Unexpected to be a Son-in-Law

Chapter Four: Happy Death Anniversary 1

LANDER’S POV

8 months later

I woke up as soon as the chickens from the barn voices out their voice and awoken every animal in the barn. I look outside the window and could see that the sun is starting to rise now as the dark gloomy sky slowly turning into orange white light that is from the sun. I look around and walk towards my phone. Today is the 8 months death anniversary of my mother. I had a plan to visit her earlier after lunch.

I take a deep breathe and got up from the foam that I used to sleep in the basement. I could feel the sweat running down my forehead as I realize and felt the heat coming from the aircon machine from upstairs. The fan cannot defeat the heat that is coming out from the aircondition that is why the temperature here is so high that could literally burn your skin and become a fired human. I look around to look for my shirt as I slept shirtless yesterday because of the summer weather that could really put your sweat away from your inside and make it start dripping from your forehead.

As soon as I wear my shirt, I fix the bed and put on the slippers and start walking on the stairs for me to start my morning routine.

I twisted the doorknob but I found it locked from the outside. I keep twisting it, hoping that I could open it but I couldn’t. I knock on the door and shouted. “Hey! I am still in here! Open up the door!”I shouted but no one heard me. I knock again but this time I make sure that it is loud and clear. “hello?!” I shouted while still trying to open the door for me to get outside here on the basement.

When a music started playing outside the room. I music that could literally kill your soul because of it’s loudness.

Ah s**t, if there’s a music, how can they hear me?

Unless, someones doesn’t want me to be heard.

“HEY! OPEN UP THE DOOR! IT IS SO HOT IN HERE!” Now I start banging the door so maybe someone from outside could hear me, but no one, no one tried to open the door, no one tried to listen to what I am saying. I am starting to doubt myself that someone planted this to happen, or it is just a coincidence for the people outside the basement to not hear me.

“Ah f**k!” I said and walk downstairs and walk towards my bed where there is a small window from above it. I step on my bed and opened the window and start shouting there hoping that someone could notice my scream.

I could see the reflection of myself on the little glassy window in the basement, my face is turning hot red because of the heat and my sweat is starting to run from my face like a waterfalls on the lake. Because of what I am feeling, I take off my shirt and use it to wipe my sweat on my body. I lose hope of anyone to find me stuck in here because of whatever is happening upstairs.

I rolled my eyes and walk on the stairs again and just before I bang it the door opened and Alicia greeted me.

He looked at me, from my face down to my body with her serious face.

She sniff the air and look disgusted by me. “You stink. Go and take a shower before your stinkiness followed me to school.” She said and walk away from me like she didn’t even bother to greet me a good morning. I mean, who am I to her for her to greet me a good morning…

Oh wait, I am his husband!

If they treat me as one.

This is my life, my miserable life as soon as I become a Madden, nor as I become a son in law of Harry Madden, my father’s first and only had a rivalry.

They treat me like s**t, I mean, everyone, the only one who are good to me are the maids, I mean, obviously why can’t they right? They are maids, a helper of this pathetic family.

Harry Madden are the one who puts me in hell, just like what he said after the wedding party, where he will make sure to make my life a living hell, and yes, he did. He make sure that a Martinez can’t sleep to any of the rooms in the house, nor should I say in a mansion? So he put me in the basement, that is my room, the basement. Where all the machine of the house are located, where all of the heat of anything that can heat up is located. The only thing that give that room an air is the only ceiling fan that is in there. He make sure that I don’t make Alicia pregnant that is why he puts me very far away form her, Like I would impregnate her???

Hernando Madden is not living here, he has his own house, in Sand Diego. So basically, that is why eh couldn’t see my condition here in his son’s house, where I remember him reminding Harry to make my life comfortable and not make my life hard and just accept that I now belong to this family, but guess what? He did the exact opposite of what his father explained to him and asked for him to do.

Alicia wasn’t that much of an ache, she may bully me for my situation but she doesn’t make my life a living hell. Not like her father. But let me tell you, she has this mouth that could really make you feel offended, I mean, why can’t she have on right? She was born perfect, have a perfect life, have a perfect family her life is stable that makes her life a living docile, the very opposite of mine. I mean, my life is perfect before the storm rages into my life.

