Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 48: Hunter’s anger at Juliana

Chapter 48: Hunter’s anger at Juliana

10 p.m. ...

Collin stopped the car in front of the Jamie Oliver Brown family’s house, then quickly got out and opened the door for Hunter. He invited his employer to step out, carrying two walking canes, then closed the door again.

"Wait here, I won’t be long," Hunter said, his gaze fixed straight ahead, looking at the metallic-toned mansion with white lighting.

"Yes, sir." Collin bowed for a moment.

Hunter immediately walked with his walking sticks, crossing the short stairs until he reached the porch. In no time, the door opened, and he saw his mother smiling at him.

"Hunter, my goodness!" Juliana’s eyes widened. "So you no longer need a wheelchair? You’re almost healed!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

Hunter remained silent, his gaze flat.

"Too bad your father is out of town right now. He’d be so happy to know this!" Juliana said again, approaching Hunter and hugging him briefly.

"I want us to talk," Hunter murmured, his expression unchanged.

"Of course, let’s talk inside." Juliana quickly led Hunter into the living room and shut the door behind them.

"Would you like to talk here, or maybe you’d prefer your room?" Juliana wondered aloud as she walked into the main area, with Hunter trailing behind. "I thought you’d miss your room... You can sleep there since Rose cleans it every day," she continued, turning to look at Hunter.

Hunter exhaled sharply, glancing around at the eerily quiet space as if no one else lived there but his mother.

"Where’s Cassandra?" he asked.

"She’s staying at her boyfriend’s apartment tonight," Juliana replied.

Hunter frowned immediately.

"Do you want coffee or something..."

"I don’t want anything!" Hunter snapped, his eyes sharp. "How can you give Cassandra so much freedom, yet none to me?"

Juliana froze, her brows furrowing as her chest tightened, heart pounding, staring at Hunter, who continued glaring at her.

"This is so unfair to me!" Hunter shouted, throwing his two walking sticks in different directions, causing his mother to widen her eyes and gape. "What? Are you surprised now?" he asked.

"Yes..." Juliana slowly nodded, smiling faintly amid her fear of her son’s outburst. "I didn’t expect you could stand without any support... Of course, that makes me incredibly happy!"

Hunter sneered.

"I was never truly paralyzed," he said.

"What?" Juliana frowned.

"Yeah... I was never really paralyzed because I was sick of your behavior!" Hunter whispered, clenching his jaw, his gaze piercing his mother. "I became a liar to my own family, and it’s all because of you!" he continued, pointing at her.

Juliana shook her head, her lips stiff as if she couldn’t speak.

She gasped for breath, staring at her son, who was now circling her with an intimidating gaze.

"I’m like this because I’m tired of being your puppet, and you can’t even let me be happy with what I want," Hunter said softly, his face tense. "You always want me to follow your every wish, but what do I get in return... You made the girl I loved leave me, robbing us of any chance to be together. I’m so fed up with your ways... But it’s pointless to yell at you... You’re my mother... I respect that, but I feel like punishing you!"

Juliana swallowed hard, her mind instantly jumping to thoughts of Sarah.

"That’s why I took advantage of that minor accident to create a lie, pretending to be paralyzed so you wouldn’t force me to marry your chosen girl!" Hunter explained firmly, occasionally taking deep, emotional breaths. "I did that on purpose because I didn’t want to be your puppet any longer. I didn’t want you to achieve your goals by using me!" he continued.

"So... you... you pretended to be paralyzed just because you didn’t want to marry the girl I chose?" Juliana asked with a disappointed look.

"Yes!" Hunter replied flatly.

"But why? Why don’t you understand my purpose? The girls I pick are the best for you, but instead, you made yourself appear weak so they wouldn’t want to be with you..." Juliana shook her head. "How could you do that? But you were agree, weren’t you, when I picked Isabella for you?"

"Of course, I did that because I was already disappointed!" Hunter said firmly, turning his gaze toward an antique painting hanging on the wall. "You made it so that I couldn’t be with Sarah... You know she’s the only one I wanted, so I’ll never be with the girls you favor! And I know Isabella wasn’t your favorite; she was different from the others who rejected me because they thought I was paralyzed... That’s why I agreed to marry her." He looked back at his mother.

Juliana exhaled heavily, staring at Hunter in frustration as if she had no more words left.

"I’ve followed your wishes to marry her so we could get the company assets from Grandpa. You should be satisfied with that and stop interfering with my life," Hunter whispered, frowning. "But why won’t you stop? What do you want? Don’t you want me to be happy with Isabella? Isn’t she your choice?"

