Cesilia didn’t like Maxime touching her like this. The dress she wore exposed her smooth shoulders, and Maxime left warm, wet marks on them, in front of some crew members who were still passing by the dressing room.
Maxime chuckled, “I wasn’t eavesdropping. I just happened to overhear. Turned Cesilia’s body to face him. “Darling, I want you. Let’s go to a hotel or back to the house.” He lifted Cesilia’s chin with his index finger.
Cesilia shook her head, pushing away Maxime’s hand. “I’m tired, Maxime. You just did it a while ago, and now you want it again? We just arrived, and I want to work.”
“Of course. If necessary, we can do it every hour, every minute, every second.” He closed the gap between them. “I’ve told you, your body is intoxicating, Darling.”
He was about to kiss Cesilia, but she quickly evaded him as one of the crew members entered.
“This is the place…”
“Please knock on the door before entering. Don’t just barge in like this if you still want to work here!” Maxime cut off Cesilia’s words, intending to give a warning to the crew member about entering the room without permission.
“I’m sorry, sir!”
Those were the two words the crew member managed to say as Maxime gave him a sharp look, urging him to leave the room.
As an employee paid by Maxime, the crew member was naturally afraid of causing trouble with him, considering that working for Maxime’s company offered a good salary and office facilities.
Cesilia shook her head disapprovingly. She didn’t like Maxime’s arrogant and authoritarian attitude. Alexander was equally firm like Maxime, but he never treated his subordinates as arrogantly, acknowledging their contributions to the company’s success.
Cesilia smiled faintly, admiring Alexander’s character. Unfortunately, she could no longer reach him after falling into Maxime’s trap.
“Hotel or home?”
“Stop it, Maxime!” Cesilia snapped. Maxime, who kept leaving wet marks, sucked and left bruise marks on her shoulder. Cesilia couldn’t understand what he was thinking, but Maxime was truly testing her patience.
“Answer, home or hotel? Or should I do it here!” He let go of Cesilia and locked the dressing room door, pushing her to sit on the sofa.
“Maxime!”
“Why is it so hard to answer?” Maxime grumbled, forcing Cesilia to remove her dress.
“Stop!” Cesilia protested, trying hard to hold onto her dress. “Fine, let’s go to a hotel.”
“Let’s go!” Maxime urged, pulling Cesilia’s hand, leading her to stand up. He burst into laughter, pleased that Cesilia was becoming more obedient to him.***
“So, where do we want to go after this?” Alexander asked Casandra after they finished a bowl of chicken porridge.
Casandra shook her head. “I don’t know where to go because there’s nothing special in this village like in the city. Maybe it’s better if we just go home, what do you think?” Casandra offered. She was still tired and didn’t feel like doing anything.
If there were food ingredients in the fridge earlier, maybe she would have cooked at home instead of eating out like now. The distance they traveled was quite far, and even though they used a car, Casandra still felt sore from sitting for too long.
“Alright, let’s go home then.” Alexander reached for Casandra’s hand and held it, walking side by side towards the car parked in front of the chicken porridge stall.
“Should we do the shopping at home, or is there a market nearby?” Alexander asked as he started the car.
“It’s better to wait at home. I think a vegetable seller will pass by soon. If we go to the market, I’ll be tired, Lex. But if there’s no vegetable seller, then let’s go to the market now. A little tired is fine as long as I can get food ingredients for you, Lex.”
“Let’s wait at home then. If there’s no seller, I’ll go to the market myself, and you just need to tell me the direction to the market in this village. Or we can ask one of the villagers for help. I’ll set aside some money for shopping expenses, okay?”
“Whatever you think is best, Lex. I’ll follow whatever you say,” Casandra replied, surrendering because she didn’t want to argue or disagree with anything Alexander said. She knew it was all for the best.
Alexander never forbid or ask for anything harmful.
During the long journey home, Casandra remained silent. Alexander slightly reclined his seat, allowing Casandra to rest her head on the car seat. She looked tired, and their activities last night had drained all her energy.
