Chapter 9: Hell House

I was trying not to think about Joseph's words, "He is a deep ocean who is drowning in his depth". What did it mean? I understood nothing at all. But his words had a deep meaning. The more I thought about his words, the more I got puzzled. I didn't want to understand any of his words because I didn't want to understand my husband. I hated him. Nothing would ever change between us. He would remain a heartless soul.

It was nine in the morning when I forced myself out of the bed, feeling like I had been sleeping for ages. I didn't sleep for two days due to the wedding ceremony and reception party.

I yawned and stretched my body. Grabbing my coffee mug, I stepped onto the porch and gazed at the busy street of New York City. The sideways were packed with pedestrians as they were rushing to their works. And here… I am doing nothing!

I sighed in despair. Henry had changed my life and turned it into boring and torturing. I loved my work, but he would never allow me to work at his place ever again.

Turning back, I stepped back into the room and walked straight into the bathroom. I badly wanted a long shower to relax my body muscles and my overwhelmed brain. Peeling my clothes off, I stepped under, sprinkling water, and let my body soak. I massaged my scalp and body, feeling a little better than before.

After a shower, I wrapped the towel and got out of the bathroom. Chewing my lower lip, I reached out my luggage and removed a pair of jeans and a purple top. These clothes were all I had right that moment. Putting them on, I gathered my long hair into a messy bun and didn't bother to apply makeup.

I plopped onto the couch and checked out my phone. My heart wrenched when I found the blank screen. No calls and no text messages! Mom and dad hadn't phoned me since the wedding ceremony and Sarah…! I sighed. She was mad at me. Now, I was feeling even suffocated in my life. I felt my heartbeat rise when Daniel's words hit my head. He wanted me to move to Henry's magnificent mansion and take care of him.

I was startled when a loud knock sounded on the door. I assumed it was Joseph to pick me up for a new house. I rose to my feet and walked towards the door. I was about to open it but tumbled when the door flew open.

What the heck!

I gasped and lifted my eyes to see the person who slammed the door open. I almost forgot to breathe when I found my husband standing in the foyer and glaring at me angrily. His face fixed with an ugly snarl as he stormed inside and towered over me.

"W-what are you doing here?" I stuttered and pushed myself up to my feet.

"Are you shocked to find your husband here? Is there someone who's escorted you the entire night?" he stated in sarcasm and glanced past me as if I had kept a man on my bed.

I just hate him!

"Well…" He stepped up to me, trailing his eyes on my body. "You look like shit!"

I looked away, feeling hurt. He never left a chance to make me feel low. Without another word, he stepped up to me and made me step back. He thrust his hands into the suit pants pocket while stepping up to me. A sneer curled his lips as he was staring at me.

"What do you want?" I dared to ask.

"Did you know that my dad is going to travel to Australia all by himself?" He asked quietly.

"Yes," I answered, swallowing hard.

"Why didn't you tell me then? You should have informed me."

"He didn't want me to tell you…" I said, lowering my gaze and clenching my hands into fists. "He knew you would never let him travel alone."

"And…" He gritted out and curled his fingers around my forearm and slammed me into the wall. "You should have told me, dammit. He is fucking sick. He doesn't fucking know how to take care of himself!"

My eyes widened as I stared into his eyes. He was worried about his father. "I didn't know that…" I mumbled. "I'm sorry…" I didn't even know why I was apologizing to him. It was not my mistake.

"You'll be fucking sorry if anything happens to him!" He threatened and gave me an icy shiver down my spine.

*****

I glanced out of the car window, observing the busy streets. Men, women, and children all were enjoying their freedom. Men and women were hurrying to their work in their business suits and children were rushing to their schools. They all looked so happy and so full of life. I envied their freedom. And here I was feeling like an animal trapped in a cage. I couldn't see my future. Everything was blank and black. I was trying not to think about him, but it felt like he had trapped me in his dark world. I was his, but not his!

I had always dreamed of my charming prince, who would love me, worship me, and protect me. But I had never imagined I would end up in the arms of a beast. He didn't love me but hate me; he didn't protect me but threatened me. It hurt like a stab in your heart, knowing that your husband would never love you. He would never be like what I wanted in my husband. He was cruel, vicious, and ruthless.

"Are you okay?" Joseph's voice interrupted me and made me look at him.

"Yeah…" I said, forcing a smile.

"I know you were being forced into this marriage," he said, and my jaw dropped in utter shock. "I'm sorry, you're going through this phase."

