William norrowed his eys and walked up to her " As far as I heard, they call you brave. Then why are you afraid now? "
" I... I just want to go to school " Crista stuttered, lowering her head.
" If you've come here to talk about school, you don't have to. Because that won't happen. " William had never thought that Cristine would beg for his permission to go to school. He believed she was trying to fool him, so that she could meet her friends outside and do whatever she wanted.
Crista was crestfallen when he denied her request. Could she never go to school again?. She would graduate in two years. If he denied her now, her dreams would never get fulfilled.
Seeing that Crista stood there flabbergasted, William ignored her and walked into the bathroom, expecting she'd just leave. But when he came out, she was still standing at the door. She was indeed a stubborn woman.
When he didn't acknowledge her, her head hung low. Heartbroken, Crista turned around to leave.
" Wait! " but William stopped her.
Crista immediately turned around and looked at him expectantly. He was now sitting on the sofa and smoking.
Their eyes met as she waited for him to say something. However, he didn't speak until he finished his cigarette. His gaze was intimidating that it made Crista scared instantly. She reminded herself of the events of last night. It was like a nightmare and she didn't want that to happen again. She just wanted to run and hide from him.
When she daw he wasn't going to say anything, she turned to leave. " That's all you got for your patience? " William mocked her slowly. His voice made her stop again.
This time Crista didn't stand at the door. SHe walked up to him and asked, "So do you agree?"
William arose and stood barely a foot apart from her. He lifted her chin using his fingertip and made her look ito his eyes. " How many men are waiting for you outside? Why are you so eager to go out? Hmmm? " he asked her in a harsh tone.
" What? I don't know what are you talking about. I just want to go to school! " No matter how timid her response sounded, she would not give up.
She knew what kind of person Cristine was. The reason why she married this mas for Cristine was to protect the Jin Family and her foster father Bert.
All she did until now was to repay him, but she couldn't lose her dreams anymore for that matter.
" You know what? I hate being cheated the most. " William stated in a harsh way. Crista gave a stiff nod. She hadn't lied to him except hiding her identity.
" If I ever get to know you lie to me, you can't even imagine the price you'll have to pay! " William would like to see how far Cristine could go. He wanted to catch her red-handed.
" Okey! I understand. I will only go to school and come back home. I won't go anywhere else. " She promised him. He gave her permission to go to school. But she couldn't continue her work. Because, It was evident that he wouldn't allow that.
William ordered her " Leave now! " He didn't like her dirty appearance on the second floor, specially in his room.
Crista bowed. " Thank you! Mr. Ding. " She didn't dare to get close to the devil and left quietly there after.
There was no difference between living in Jin Villa and living in Ding Villa. Her biological parents abandoned her at birth. So Crista had this strong belief that she was destined to be lonely all her life. That was why she always focused on fulfilling her dreams and standing by herself.
William said nothing anymore. He saw her disappearing as his jaw clenched.
Crista was given a small room on the first floor. The was a small bed and a desk. A window was there to fill the room with daylight. It was in fact, much better than what she had in Jin Family villa. The only disadvantage was she had lost her freedom here.
" Mr. Ding asked me to tell you that you cannot leave the mansion unless he orders. If you need anything, you can ask me." Maria politely said.
" Thank you Maria! I'll remember that. " Standing in the middle, Crista eyed around the room. She had nothing here that belonged to her. Most of her things were still in her previous house, and some of them were at school. She needed to buy some necessary items, clothes for example. But she couldn't go out.
After a while, Maria brought her some daily necessities along with some new clothes. Crista wasn't expecting that. She was gratly relieved after seeing them. SHe hoped, living here wouldn't be as bad as she was predicting.
Having nothing to do in her room, Crista went to the kitchen to help them cook. Maria was surprised to see her in the kitchen. She had heard that Mr. Ding had married a spoiled and arrogant lady. But Mrs.Ding hadn't shown anything yet that could match that description.
Noticing that Crista was an expert in washing and cutting vegetables, Maria asked, " Mrs. Ding, can you cook? ".
Crista answered with a smile, " Not too much, only some simple dishes. " Crista learned cookinh from the servants of Jin Family.
" Would you like to prepare the lunch for Mr. Ding? " Maria asked her suddenly. She was wrong in perceiving that Mrs. Ding was just a rich and spoiled lady with a hot-temper. Maria could see now, she was very different from what she heard.
Crista stopped washing the vegetables and turned towards her. " Wouldn't that make Mr.Ding angry? " It was true that she was very scared of him. Besides, She didn't want to lose the chance to go back to school beacause of her cooking for him.
" No! he won't be angry. Mr. Ding doesn't talk too much and might look intimidating, but in reality, he is easy to get along with. Besides, he is not too picky about food. He won't even notice. " Maria had been working in the villa for how many years. She knew how Mr. Ding might react.
Crista considered Maria's words carefully. She said he was easy to get alone with. But it was not true for Crista. One intimidating look from him could make her tremble all over. She just knew they would never get along with each other.
His cold gaze always made her feel like she was in a world of ice and darkness.
However, as long as he didn't deliberately make difficult for her, she would stick to her own duty and mind her own business. To avoid his wrath, she would listen to him no matter what he wanted her to do. After all, she was his wife whom he bought with money.
