The Bride Widow
Chapter 44: Ch 44: The Circumstances are to blame - Part 1

Chapter 44: Ch 44: The Circumstances are to blame - Part 1

Daniel could not keep his eyes on Anabella’s face no matter what he did. The red on her face made him look aside. He looked uncomfortable and for an obvious reason.

*Gasp*

"What happened to your face? Does it hurt? Do you want me to call a doctor? Your face might have permanent scars if we don’t treat it now...this is not a laughing matter. Does it look like I am amused?"

James asked in a tense voice.

He was the first person to move and also the first to get to Anabella’s side.

No kid James’s age should have enough strength to pull a grown-up down and check up on them. But James, who had already presented as an alpha, differed from the social norms.

He was strong enough to pull Anabella down and check up on her neck and face.

The more he did that, the more Daniel looked uncomfortable. And that, Sharon noticed. She was also smart enough to put two-on-two together, and her face paled.

"James, I think we should leave Anabella alone. She is an adult, and she can look after her injuries. How about we return to our rooms and unpack our new stuff?"

Sharon asked with a smile on her face, but her words were getting more and more jumbled up by the second.

James frowned at his mother’s words, his unhappiness over the situation clearly on his face.

"I don’t think we should ignore it. Anabella might be an adult, but she is also forgetful most of the time. Last time, she did not even realize she was sick until she ended up in the hospital."

James had a point, and the adults knew it.

Still, Anabella did not intend to be checked out, especially for her injury.

"I am fine, James. This shows up more on my face because I am so pale. It will all fade away soon. How about you head inside and rest?"

Anabella suggested as she picked up her stuff to shift rooms. She was gone before anyone could make another comment.

...

Out of everyone, Daniel was the last person Anabella expected to visit her first. So, then her room door was knocked, and she did not bother hurrying up to check it out. She thought of it as James, who came here to check on her.

"Can you open the door for me? I can tell that you are not asleep."

That voice did not belong to James, making Anabella curious enough to open the door.

Her husband stood before her door and could still not look her in the eyes when he talked.

Instead, he looked at the side wall before he spoke.

"How effectively can you mask those marks on your neck? Can you mask it so that no one else would know you have them? I need you to accompany me to the charity auction tomorrow."

Daniel did not make a request; he demanded it from Anabella.

’Does this man think I have the skills of gods to hide all these bruises on my face? Luckily for him, I have a lot of practice with this. Growing up with Jackson was not the nicest experience I had in my life.’

Anabella sighed before she coughed to attract Daniel’s attention.

This time, her husband looked at her. But he still looked out of it, and his eyes avoided Anabella’s face.

"I can make it work, but I will need some products in my shade. It’s from XXX brand, shade A2-C. Make sure you bring me the exact foundation shade."

The door closed behind Anabella with a little more force than she intended. She looked down at her hands, only to find them shaking lightly after that encounter.

’Huh? Am I shaking because I was scared? I did not feel this scared when I was facing Daniel, but now that he is gone, I cannot stop shaking.’

Anabella did not think her encounter with her husband would affect her this much, but she was wrong.

Her hands were shaking, and her body felt cold. She felt like she was getting sick again, but she knew better.

This was all inside her head.

She did not leave her room, even when Daniel brought what she had asked for, and he left it in front of her door.

In the evening, her husband was nowhere to be seen. It gave Anabella enough time to head out and look around her house.

There was a lot to be done, and the dust was beginning to settle over stuff once more. But she was not going to bother and clean it.

Around 08:00 AM the next day, her door was gently knocked on, and Anabella was curious enough to check it out.

She opened the door, only for her eyes to look at James. The kid looked shaken, but he was also determined to help Anabella out.

Looking at him made Anabella feel light-hearted, so she opened her door wider to talk to the kid.

"Is there anything I can help you with? Ah...did you come here because you were worried about me? There is no need for you to be worried. These injuries will heal soon."

Anabella assured the kid while keeping her tone as neutral as possible. No kid wanted to hear that their parent had caused someone else to get hurt like this.

James looked disappointed but also relieved. His dark eyes looked at Anabella in a way that made her feel like the kid was looking right through her.

"Did father do that to your neck? Since it’s this dark and all discolored, Father must have pressed hard enough to leave these marks. Do you hate father now?"

James asked in a concerned voice, and Anabella was sure that this was not the right question to ask her.

But James had asked her, so she felt responsible for answering that question.

"The way I feel about Daniel is...complicated. Given what happened, I can’t bring myself to like him. But as for hating...that is difficult to do as well. If I had to blame something, I would blame the circumstances."