Her brother wasn’t that much. He talks to me nor bullies me but he doesn’t do any bad thing to to me nor say anything that makes me feel offended by myself. The reason? It is because he is always out with his friends. Nor, we barely sees him, he always spend his much of the time in his bedroom, I mean, who could blame him right? He is a teenage boy and everyone do that, every teenage boy have their own world in this world. They are hard to reach, and if I have his family’s life? I would probably be the same as his.

I start to walk outside the basement as soon as Alicia walks away from me. The cold air form the living room greeted and kisses my skins that makes it shivers and makes me feel… Comfortable. It makes me want to go back to sleep again, but I can’t.

I miss this feeling. Being able to feel the cold air? It is rainbow and sunshine here.

“Maybe next time you wake up earlier that the chickens so you are not going to be stuck again there, in the basement.” I look to my left where Harry is wearing a white polo dress and a black sleeve pants while sipping his coffee that is on his hands. “You locked me in there?” I asks him.

He stop sipping his coffee and start walking towards me.

“Do I have to remind you of the rules that we have in this household?” He asks me in his serous tone. “Do not asks me questions about the things I do in here, in my house.” He added.

I just look at him straight in his eyes. Now my doubts are real. He really is the one who locked me down in there. For what exactly? I always wake up in the morning once I heard the chickens making a morning sound? What’s the difference today?

“Or else…” I was shocked to the next thing that he did to me. He thrown his coffee at me that makes me stood there for a minute processing what just happened. My eyes are close while my mouth is open to what just happened to me, to what my eyes witness happened to myself.

I am thankful that this coffee is not boiling or I will literally boil myself from it.

“Clean this and the barn. Mr. Allison left and never returned, so it will be your job to clean the pigs and the chickens or any kind of animal that is on the farm.” He said to me. “And you really need to take a bath, I don’t take someone who looks and smelled homeless who deserve to live in the streets.” he added and walks away from.

All I really wanted was to punch his face until it bleeds out. I closes my hands and turn it into a fist because of what I am feeling today.. I never understands how can I get everything back by being a son in law to the Madden? I have no reason to understand what the deal I made with Hernando, should I regret that and just should accept the fact that I am going to jail for the sins I did not commit 8 months ago?

But no, I am a Martinez, I don’t give up easily, no matter how hard the situation is.

After I clean up the room and the floor where it got stained by the coffee that Harry thrown at me, I walk up to the farm and cleaned there. I told to myself that I will clean myself up after cleaning everything that I have to clean, that Harry wants me to clean.

Ugh, I signed up to be a son-in-law and a husband of Alicia, not a maid nor a helper, I never even laid hands on dirt before but now I am the dirt? I start to feel like I am pathetic myself, and that I deserve everything that is coming to me. I looked to myself and all I could see is a coward Lander, who can’t even stand up for himself, who let everybody, everyone step on him. This is not a Martinez? I wasn’t raised to be like this. I was raised to be a strong man, but what am I doing? I married into the Madden and suddenly, I felt like I am becoming weak, the plans that is lined up on my head starts fading because I don’t see anything that I can use in the plan, I couldn’t see anything that could destroy him, them.

I am lost, a sheep in wolves skin.

The sun is burning my body as I start to finished cleaning up the farm.

I swept the sweat away from my face and breathe deep as long as I can. I look at my watch and it is already 12 in the afternoon. That is when I felt the hunger inside of me when I heard my own stomach growling form hunger. I just realized I skip breakfast.

But, I can’t eat until I am clean. The Madden are conscious about someone being dirty in their house, like they are afraid of dust or something because they make sure to maintain the cleanliness of their house, only one strand of hair on the floor, they will scream and make it disappear by calling a maid where they could just get it and put it away on the trash bin.

I take a bath and felt refreshed after that.

I chooses an outfit to wear at the afternoon for me to visit my mother after I finished taking a bath. It felt so refreshing after everything that I did today.

I stand up in front of the mirror and look to myself, I remember the shirt that I am wearing today, this is the last gift she gave to me before she loses her life, before she become sick and died. Just going back to that memories all I could see is… Her.

I wanted this to end. I have no idea what is the connection of me being a son-in-law for me to get everything back, for me to get rich again and fix all the misunderstanding that had happened 10 months ago. I don’t know if I get tricked or what, but all I know, that I am living at the roof of the people who destroyed me and my family.

And I felt… Disgusted.

I walk towards my table and get the key of my car and my wallet. The only good thing that they made me kept is of course my car. I can go wherever I want but not every time, there is a limit, and if I can’t go outside today, one of Harry’s body guard will follow me or drive me to my destination. I felt like a prisoner here more than a human. I never felt… Being tight before, I never experience this in my whole life, being controlled by people I don’t even care about. My mom and my dad couldn’t even control me then they are going to control me?

