Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 19: Evil cousin

Chapter 19: Evil cousin

Pretending to struggle while walking with a cane, Hunter left the room with Isabella. Occasionally, he smiled, glancing at his wife, who was watching him closely.

"Don’t look at me like that; I’m not going to fall," he said. "You know this is just an act, right?"

Isabella quickly looked away, smiling shyly.

"There he is." Hunter spotted a man sitting on the sofa in the living room, his back turned toward them.

"Who is he?" Isabella asked.

"He’s my cousin, the son of my mother’s younger sister," Hunter replied as they continued walking.

Isabella remained silent as they approached the sofa, where the man immediately stood up to greet them.

"Davin," Hunter greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Hunter!" Davin embraced him briefly, then released him, holding Hunter’s arms and looking at his fresh face, especially noticing his slightly damp hair. "You look better!"

"Yeah..." Hunter chuckled, then glanced at Isabella, prompting Davin to do the same.

"It must be because of her!" Davin looked at Isabella with his sparkling blue eyes. "She’s so beautiful... I can’t believe it... You have to explain everything about her to me." He looked back at Hunter.

"What more is there to explain? The fact that we’re married makes it clear she’s mine," Hunter said, sitting on the sofa and resting his canes on the sofa’s edge, but Isabella quickly took them and leaned them against a divan filled with various antique decorations.

Davin sat down on another sofa. "Yes... She’s yours. But I don’t know when your relationship started," he said, frowning, then glancing at Isabella, who sat beside Hunter on the sofa.

Hunter immediately took Isabella’s hand, holding it, even kissing it briefly as if to show off their affection.

"I’m not the type to rush publish a relationship unless I’m sure it’s one I want to last forever. That’s why I never introduced her to anyone or even made our relationship public," he said, then smiled at Isabella. "And she doesn’t mind that. Isn’t that right, darling?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Isabella nodded with a slight smile, while Hunter turned his attention back to Davin.

"This is strange," Davin muttered, frowning and leaning back on the sofa, stroking his beard, which had some blonde hair, much like his blonde hair. "How could she stay hidden and not come forward as your girlfriend when you had an accident? You were even paralyzed... Why wasn’t she there during the worst moments of your life?" he wondered.

"She was busy taking care of her sick father," Hunter answered calmly, as if he had prepared this answer, then glanced at Isabella.

"My father was gravely ill at that time, so I couldn’t leave him at all," Isabella explained, then looked sad. "And... He eventually passed away," she added.

"Really?"

"I would have felt guilty if I had demanded she be with me when I was sick... Because it turned out to be the last moments she had with her father," Hunter said, frowning, looking at Davin, who seemed surprised. "Unfortunately, when her father passed away, I couldn’t attend the funeral ... I was still very weak at that time... And... Everything felt chaotic," he continued.

Davin nodded, looking back and forth between Isabella and Hunter as if trying to find the truth in their eyes.

"What are you thinking?" Hunter asked, eyeing Davin, who looked formal in a black and white suit with a silver watch that added to his charisma. "We’re already married... It’s not something strange... There’s nothing you need to worry about regarding us."

"No..." Davin shook his head. "It’s not like that... I’m just... I’m just very surprised because... Because your condition wasn’t good at all, and you didn’t have any confidence, but suddenly you got married without any talk of plans at all... I was even informed at the last minute, so I couldn’t arrive on time." He explained, with eyes full of doubt, his gaze repeatedly focusing on Isabella.

Hunter exhaled sharply, then wrapped his arm around Isabella’s shoulder.

"The point is, now you know, so there’s no need to be confused or curious," he said casually, resting his head on Isabella’s shoulder. "I don’t want my happiness to be ruined."

Isabella remained silent, as if too afraid to look at Davin.

"Well then, congratulations on your marriage..." Davin smiled, showing a relaxed demeanor again. "By the way, I’ve heard that Grandpa gave one of his assets to you."

"You know that."

"Yes... Of course. Grandpa told my mom, and then she told me, and she was very upset. She said I should have married first, so Grandpa would give that asset to me instead of you," Davin explained, shaking his head. "It’s annoying... They’re pushing me to get married quickly just to receive Grandpa’s gift, even though getting married isn’t that easy," he continued.

Isabella frowned, glancing at Hunter. ’So, could it be that his mother wanted this contract marriage so he could get Grandpa’s assets? Is all this just about money? But don’t they already have a lot of money?’ she wondered to herself.

"I didn’t want that asset," Hunter said.

"You could refuse it," Davin replied.

"Yes, I could..." Hunter nodded after lifting his head from Isabella’s shoulder. "I could refuse it, but I didn’t because I respect Grandpa. I didn’t want to disappoint him... Because if I did, he would hate me for the rest of his life."

