The Unwanted Marriage

Chapter 5: His Feelings

Clyver's POV

"I shouldn't have agreed to marry you... I want to be free."

Her voice echoed in my mind. I shook my head. I twirl my glass in between my fingers, letting the ice share its coldness with my drink. I took a sip of my whiskey while darting my eyes nowhere on the dance floor. 

I don't understand why it bothers me. Shouldn't I be supposed to be happy? If she would issue a divorce, I will be free... both of us will be free from this forced marriage. 

"A penny of your thoughts?" I turn my head in Hyko's direction. In our circular VIP table, he's sitting across from me. Three girls are trying to grab his attention. Two are acting drunks and the other is on the other table, giving flirty glances at him. 

I smirked at him. "Mind yours," I answered before emptying my glass. I notice how the girls stared at him in awe when he removed his coat, leaving him with his dark blue long sleeves. He folded his sleeves up to his elbow, making his muscles in the arm more visible than it already is. 

I can feel someone's presence approaching. Before her hands laid on me, I quickly stopped them by catching her wrists. I turn to face the girl from the other table. Since we entered the bar, I can already sense her stares. I only ignored it because I don't think I am in the mood to do stuff. Aimee and I had a fight and Pearl keeps calling and texting me. I didn't reply to any of her messages earlier. I am so damn pissed at what she did. 

"Hi," she greeted. "My name's Mae." She offered her hand. My eyes landed on it and stared for a second. I then avoided my gaze and reach the unopened bottle of our drink at our table, ignoring her, I twisted it open and poured it on my glass half full. "Y-You're Clyver, r-right? Clyver Finnson?" her words stuttered after a silent rejection yet, she's persistent. 

Hyko looked at me while drinking his drink, hiding the playful smile on his lips. She immediately caught my attention when without any invitation, she sat beside me. I turn in her direction and unconsciously scrutinized her.

She's wearing a tube purple matte dress, revealing her round perfect mounds. The line forming between them shows how big they are. Her dress falls just inches below her private. It looked even shorter when she seated. I avoided my gaze and my eyes crawled back up to her face when she made a sudden movement by crossing her legs, slightly revealing her underwear. 

I raised my hand and showed her the ring on my finger. "I'm married." I don't usually flaunt my status as a married man. Most of the time, I like it whenever girls go after me. But tonight, I have no plans of playing with them. I want to be alone. "Leave," I snobbishly said. 

At the side of my eyes, I saw her jaw drop. "S-seriously..."

"Yes," I firmly uttered, cutting her off.

"I saw you last month making out with my friend, Gail. As far as I remember, you were already married at that time. What makes you change your way of living?" she asked as if she's a close friend of mine. 

I was never rude to girls. I used to have fun and I always have this playful grin and light mood when I'm with them. But tonight is different. 

"I won't say the same thing twice," I warned without looking at her. I took a sip of my whiskey as she stood from her seat and marched away. I heard the giggles of the girls from the other table who heard our small conversation. Hyko leaned comfortably and spread his arms to rest them on the top of the sofa seat. He shook his head and flashed a lopsided grin.

"Not in the mood to play?" he mocked. 

I once again emptied my drink and annoyingly put it down on the table. "Why don't you talk with your girls, instead?" I snobbishly answered that made him chuckle. Hyko rarely talks and laughs much. This is why I'm kind of irritated at him due to the fact that he's using me for his own entertainment. I ignored him and raised a finger to call a woman standing on the corner with a tray of cigarettes in her hands.

"One box." The girl immediately gave me what I asked. I handed her my payment. My brows furrowed when she intentionally brushed her fingers on mine. Since she's standing behind me, it was easy for her to caress my chest up to my neck. I held her hand to stop her from laying her hands on my body. "Not interested," I stated. Amidst the loud and booming music of the night bar, I heard her clear her throat.

"S-sorry, s-sir..." I can sense the panic in her voice as she quickly handed me my change. 

"Keep it." Even without looking, I know she slightly bowed her head. I opened my box of cigarettes and pulled a stick. I tapped the top part of the stick before placing it in between my lips. I turned my head a little on the side and she quickly grabbed a lighter to light my stick before heading to Hyko to give him his cigarette. 

