Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 35: she is cunning

Chapter 35: she is cunning

A few days passed...

It was nine in the morning in Seattle.

Joe was going about his routine at a gym that had already seen several people arriving to use the available equipment. The man moved back and forth, helping those who needed assistance operating the machines, sometimes offering a hand when someone was lifting weights for the first time.

"Joe..."

A voice from behind caught Joe’s attention while he was watching one of the girls using the leg press machine. He turned and found Kate, who was looking at him awkwardly.

"You can go, I can do it," the girl said as she lay back, lifting and lowering her legs with the weight.

"Okay..."

Joe quickly left the girl and approached Kate with a furrowed brow.

"You’re here? This is something unusual." He smiled slightly as he stood in front of Kate, looking at her in a knee-length white dress with a leaf pattern and sleeves. "Are you going to work out in that outfit?"

"No..." Kate shook her head with a smile, then looked down as if unable to meet Joe’s gaze. "I... I just want to talk to you. But if you’re busy, I can wait outside." She explained nervously.

Joe nodded with a smirk, then glanced behind him and saw that everyone had gotten the hang of the equipment they were using.

"I think we can talk now." He turned back to Kate.

"Maybe outside." Kate glanced toward the door.

"Okay..."

Kate quickly walked toward the glass door, opened it, and stepped out, followed by Joe. She stopped at a sofa in a spacious and quiet lobby.

"This is very unusual, you coming to see me and wanting to talk," Joe said as he sat down, Kate doing the same. "Now I’m curious about what you have to say," he continued, wiping the sweat from his neck with the white towel he always carried.

Kate bit her lower lip, glancing at Joe’s muscular body, which was barely covered by short pants and a blue shirt with wide armholes.

"Hey?" Joe looked at Kate, who immediately jumped. "What happened? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked with a smile.

"Uh... It’s okay, um... I just... I felt hot looking at you. I mean... I think I should work out too so I’m not always feeling cold," Kate explained nervously with a smile.

Joe laughed.

"What? Did that sound weird?" Kate asked.

"No..." Joe shook his head. "Nothing weird about it. Anyone is welcome to work out, including you. You can start working out here, even today."

Kate nodded, then glanced back at the transparent glass, which allowed her to see the people working out.

"Maybe another time since I didn’t bring workout clothes," she said, then looked at her slender fingers with shiny red nails. "I came here to talk about something I learned while in New York," she continued, turning to Joe again.

"What is it?"

"It’s... It’s about Loraine."

"Loraine?" Joe furrowed his brow.

"Yes..." Kate nodded. "It turns out he’s living in a luxury apartment, and it’s owned by Hunter. He let him live there for free and even gave him a black card so he can shop as much as he wants."

Joe was stunned, thinking that Isabella married Hunter just to get $300,000, but now her brother was living in an apartment and had a black card.

"You might think this isn’t strange, but I want you to know that your relationship with Isabella won’t be the same after this," Kate continued.

"What do you mean?" Joe whispered.

"Because... because..." Kate bit her lower lip, looking at Joe with hesitation.

"Tell me!"

"Joe... Please don’t be angry," Kate pleaded, holding Joe’s right arm. "You have to promise not to get emotional after hearing what I’m about to say!" she continued with a pleading look.

"No... I won’t get emotional!" Joe shook his head, then sighed deeply, his heart racing with anxiety. "Tell me why this marriage threatens our relationship!"

"It’s because Hunter isn’t what we think he is," Kate explained with a pained expression. "Loraine told me... that Hunter isn’t paralyzed, and he’s very kind to Isabella. He even helped Loraine get a job and let him stay in his apartment for as long as he wanted, giving him unlimited shopping privileges with a black card."

Joe was stunned, imagining Isabella, who had always assured him that she’d be fine because Hunter was just a paralyzed man who couldn’t hurt her. But in reality, he was healthy and instead treated her very well.

"In my opinion, he’s interested in Isabella, which is why he’s giving her everything she needs beyond just paying off her debt. He even helps Loraine. If he weren’t attracted to Isabella, maybe he wouldn’t have done all of this," Kate explained further. "And what worries me, even more, is that Isabella might fall in love with him because he’s rich, kind, handsome, and can give her everything she wants, including the satisfaction, since he’s not paralyzed."

Joe clenched his fists, swallowing hard and breathing heavily.

"Joe..." Kate held his arm again, looking at him with concern. "I know this is hard for you..."

"How could she lie to me? Even Loraine knew!" Joe asked, gritting his teeth.

"Maybe she lied because Hunter is still pretending to be paralyzed in front of his family and front of me," Kate answered.

"You met him?" Joe asked.

Kate just nodded. "Loraine took me to meet them a few days ago, but... I pretended not to know that Hunter could walk. Loraine planned to ask me to stay at Hunter’s apartment, but it seems like Isabella influenced Hunter not to allow it... In the end, Loraine asked me to return here. I was very disappointed and gave him a choice: either maintain our relationship and return here, or stay there and we would end things. He chose to stay," she explained, looking down.

Joe sighed, his mind filled with images of Isabella. Their recent encounter, where she had a red mark, like a kiss, on her neck, and her behavior had been different when they were intimate.

He sat there, leaning against the chair, his gaze vacant, staring straight ahead.

’She... She doesn’t have much time for me anymore, always saying she’s busy taking care of Hunter, who’s supposedly paralyzed... But in reality, he’s a healthy man, maybe even seducing her with his money, his body, his charm... How do I compete with that? She lied to me... She will choose that liar over me!’