Chapter 1 - Little girl of his memory
*****Prologue
"And now I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The priest announced.
Jonathan looked at his bride, the angelic face and clear eyes of the women who had schemed and forced him into marriage. He was not sure how she managed to sway his grandmother and his parents, but she did and so here they were.
He leaned into her for the kiss and for a second he was distracted by her nervousness and loud heartbeat which spiked by the second. He had to, yet again, remind himself not to fall for her facade.
He planted his lips against hers and told her exactly what he thought.
"Did you really think you can be my wife because you schemed and trapped me into this? You can enjoy the empty position as Mrs. Smith that you covet so much. But you will never have a place in my heart and life."
He saw the shock and pain in her eyes, but it did not last long as she scanned the surroundings and sighed in resignation. She took a deep breath and her eyes held determination.
He was correct, she was scheming indeed.
Whatever he thought of her, he did not appreciate others bullying her right in front of his face. He told off the gossipers who had bluntly asked her how she had tricked him into marriage.
Although that was the truth, he did not like being laughed at. Besides, there was something in her silence and her steel eyes that bothered him.
He drank away his incomprehensible thoughts and completed other proceedings as they both maintained the loving newlywed facade.
There were not many people invited which was another thing he had found strange. His family did not invite many people because he was opposed to this, but he had expected the scheming woman to invite half the city and reporters to ensure everyone knew she was Mrs. Smith.
He ignored Lydia Aprice. She was his sister-in-law now, even though she was not related by blood with his wife. In any case, he did not want unnecessary rumors.
His grandmother and a few other ladies took the bride away as he drank some more.
Soon after he realized something was wrong.
He could not believe that the despicable woman had drugged him. He saw Lydia making her way to him, but he asked his assistant to deal with her and escaped.
He was even more frustrated as the lights were out.
He made his way to the study and cursed as he found the door was locked. But he had the master key, so he pushed it open and went directly to the bathroom.
His so-called wife was asleep in the tub in her wedding gown. The gown was torn in a few places. He wondered what she was doing there in that state.
A sudden tightness on his pants brought him back as his fury burned thinking she had drugged him.
He was stunned by the icy cold water. How was she still hot inside that cold water?
In the candlelight, he could see her flushed skin. Was she also drugged?
He shook his head muttering a curse as he tried to throw her out.
The next thing that he recalled was her cry of pain as she hit him and scolded him for being so harsh. He vaguely remembered coaxing her and trying to be gentle, trying to make her feel good. He also recalled how she had asked many times if he was her husband, Jonathan Smith.
The rest of the night and the entire next day and night were blurry.
The next time he woke up, he was naked in bed with his wife. There was no need to think about what had happened.
Lying on the bedside table were two red booklets, their marriage certificates that he did not remember taking.
He suddenly felt sympathy for her, especially seeing that she was bleeding. But he immediately shook off his thoughts thinking of all the horrid things she had done.
He left her a card with a note and left.
There were few rumors that his wife had slept with multiple men in their marriage bed on the day of their wedding. There were photos that showed her in her wedding gown surrounded by four men in what was supposed to be their wedding room.
It made him wonder if she was a victim in the marriage too. He recalled her sleeping in the cold bath in the study in her torn dress which indicated struggle.
Though how she managed to escape when drugged and overpowered was very much a mystery. Perhaps she had staged the entire thing for his benefit.
Nonetheless, he shut those rumors immediately and sued the people responsible. After all, she was now his legal wife and he had taken her virginity.
No one dared to gossip about her after that. Soon everyone forgot the controversial Mrs. Smith.
He never saw or heard from her again and eventually forgot about her and that he was even married.
****Little girl of his memory*****
Liliana Green looked at her little girl who was running to a toy showroom. She had only loosened the grip as she had to pick up a call.
Six years old, Joyanna Green had taken advantage of this and ran ahead. She had to buy toys for her twin brother, who was too sick to come to the shopping mall.
But before she could reach the store, she ran into a pair of long legs.
A stern good-looking man picked her up and his eyes widened seeing her. He poked her face and asked, "Who are you?"
Jonathan Smith looked at the little girl in front of him in shock. She looked exactly like the girl in his memory.
Before the little girl could reply, the woman beside him, Vivian Stone grabbed her arm and separated her from him.
She cried in pain, "Ouch, that hurt."
He wanted to stop Vivian but before he could respond, an alarmed voice came.
Liliana cried, "Jo!"
She had been stunned seeing the man that her daughter had run into, even more so seeing the woman holding his arms.
But she was brought back from her reverie when Jo exclaimed.
"Let go of her." Liliana held her daughter and said frostily, "She is a child, you don't need to pinch her arm. Let go of her, NOW."
Vivian Stone looked at Liliana, the one person in the world that she hated beyond anything. Even after all these years, she recognized her right away.
She had become more beautiful, and more authoritative, she could not help but grit her teeth as she involuntarily pinched the little girl harder.
"Ahh", Joyanna cried.
Jonathan snapped out of his trance and held Vivian's wrist tight forcing her to release the child.
"She is a child." He roared at her. 'How dare you hurt her?' He said in his mind. He knew he had no right to ask anything on the little girl's behalf.
Vivian did not know how to reply.
"Mom." Joyanna cried as she snuggled in Liliana's arms.
"Let me see, honey." Liliana coaxed her gently.
She saw the red bruise on her arm and glared at Vivian.
She kissed the bruises and kissed her daughter's face.
"It does not hurt anymore, Mom," Jo said timidly.
"What did I tell you about running around and watching the way ahead?" Liliana asked.
Joyanna instantly changed her tunes, "Mommy, it hurts so much." She blinked her doe eyes and showed all her teeth in a smile.
"We'll apply ointment when we go home. And no more running around." Liliana could only shake her head and pinch her daughter's nose at her cheekiness.
"I am sorry, Mommy. I won't run anymore. I will hold your hand and listen to you." Joyanna said instantly.
"That's my girl." Liliana hugged her and turned around to gather the things she had dropped.
Vivian looked at them with venom in her eyes. She was even more irritated seeing Jonathan looking at them with longing in his eyes.
Unable to control herself, she pretended to tumble forward and 'accidentally' pushed Liliana.
Liliana managed to get her footing, but Joyanna had jumped at her rescue and fell towards the escalator.
