Chapter 21 The Treacherous Family
Rachel Ruan went to the closet to get a bed sheet and put it on the couch. Someone had to sleep on the couch that night.
"Why don't you go take a shower? Since I'm sick, I'll sleep on the bed while you sleep on the sofa tonight," Rachel said to Hiram, who gave her a strange look in response.
She hadn't slept well the night before, so she was determined to sleep on the bed that night.
Hiram's brooding eyes darted around. Then, he went to the bathroom and called out," Change your nightdress before I come out."
Frowning, she looked down at her loose-fitting and comfortable silk nightdress. It was only then that she saw the little white panties that she was wearing that day inside the nightdress.
"Ah!"
What was happening?
Why was her nightdress see-through?
No wonder Hiram had been looking at her so strangely.
The idea of a man seeing her almost naked not only embarrassed her, but also made her feel angry.
This nightdress had been given to her by her new mother-in-law, which meant that her mother-in-law wanted her...
Rachel ran to the closet to find something else to put on. It was only a few minutes ago that she had been thinking about how she'd gotten such a wonderful mother-in-law!
It suddenly occurred to her that the three people in this mansion were all very, very sophisticated.
How could Joanna make her wear a see-through nightdress to seduce her son! Where had this idea come from!
In another part of the house, Gavin came back to his bedroom. He found Joanna sitting in front of the dressing table and using her skin care products. She seemed to be in a good mood. "Joanna, you look so happy. Is it because of our daughter-in-law?"
Still caressing her face, Joanna glanced at her husband and said," Although Rachel seems pure and unsophisticated, she's quite considerate. I think she's a good match for our son."
"Oh, you really think so? What about Lydia? Didn't you always think that she's the best daughter-in-law for our family?" Gavin asked, lying on their cozy bed.
"Lydia is a good girl, but I've always thought of her as a back-up. If Rachel is not suitable for our son, or Hiram is too demanding to find others attractive, we need to have a back-up in order to continue the family line.", Joanna explained, taking out her hand cream to apply onto her hands before turning to her husband.
"Besides, the problem is Hiram's attitude toward Lydia. You know that!"
Gavin rested his head on his arms. His pleasant facial features and full forehead made him look handsome. And pure sophistication lay behind his two big, round eyes.
"Really? But we don't know much about this Rachel. Why did you agree to their marriage?"
Joanna finally finished her skin care. She then walked to the bed and grinned mysteriously.
"I'm not gonna tell you. Go find out by yourself!"
"Oh, wow, my lady. You haven't changed even after all these years!" Gavin laughed brightly and put his arm around Joanna's shoulder.
Rachel changed her clothes and hid herself under the bed sheet. She exhaled deeply. If she wasn't in the Rong family's mansion, she would definitely find another room. There was only Hiram and her...
In a single room...
It seemed that this was exactly what her darling mother-in-law wanted!
As Rachel pondered over this, her eyes slowly began closing. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt someone sit beside her.
"Hiram, go to the sofa. I already made the bed for you there." She turned around and watched him dress in a dark blue night robe and lie down beside her.
Hiram grabbed a cushion and adjusted himself into a cozy position. "This is my house, my bedroom, my bed. Give me one reason why I should sleep on that hard and narrow sofa."
Rachel couldn't say a word.
They stared at each other for a while. Realizing that there was no chance of her winning this stalemate, Rachel pulled off the quilt, put on her flip-flops and walked towards the sofa. Hiram observed her wordlessly before raising his hand to turn off the bedside lamp, extinguishing the only lighting in the room.
Time passed slowly.
Rachel tossed and turned on the sofa but she couldn't fall asleep. The night before, the reason she had tossed and turned was because she had been sick.
But now, in this bedroom, there was a man! Although she was very sleepy and wanted to fall asleep, she found it difficult to do so with him around.
To make things worse, even though she was comfortable at first, the sofa seemed to be getting harder and harder the longer she lay on it.
Well, no matter how cozy the sofa was, it was still a sofa.
And there was barely any room for her to turn around. No wonder that man wouldn't give it a shot.
Despite her discomfort, Rachel finally fell asleep. But that didn't last for even ten minutes, because in an effort to turn around in her sleep, she fell down onto the floor.
The sound of her hitting the ground woke Hiram up. He turned on the bedside lamp and looked at her with sleepy eyes. "Come to bed and sleep here," he said.
Rachel shook her head in a daze. The sofa was low so the fall didn't hurt at all. She pulled the sheet down from the sofa and said," No, I'll just sleep on the ground. It's fine." Hiram took a deep breath. He was Hiram! How many ladies were out there waiting in line just to sleep with him? But this lady refused to even share a bed with him.
"Come to bed and sleep here!" he repeated. "I won't touch you."
Rachel firmly shook her head and hid herself under the bed sheet. Anyway, there was a carpet covering the floor of the bedroom, so it wasn't that hard for her to sleep there. But before she could close her eyes, she found herself lifted in the air.
Hiram threw her along with the sheet onto the bed and said angrily," Rachel, I'm your husband now. Why do you keep your guard up in front of me?"
The fall from the sofa hadn't been that painful. But now, after being thrown onto the bed by Hiram, a surge of pain shot up her waist and her back. "You're wrong. You're my fake husband. You're not real." Rubbing her waist, Rachel frowned at this rude man who knew nothing about how to treat a lady. "Don't talk about fake or real. The marriage certificate is real!" Hiram said, outraged that Rachel was pushing him away.
"Our pictures are photoshopped," Rachel pointed out. "Anyway, Mr. Rong, you don't have anything to worry about. But I need to marry someone else in the future. If I mess around with you, how will I explain to my future husband?"
Rachel was completely unaware that her words were fueling Hiram's anger.
Deep down, Rachel was a traditional woman. She'd dated people before but their relationships always ended before there was any intimacy. She was still a virgin and she couldn't afford to spend her first night with this man, whose marriage with her would only last for a month.
It just wasn't worth it.
It didn't mean that she wanted to remain a virgin until marriage. But if she was going to lose her virginity, she wanted it to at least be with someone she loved and could enjoy it with.
"Explain? Why don't you give me an explanation!" Hiram said as he turned off the switch. Rachel began rising from the bed but Hiram caught her firmly in his arms.
He leaned forward, but before his lips could touch hers, he found them covered by a small hand.
"All right, all right, I'll sleep on the bed. I'm not going anywhere. Can you forgive me? Don't be mad at me, please." She was trying to coax him into a compromise. It seemed like Hiram was a hundred percent serious. The thought terrified Rachel so much she could almost feel her heart jump out of her chest.
Hiram furrowed his eyebrows. He realized he'd allowed himself to lose control. For his plan to work, he couldn't afford to have any kind of intimacy with this woman.
She wasn't just a normal woman, she was Simpson Ruan's daughter. Touching her would cause a lot of trouble. And it would become much more difficult for him to get rid of that annoying centennial engagement!
Feeling the strong arms around her loosen up, Rachel breathed a sigh of great relief. She turned around and finally drifted off to sleep.