Flash Marriage: Shrewd Wife, Devious Husband
Chapter 179: The Invite

Chapter 179: The Invite

Marcella observed Tony’s face for some time without saying anything. Tony’s stomach turned into knots waiting for her reply. Every single second passing felt like an eon passing.

His palms went cold and his throat bobbed. There was something wrong, his heart said. That few seconds of silence from her caused the devastation of a category 5 hurricane in his heart.

He tried to keep his emotions at bay. He was not in the wrong but it was their marriage in the line. If Marcella believed any lie that woman told her, then it would cause serious damage to their marriage.

He valued their marriage more than anything. Marcella was too precious for him to lose; her love was the one thing he was not willing to lose.

Marcella held his cheeks with both her hands. She then smiled. Tony stared at her, perplexed. The warmth of her hands was comforting and his lips curved slightly.

"You don’t have to be in the same room as her again," Marcella said.

The budding smile on Tony’s face got snuffed off as she said that. "What did she~"

Marcella pressed her finger on his lips stopping him from speaking further. "I love you, Tony," she said and kissed him.

A beautiful smile bloomed on her face. "Beth is moving to LA. It would be hard for us to meet again. She’d be busy with her work; she has already committed to doing three films. Daniel Schmidt is giving her a big chance. My life will get busy here with the elections coming next year. So... We won’t have chances to meet like before..."

After wiping the counter with a dry towel, she walked out of the kitchen. Tony stared at her without even blinking his eyes.

What is going on?

He followed her. She had her usual smile. She looked tired and in his embrace, she fell asleep almost immediately. Tony ran his fingers through her hair as he pondered. He couldn’t figure out till the end whether she doubted him or not. But she made it obvious that she will not talk about her again.

That was enough for him.

Holding her closer to his chest, Tony fell asleep.

The next day, Marcella went to talk to the little girl’s mother. Just as she pulled over at her house, she saw a car leaving her house. Marcella parked her car and knocked on Mrs. Berkman’s house.

Mrs. Berkman opened the door. Seeing Marcella, she turned her face. Marcella noticed that her face was red.

"Did someone visit you?" Marcella asked. "Mrs. Berkman?" Marcella held her hand.

"Please, Mrs. Crawford. I am eternally grateful for what you did but I cannot do what you expect of me! My life is sh*t as it is. I cannot take this all..."

Mrs. Berken went on and Marcella stood in the foyer allowing her to vent. She seemed to have a lot of pent-up frustration and Marcella was glad she got to be the listening ear.

After speaking a lot, Mrs. Berken apologized to Marcella for being rude to her. She brought her to the kitchen and offered her tea.

"She didn’t sleep the whole night. She was holding my hand tightly...Whimpering and moaning..." Mrs. Berkman showed Marcella her hand.

Marcella’s heart fell seeing the marks on her hand. For a child to leave bruises on her mother’s hand, she understood how scared she was.

"I cannot fight, Mrs. Crawford. That pig..." she gritted her teeth and walked to the living room. "He had the nerve to bring this to me!"

Marcella got the cheque from her. Ten grand was a lot of money. He must have wanted them to leave town so that his name wouldn’t get soiled more. As long as this family lived here, it would give him a black mark.

"He asked me not to leave this town. He asked about her and..." Mrs. Berken started to sob.

Marcella patted her back to comfort her. She was surprised that the man wanted them to stay there.

Wait... this money... It was not hush money, but... Was he trying to buy the little girl?

Marcella gritted her teeth. No wonder Mrs. Berkman was so frustrated. That swine still hadn’t learned his lesson and tried to exploit this poor family by throwing money.

"What have you planned?" Marcella asked.

"I am leaving town. My mother has started to look for a house. I cannot stay here any longer. I worry for my baby..." Mrs. Berkman said amidst sobs.

"No one’s going to hurt you here. I promise," Marcella patted her hand. "Be strong. Your daughter needs you to be strong..."

"I know..." Mrs. Berkman composed herself.

"What are you going to do with this?" Marcella asked about the cheque.

Mrs. Berkman’s face twisted with disgust. "I cannot take it. But Mrs. Crawford, is it true you are mafia? Why don’t you kill him? He’s... I am sorry," Mrs. Berkman sighed. "I cannot ask you this when I don’t have the guts to do the right thing."

"It’s okay. I understand you, Mrs. Berkman," Marcella smiled. "Take this money. I know nothing can be equated to the trauma she faced but... Take it as a compensation money. He deserved to be stripped off everything..."

Mrs. Berkman was not convinced but Marcella talked her into it. Marcella searched for the girl and she was sleeping. After spending some time with Mrs. Berkman, Marcella returned home. Her heart was heavy. But she had decided to do something about that fat pig. He cannot be allowed to carry on as if nothing happened.

When she reached home, Mary told her that she received a call from her uncle from Italy. Marcella called back. It had been a while since she talked to him.

After dinner, Marcella told Tony about her day. Tony was watching the news and she was lying on his lap.

"Uncle Thomas called to invite us to his daughter’s wedding," she said poking his belly.

"When is it?" he asked. He turned down the volume of the TV.

"Next spring," Marcella said. "A beautiful countryside wedding... And did you know? I can still speak Italian. I thought I would be rusty." She was proud about it.

"You are my smart Birdie," he patted her head. "Next spring?" he asked.

"Yes. We have to book tickets and make other necessary arrangements, right. That’s why he informed us earlier. He wants us there, Tony. Apparently my cousins want to see me and that old woman next door—Aunt Marzia, wants to see me. She is reaching ninety and..." she stopped seeing Tony in deep thoughts.

"Will you be free next spring? Will you be able to attend the wedding?" she asked.

Tony sighed.

"It’s fine even if you can’t," she said.