"She’s not good for you!" Juliana snapped angrily. "You know I picked her because she wanted money... And the marriage was only supposed to last three months. My goal was to secure your grandfather’s company assets, and you agreed to that. So why do you want her as your permanent wife now? She’s even worse than the girls I picked before... You know she only married you for the money!" she continued, frustrated.

"She did marry for money, but I know there are many reasons behind that, and they all show her goodness!"

"Goodness? What do you mean by that, huh?" Juliana asked, her eyes fierce, glaring at Hunter. "You even know she’s been lying to us, that she has a boyfriend!"

"Yes, I know she lied to us all, but I also know she did it because she had no choice!" Hunter responded, looking around as he imagined Isabella’s beautiful face. "She was trapped by her love for her inconsiderate boyfriend... Then there’s her family situation... I know she’s a good person... Even though we haven’t been together long, I’m sure she’s kind... Besides, I also wronged her by lying about being paralyzed and impotent... She’s not entirely to blame." He looked back at his mother, who smiled cynically, shaking her head.

"You say that because she’s seduced you, brainwashed you, using her misfortunes to conquer you!" Juliana yelled.

"Mom!" Hunter shouted. "No one wants to be miserable. She’s honest and didn’t use that to make me pity her!" he clarified once more.

Juliana turned away, tense.

"I also wronged her by lying; she felt deceived. If she knew I wasn’t paralyzed and impotent, she wouldn’t have agreed to the contract marriage, thinking she would have to serve me like a wife... I essentially trapped her... I was sneaky... leaving her no choice but to remain my wife because she needed the money to pay off her debts... I’m the one in the wrong," Hunter explained, swallowing hard. "And... And I couldn’t resist when I was with her."

Juliana looked at Hunter with a furrowed brow.

"Sex... I couldn’t avoid it... I’m a normal man... And... And it made me want to have her forever," Hunter explained awkwardly, then turned away.

"You can’t decide you love someone just because of sex!" Juliana whispered.

"Mom... I told you, I have other reasons. She’s not as bad as you think!"

"I don’t care!"

"Okay!" Hunter nodded. "You don’t have to care, but you won’t be able to separate us!"

"You two must separate!" Juliana shouted. "She’ll be just like Sarah, always taking advantage..."

"No!" Hunter shouted, cutting her off. "Sarah never took advantage of me!"

"She clearly did, using her beauty to seduce you into getting a scholarship from you, making you pay for all her school expenses..."

"What nonsense is that!" Hunter waved his hands dismissively and stepped further away from Juliana. "You talk as if the rich aren’t allowed to love the poor. That’s archaic, that’s a foolish mindset!"

Juliana remained silent, her face tense with a mixture of anger and disappointment.

"You brought her before me and let us marry. Yes, it was based on a contract, but I want to nullify all that!" Hunter shouted firmly, causing his mother to turn sharply toward him. "With or without your approval, we will stay together as husband and wife, forever!"

"Hunter!" Juliana snapped.

"What?" Hunter put his hands on his hips. "Do you think I’ll stay quiet if you try to push her out of my life? I won’t let that happen. I may have stayed silent when you drove Sarah away from me, but you won’t do that to Isabella. No... We’re already married... I’ll always defend her, no matter what, even if I have to become your enemy!"

Juliana glared, her breath rapid as her hand swung to strike Hunter’s cheek.

"You’d turn against your own mother just for a liar!" she shouted.

Hunter remained silent, holding his cheek.

"Leave her!" Juliana screamed.

"I’m not a child you can boss around as you please!" Hunter snapped, glaring, then stepping closer to his mother’s face. "If you dare harm her, like you did today or even like you did to Sarah, then you’ll see us both destroyed," he continued.

"What will you do?" Juliana frowned.

Hunter fell silent for a moment, staring into his mother’s gray eyes that showed anxiety.

"I’ll tell Grandfather that I was never paralyzed, and it was all because of you... I’ll tell everyone," he whispered.

Juliana immediately grabbed Hunter’s shirt. "That could make him furious!"

"I don’t care!" Hunter shook his head. "I don’t care how he reacts, I don’t care if he hates me after this... I just won’t let my happiness be destroyed like this. Maybe the truth is better, then I’ll leave with Isabella... And you will never see me again."

Juliana was stunned as if she couldn’t believe Hunter dared to say that.

"Don’t mess with us, or everything will fall apart," Hunter murmured, then moved back away from his mother and quickly grabbed his two crutches scattered on the floor.