"Just a stick," he answered to the girl while staring at me, annoying me with his mocking smiles.  When the girl flew off, he said, "Tough day?" he asked after puffing. I haven't answered yet when one of the two girls staring at him earlier walked towards him. I watched him talking to the girl, waiting for him to shove her away. Unlike me, Hyko is a conservative old man. We are only 25. Too young to settle yet here he is, being loyal to someone who isn't even sure to him. My eye followed the girl after being rejected by him. Her face looked smug and crumpled after a failed attempt to flirt. 

Aimee is very different from these girls. She knows how to stand on her ground and she has her own decision. I know her through Janine, one of our family friends. We aren't close and we don't have much interaction before our families introduced us to each other for the arranged wedding. I might not have any knowledge about her but based on how she acted before, she is not the type of woman who is willing to kneel and chase before a man. Actually, it's quite the opposite. Men chase after her. I overheard Janine one time about her bunch of suitors but none of them got her. This is why I'm kind of surprised when she agreed to marry me. I guess it's all about money and name. 

After finishing my stick, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw Pearl's name on the screen. I ignored it and placed my phone on the table. 

"Is it your wife or your girlfriend?" 

I raised a brow to Hyko. I wanted to wipe the grin on his face but instead of answering him, I grabbed another stick.

Pearl is the longest girlfriend I have. I am not certain how many months I am in a relationship with her but she's the one that lasts, not because I like her, but because she's the only one who is available at the moment. A lot of people may perceive me as an ass but I don't think I am. I talked to Pearl about this. She is aware that I am only using her to rebel against my parents. They forced me to marry Aimee at this young age. What would they expect me to do? Settle and build a family in my 20s? Hell, no f*cking way! 

As I puff a cigarette, my eyes caught someone on the dancefloor. I looked back at Hyko and at this time, I was the one who smirked. I traced her line of sight to double-check it. My smile grew wider when I realized I was right. He noticed me grinning at him which made him turn in my direction. 

"What?" he innocently asked and shook his head. 

"Is she your girlfriend or your ex?" A chuckle escaped my lips when he didn't give me a response but instead emptied his glass of liquor. "Pretty complicated huh," I added to tease him more. Ariette Levrinne is on the dance floor, swaying her hips, tossing her hands up in the air, and jumping with the rhythm of the music. From time to time, I can see Hyko throwing glances at her. "Is it true?" I asked in a serious tone than earlier. 

Hyko diverted his attention at me and back at his girl again. "About what?" he asked while his eyes are glued to afar. 

"About their business," I shrugged. I am not a workaholic man. But then again, my parents forced me to handle our company because my older brother is building his own. This made me inform about the news regarding the businesses of others. 

"Yeah," he lazily answered. I only nodded my head but I was a bit stunned when I saw his girl hooking her arms around a random guy on the dance floor. My eyes darted at my friend. I notice his expression turned dull and he shifted on his seat. 

I shook my head. This is why I don't want to fully trust girls. I rested my elbows on my knees and closed my eyes for a bit to relax. However, my thoughts have their own mind, flying at the scenery and forcing me to reminisce things I wanted to forget. 

I was walking silently with my tiptoes to not create any noise. It's already 10 in the evening and my mom will definitely get mad and hurt my ears with her loud voice if she caught me sneaking out of my room. I hurried my way to the kitchen's refrigerator and pulled out a bag of junk food and a can of coke. 

I jog back to my room. Since our house is a three storey house and the master's bedroom is located on the second floor just beside my room, I have to quietly walk past theirs. My brows were about to meet each other when I notice their room door slightly opened. 

"It was definitely closed earlier," I whispered to myself. But I am not sure tho. With my bag of chips and coke in hand, I went near the door of the master's bedroom and peeked inside. My eyes widened and the 12-year-old me was frozen in place when I saw my mom kissing wildly a man I've never seen in my life.

