Chapter 39 How To Survive This
Edwards raised a hand, cutting him off. "Why would she tell you?" he asked bluntly. "When you’re not even showing concern for her, your own wife."
The words landed hard on Derek's ears. Derek’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
Edwards continued, his voice firm and filled with disappointment. "Both of you have been in this house since morning, yet the place has been quieter than a graveyard. No laughter. No conversation. Nothing. You don’t even behave like married people."
Rebecca lowered her gaze. Being talked about like she wasn’t present made her uncomfortable. What hurt more was Amelia witnessing all of this. She hadn’t planned for Amelia to find out about the tension in her marriage this way.
But Edwards wasn’t done. He looked from Rebecca to Derek. "Is this what you want?" he asked. "Because if it is, maybe I should just keep my properties to myself. This is not what I imagined for you two."
That was enough, he had heard enough already.
Derek clenched his fists. "Grandfather, you’re crossing a line," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "This is my marriage, not yours. It's fine you coerced me into it but you don’t get to interfere in my marriage affairs."
Edwards scoffed. "Then start acting like a married man. Once you start, I promise you I won't interfere."
The room fell into silence.
Amelia glanced between them, feeling awkward being caught in the middle of a family argument. While, Rebecca stayed quiet, her emotions swirling anger, sadness, frustration, and confusion all at once.
Derek took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He knew arguing further would only make things worse.
"Fine," he said finally. "I’ll act like it."
He turned and walked toward Rebecca.
She slowly lifted her head as he stopped in front of her.
"What’s going on, love?" Derek asked, his voice softer now. "How are you feeling?"
Rebecca looked at him for a moment. She was still angry about what he had said earlier, about how small and insignificant he made her feel. But with Amelia here and his grandfather watching, she swallowed her feelings.
"I’m fine," she said flatly. "You don’t need to bother. Amelia is already here."
Derek frowned, sensing the distance she was putting between them. But before he could respond, Mr. Edwards turned to Amelia.
"Are you staying over, dear?" he asked kindly.
Amelia shook her head. "No, sir. I need to get back to my café; it’s almost closing time."
She picked up her bag and turned to Rebecca. "Call me later, okay?"
Rebecca nodded, managing a small smile. "I will."
Amelia nodded at Derek politely, then smiled warmly at Mr. Edwards before leaving. Once the door closed behind her, the house felt even more silent than before.
Edwards looked at the couple one last time. "The sooner you both start acting like husband and wife," he said firmly, "the sooner I’ll leave you alone."
With that, he turned and walked back to his room.
Derek stood still until the door closed. His chest felt tight. He didn’t know how to be a husband, but he was beginning to realize that avoiding everything wasn’t helping either.
He turned to Rebecca. "Follow me to the room," he said quietly. "We need to talk."
The door closed behind them with a soft click, the sound echoing gently through the room. For a few seconds, neither of them moved. The silence wasn’t heavy with anger and this time, it was worse. It was uncertain, awkward, filled with thoughts neither of them knew how to voice.
The room felt different now. The last time they had been alone in this room, it had ended badly, that memory hung between them like an invisible line neither dared to cross.
Rebecca stood near the window, her arms folded across her chest. Derek, on the other hand, leaned against the door for a moment, his head tilted slightly back as if he were bracing himself.
He ran a hand through his hair and let out a slow breath. He didn’t know how to do this. Relationships were complicated enough when they were real but this one was built on obligation and secrets.
Finally, he pushed himself away from the door and walked toward the small sitting area in the room. He took a seat, resting his elbows on his knees, his fingers loosely clasped.
"We need to figure something out," he said at last, his voice calm but firm. "At least until my grandfather leaves."
Rebecca turned from the window to look at him. "Figure out what exactly? What is there to figure out?" she asked carefully.
Her tone wasn’t hostile, but it wasn’t open either. She still felt raw from everything that had happened that morning.
"How to survive this," Derek replied with a small shrug. "My grandfather is watching everything we do. If we keep acting like strangers under the same roof, he’ll never leave."
She let out a quiet sigh and walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge. The mattress dipped slightly under her weight. "So what are you suggesting?" she asked. "That we suddenly start pretending we’re madly in love? Because there's no way that is going to work," She said, resisting the urge to scowl at him.
"No," Derek said quickly. "Nothing like that. I’m not asking you to fake feelings because I know it's not going to work." He paused, choosing his words carefully, he would hate for them to get into another argument. "I suggest we start doing normal things. Things married people do without overthinking it."
She studied his face, trying to read his intentions. He didn’t look mocking or cold this time. If anything, he looked serious, almost thoughtful. He looked as if he wanted the marriage to work.
"Like what?" she asked after a moment.
Derek shifted in his seat. "We stop hiding in separate corners of the house. We go out more. Spend time together where people can see us. That way, when my grandfather is around, it won’t look like we’re avoiding each other."
"So… we should do more activities together?" Rebecca asked slowly, testing the idea already.
"Yes," he nodded. "Simple ones."
She was quiet for a few seconds, her gaze dropping to her hands. "Okay. Such as?" she asked.