The Next Day...
Isabella stretched on the bed, extending her muscles before slowly opening her eyes. Suddenly, she noticed a woman entering the room, carrying a tray with breakfast and placing it on the table.
She quickly sat up, looked around, and noticed the wheelchair that was supposed to be occupied by Hunter.
"Where is he?"
"Ma'am..." The woman greeted her with a warm smile, standing about two meters away from the bed.
"Who are you?" Isabella asked with a flat gaze.
The woman nodded politely, matching her demeanor with her neat attire, a long, dark blue uniform.
"My name is Caroline Simpson, but you can call me Carol... Starting today, I will be working here as a maid," she explained gently. "You can ask me to do anything you need; I will always be ready to assist you," she added with a smile.
Isabella nodded while scoffing, recalling how Hunter had offered a genuine marriage relationship, where they would have to learn to love each other unconditionally.
'Is this one of his ways to make me fall in love with him? Hiring a maid so I don't get exhausted from doing all the activities here?' she speculated.
"I've brought you breakfast," Carol said, snapping Isabella out of her thoughts. "Creamy Latte coffee with a croissant, and there's also a cinnamon roll," she continued.
"Um..." Isabella nodded. "That sounds delicious, but I'd like to have breakfast with my husband."
"Ah, yes... He's in the gym with your brother."
"My brother?" Isabella was startled and quickly got out of bed. "Since when has my brother been here? Why didn't Hunter tell me? Even..." She hurriedly grabbed her phone from the nightstand, checking her inbox and call log, but there were no messages or missed calls.
"Your brother just arrived, and Collin directed her to meet Mr. Brown in the gym," Carol explained.
Isabella sighed, biting her lower lip, imagining what Hunter might be discussing with Loraine. She worried that Loraine might interfere with their agreements or even conspire against her because Loraine disliked Joe.
"Ma'am?" Carol called out, noticing Isabella's confused expression.
"Uh..." Isabella turned her gaze back to Carol. "You may go now... I'll call you if I need anything."
"Alright..."
Carol quickly left the room while Isabella rushed to the bathroom to freshen up.
...
In the gym, Loraine watched in awe as Hunter worked out with impressive strength, standing while lifting two heavy ropes in front of him, and then slamming them alternately on the floor.
"You fooled everyone by pretending to be paralyzed," he said.
"Yes..." Hunter replied, pausing his workout and turning to face Loraine, who stood about five meters away. "I'm a cunning man... I deceived my own family, and then your sister as well... Now you must be worried that she'll become my victim," he continued with a cynical smile, wiping his sweaty body with a small white towel.
Loraine remained silent, observing Hunter's physical prowess, which only fueled his hope of winning his sister over entirely.
"What?" Hunter asked as he approached Loraine. "Why are you looking at me like that? Aren't you afraid?"
"No..." Loraine shook his head. "If you were truly dangerous, you wouldn't resort to such a boring deception... Pretending to be paralyzed and impotent... And then only gaining my sister, who wouldn't bring much benefit to you... I think that's not something enjoyable for a con artist... Maybe it's true that you deceive, but you're a good deceiver, certain you're doing it for something... Perhaps... Perhaps you're searching for a girl who would accept you sincerely." He explained, his heart pounding.
Hunter smiled wryly, noticing the fear in Loraine's eyes.
"What if I plan to lock your sister up and turn her into my slave?" he asked.
"I know you won't do that," Loraine replied. "I'm sure you're a good man who might change her life... Make her see there's much better out there than her lover... That's why I came back here... I don't want her to lose focus on you because her lover will keep distracting her... I'll work hard to separate them so she can be entirely yours," he continued.
"Do you think I'll be satisfied with just having her entirely?"
"I know you will... She's perfect... She's strong... And she won't betray you once she loves you... She can love a man unconditionally... And she'll be a faithful woman... And then you'll feel lucky to have her," Loraine explained anxiously.
Hunter only laughed softly.
Loraine frowned, puzzled by Hunter's reaction, making him worry that his mission might cause his sister to suffer instead.
'Is he cunning?' he wondered, suddenly startled as Hunter patted his shoulder.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Hunter asked casually. "Without you telling me, I already know your sister is perfect and good, just right to be a wife."