As a food was serve, William stared at the dishes and realize they differed from what Maria usually cooked. He believe that Maria didn't cook the food herself. Seeing that William wasn't eating and only staring intently at the food, Maria informed, " Today's lunch is made by Mrs. Ding ". One of William's eyebrows raised up as he shifted his gaze at Crista. " You can cook? ". " Only a few simple dishes. " Crista answered honestly as her cheeks took a red hue. But she was well aware of his disdain from his words. It was discernable that she made an unnecessary move. William however, averted his gaze from her and began to eat slowly, savoring the taste. Standing next to him, Crista felt uneasy. She was afraid that he wouldn't like the food and scold her again. After finishing the food in silence, William finally put down his chopstick and turned towards her. " Since you can cook, I can assume you won't have any problems in cooking for your husban
Crista didn't answer her friends. Because she knew they wouldn't understand her situation, no matter how much she explained. Crista spend a long time in the library after their conversation. Not until it was dark that she felt her eyes straining. Rubbing her eyes, she raised her head and eyed around the place. There were few people in the library now. Crista sighed as she put away the books and rubbed her sore shoulders. Her eyes drifted to the clock on the wall as realization washed over her. She was late to return to the villa. She fronwed. This was bad. This shouldn't have happened. Crista quickly stood up and run outside. She saw a familiar car, already waiting for her. " Nico, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it was already this late." Nico looked at her indifferently and said, " Mrs. Ding, please get in the car! Mr. Ding is waiting for you in the villa. " The entire ride going home, she fidgeted nervously. How could she forgot the time? William ha
Crista's high fever never dropped for once, which made Maria worried. Although Mr.Ding didn't give her any order, she had no choice but to call the doctor. " She needs to have an injection to bring down her fever. Otherwise, she might catch pneumonia " the doctor said while preparing the injection. " Is Mrs.Ding's fever too bad?" Maria was anxious because she knew Mr.Ding was short-tempered. If anything happened to his newly wedded wife, he might get furious. "Well, it's somewhat serious. She is too weak right now. She needs to have a good rest. " The doctor gave Crista the injection then wrote the prescription. Although, her temperature dropped after taking the injection, she was still unconscious. When William came back, it was almost dawn. As he entered the hall, he found no one there. " Maria! " he called out. " Sir, you're back" Maria went upstairs just to find out Crista was still unconscious. He quickly ordered, " Send her downs
After returning from the school, Crista walked into the villa with heavy steps and met Maria in the hall. After greeting her, Crista went back to her room to rest. Meanwhile, William was with Carla in a luxurious private room of the Max Entertainment Club. Carla was sitting beside him intimately. "Mr. Ding, you haven't been here for a long time. Isn't it?" The Max Entertainment Club was one of the businesses owned by Wiliam's WC Group, managed by Carla. "Yes, I was busy in the company," William explained in a flat tone. Carla noticed he was drinking too much. "You must not drink too much alcohol, Mr. Ding. Let me change the wine with a light one for you. Okay?" Carla took his glass from him cautiously. William wrapped his arms around her and asked, "Are you worried for me?" "Yes. You will damage your stomach if you drink too much alcohol." Carla poured a glass of light wine and gave it to him. "You never take care of yourself."
William didn't realize that he'd bump into that stupid woman while entering the villa. So he didn't even help her when she stumbled back and fell on her bum. His eyes turned cold as he watched her with pursed lips. Crista hissed in pain before raising her eyes and met with William's icy glare. She gulped and apologized immediately, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice you coming." "Who are you going to meet in such a hurry?" William sneered at her making Crista flinch. Of course, she couldn't get lucky all the time, and the devil had to come at this time just to prove that. "I was just going to school." Crista whined as she got up staggering slightly. She refrained herself from saying anything else, because she knew he would not believe her anyway. According to William, everything she said was just an excuse. "Really?" Obviously, William didn't believe her. Crista took a glance at her watch. She'd be late today. Her eyes shifted back to William
After Crista prepared the dishes and served them at the table, Carla looked at them with a disgusted expression. William and Carla were sitting face to face. William asked her to taste the dishes and give her opinion about them. Carla tasted each of them and was very much unsatisfied with the taste. She either pointed out the dishes were too salty or too spicy. Seeing that, William glared at Crista and asked, "Are you taking your revenge on me because I asked you to cook?" "No, it's nothing like that." Crista shook her head. It was so very obvious that they intentionally picked on her. She had nothing to say because it wouldn't make any difference. "No? Because, none of these dishes is edible! These taste so bad!" he snapped then got up and threw away all the food to the ground. The floor was a mess now. Crista although had expected this, it still hurt her feelings. She had cooked with so much dedication, but he didn't even value her hard work. All of
Crista looked down at the porridge made by Maria and got overwhelmed by her generosity. She was so touched that it made her teary. Her eyes welled up and tears streamed down her face. "Mrs. Ding, please enjoy your breakfast. You ate nothing last night. You are still sick and I just received the news that Mr. Ding won't come back today. So, you can rest at home peacefully." Maria gave her an encouraging smile and went back to the kitchen. After the breakfast, Crista put on a white coat and went to the garden. Sitting alone on a bench, she eyed around the place. The garden was beautiful, but she didn't like it. Her heavy heart made it impossible to concentrate on the beauty. The entire day she stayed at home. But this could not go on forever. The next day, she went to school. Around noon, she went to the bank near the school alone. She had some savings there. It was accumulated from her part-time jobs. The money was not much, but she could always work a
As they were eating, Crista looked up from the plate and turned around. Suddenly she froze when her eyes met William's sharp gaze directly on her. Carla followed William's gaze and located Crista. A smirk appeared on her face as she waited for the drama. "Chica, what's wrong?" Tristan held Crista's hand and shook it gently. "Are you cold? Why is your hand so cold?" "Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine." Crista forced a smile as she averted her gaze from William and looked down. She withdrew her hand gently from Tristan's hold, conscious of William's burning gaze that bore into her. She knew he was misunderstanding the whole situation. She'd have to face its consequences. "Come on, finish the food. Do you want more? I can order more for you." Tristan looked at her with adoration in his eyes. She was still that little girl whom he left years ago. He reached out and rubbed her hair softly. He wanted to come back before her eighteenth birthday and celebrat