Chapter 5 C5

Ella's eyes slowly fluttered open as she gradually regained consciousness.

"Where am I?" She thought to herself as she stared at the room's ceiling.

The view was in no way familiar to her, and what caught her attention especially was the dazzling sight right up above her- A stunning crystal chandelier, hanging from the ceiling, with the delicate chains suspending it also sparkling like diamonds.

Though she was struggling to remember where she was, she still couldn't take her gaze off it. She was completely mesmerized.

This was definitely not her house. That fact, she was sure of, because the room was unfamiliar, and its luxurious decorations only added to her confusion.

For a short moment, her imaginations ran wild, with different thoughts creeping into her mind until she heard something.

"Shhhhh... I think she is coming around. It seems she is finally awake." She heard someone whisper from a corner of the room.

"Ma'am... Are you okay?" Sam asked, rushing to her. "Thank goodness, you're finally awake."

"Is everything alright?" He asked again, noticing how strangely she was staring at her surroundings like an alien on a strange planet.

"Where am I? What am I doing here?" She asked, as her memory was still hazy and unclear.

Her gaze slowly drifted to a man standing beside her, on the opposite side of the bed. He wore a crisp white medical coat.

"Who are you? What happened to me?"

"I'm Doctor Smith." The doctor introduced himself. "You collapsed from shock yesterday. My team and I were urgently called to rush here to attend to you." He explained to the confused Ella.

Sam chipped in, "Yes, you were out for hours, ma'am. You got us all on our toes, waiting for you to wake up."

"But where am I? How did I get here?" She asked weakly, her eyes darting from side to side, with confusion still evident in them.

Sam turned to the Doctor. "Are you sure she is fine? She doesn't seem to remember anything."

"Don't worry, it's due to the shock. You can just tell her everything. It will go a long way in helping her remember." The doctor responded, and Sam nodded an "okay".

"Tell me everything? What is he supposed to tell me?" Ella thought to herself as she watched both men discussing her.

Sam turned to her and began to explain, "Ma'am, yesterday was your wedding. You got married yesterday and I was the one who went to pick you up at the courthouse and brought you here."

"I got married?" She cut in, still confused and unsure.

"Yes, ma'am. You did." He nodded affirmatively.

With an unsure look on her face, she hesitantly asked, "Are you... are you my... are you my husband?"

"Absolutely not." Sam responded sharply. "I'm not the one. I'm only your husband's assistant." He swiftly cleared the air.

"Then who is my-" She was yet to ask her question when she heard a loud, cold, irritating hiss from someone at the far corner of the room.

It seemed like the person had intentionally remained quiet all the while, since she woke up.

"Such a dramatic pretender!" She heard the male voice, loud and clear.

Her head slowly turned towards the direction of the voice she heard, and there he was, a very handsome young man, neatly dressed even though he was in a casual outfit that showed his lean, athletic upper build.

His hair was dark and was perfectly styled, and his face was chiseled and cleanly shaved, with a strong jawline and piercing beautiful eyes that seemed to sparkle.

As she laid there, lost in pure admiration, for a moment, she forgot that he had just called her a pretender. Her eyes gradually drifted downward, taking in the rest of him. They lingered on his chest, where a small elegant locket hung from a tiny chain around his neck, but as soon as he caught her staring at the locket, he quickly tucked it into his shirt, hiding it from her eyes.

Her eyes then slid down to his waist, and finally came to rest on his legs. But instead of the strong, athletic limbs she had expected, her gaze fell upon the sleek metal frame of an electric wheelchair.

Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that the handsome, young man was confined to a wheelchair.

For a moment, she wasn't sure of what to say, but as she looked up to meet his gaze once again, she saw him glaring dangerously deep into her soul, and this shook her to her bones.

A bit scared, and shaken by his aura, she whispered, "Who is-"

Sam immediately came to the rescue, and said, "That's Mr Derek Gibson. Your husband."

"My husband?" She almost screamed, sitting up swiftly before the doctor could stop her.

Sam's revelation just threw her into a frenzy. What did he mean by saying this scary-looking man was her husband? Was he joking or trying to play a prank?

"Yes, ma'am. He is your husband." Sam reaffirmed, and she felt cold shivers running through her spine.

And at that moment, her memory began to come together and soon it became as clear as crystal. She had truly seen Derek when she got into the room and was completely shocked to find him sitting in a wheelchair.

Though she was told that he was an old man, she had still hoped that he wouldn't be too old for her and so she had expected to see her husband standing on his feet, but instead... her gaze had fallen upon a sight that made her blood run cold. The shock of suddenly finding out her husband's state was what made her collapse in the first place.

She wiped her eyes with her hands, to be sure and certain that she wasn't having a bad dream or a hallucination.

Finally seeing with a clear vision and a stable state of mind, her jaw dropped, her eyes widening in horror as it finally dawned on her that she had been fooled all along.

They had lied to her all this while, telling her that her husband was an old man, but things had turned out differently. Her husband was not just any old man, but in fact, a man in a wheelchair, who looked like he had plans to tear her into shreds.

"Leave us." The now-familiar voice of Derek, tore through the silence in the room.

"Uh... are you sure about that?" Sam asked, hesitantly.

Derek shot him a deadly stare, and he looked away.

"We should leave for now." Sam said to the doctor and his medical team.

"But we have to make sure she is fine. Her health is the priority here." The doctor spoke up, and deep down Ella was happy because she didn't want to be left in the same room as Derek.

With the way he was staring at her, she wasn't sure what he was going to do to her when they were alone, but her happiness was short-lived by Derek's next words.

With the coldest glare she had ever seen from any human, that sent shivers down her spine, Derek spat, "Are you going to start dictating rules to me in my own home now?"

"No sir. I'm so sorry sir." Doctor Smith swiftly apologized, and hurriedly left with his team and Sam.

Once again, the room was thrown into a deafening silence as Derek stared at Ella, who could not look him in the eye and was lost in her thoughts.

"I hope you're happy and fulfilled now that you're here?" He began, breaking the silence and snapping her out of her thoughts.

She was too bewildered to respond, and to make matters worse, his stare was so intimidating. It seemed like his eyes bore into her, making it impossible for her to meet them, no matter how hard she tried.

"What is he talking about? What did he mean by that?" She thought to herself.

"Isn't this what you have always wanted?" He said further, not expecting a response.

"What I have always wanted? What is he saying?" She asked herself, as she tried to figure out what he was talking about.

As if he heard her thoughts, he continued, "To live in wealth? In affluence, no matter what you had to do to get there? Isn't that why you're here right now?" He shook his head, displeasure and anger written all over his face.

She thought further, "What is going on? As far as I can remember, and from what Bella told me, he was the wealthy one who wanted to marry me. Why is he now giving me such a malicious and cold attitude? Why is he acting like the victim when he didn't even have the decency to attend the wedding at the courthouse, but sent someone to represent him instead."

He continued, "Is that how cheap you are?" He shook his head, his eyes filled with disgust as he stared at her.

Color drained from her face, and she finally found her voice. "What!" she exclaimed, utter shock imprinted on her expression.

"But I didn't even-" She wanted to explain, but he didn't let her finish.

"Save your explanation. In fact, SHOVE it down your throat, I don't want to hear it!" He fired at her, coldly.

"Trust me, and read my lips, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF YOUR MISERY!" He said through gritted teeth, his voice dripping with venom.

Ella felt like her heart stopped beating for a moment and before she could say anything else in her defense, she suddenly heard a stranger's faint voice.

"What's going on here?"