Once they arrived home, Casandra smiled as she saw a vegetable seller stopping not far from their house, which meant they didn’t have to go to the market or anything like that.
“Let me do the shopping; you can rest in the room,” Alexander said before opening the car door.
Casandra nodded, just following whatever he said. She wanted to rest, not go shopping or gossip with the other women around the vegetable seller.
After making sure Casandra was resting well in the room, Alexander went back outside to meet the vegetable seller who was serving some housewives.
“What are you looking for, Lex?” the middle-aged man asked.
“Whatever you have, Uncle” Alexander replied, observing each food ingredient on a large wooden cart with various items.
“There are many things, Lex. There’s meat, chicken, fish, and some types of salted fish.”
“If I want to make chicken soup, what ingredients do I need, Uncle?” Alexander picked up each item available on the cart. “Hmm… but I also want to make fried chicken,” he added.
“For chicken soup, you’ll need these spices, Sir!” a young woman joined in, handing Alexander some spices and bay leaves that were within his reach.
“If you want to make fried chicken and chicken soup, it’s better to get more chicken,” another woman explained.
“But in this cold weather, it’s better to have some side dishes too,” another woman suggested, adding more items to the pile in front of Alexander.
“Let me see what ingredients are left at home, Lex. I’m afraid we’ll buy the main ingredients but have no side dishes to accompany them. For example, cooking oil to sauté the spices later.” The vegetable seller also joined in, piling more items in front of Alexander.
Alexander rubbed his chin, looking at the heap of food ingredients in front of him. He didn’t understand much because he had never gone shopping like this before. Usually, he just accepted whatever was served on the dining table.
“As far as I remember, Casandra said there were no food ingredients left in the fridge, only some pudding made by her father a few days ago before he went to the city for an operation,” Alexander honestly said based on what he knew.
“Oh, so you’re Casandra’s husband whom she introduced to the villagers yesterday,” the vegetable seller said.
Alexander nodded. “Yes, it’s understandable that there are no food ingredients because Casandra is not financially well-off. Sometimes, she can only buy chili and salt. She prioritizes buying rice rather than these food ingredients.”
Alexander was lost in thought, listening to the vegetable seller’s story. He knew that Casandra relied on her mother’s income, but he had never realized the extent of the hardships and fears she had endured in her life.
“Is that so?” Alexander asked, making sure of the vegetable seller’s statements.
“Yes, Casandra had to work hard to get what she wanted. When she earned money from farming in the rice fields, she wouldn’t immediately buy food. Instead, she would check her father’s medicine stock or ask her siblings if their school fees had been paid or not. She didn’t want her siblings to drop out of school like she did.”
“She is indeed a girl with an immense sense of responsibility. Unfortunately, fate hasn’t been kind to her, and she hasn’t been able to experience carefree days like other girls her age. But seeing her now, we’re sure Casandra is living a better life than before. I even noticed that she has a car, which means she’s well-off. I’m sure my Mama sincerely loves Casandra as a reward for all the sacrifices she has made for her family,” the other women chimed in, explaining Casandra’s past life, especially before she officially became Alexander’s wife. They acknowledged that Casandra had accepted Cesilia’s offer because she needed the financial support for her family.
Alexander realized that the salary he had been giving to Lastri wouldn’t be enough because she had a husband who needed medical treatment, several other siblings to educate, and other unexpected expenses. It wouldn’t be covered by a single salary alone.
He began questioning what Casandra had done while in the village before coming to the city. He felt heartbroken and guilty hearing about the difficult life she had endured. There was no time for rest, even when her body was in pain, if she wanted to get a proper meal.
Alexander also remembered how he had treated Casandra all this time. He deeply regretted the harsh words he had said to her, especially back when she occasionally visited or asked her mother for money. He had spoken lightly, dismissing her as uneducated or something of the sort.
“I’ll buy everything. One of each item you’re selling here, calculate the total. I’ll ask someone to deliver it to the house, and I’ll pay there. Prioritize the women here; I have some urgent matters to attend to,” Alexander rushed to leave.
If he stayed there for too long, he felt he might collapse, unable to bear the thought of the life Casandra had endured.