And if you are asking me why don’t I just fight back…. There are a lot of reasons why I can’t and shouldn’t. I mean, a list.

First list, they can send me straight into jail, which is the number one reason why I even agreed to marry her, Alicia. I don’t know how, but they said they can, and Hernando can’t do anything about it since I am already a Madden, part of the family, as a husband of Alicia.

Second List, they will kidnap, kill or whatever bad things they can do can happen to Jeremy. They said that Harry let someone keep an eye onto him, and if I did something pretty bad, something bad, no worse, will happen to him.

Third list they will locked me up in the barn. Not in the basement, but in the barn, where all the pigs are!

Fourth… They will published the product that I made for my company as theirs….

And I do not know what to do. I felt trap in the middle, lost in the middle. I have nowhere to go, nor to run. I felt like I wanted to fight, but if I did, one of those four list will happen, I don’t know if it is true, but I know harry after being 8 months with him, what he says, will happen.

He is the man of his word.

I opened the door and start walking on the hallway of the house for me to get out. I decided not to eat here since I am going out of the house I can just eat at the restaurant or whatever, I have money, I still have money even though I live here. This maybe a secret, but… Hernando has been sending me money online every month, like an allowance or something.

But I know one thing, that wasn’t what he means about me having a new life again, becoming rich again and getting my company back. Small allowance doesn’t get me there, I know it, from the back of my mind.

As soon as I touches the doorknob of the door, someone asks me where I am going.

“Where do you think you are going?” I turned around and Alicia was standing there looking at me, from head to toe. “You’re going out… You know dad won’t let you right?” She added. “I know.” I answered her. “So you’re sneaking out?” She asks me.

I don’t know if I am sneaking out or what, but maybe I am, but… To be honest, I don’t know. Can somebody sneak out at morning?

“Maybe No? I don’t really know. But I only know one thing…. I really need to go.”

“And where is that?”

I shut my mouth as soon as I heard his voice.

Fuck

This is what Ia m scared of, getting caught by him. I felt like I am back to my childhood where I am afraid of getting caught, of sneaking out, sneaking in with friends, playing with xbox and stuff, and not studying. The feeling of being eaten alive is what I am feeling at the moment. I am just scared little kid… again.

I know I shouldn’t be scared of him…. But… I know this time is different.

Do you know the feeling of like, you are afraid of someone to know what you are doing? Then you literally knock that out and everybody know what you are doing? That s**t where you will peed on your shorts because of the nervousness? That is what I am feeling today. What I am feeling at the moment.

I know this is hard, but…. I don’t know.

“Do I really have to tell you where I am going?” I asks him. “Of course, you live in my house and I should know where you are going, we don’t know what kind of air you will bring in here when you get home. “ He said.

I take a deep breathe.

“Today is my mom’s anniversary… Death anniversary if you would remember that.” I said to him and he starts walking towards me with a pity face. “Aw. So sad.” He said. “But who cares? You still haven’t clean the barn, I still see poop out there and the pigs are still out. And do you know what it is? It is Saturday, means no one is allowed to go.” He added. “Meaning you are not going anywhere. You can just go to the altar and pray your prayers there. It would be much appreciated.” He turned his abck to me where I felt like my heart explodes of what just he said.

I bit my tongue becasue I want to stop myself from talking back, but it is too late. I did talk back.

“I am not your prisoner you little piece of s**t! You don’t control my life over! You don’t tell me what I should do or what I shouldn’t! I am a person! A husband to your daughter! If you can’t respect or accept that a Martinez is living with you here, then swallow it to your throat and just clean the s**t out of you! You can clean the barn yourself! You decided to pet a pig then Ill be the one who will clean it’s mess?” I shouted that made him stop and that made Alicia covered her mouth because of what she just witnessed of how I let go of my words from my mouth.

I was even shocked to what I just said, even myself couldn’t handle my mouth, I finally let it go, all those 8 months that I am here, I finally let some of it go. My anger could literally cause a school bullied shoot their bullies if that’s make sense.

He stop walking and turn around and walk towards me fast that made me take a few step back.

“You will never be my daughter’s husband and you will be a prisoner today, just like what you asks for!” He said and I was shock when he grabbed my left hands that made some memory come running back to my head.