Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 30: Pretend to hate

Chapter 30: Pretend to hate

"Did you wait too long for me?" asked Juliana, who had just arrived to meet Hunter who still sitting in the restaurant where he had met Davin.

"For quite a while, but I used the time to talk to Davin," Hunter replied with a blank stare, looking at his mother as she sat across from him. ’You are the reason for all my troubles,’ he thought, suppressing his hatred.

"What did you talk about?" Juliana asked, her sharp blue eyes fixed on Hunter.

"Of course, we talked about making myself look pathetic... so he would pity me and not spread pictures of my wife," Hunter replied with a scowl. "Now, you can smile smugly..."

"Hunter..."

Juliana sighed deeply, looking at Hunter anxiously.

"I never intended to make you look pathetic in Davin’s eyes or anyone’s. I thought that wretched Isabella was a single girl... I didn’t know she had lied!" she exclaimed in a panic.

"That means you’re stupid... You were so eager for me to marry for the inheritance without thinking about how it would make my situation worse!" Hunter snapped angrily. "You made me look like a cruel man, forcing a girl to leave her lover... Of course, it’s not easy!"

"That’s not cruelty, it’s something you had to do... Besides, we didn’t know she was lying beforehand!"

"Okay... There’s no point in discussing this any further. Luckily, Davin wouldn’t give the photo to anyone, and I made sure he deleted everything. You don’t have to worry. But I haven’t done anything to punish Isabella so she won’t dare meet that man again while still being my wife... But I need authority," Hunter said seriously, looking at his mother, who looked unnaturally youthful with full makeup and wearing a maroon suit. He placed his hands on the table and said, "Hand over the marriage contract to me... I mean, I’ll make new rules so Isabella can’t escape my punishment again," he continued.

Juliana frowned at Hunter.

"If you don’t want to, then I’ll just divorce her," Hunter added.

"Hunter..." Juliana immediately shook her head. "You can’t do that now. It would deeply disappoint your grandfather, and his health could even deteriorate."

"Then let me take control of all the terms of that contract... She’s my wife, she’s by my side, I can control her, not you, because you’re not always around her!" Hunter insisted. "I’m already angry enough about this marriage, then she causes more problems by meeting her lover... But she tells me I have no right to punish her because she works for you, and she signed the marriage contract with you!" he continued.

Juliana exhaled harshly and looked away.

"Fine... If that’s what I have to do," she said anxiously.

"Colin will pick up the contract tomorrow," Hunter replied with a blank stare. "I want to go back to the penthouse. I need to rest," he continued as he wheeled his chair away from the table.

Juliana quickly stood. "I’ll take you."

"No!" Hunter looked up, staring at Juliana. "I can do it myself."

"Hunter, but I want to help you..."

"When will you stop thinking I’m weak? You already see me as weak by forcing me to marry the girl of your choice as if I’m incapable of finding the best one for myself!" Hunter snapped before Juliana could finish speaking. "Please, this time let me be alone... Don’t disappoint me again!"

Juliana sighed, gazing out with sadness in her blue eyes, biting her lower lip briefly before regaining her composure.

"I’m doing this for your good... I hope one day you’ll understand that... I didn’t mean any harm to you... We just need to stay with her for three months, and then you can discard her," she said sadly.

Hunter remained silent, his mind swirling with thoughts of Isabella’s beautiful face, her graceful body, and her kindness, making him want to be with her forever, though now he had to pretend to hate her so his mother wouldn’t treat her harshly like she did to Sarah.

"Just bear with her for three months, okay..." Juliana bent down, kissing Hunter’s head for a moment while stroking his hair. "Now you can go back."

"Yeah... Take care," Hunter whispered, trying to conceal his anger. He quickly rolled his chair out of the restaurant, which was inside the same building as his penthouse.

Juliana stood still, watching Hunter fade from view.

’If only Anne hadn’t foolishly spent Dad’s money on her husband’s family, I wouldn’t have pushed Hunter to marry for the company’s assets,’ she thought sadly, then left the restaurant.

...

In the penthouse, Isabella paced near the door, unable to stop thinking about Hunter, whom she knew was meeting Davin to stop him from spreading photos of her and Joe.

"If only I weren’t so careless... If only I hadn’t gone out last night... Why did I go? Stupid, so stupid!" she cursed herself, clenching her fists.

"Mrs. Brown."

A soft voice called her. Isabella immediately turned and saw Carol standing five meters away.

"Do you need anything? You’ve seemed anxious for a while." Carol asked politely, her outfit equally modest, a blue button-down uniform.

"No, I don’t need anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Isabella sat back down on the single sofa. "I’m just worried about Hunter. He’s out there... fighting to free me from the mess I made. Honestly, I’m afraid something might happen to him." She explained anxiously.

"In my opinion, your husband will succeed in freeing you from those problems. He’s not a foolish man... Even so far, he’s been able to fool many people by pretending to be sick... If he didn’t have a sad and patient personality, he wouldn’t have made it this far," Carol replied calmly.

"It’s different this time. He’s dealing with the cunning Davin!"

"In that case, instead of constantly worrying, just wait... I’m sure he’ll return soon."

Isabella exhaled sharply, glancing toward the door, and sure enough, it opened. A few seconds later, Hunter wheeled in. The woman immediately stood up, smiling, welcoming her husband, while Carol quickly closed the door.

"I was so worried about you!" Isabella exclaimed, immediately hugging Hunter as he stood up from his wheelchair.

Hunter remained silent, feeling Isabella’s warm embrace, even smelling her neck.

’She immediately tells me she’s worried about me without asking if I succeeded or not. Is it because she has feelings for me?’