Chapter 3
1403 Words
It had been more than a month since Valerie marriage to Dante, yet her life remained exactly like that of someone without a husband. Dante never visited her at all. Even so, Valerie felt grateful; at least there was no abuse like what May used to do to her.
Valerie obeyed the rules Kimmy had given her. She did not leave the glass house without a guard. In reality, there were no guards stationed there. Even without guards, no one dared to enter that forest except Dante and a few of his trusted men.
Valerie felt as though she was being exiled. Even Kimmy rarely visited anymore. For meals, Valerie only relied on instant noodles—that was the only thing she knew how to cook. As for her dirty clothes, she washed them herself as best as she could.
Out of sheer boredom, Valerie finally gathered the courage to step outside. Every single day, she had nothing to do except listen to her favorite music. But right now, Valerie intended to take a walk in front of the house. She would count her steps back and forth so she would remember the way back.
Slowly, the door opened. The first thing that greeted her was a gust of fresh breeze brushing against her beautiful face. Valerie smiled widely, feeling a wave of relief just from breathing the outdoor air.
Relying only on her cane, she tried to step forward carefully. She still remembered Kimmy’s words about a cliff and a lake nearby, but she forgot which side the cliff was on and which side the lake was.
"Aww!!" Valerie fell as her foot tripped. But she did not cry despite being hurt. Valerie got back up and walked forward. Not knowing where her feet were taking her, she simply counted the number of steps from the door of the house.
Until finally, her cane tapped against a long bench. She had no idea that someone had been sitting on that bench, watching her the entire time.
"There's a bench? Is there a human here too?" she murmured softly, while the man just sat in silence, observing her.
Valerie winced, feeling a sharp sting in her knee. She rubbed it gently while groaning. The forest, which was inhabited by various kinds of Dante's exotic pets, felt incredibly serene, making anyone who entered reluctant to leave. However, no enemy had ever made it out of there alive.
Valerie closed her eyes and tilted her head up slightly, enjoying the sweep of the wind against her face. Until this very second, Val still hadn't realized there was someone else right next to her. The man, who possessed a face as handsome as a god, merely observed Valerie from head to toe.
'Does she not eat well? Why is her body so thin?' the man thought to himself as he stared at Valerie's frame, wrapped in a knee-length dress.
"If only I hadn't been in that accident that night a few months ago, maybe my eyes would still function the way they used to, and I could still see the beauty of the world," Valerie muttered, causing the man beside her to furrow his brows.
An accident? Was Valerie the girl he hit when he was chasing and being chased by enemies back then? Dante shook his head. His best friend, who was also his assistant, had told him that the girl he hit that night died on the spot.
Dante watched his wife for quite a long time. He listened to the grievances pouring from Valerie's small mouth, as if the woman was sharing her story with nature itself.
However, nature didn't seem to like her sad story because out of nowhere, it began to rain. Valerie scrambled to find shelter until she stumbled and fell. Seeing this, Dante clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"What a blind, troublesome woman," he snapped.
Valerie, who faintly caught the sound of someone speaking—though not very clearly—instantly turned her head.
"Is someone there?" she called out, her eyes looking aimlessly in random directions while her hands fumbled along the ground.
"Aside from being blind, you can't even tell the difference between a human and a ghost," Dante scoffed.
Hearing Dante's voice made Valerie gasp. Her husband was actually around her. But what shocked her even more was that, all of a sudden, her body was lifted into the air.
"Put me down, Sir," Valerie said.
Dante glanced at her briefly. "Shut up! Or I'll throw you off the cliff," Dante hissed. Valerie immediately went silent and buried her face against her husband's broad chest.
So far, Dante hadn't used any physical violence against her; only his words were always sharp. After stepping inside the glass house, it turned out someone was already there, snooping through the entire place.
Dante’s sharp eyes locked onto the beautiful woman who hadn't noticed his arrival yet. "What are you doing here?" Dante's deep, heavy voice startled the beautiful woman.
The woman turned around with a wide smile, but that smile instantly vanished when she saw Dante carrying another woman in his arms.
"Dante..." she whispered.
Dante didn't answer. He walked past her and placed Valerie down on the sofa in the room. "Wait here, I'll grab a towel to dry your hair." Unexpectedly, Dante's voice softened. Valerie only nodded weakly.
Dante paid absolutely no attention to the woman who had been watching him the whole time. Seeing Dante walk into the bedroom, the woman, with her breath hitching in anger, immediately approached Valerie.
With a swift movement, the beautiful woman yanked Valerie's long hair.
"Awwww!!" Valerie shrieked.
"You b***h, how dare you seduce Dante! He belongs only to me," she hissed.
Valerie shook her head weakly while holding her throbbing head. "Miss, I..."
Slap!
A hard slap landed perfectly on Valerie's smooth cheek. "How dare you call me Miss? I am the future Mrs. Smith, call me Ma'am!" she demanded. Valerie nodded helplessly.
The woman's breathing grew heavier as her anger peaked, because Valerie's blank stare made it seem like she was mocking her. "Damn it, how dare you not look at me! I am right here!!" she yelled, raising her hand to slap Valerie again.
But before her hand could strike Valerie's cheek, another hand caught her wrist in a tight grip.
"Who dares to..." Her sentence hung in the air when she saw who had stopped her. Her eyes widened in horror, and she immediately lowered her gaze.
"Mrs. Celine..." she mumbled.
Celine glanced at her daughter-in-law, who looked completely disheveled, before turning her sharp gaze back to the woman who had dared to hurt her.
"What do you think you are doing to my daughter-in-law, Rania?" Celine asked with a piercing glare.
The woman named Rania looked up, unable to believe that this ragged girl was the daughter-in-law of the Smith family. She had just returned from a vacation and knew nothing about Dante's marriage.
"Daughter-in-law?" she repeated.
"Yes, Valerie is my daughter-in-law. She is Dante's lawful wife," Celine answered while scanning the room for her son, who turned out to be just a bystander, leaning against the bedroom doorframe. Rania shook her head in disbelief and wanted to protest, but Celine glared at her sternly.
"Dante Smith!!!" Celine shouted, snapping her son out of his daze.
"Mom," Dante winced, seeing his mother's furious eyes.
"Is this how you treat your wife? What makes you any different from a heartless animal?" Celine said firmly. It was a voice Valerie recognized well, and she was certain it belonged to her mother-in-law.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Mom, I didn't want to get married. From the very beginning, I never liked women who are a hassle. But you and that old man kept forcing me. Why couldn't Noah be the one to marry this blind girl? I'm not even interested in women who are beautiful and perfect, let alone a blind, crippled woman like her, Mom. She's a nuisance," Dante replied, firing back at his mother.
"Watch your mouth, Dante!!"
SLAP!
To be continued...
- Writer
