Chapter 1 A Beautiful Young Lady Alone in an Empty Room

• All of a sudden, dark clouds covered the starry night sky; a violent storm was impending. Such was the weather in June—gloomy and ever-changing. However, Iris Parker wasn’t sleepy at all as she flipped through the photo album in her hands. She even smiled blissfully from time to time.
• She had yet to change out of her clothes. Thus, she remained dressed in her wedding gown, which matched the décor of the room. It was her wedding day today. After running around all day, she finally had time to sit down and have a good look at her wedding photos.
• It had only taken three short days from the time she received the photo album to the wedding day. Everything seemed so rushed, but she didn’t care. She was content just to be with her beloved. The smile of the man in the photo was as dazzling as usual. He had a dignified appearance, and his eyes made him look handsome. That’s my husband—Dexter Watson.
• We saw the guests off a while back, so why isn’t Dexter here yet? Did he have something else to deal with? She felt extremely uneasy inside the room. Putting down the photo album, she paced about in front of the window. She didn’t know how long she paced back and forth, but Dexter was still nowhere to be seen.
• Then, her phone screen brightened suddenly. Picking it up, she glanced at it and couldn’t help grinning widely.
• ‘Poppet, take your time. You have a long road ahead of you; don’t spend all your energy just on tonight.’ It was a message from Alice Palmer. The contents of the message were clearly poking fun at her, but she was used to it and decided to ignore it. I have a lot of time in the future to teach that silly girl a lesson; I am in no rush to do it now. After all, a woman’s first time is priceless. Even I know this; doesn’t Dexter understand that?
• Just then, the door was pushed open with a bang. The sound pulled her out of her reverie. “Dexter, are you alright?”
• Dexter entered the room somewhat unsteadily. Despite that, he was still wearing his suit properly—not one bit of his clothes was out of place. Still, that was in line with his personality. He would rather bleed profusely from his head than mess up his clothes.
• “I’m fine.” His chilly voice stabbed into her heart. What’s wrong? Shouldn’t he be happy on our wedding night?
• Watching as he tottered toward the bed, she hastily closed her eyes. She had been looking forward to this moment for a long time now. They had gotten into a relationship when they were still in university. Unlike other couples, they had never left the university in their free time, let alone shared any form of physical intimacy. At the time, I considered him a man worthy of entrusting my life to. But, he probably values integrity above all else.
• She could even feel the heat of his breath mixed with the strong scent of alcohol coming toward her. In the next moment, this man will probably strip my clothes off, piece by piece. Tonight, I will become his. Then, a blast of cold air hit her. Feeling confused, she hurriedly opened her eyes and saw that he had picked up the blankets covering her and clamped them under his arm.
• “Dexter?”
• “I’ve had too much to drink tonight. Besides, I’m very tired today. I don’t want to disappoint you. I’ll be in my study. You should rest early. Goodnight, sweetheart.” His explanation seemed rather lackluster. Even so, he gently planted a kiss on her forehead before he left—that was probably the most intimate they had ever been throughout their relationship.
• She felt disappointed as she watched him leaving the room. At the same time, she chose to be understanding. A wedding is a huge event in one’s life after all. How many men won’t be burnt out by the end of it?
• The rain started falling outside. In all the countless scenarios she had imagined of her wedding night, she had never imagined that it would turn out like this. Forget it! Did you think I was looking forward to it?! I don’t have the time to wait on you. I’m going to sleep. After that, she didn’t even take off her wedding dress before going to bed.
• The ringing alarm woke Iris from her sleep. When she was still living with her natal family, she had gotten used to waking up at this time every day to go to work. However, this was the day after her wedding. She had forgotten that she didn’t need to work today. After cleaning herself up, she walked out of the room. Dexter and her mother-in-law, Amy Wheeler, were already seated at the dining table by then.
• “Good morning, Mom.” As a daughter-in-law newly married into the family, it was only natural for her to kiss up to her mother-in-law. Therefore, she greeted Amy with a smile before she even walked over.
• “Other people’s daughters-in-law would wake up at dawn on the morning after her wedding day to start preparing breakfast for the entire family. But, my daughter-in-law is different. This old lady has to wait on her instead. How should I say this? Ah, right. Dexter, you married the mistress of the house. I should be calling her ‘Ma’am’ instead.” Amy’s insulting tone floated into her ears. Even so, she maintained a semblance of a smile on her face throughout it all. Having heard all the rumors about Amy, she could only get used to such treatment since she chose to marry Dexter.
• “It was extremely tiring yesterday, Mom. Please understand. Iris, take a seat quickly. Breakfast is going to turn cold.”
• Luckily, I am blessed with a loving husband. Otherwise, I don’t know what can motivate me to keep holding on.
• “Get yourselves ready for this evening. A few of our relatives will be coming over. Remember; you need to learn to be more sensible. Don’t let others criticize you behind your back,” Amy said wryly. Iris could tell that those words were directed at her. Thus, she hurriedly nodded her head to indicate that she understood. After that, Amy eagerly left the room.
• “Don’t mind it. Mom has always been like that. She has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. You’ll see that after a while.” Dexter reached out suddenly to hold Iris’ hand tightly.
• “It’s okay. I understand. I’ll be okay as long as you love me.” Those words of his made her heart melt completely. How can I still be bothered by my sharp-tongued and unscrupulous mother-in-law?
• That night, Iris smiled as she wove her way between the unfamiliar strangers while pouring tea for them and making small talk with them. Occasionally, she would get into a more meaningful conversation and talk for a long time. After a while, she felt a slight headache coming on and a strong sense of drowsiness overwhelming her. I had a good night’s sleep last night. Besides, it’s only 8 PM. Why am I feeling so sleepy?
• “Go on. You should go upstairs to rest. I’ll be there in a bit.” At some point, Dexter had walked over to her. He leaned close and whispered in her ear.
• With her husband’s approval, she decided she didn’t care for the random relatives anymore and left the hall under the strange looks everybody was giving her.
• When Iris returned to her room, she couldn’t care about anything else anymore. She collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep immediately. During that time, she had a dream—she dreamed that she was holding hands with her husband as they strolled along a beach…