Chapter I: The Beginning of Everything

Ailan.

As I continued thinking about my past, I began getting ready to go to work, despite the pain. After what I had just heard, I didn't want to stay there. Besides, no matter what my wicked mother-in-law said, I knew that Walter loved me, and that was enough.

After working in London for a year, I met my current husband, Walter, at a company party. He was romantic and attentive. Most importantly, he wasn't after my inheritance because he thought I was a normal girl. At first, I resisted. I wasn't used to men approaching me outside of my father's control. Soon, however, I began to give in to Walter's attentions. We started dating a few months later after spending time together for the first time, which was also my first time. It wasn't like they say in novels or what my friends say. In fact, it was painful and unpleasant. However, he behaved like a gentleman after learning that it was my first time. He was attentive, sweet, and affectionate, and that's when I fell in love with him. So, when he proposed a month later, I didn't hesitate. I only told my mother. I didn't want the horde of angry, overprotective Miller men to scare him away. He isn't very strong, either psychologically or physically, although he is very attractive. In fact, he was still living with his mother when I met him.

I got married first, claiming that it had to be a civil ceremony at the town hall because my family lived in New York and couldn't travel. When they could, we would have a religious wedding.

Contrary to what Walter's mother expected, she was happy that the wedding wouldn't be expensive, even though I was going to pay for everything. Even then, I should have suspected that my mother-in-law disliked me, though she hid it well and never showed her displeasure in front of me.

Once married, when I confronted the Miller men, especially my father, all hell broke loose. Thank God I had my mother on my side. What my family doesn't know—not even my mother—is that I soon regretted getting married because Walter is not what I expected. He is weak and dependent, especially on his mother.

However, I am a Miller; failure is not in my vocabulary. I will never stop fighting for my marriage. I still love my husband and will do whatever it takes to save our marriage, even if it means putting up with my mother-in-law's impertinence. A worse outcome would be the reaction of my older brother and father, which would prove that they were right. Just thinking about it makes me tremble. But what could go wrong if I try hard? What do you think?

When I got to work, no one was expecting me. Everyone was surprised, especially my assistant, Christine Stuart.

"Weren't you supposed to be resting, Alan?" You don't look well," she said, looking at my expression.

The truth was that, since leaving in my Mercedes—a secondhand car I bought to cover my new identity—the cramps had increased in intensity. I had to get to my office and take a painkiller; otherwise, I would faint from the pain.

I don't like taking medication unless it's prescribed by a doctor, mainly because I'm allergic to penicillin-containing drugs. I always like to make sure first, even though I know painkillers don't contain it.

"You look awful!" Christine finally said, following me to my office.

"I feel awful, but thanks for pointing that out," I said, sitting heavily in my comfortable office chair.

My assistant went straight to the drawer where I kept painkillers for my cramps. She gave me two pills with a glass of water. I swallowed them right away while she placed a hot water bottle on my lower abdomen.

"You have to call your gynecologist. This isn't normal," she said. I nodded. I was going to do it, but not while the pain was slowly subsiding.

Soon, the color returned to my face, and I moaned with pleasure and relief as I began to feel like myself again.

"Bruno called this morning," Christine said, laughing. "I told him you weren't coming in today because you were sick, and he got very nervous." I even heard that hysterical Sicilian say, ‘This is bad! This is bad!' in his language.”

I understood why she was laughing, and I understood why she was so familiar with Bruno Barone. Few people in the company knew that the redheaded woman with dark green eyes and an incredible, Madonna-like body was married to the manager of my company. She was actually Christine Barone, but they kept it a secret for work reasons.

That was why she became my assistant. I needed someone who knew my secret and was trustworthy. That could only be Bruno Barone, the CEO and president of London Miller Construction. He was a stylish, attractive, mature forty-something Italian dandy with a lot of class, as well as being very friendly.

"What did you do to him, Christine?" I asked, smiling.

Ever since I met them almost three years ago, they had been the most fun, close-knit couple I had ever known. They loved to joke around and play spicy games. Their humor always matched, even though she was Welsh with a strong temper and he was Sicilian with a strong character.

"I just told him in Italian that he didn't have to be so dramatic. I said that I would come to his office to comfort him and that he should wait until we were home. Then, he could be as dramatic as he wanted. Can you believe he hung up on me? That damn Sicilian crybaby is drowning in a glass of water," my assistant told me, laughing hysterically.

"I'll go up and see what he wants. I don't know why, but whenever you challenge him, he acts silly, and I have to go sort it out. Tell Coral I'm coming up. You know how she gets if you don't have an appointment or tell her beforehand,” I said to Christine.

"He does it because Bruno ordered him to. He doesn't want him barging into his office. The last time I went up to 'make him suffer' a little, the president of Acciona almost caught us. Now, he's punished me," said Christine, picking up the phone to call Coral Hamilton, the management assistant.