Chapter 4

Third Person Pov:

A gasp escaped Aurora’s l*ps when her eyes directed to the one person who caught her from picking the broken glass. Lee Otto Fraser? What was he doing here? Was he also invited and why was he stopping her from picking the pieces from the shattered glass?

When he met her gaze, she felt her b*dy shudder under his intense emerald green eyes and she knew she had seen those eyes before but she couldn’t remember where. Aurora gulped hard, her hand still encompassed in his hand. She slowly shifted her eyes from him to the guests and she was surprised at the way the whole guests including Maya and Jaden had gone silent, their eyes glued on them.

Everyone’s attention was channeled on them and they seemed pretty invested in what would happen next. She met her father’s gaze and the mean look he threw her way was accusing, likewise her stepmother. It felt like everyone’s eyes were either accusing, judging, condemning her or they harbored a repulsive look across their faces.

Except for two people. Otto Fraser and Jaden. A worried look graced Jaden’s face while Otto Fraser had an intimidating, condescending look across his face. Just then, Maya hurried toward them. Aurora’s hand was still trapped in Lee Otto Fraser’s callous big hand. “I’m so sorry Fraser for this mess, it wasn’t intentional.”

Why was Maya apologizing to him? Aurora wondered. Why does everyone seem to fear this one man? He’s just one young man not a battalion of men but why does she feel this energy of intimidation and authority coming from him?

“She will get it cleaned up now,” Maya said, her voice faltering a bit. She shifted her eyes to Aurora, telling her to get to work with her eyes and with the way her mouth moved.

She nodded and tried to free her hand from his hold, ready to do as she was ordered but he tightened his grip on her hand, almost making her flinch a bit.

“Clean it up.” When he spoke up, his gentle tone carried a strong wave of authority and command and it didn’t have to be told to anyone that this man deserved obedience. He directed his words to the girl who had deliberately knocked down the glass.

“Excuse me?” The girl threw him a surprised look.

“I said..clean it up. You knocked it over and messed the floor up. You ought to clean up your mess and not let someone do that in your stead.”

The girl let out a surprised laugh, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Staring at Otto Fraser in disbelief— like he didn’t mean any of the words he just said.

“You are joking right?” She queried.

“Do I look like I’m joking to you?” A glint flickered in his eyes and his demeanor all said he wasn’t for jokes, that he was dead serious.

“That’s what she was about to do before you stopped her. And I didn’t deliberately knock off the glass.”

Aurora stood there, perplexed and puzzled. Trying to decipher the scene before her, why was he defending her? Wasn’t he the same man who blatantly rejected her two weeks ago so what was he doing?

“You don’t have to worry about this, Sir, I will get it cleaned in no time. I was being clumsy, that’s why it fell.” She said.

“You must think I’m blind……”

“Mr Fraser?” Aurora’s stepmom strode to them, smiling but that malicious smile was directed to Aurora. Her eyes lingered on her for a moment before channeling it to him. “It’s just broken pieces from a glass, it’s no big deal and besides, Aurora here doesn’t have a problem cleaning it up.”

“Are you ready to clean the mess you made on the floor or do you want me to make you do it the hard way?” When he spoke up again, the strong vibration of his voice filled the room.

The girl in the tight orange gown didn’t utter a word and just gawked at him. Eyes in disbelief.

“I’m a guest here, I was invited by Maya. Why should I clean it up? I’m just a guest. It’s not my job.”

“She’s the bride’s sister.…” Fraser motioned to Aurora whose heart was in her throat. “She isn’t dressed like a maid and it’s also not her job. So I tell you again to clean this mess up.”

“Fraser, I don’t think this is a big deal……Why are you making a mountain out of a molehill?……..”

Lee Otto Fraser raised a finger up, silencing Aurora’s father in the middle of his sentence.

“Wilson?!” His cacophony voice reverberated across the room. Making the room go oddly quiet and tense. The man that showed up with him at Aurora’s father’s house came hurrying toward him.

“I want you to remove these five people from the guests list…..” He gestured to Maya’s group of friends surrounding the table. A gasp flew out of Maya’s mouth.

A stunned look appeared on everyone’s face when he made that speech. It was getting serious and Aurora knew she had to do something before it blew out of proportion.

“It’s fine, Sir, I will clean it up……” Lee Otto Fraser ignored Aurora and channeled his cold gaze on the five people occupying the table. “I want you to escort them out of here.”

“And mark their faces, never let any of them in this hotel ever again,” he asserted, earning startled expressions from Maya’s friends.

“I will clean it if that’s what you want,” Maya spoke up. A look of shock and confusion laced across her face. “I invited them.”