I said nothing because I was lost for words. Did he know everything?

"Do you know everything? I mean…" I cleared my throat. "Do you know the reason why he forced me into this marriage?"

"Yes," he said simply as if he couldn't care less about it.

I feel myself burning with humiliation.

"I've known Henry for over the decades. He is a good man, Alice. I mean…" He sighed.

"He is treating me like the dirt of his shoe. How can he be a good man?" I said, almost angrily.

"It's because you freshened his old wounds." I frowned in confusion. Before I could say anything else. "Forget about it. I'd like to suggest you don't go for what he offers you, Alice. You need to understand him and heal him."

When I didn't speak Joseph said, "Do you know why Mr. Robinson went to Australia?"

"No," I mumbled.

"Because he has lung cancer." His voice was low and filled with sorrow. "He went to Australia for his regular check-ups."

*****

After an hour of driving, Joseph pulled up in front of the multi-story house that was surrounded by a garden. I got out of the car and suddenly Henry's angry face rushed into my head. Gosh! I was going to live with a devil in this house.

I drew a deep breath before stepping up to the foyer and rang the bell. After a few beats, a beautiful woman in her late twenties welcomed me with a smile on her face. "Hello, Mrs. Robinson. Nice to see you. I'm Jessica, your housekeeper."

"Nice to meet you too, Jessica. I'm Alice," I said with a polite smile.

She nodded and stepped back, letting me enter the house. I stepped inside and looked around. The wall was white decorated with a multi-floral design all over the hall and living room. The elegance of the house emerges with dark wooden flooring. There was a door leading to the backyard and I could glimpse red roses.

"Roses…?" I inquired and glanced at Jessica.

She followed my eyes and nodded. "I would like to give you a tour, but sadly I'm occupied. Maybe a couple of hours later."

"Yeah, sure," I said, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I can wait."

"I'll be right back." She nodded and disappeared around the corner.

I sighed and studied every corner. There was a huge wall picture of Henry and his father right in the middle of the stairway. I walked up to the stairway, examining their pictures. Henry seemed like a teenager and his father in his early forties, wearing a dark suit, and smiling warmly in the photo. Henry slightly looked annoyed.

"Welcome to the hell house, my dear wife." I heard his deep and sexy voice from behind me. I turned around to face him.

He was in his expensive blue suit and looked hotter than Brad Pitt. He reached for me and held my hand before dragging me across the hall.

"Henry, what are you doing?" I chided, trying to free my hand from his grasp.

"I'm going to give you a tour of this house," he said roughly and dragged me up the stairs like I was his pet. He didn't give me a chance to speak as he spoke out. "As we know, this marriage is just an arrangement, so I don't really want to share my room with you. I like my personal space and personal wing. If you can, try to not show me your face, especially in the morning, and stay out of my sight as far as you can. I don't want you to eat with me. You can have your breakfast after eight and have your dinner before seven." He paused and turned to me. "Trust me, your life will be much better if you follow all my orders."

"I'm not your pet!" I gritted out.

"Do you want to be my pet, darling?" He said, eyeing my lips briefly and making my breath hitch.

I just hate the way he looks at me.

I breathed evenly when he spun around and walked down the hallway, ignoring my existence.

"Hey, where is my room?" I shouted and rushed after him.

"Follow me," he ordered coldly and paced the hallway.

After a few minutes, we arrived at the third floor and stopped right in front of the brown door. "This is your room." He motioned the room. "Now on, my storeroom is going to be your room," he said with a smirk, and my eyes popped out in surprise.

"What!?" I exclaimed and looked at the room.

"Open it." When I didn't budge, he growled. "Open the fuck it!"

I jolted and made my way to the door. I hesitated only a moment before opening the door. A gust of dust whacked my nostril and made me cough hard. "What the hell is this?" I coughed, gasping for dust-free air.

"This is your room, sweetheart." I could feel amusement in his voice.

I slammed the door closed and spun around to face him, glaring at him deathly. "You're cruel!" I snapped into his face.

He smirked and leaned to my eye level. "Cruel is not the only word to describe me, Mrs. Alice Robinson. I'm sure that you'll never meet a bigger asshole than me in your entire life." He lifted his hand and wiped a tear away from my left cheek and walked away.

"I hate you!" I spat on his back and made him pause.

He slowly turned to me. "Today, I'm going to invite my friends for dinner and I'm expecting you to prepare the dinner for them."