Loraine sighed and smiled.
"But we have time," Hunter said again, thinking of Isabella. "We only have a little time to fall in love... If those feelings don't develop, then I'll have no choice but to let her return to her lover... I don't want to be a cruel man who separates a woman from her lover just because I think I'm better for her," he added, his smile fading.
"No..." Loraine shook her head. "I'll make sure she loves you... I'll make sure she won't go back to her lover!"
"Don't do anything for us... Because I don't want everything to happen because of your or anyone else's interference... Let everything happen naturally because that will be called true love and it will feel comfortable," Hunter said, then turned to grab a bottle of water from a tall, small table. "Don't be too ambitious in making her love me your way, because that won't make me fall in love with her," he added before taking a drink.
Loraine stood there in confusion and disappointment, feeling that Hunter wasn't truly interested in Isabella and that his presence there was in vain.
"You didn't tell me you were coming!" Isabella shouted as she entered, causing Loraine and Hunter to turn toward her. She frowned and quickly approached Loraine. "Anyway, why are you here? You should be at home... You need to stay there so Uncle doesn't take over!" she continued, annoyed.
"He won't be able to enter our house; I've locked it tightly," Loraine replied, his expression full of confusion, then whispered in Isabella's ear. "I told you my purpose, but I think I've changed my mind," he added.
Isabella frowned, not understanding Loraine's meaning.
"Why don't you want your brother here?" Hunter asked.
"It's nothing... I mean... he should stay in Seattle to work and also occupy our father's house," Isabella explained nervously. "Being here will only cause him trouble because he doesn't have a place to stay or work, and besides..."
"I'll take care of it," Hunter said before Isabella could finish speaking.
Isabella and Loraine were both stunned.
"He's here because he cares about you, wanting to make sure I don't hurt you," Hunter said with a faint smile. "That's normal behavior for a brother who loves his sister... I appreciate that," he added.
Isabella and Loraine remained silent, confused by Hunter's attitude.
"I've told you not to think of this as just a marriage based on an agreement, so I want to treat him as well as possible as my brother-in-law," Hunter said, then focused on Loraine. "You may stay in the guest room now. Rest there... I want us to talk at lunch because this morning I want to spend time with my wife," he continued, then approached Isabella and wrapped an arm around her from the side.
Isabella frowned and looked uncomfortable with Hunter's gesture.
"What are you waiting for?" Hunter asked, raising his eyebrows at Loraine.
"Um... Okay..." Loraine nodded and quickly left the gym.
After Loraine left, Isabella immediately distanced herself from Hunter and looked at him angrily.
"Are you stupid? What are you planning? Why do you show that you are not paralyzed? Don't you think that's dangerous?" she asked, baffled.
"Why are you so worried about that?" Hunter calmly asked in return.
Isabella turned away, but Hunter moved closer until he almost kissed her.
"Tell me," Hunter whispered. "What are you worried about?"
Isabella quickly pulled away. "He could use you!"
"He could trap you, threaten to tell your family that you're only pretending to be paralyzed. Wouldn't that be bad?" she asked angrily, but suddenly Hunter hugged her from behind.
"That's not a problem," Hunter said with a smile, then kissed Isabella's cheek. "I'll say that I'm doing this because I want to find a girl who loves me for who I am... And that girl is you!" he continued with a chuckle.
"And I don't love you, even your mother knows I married you only for money!" Isabella replied angrily.
"Yes... I know..."
"This is dangerous for us!" Isabella pushed away Hunter's embrace, looking at him anxiously. "I'm not ready to face problems with your family, especially when I'm focusing on learning to love you. Do you want everything to fall apart before it even starts?" she asked, frustrated, even her breath quickened.
Hunter remained silent, staring at Isabella intently.
"Hunter..." Isabella grew nervous, and in an instant, Hunter kissed her lips. "Emhh... Hunter, you should..."
Ignoring Isabella's words, Hunter continued to kiss her, pushing her against the wall. He was so aggressive, grabbing her hands and pinning them above her head against the wall, again and again kissing her so fiercely.