Cecelia played with her fingertips before taking in a deep breath and then facing the man’s intimidating gaze. “We’re not that close yet.” After voicing her opinion, Cecelia immediately lowered her head and continued to play with her fingers. William’s gaze darkened as he looked at Cecelia’s head from above; he was lost in thought. After a while, he finally said, “We’ll be close after two days of interaction.” Cough, cough, cough, cough... Cecelia raised her head immediately to look at the man and very quickly saw that he had a serious expression on his face. If it were not for the fact that he looked rather handsome, Cecelia would have been under the impression that he was simply joking with her. ‘What should I do now?’ Cecelia tried to squeeze her brain for ideas. Nevertheless, before she could think of an excuse, William opened the door that led to the bedroom. The bedroom was small, but similar to the living room, it was neat and clean. Cecelia cried internally as the man stepped inside the room. She had randomly grabbed him from the streets. Was it too late to regret her actions now? Cecelia had just begun hugging the wall in despair when the man’s voice boomed from inside the bedroom. “Come inside!” Cecelia folded her arms in front of her chest and pretended as if she had not heard anything. Additionally, she began sneaking toward the living room like a thief. Nevertheless, William had expected her to try and escape. He called out, “I don’t like to repeat myself.” Cecelia stopped in her tracks and dared not move further even by an inch. She hesitated for a moment but then turned back toward the direction of the bedroom. She could not understand why she was so afraid of William. He had not done anything to her, but she was inexplicably afraid of him. Cecelia stood by the door as she looked at William who had his hands in his pocket. The latter was standing by the bed. “A... anything?” William calmly looked at her and mouthed three words, “Take a shower!” ‘T... ta... take...’ Cecelia could no longer keep herself composed. She forced herself to face William as she refuted, “Um, mister. Al... although we are married, we are still strangers. Be... besides, I’m not an easygoing woman.” Cecelia had the intention of putting up a brave front... However, she was somewhat clueless about what to do. Although she was a sharp-tongued person by nature, in front of William, all she could do was stutter. William noticed her reluctance but continued to pressure her, “Don’t make me repeat myself.” ‘... ‘Um, didn’t he just repeat himself? Wait, that’s not the point. ‘The point is...’ “No matter how many times you repeat yourself, it won’t change the fact that we’re strangers. Nothing can change it. If you’re going to force me to do something I don’t want to, we’ll have to make another trip to the Civil Affairs Bureau.” ‘Huff. I finally said it without stuttering!’ Cecelia felt that what she said was out of common sense. Hence, she was surprised to see that William’s face had darkened. It was as if William had just taken his face out of the fridge; his expression was as cold as one could imagine. Although he did not look that friendly earlier either, but his previous expression was way brighter than his current one. Cecelia watched as the man approached her step by step. She had no intention of backing down or moving from her spot even though her chances of winning the argument were slim. ‘Ok... a girl should be able to mold herself under any situation.’ Despite saying those words in her head, she took two steps backward and very quickly found herself pinned against the door by William. “Y... you... you better not do anything rash.” William’s gaze was as sharp as a falcon’s. Intimidated, Cecelia could not stop herself from stuttering as she spoke, “I... I’ll... I’ll call the police.” William’s well-defined right thumb and index finger pinched her chin. With a calm tone, he challenged her, “Repeat what you said earlier.” ‘What did I say earlier?’ “A... as long as you keep yourself composed, I won’t call the police.” Cecelia thought that he was referring to her last sentence. Unfortunately, William frowned. “Not that.” “... that’s what I just said.” The expression Cecelia had on her face made it look like she was suffocating. Weirdly, it seemed funny to William, and it lightened his mood a little. “You said you wanted to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau.” He frowned once again. “To get a divorce?” Cecelia finally realized the reason why the man had been triggered. She cleared her throat. “Pretty boy, I gave it some thought and think that we might have been a little rash in getting married. Although I do not know why you accepted my marriage proposal, if you want to get a divorce, I have no issue.” ‘Sigh. Humans should not make decisions on a whim. Otherwise, they will end up in the same situation as me, paying for the rash decision that had been made!’ Cecelia noticed that the man’s expression did not improve and instead darkened. She quickly thought of something and said, “Don’t worry. I will pay for the fees related to the divorce settlement. Also, I’ll give you...” She bit her lip and decided to lift two fingers for the man to see. “I’ll give you 2000 bucks as compensation.” She was the one that had dragged him to get married. Thus, it was only right for her to compensate him. Cecelia felt that William should be satisfied by now. After all, he seemed rather penniless. No. To be exact, she could not tell by how he looked. William was dressed in a well-made suit and did not look like a peasant. However, his behavior... ‘If he had money, he would not have made me pay 9 bucks for the marriage certificate, would he? ‘Also when we took a cab back, I was the one that paid for the cab. On the other hand, he has no intention of leaving my house.’ With the above thoughts, Cecelia came to the conclusion that William was a tall and handsome, yet poor man! When William heard Cecelia say 2000 bucks, the corner of his lips curled up. “2000?” Cecelia assumed that he was going to agree when she saw the smile on his face. She quickly nodded. “Yes, if you’re okay with it, we can get a divorce right away.” The man ambiguously said, “You’re in such a hurry to divorce me?” Cecelia blinked her eyes. “Err, that’s not it. It’s mainly because I feel that we’re not a good match. You look like an outstanding man, while I’m just a short and clumsy woman. Thus, you should not waste yourself on me.” Cecelia’s tactic of putting herself down while praising William seemed to work well as the man’s expression noticeably softened a little. William rubbed her chin with his thumb. “Have you heard of something?” “What is it?” “All the good vegetables are given to the pigs.” This time, Cecelia understood his words. “Y... you... you’re a pig. Your whole family is full of pigs!” The man gave her a meaningful gaze. “It seems rather true as well!” ‘Why am I always on the short end of the stick!!’ Seeing a defeated expression on Cecelia’s face, William shifted his gaze a little as he raised her face by her chin, forcing her to look at him. He emphasized each word as he spoke, “I do not have the word divorce in my dictionary. Only the word widowed!”