Chapter 2 Hatred like no other
Lilac glanced at her mother-in-law, Tamara, by the side of her eye. She had always thought Tamara did not like any of her daughters-in-laws. That is what comforted her a lot when she was most times ignored by the older woman. But seeing her reaction, she started to wonder, was it that she did not like them, or did she not care too much about them? It almost seemed as though she enjoyed watching the drama, or was it her imagination?
Lilac finished eating and left the dining room. She still had a lot to do. She was so deep in thought that she did not realize that Eric was walking after her. She had only just entered her room when he stepped in after her.
“What do you think you are doing?” he asked, and she came back from her thoughts and glanced at him.
“Can I help you?” she asked dismissively.
“What did you mean by what you did in the dining room? Do not forget your place just because I let you into our family,” he warned. His words hurt her more than she had anticipated. She was in love with this man, but he hated her with everything in his being. She knew why this was.
“What are you doing? Answer me!” Eric called her from her daze.
“I am wondering why I married you,” she muttered.
She was the second daughter of the Hart family. In all matters that counted, they could not be considered friends or enemies. They were at most families that had never clashed or had much to do with each other. Her family invested greatly in oil and own several shipping vessels that carried oil into the country, while her husband’s family dealt in heavy machinery and investment finance. If she had not been reborn, she would have thought that these two families were not related to each other.
But this was not why this man hated her.
She loved this man. His dark brown hair, strong jawline and deep-set blue eyes had always had a way of making her squirm. But he had never once looked at her gently with those eyes, and she knew he never would.
Looking at the hurt look in her eyes, he felt slightly uncomfortable. But her words made him sneer slightly.
“Oh? You have forgotten so quickly? You drugged me and crawled into my bed. What happened? You suddenly regret it?” he sneered. If she had not played tricks, the woman he loved would not have run away.
This is partly true. Her family drugged him and placed her on the bed to force a marriage. Of course, nothing happened, as he was mostly unconscious, but she, too, was unconscious. By the time both of them got up in the morning, the news had already spread. It was a stupid plan that even she who had a crush on this man could have thought of.
Stupid, because it was the twenty-first century. Why should you marry someone just because you have slept together? But her family had anticipated this, so they only played this game at a critical moment in Eric’s business. When he was making a deal with the Asians. They knew that if news spread of his marriage to her, and he defaulted because it did not matter, he would be seen as frivolous and dishonest when he was trying to make a good impression on those foreigners. So, he married her and kept her in the house. Because of this, she had no say in his home and was treated like air.
But she, too, had been drugged. She had once thought they did this for her own good, as they saw how much she liked him, but at that moment she felt like the most stupid person on the planet.
“Yes, I regret it,” she said, and his sneer faded quickly.
“Don’t worry. When this cruise is over, I will sign the divorce papers,” she assured him, and walked over to where her luggage was and started opening the complicated lock. He was slightly frozen in place. He knew what document she was talking about. He had given her divorce papers the day after they married two years ago. He had told her that the moment his deal was done, she would be leaving. All this while, when those papers were brought up, he was the one who had always initiated the conversation. She would become adamant not to divorce the moment he opened his mouth about them. She always hoped, more than anything, that he had forgotten that the document even existed. This was the first time she had brought it up first.
As Lilac’s words hung in the air, Eric felt an uncomfortable feeling wash over him, freezing him in place. The mere thought of Lilac wanting to divorce him was utterly absurd. How could this woman let go after she had worked so hard to climb his bed? He did not believe it.
Even though he had brought up a divorce with her before, she had always refused, clinging to him like a leach, And now he is supposed to believe she wanted to divorce him? Eric did not believe it for a minute. .
“What nonsense are you sprouting?” he asked with a sneer. Divorcing her was fine, but this was not the time. She was still useful.
Lilac’s heart sank as she watched Eric’s reaction. She had thought he would be happy to hear this. Why was he reacting this way?
At that moment, Lilac realized just how she did not understand this man. But did it matter to understand him?
Lilac ignored him and tried opening the case suit. She fiddled with the combination till she got it. Only then did she look back up his way with a frown.
“Is there something you need?” she asked, and he raised a brow. It seemed she was no longer pretending to be meek.
“Can I please be left alone?” she asked, and he walked out of the room with a snort. He had barely left the room and she shut the door behind him. He stood there staring blankly for a while, till someone shook him out of his daze. He looked up to see his younger brother, Harris.
“What?” he asked, looking up abruptly.
“I was calling you, but you did not answer,” Harris said.
“I was…” Eric’s words trailed off as he looked back at Lilac’s cabin.
“Don’t get angry with sister-in-law. Greta should not have gone looking for trouble,” Harris said.
“But she should not have said what she did about your wife. That was uncalled-for,” Eric insisted, suddenly recalling why he had come.
“You should not have scolded her like that. If not because we all know you basically want your wife dead and are more prone to taking other people’s side, I too would have scolded you to not defend my wife for me,” Harris said and started leaving.
“What are you sprouting? When did I say I wanted her dead?” Eric asked, and Harris paused and looked back.
“You are saying you don't?” he asked, and Eric became uncomfortable under his stare. He had to admit he has considered it. If not for the deal his marriage to her had helped, he would have probably taken her out.
“It can’t be that you bully her because you like her, right?” Harris asked suspiciously, “You can’t be that childish, right? You are not in kindergarten where you pull the hair of the girl you like till she cries just so she will notice you,”
“That never happened,” Eric countered abruptly.
“I am not saying it did. I…” Harris said and paused, “Young boys just coming into love do this, some do it in kindergarten, others in high school,” he looked at Eric suspiciously, “You wouldn’t be doing this at your old age of thirty, right?”
“What are you saying? Why would I do this?” Eric denied with a slight laugh.
“Of course not. Just because Lilac Loves you, does not mean that she will like you forever if you play such a game,” Harris said.
“She likes me?” Eric asked with a sneer. He did not believe it. They did not know Lilac like he did. That girl liked power and money.
“I am starting to believe you are a child. You know you are the elder one in this relationship, right? You can’t possibly be this naive, right?” Harris said tiredly and started leaving.
“Stop playing childish games, or she will leave you one day,” He threw this statement at Eric and walked away. Eric seemed to be in a daze after that. But his state did not last, as someone’s words brought him back to reality.
“Such a kindergartner,” his mother threw these words at him and hurried away. Eric could not get used to his mother’s drama-loving nature. Of course, she would be listening in at a time like this. Seeing that they had already cooked up tales, Eric sighed at his mother's figure and looked back at the door to Lilac’s cabin, still close shut. If Harris was right that she liked him, then he had little to worry about. He did not believe that the woman who dreaded divorcing him the most would really sign the document. If she wanted to leave, after the project is concluded, he will send her to heaven himself.