“Maybe you should have taught your friends manners— table manners and I don’t entertain rude guests in my hotel.”

Aurora’s eyes shot up in surprise. His hotel? That explained why everyone and everywhere went quiet when he showed up, this was her first time seeing the sky so she lacked information about everything and everyone.

But most importantly why was he defending her? She didn’t know why but for the first time, Aurora felt a leap of hope seeing someone coming to her aid and not treating her like the rest of the world.

“Otto Fraser, we can address this amicably….. you are blowing this out of proportion,” Aurora’s father said in a low voice, almost stunned as his daughter.

“Wilson, see them out the door.” Fraser ordered. And right before Aurora’s very eyes and that of the other guests, Maya’s friends were ushered out of the hall. When Aurora’s gaze unintentionally flew to Maya…. The stern look across Maya almost drained all the blood in her system. She could tell she was burning with fury but keeping her cool.

Aurora finally managed to free her hand from his hold and proceeded in cleaning up the mess when he held back again. She met his eyes but she couldn’t discern what he was thinking. His eyes were impassive and the expression on his face was hard to read.

“And let this be known to you all, SHE’S MINE!” Aurora froze when those words flew out of his mouth. What was he doing? What was he saying? His voice thundered all over the room. “And if any of you tries to mess with her, you have me to contend with.”

Aurora flew her eyes at him. Puzzled.

“She belongs to me and I don’t entertain the idea of people meddling with what belongs to me.”

“What are you saying, Mr Fraser?” Aurora’s father tilted his head in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“She’s claimed by me…..”

“Are you perhaps accepting my offer?” Aurora felt conflicted when Otto Fraser, the very man who rejected her, was now accepting her and she saw her father’s eyes beam and l*ps lit up with a smile. She was being sold off to the man everyone trembled at his presence.

If everyone trembled at the feet of this man, what about her? A weak, motherless, wolf-less and matless girl?

Lee Otto Fraser kept quiet when her father asked that and instead, removed one of the expensive chain bracelets around his wrist and wore it around her wrist before lifting her hand to everyone’s view.

“She’s mine now and I wouldn’t take it lightly with anyone who dares to insult or taunt her! Like I said earlier, I hate people who meddle with my property.”

Property? Aurora stilled on the floor. She’s been bought by him?

“So you won’t come for the land, later?” A fulfilled smile appeared on her father’s face to Aurora’s disappointment.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●

After the incident and the stunt Lee Otto Fraser pulled at Maya’s wedding to everyone’s astonishment. Aurora prepared to leave for Lee Otto Fraser’s place. She couldn’t digest the thought of being his wife – his fourth wife apparently. She folded her clothes, placing them in a satchel bag. Being treated as a maid in her father’s house, she neither had any nice clothes or a good bag to store them.

After packing. She strolled out to the sitting room. Basically she wasn’t happy to leave because she had many good childhood memories and her mother’s memories in this house but at the same time, she was elated she was finally getting freed from her father, stepmother and half sister’s cruelty.

But she wasn’t too happy because it was literally like from the frying pan to fire.

“You should behave yourself while being his wife,” her father said when she walked out and saw him and her stepmother having breakfast at the dining. Maya had gone to live with her husband.

“If you don’t want to meet the same fate as his previous wives … .and you should count yourself lucky he took pity on you and decided to marry you.”

Pity on her? Aurora huffed inwardly. He was practically selling her off to him.

“I was surprised when he announced that at Maya’s wedding to be honest,” her stepmother said with a sarcastic tone.

Aurora blinked off the tears in her eyes and plastered a pale smile. Lee Otto Fraser is now legally her husband with no grand wedding like that of Maya’s but who is she to complain?

She walked out to an expensive car, waiting for her on her parent’s house front porch. The driver opened the car door as she climbed in. Minutes later, she arrived at Lee Otto Fraser’s mansion— more like a villa. Aurora marveled and gaped at the dazzling beauty of the house before she was ushered in by a doorman.

When she walked in, she met the very man whose presence commanded power. Legs crossed, and seated one of the expensive leather sofas. Reading a magazine.

She managed to smile when his intense gaze flew at her. He gaped at her for a fleeting minute, causing her to feel uncomfortable. She twitched and tightened her grip on her satchel.

“Welcome to my house.” He said and got up, taking some steps toward her. Causing her to take some steps backward, a little bit frightened. “But there are rules you have to abide by while living in my house and playing the role of a wife.”

His voice was etched with authority and Aurora didn’t utter a word and simply nodded.

He wanted to leave but stopped, turning to her again.

“And most importantly, you aren’t allowed to leave this house without my permission. You are to stay indoors until I permit you. Especially at night.”