Davin smiled faintly, as if dismissing Hunter’s explanation, and his gaze returned to Isabella.

"What do you do for a living?" he asked.

"Um, I..." Isabella suddenly became nervous.

"She’s a designer," Hunter answered, occasionally glancing at Isabella. "She works at a boutique; her job is to sketch women’s clothing... She’s very talented."

"Wow... That means she’s also wealthy, and when her father was sick, she could have hired a nurse to take care of him so she could visit you here," Davin replied.

"She could have done that, but she wouldn’t... It’s about making the most of the time!" Hunter emphasized.

"Um... but actually, I’m not wealthy," Isabella said anxiously, making them both look at her immediately. "I’m a designer, but just a sketch artist... I create the details for the clothes... But it’s the boutique owner who turns my drawings into reality," she continued, biting her lower lip.

"But that’s something valuable; your talent is your wealth," Hunter responded with a deep look at Isabella. "The boutique owner may have a lot of money to turn your drawings into beautiful dresses, but maybe she can’t have the imagination you do... You’re richer than her," he added, raising his eyebrows.

Isabella bit her lower lip, looking at Hunter, who was so serious in his response.

"It would be very shameful if Hunter’s wife only worked as a sketch artist without the ability to bring her drawings to life," Davin said, drawing their attention away. "Your wife should be a famous designer, not just a behind-the-scenes hero for the boutique owner or the dressmaker... Maybe you should buy a building to be her boutique so she can both sketch and bring her designs to life... She should be the boss, and have employees who will assist her, not be an employee herself," he continued casually, occasionally sneering.

"That’s unnecessary; it would be too troublesome and costly," Isabella replied anxiously.

"But it wouldn’t trouble me or deplete my funds," Hunter responded calmly.

Isabella immediately looked at him.

"I’ll ask Robert to start preparing everything you need to become a professional designer... You can do whatever you want... You..."

"I don’t want to!" Isabella interrupted Hunter’s sentence, looking at him anxiously. "Please... don’t do it to me..."

"Honey..."

"I don’t want it!" Isabella stood up. "I don’t like this conversation!" she insisted, then walked away abruptly.

"Baby!" Hunter called out, watching Isabella hurry towards the room. "Isabella... Isabella!"

Davin watched Isabella slowly disappear from view as she entered the room, then turned to Hunter, who looked upset. He laughed instead, leaning back on the sofa.

"Your wife is really strange; you want to give her the best, but she gets angry. It seems she’s not used to receiving special and luxurious things," he said.

"She’s not strange," Hunter retorted sharply, clenching his fists, his breath quickening as if he wanted to chase after Isabella but couldn’t because he had to keep pretending to be paralyzed.

"Do you want me to help you go after her?" Davin asked.

Hunter immediately glared at Davin. "Are you mocking me?"

"No... I just want to help you... I..."

"Leave!" Hunter snapped. "You’re just ruining the atmosphere with your curiosity!"

"Bro..." Davin shook his head.

"Go!"

"Okay... I’ll go!" Davin quickly stood up and then walked to the wheelchair near the cabinet. He pushed the wheelchair closer to Hunter. "I’m kind enough to bring your lucky chair closer, so you don’t have to crawl." He spoke softly and smiled as if mocking Hunter’s condition.

Hunter remained silent, turning his face away.

"And one more thing," said Davin. "Maybe your wife will never be impressed with what you give her... Wealth, boutiques... Whatever you give her... it won’t make her happy or feel fortunate... You know, women need a husband who’s agile in bed, not someone who makes her always dominant and exhausted," he continued, then grinned and patted Hunter on the shoulder.

Hunter immediately shoved Davin’s hand away harshly.

"Haha!" Davin laughed with satisfaction and quickly left.

’He doesn’t know that I can even satisfy Isabella... I’m not as weak as he thinks... One day, I’ll return to my strong self!’ he thought to himself, clenching his fists.

...

In the room, Isabella sat on the sofa looking at the view outside, but her mind was only on Hunter and Davin.

’If he gives me extravagant things, his mother will get angry or even think I’ve taken advantage of him, breaking the agreement... I’m not even sure if I can be his wife forever... I still can’t get over Joe... Everything is still so uncertain... There’s no guarantee, and I don’t want to deal with his mother... That’s terrifying!’

Isabella screamed in her heart, her breath heavy with turmoil because her heart was filled with questions, and dilemmas until suddenly her ears caught the sound of the door opening. She quickly turned and saw Hunter entering and closing the door.

’Him again... Sometimes I think he’s kind, but in reality, he’s a deceiver. Why does he keep pretending to be a crippled man?’ she turned her face away, ignoring her husband as he approached her.