Chapter 12

Matthew grinned as he walked down his aisle, his daughter on his arms. He watched with the pride of a happy father as all eyes were on them. He glanced at his girl, beaming with pride at how beautiful she was and he knew others could also see that.

Finally. His wishes had come true. His Veronica was finally getting married.

He walked her forward, smiling at Adam. He looked every inch the promising young man he had wanted for his daughter and he smirked at the expression on his face. He seemed nervous and he barely stifled his chuckle.

Veronica glanced sideways at him. "What is the problem, dad?"

"Nothing much." He whispered at her. "I am just looking at your husband and picturing how interesting the marriage of both of you would be."

Veronica snorted. He looked at her, smiled and walked on. The wedding passed on without any glitch and it was time for the couple to go to their house. They had ignored having a honeymoon though both of them would not be resuming to the office anytime soon.

Adam glanced at his wife as she settled beside him in the car. He still couldn't believe he had gotten married to her. He had thought he would have to grovel till Matthew wondered if he actually had the charms he had thought he had.

He glanced at her belly, grateful for it. The child had made his work easier without meaning to. He raised his head up to her face, noticing how tired she was. His heart moved to pity for her. He knew how toiling weddings are on people and she was pregnant, she would be more tired than an average woman.

He wondered who the father of her unborn baby was as usual ever since she had told him of her pregnancy but she wouldn't tell him no matter how much he pressed her. He glanced at her dozing form beside him and knew he wouldn't be getting any answers soon.

"We are home, sir." Bruce said as he parked the car into the mansion.

He nodded. He tapped Veronica but she was far gone. She snored lightly and he chuckled at her. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her all the way to the house. He doubted she would want to share his bedroom with him so he took her to the guest bedroom nearest to his bedroom and dropped her there. He removed her wedding dress, careful to keep his eyes from lingering on her body and tucked her in bed, covering her to the chin with the duvet.

He moved out and came in contact with Bruce. He raised his eyebrows looking at him. "What is the problem?"

Bruce shrugged. "The belongings of your bride just came in and I want to ask which room she would be staying at before I bring her loads in."

"Okay." He flexed his shoulders. "Let's go downstairs to get the loads upstairs."

Bruce shook his head. "I can do it. Get your rest."

He snorted. "I only got married today, Bruce. It wasn't like I did something extraordinary tedious and even if I did, I can't let you get all the loads upstairs by yourself knowing there are not house helps in the house and not sure how much her loads were."

Bruce smiled. "If you insist, let's go. At least now that you have gotten married to her, Mathew would invest in your business as agreed and you can get to employ people in the house again because I doubt your new bride would want to do household chores."

He frowned, realizing he had no idea what she liked to do or hated. After they had agreed to get married, they had barely sat down to talk about anything except to go for fittings and pose for the paparazzi, pretending and smiling at each other with the love they didn't have for each other. Looking back at their pre-wedding photos when he got it, he was certain the two of them could make a career of acting. If he was not the one, he would have been convinced the man in the picture was in love with the lady seated beside him with the way he was smiling at her.

He marveled at the loads in the car and shook his head, hiding his chuckle. Her father had her luggage packed as if he had been waiting to stash them off somewhere else apart from her apartment. With a finger placed lightly on his lips to caution Bruce to be careful, the two me n carried all the luggage into the room and left without waking her up.

The next day, Veronica stretched in bed and yawned. She looked around at the room, wondering where she was. The layout and decor of the room was different from her bedroom. She turned and scowled as she saw her bags stashed in With a moan, she frowned as memories swamped her. 

Oh! She was at her husband's house. Her mouth twisted at the word. Her husband. Adam. Her contract marriage. She twisted in bed and looked beside her and breathed in relief. It didn't seem like he had slept beside her though she knew he had been the one to undress her. She glanced at the wedding dress he had carefully packed on the dresser and had no idea if she should get angry at him or be grateful he had made her have a good night rest without the hassle of the frock of her wedding dress. She rushed to the adjoining bathroom and brushed her teeth before moving out.

She walked out and squeezed her nose as she made her way to the kitchen. He smiled as she saw her. "Care to join me?"

She snorted at the coffee he was brewing. "I don't take coffee."

He looked abashed at the words. "Sorry." He muttered, having no idea what else to say.

She moved closer to him and he frowned.  "What are you doing?"

She scoffed. "What does it look like I am doing? I want to fix us breakfast."

He snorted. "Please don't waste the resources in the kitchen. We can always send Bruce to get is some food."

She hissed at him as she checked what was in the shelves and refrigerator. "You don't have to make it obvious that you are broke."

He hissed back at her. "You don't have to talk at me like you have no filter, young lady."

She glared at him. "You don't get to talk to me like I am your daughter. I am your wife." She wrinkled her nose at the title.

He scoffed. "Look at you saying wife like I am in a joyous mood being your husband. Lest you forget, this is a deal and thankfully, it is of mutual benefit to the both of us."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, dear husband. How can I forget how mutually beneficial the marriage is when you wouldn't stop reminding me?" She sneered.

"Cool." He replied in a biting tone. "Let's not forget that."

"Now, my broke husband. I would like to cook breakfast for myself if you are not interested."

He pursed his lips and nodded, not interested in another argument. "You can fix yourself whatever it is you want."

She scoffed. "Are you interested?" She laughed at the expression on his face. "I am a good cook in case you are hungry but undecided."

"Says every bad cook out there. They all boast to know how to cook."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, since I would also be cooking for myself, you can be sure I won't poison you."

He shrugged. "Well, if we are going to be married for at least a year before we have to fake a divorce as fake as our marriage, I guess I might as well try to eat something you make."

She snorted. "Whatever." She flipped her hand.

He was curious. "What do you take early in the morning if you don't take coffee?"

She stopped what she was searching for in the fridge and looked back at him. "Tea."

"Okay." He sat down on the stool and watched as she brought out the ingredients she would need to cook. He stared at her, hoping she was saying the truth and actually knew how to cook. He would be surprised though if she could because he thought of her as a spoiled brat.