With my shivering legs, I ran back to my room. I dropped my food on the floor, climbed up in my bed, and hide under my dark blue blanket. My younger self shut his eyes tightly, trying to erase the scene in his head. I was confused and angry. At this age, I might not be mature enough but I know what marriage is all about. If you got a ring on your finger and if you already have a family, you should be committed to them. Kissing other people that is not your wife or your husband is a sin. That night, I felt betrayed. 

Weeks passed and the scene of my mom kissing another man kept replaying in my head. I couldn't stand watching my mom cook our food, serving them casually on the table, and talking to my father as if she didn't do anything horrible. 

"Dad..." I called after our dinner. I locked the door behind me and walk inside his office. Due to his hectic schedule, he decided to have his own office in our house. I went in front of him and waited to lift his head. He is on his swivel chair and his eyes were all glued to the laptop screen, typing something I have no idea what. When the sound of his keyboard stopped, I spoke. "I saw mom last time..." I took a deep breath before continuing. "H-he was kissing a-a stranger i-inside your r-room..."

I am not hoping for this to happen but I was expecting him to get angry and talk it out with mom. However, he only removed his glass and looked straight at me. "How are your grades? I heard you are at the bottom list again?" Stunned, I am unable to answer. This conversation wasn't supposed to be about me. This should be about our family.

"D-Dad... m-mom--"

"I and your mom will talk about it. Go to your room and start reviewing. Your exams are coming. Do not disappoint me just like what you did last time."

My lips parted but no words escaped from them. He continued his work as if I am not here. With a heavy heart and a confused mind, I walked out of his office and ran back to my room. My eyes saw the books and the advance reviewers that my personal tutor handed me. I went to them and wipe them out of my desk. Some of the notes were ripped and most are crumpled. I bit my lower lip to stop myself from screaming. I may look tough and unfrightened but I am afraid of my father. He once threatened me to kick out of our house if I acted. As a younger me who has no money, of course, I am scared.

Later that night, I got up in bed after falling asleep. I ignored my scattered books on the carpet floor and went out of my room. I always got hungry in the middle of the night. This is why I used to sneak out and steal chips in our kitchen. I tiptoed my way out to the kitchen but before I can pass through my parent's room, I heard their subtle voices, arguing. 

"I told you to stop bringing your men here!" said my dad. The control in his voice was evident.

"Well, you did it too! I saw a panty below our bed last time, and it isn't mine! If you don't want me to do the things you do, then you stop first!"

I don't want to further hear their arguments. I turned my back and was about to walk away when my father spoke. "We agreed to this kind of set up but it doesn't mean we should do it here in our f*cking house. Clyver saw you!" 

That statement alone made me confused. That night, I wasn't able to fall asleep. As I grew older, I slowly understand what father meant by that. I was in high school when I cut class with my friends to go play billiards when I saw my father in one of the restaurants, eating lunch with his secretary. I shouldn't put malice on it if not with his hands holding hers. 

Since then, my view about marriage became distorted. I thought of Aimee. I will lie if I'll say I wasn't hurt by what she said. But then, her words only showed what she is up to. She doesn't love me... she only wants me to be hers alone. Just like my parents, our marriage was made for the sake of money. I'm grateful I held myself back and didn't give my all. After all, I am still not ready for this kind of life. I lit up another stick of cigarette and inhaled it deeply. "Don't ever get married at a young age," I blabbered. 

"Marrying young is not a big deal to me. But I will never marry a woman I am not in love with," he answered and stand in his seat. I'm glad that he didn't wait for my response cause he won't get one. Since we have different experiences, it is only normal to have different perspectives in life. Hyko stand walked towards his girl. As far as I know, they already broke up but I don't know the real deal with them and I don't have plans of sticking my nose into others' business. 

The smoke from my cigarette dried my throat. I reached for my glass of liquor but before my lips touched my drink, I saw someone from afar. I narrowed my eyes to see if it was really her. I felt like the heat in my body increased when I saw my wife talking to someone in the corner with all smiles on her face. 

'What the hell is she doing here?!'

-----

Unedited. Expect typo, spelling, and grammatical errors.

-----

The Unwanted Marriage

by: Joanne Cristel

©2021

-----