Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 53: Problems at Isabella’s house

Chapter 53: Problems at Isabella’s house

After nearly 30 minutes, the taxi carrying Hunter, Isabella, and Collin stopped at a minimalistic two-story house with a monochrome theme. Isabella quickly put on her small black designer bag after unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Collin, you shouldn’t stay here with us," Hunter said as Collin opened the door for Isabella.

"Then where should I go?" Collin furrowed his brow, stepping back to let Isabella out.

"Anywhere, just not here." Hunter exited the car with his cane. "I don’t want you interrupting our time together."

"Oh... Okay." Collin sighed.

Hunter approached Isabella, who was stunned to see a middle-aged man in black coming out of the house.

"Who is he?" he asked.

Isabella remained silent and walked toward the man.

Hunter frowned, glancing back at Collin, who was carrying his black suitcase.

"Just take it there," he called out, then hurried to follow Isabella.

The middle-aged man smiled faintly as Isabella approached, occasionally glancing at Hunter and Collin behind her.

"Isabella... You didn’t say you were coming," he said nervously.

"What are you doing here?" Isabella asked, furrowing her brow. "Don’t you have a key to my house? How did you get in? Did you break the lock like an intruder?"

"No... uh..." The man became more nervous but kept smiling, revealing his not-so-white teeth. "I didn’t break the door, don’t worry. I opened it with the key. Loraine entrusted it to me... he said I could enter your house because I had to clean it... And it turns out your house is very dirty and dusty!" he explained nervously.

"I know you’re lying; Loraine didn’t give you that key. He doesn’t want you here!"

"Isabella..."

"You must have stolen something! What did you do to my house?" Isabella glared, her breath quickening.

"I... I just..."

"You can never be a good uncle!" Isabella shouted, then rushed into her house.

"Isabella!" The man turned, about to chase her, but Hunter pulled his shirt.

"Don’t bother my wife!" Hunter yelled.

The man immediately turned to face Hunter after freeing himself from Hunter’s grip. He sighed, noting the cane supporting Hunter’s right hand while the other rested on his left hip.

"You’re a disabled man; how can you act tough and protect my niece?" he asked with a sneer.

"I’ll heal soon, and I assure you that an evil uncle like you won’t disturb her again," Hunter replied, his gaze icy.

"Really?"

"You should leave before I ask Collin to break your neck!"

The man glanced at Collin, who looked strong carrying the suitcase on his shoulder, then back at Hunter.

"Isabella might seem to hate me, but if you do something bad to me, she’ll hate you," he said with a thin smile. "Anyway, you should be polite to me; I’m her uncle, in a way, I’m your father-in-law!" he continued, crossing his arms.

"Too bad I’ve seen how badly you entered my wife’s house without permission; I can’t respect you," Hunter shot back, then grabbed his cane and walked toward the front door.

"Hey!" The man turned to Hunter.

"Get out of the way!" Collin pushed him aside, causing him to fall.

"Oh, damn!" The man exclaimed, getting up while watching them enter the house. "The man is disabled, but he has a strong assistant like a bodyguard... Is he really rich? But what good is that if he can’t pamper Isabella? How does he perform in bed?" he wondered to himself, then laughed.

"Isabella never has good luck, haha!" he chuckled as he walked away from the house.

...

In her monochrome room on the upper floor, Isabella emptied her closet, creating a mess on the floor. She was in a panic but couldn’t find what she was looking for.

"Honey, what are you looking for?" Hunter asked as he approached Isabella without his cane.

"The house certificate!" Isabella replied anxiously, her breath quickening. "I can’t find it. I remember keeping it in this drawer, and even the key is missing!" she added, frustrated.

Hunter frowned, looking at the empty drawer, then recalled Isabella’s uncle leaving without taking anything.

"But your uncle left without taking anything... I didn’t see him take the certificate," he said.

"He might have taken it before today," Isabella replied, annoyed, turning back to the now-empty closet. "It’s been almost a month since I left this house... Of course, he had plenty of opportunities to steal. I shouldn’t have left the certificate!" she said, frustrated, then walked to the bed.

Hunter paused, looking at Isabella as she cried, occasionally brushing her disheveled hair aside.

"Foolish, so foolish. What if he uses that certificate to sell this house? Or to pawn it?" Isabella wondered, rubbing her forehead. "This house means so much to me; so many memories are here!"

Hunter sighed, then sat next to Isabella and hugged her gently.

"You have to remember that you have me who will always get you out of trouble," he said softly.

"But what if this house is bought by someone and that person won’t return it to me...?"

"Then I’ll buy it back for double the price," Hunter said before Isabella finished speaking. "I’ll do anything to make you happy," he added.

Isabella turned to Hunter with sad eyes.

He gently wiped her tears away while smiling. "This is my first time visiting here... Wouldn’t it be better if you gave a warm... special welcome?" he asked, but his wife only hung her head again.

"I have nothing here; I can’t think clearly. I’m still thinking about Joe, and then my uncle made a mess," Isabella murmured, haunted by her uncle’s face. "I can’t believe he could be so cruel to me... I’m his niece... How could he act like that? Especially knowing that I’ve been struggling... I know you can help me get through this."

She glanced back at Hunter. "But I’m so upset about his behavior, about this fate... Joe never cared about me, then my uncle... My mother, even Loraine chose to be with him instead of me," she said, unable to hold back her tears.

"I understand..." Hunter hugged Isabella again, occasionally kissing her hair. "We can get through this, okay? Time keeps moving; we won’t always be stuck in difficult situations. There will come a time when we face the good we desire."

Isabella remained silent in Hunter’s warm embrace, her body still trembling with her racing heart, occasionally remembering Joe’s disappointment, filling her with worry but feeling helpless, and the issue of the missing house certificate only added to her anxiety and stress, leaving her unsure of what to do.