Capture Her Heart After Marriage

Chapter 29 Who Are You?

Instead of drinking the tea, Lynn just placed it aside. "You haven’t heard yet?"

"No, I haven’t. I’ve been gone most of the day. What’s happened?" Alexia asked as she looked at Lynn, feeling amused.

Lynn rolled her eyes. "The gossip. Didn’t you notice anything different when you got to work this morning? As soon as you arrived to start the day, and even when you arrived less than ten minutes ago, didn’t you notice everyone was talking about you?"

"I heard them." Alexia nodded. "But I didn’t stop to listen."

Alexia wasn’t certain what to make of her friend’s concern. Yes, it was true that everyone was looking at her and gossiping when she arrived that morning. They even continued that afternoon. Alexia worried there had been stickers or stains on her clothes, but after a thorough inspection, she found none.

"Oh my god. You really don't care about what people say or think about you?" Lynn asked in surprise.

“No, I don’t care, and I don't want to either. I’m too busy and have far too much work to do. It’s not like they’ll stop if I pay attention to them either.” Alexia put her head in her hands and took a deep breath. "Just tell me, what have I done this time that has the entire office gossiping about me?"

"Actually, it’s nothing you did this time. Remember last night when you danced with Mr. Lancaster?."

"Of course I remember the dance. What about it?"

"Well, because you got to dance with Mr. Lancaster, you made every woman in the company extremely jealous of you."

Alexia frowned. "I don't think they were jealous of me. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to guess they were laughing at me more than anything else."

Lynn laughed, but stopped when she noticed Alexia glaring at her.

"What’s so funny?" Alexia asked, more annoyed than anything else.

Lynn tried to hold back her laughter, but she failed and burst into laughter. Lynn was holding her sides, and tears rolled down her cheeks before she finally regained her composure.

"Sorry, sorry, I really don’t mean to laugh. I just thought of your dance with Mr. Lancaster. I’m sorry, Alexia, but it was hilarious. Do you know how many times you stepped on Mr. Lancaster's feet?"

Alexia shook her head. She tried her hardest to forget she had, but she knew it had to be several times at least.

"Eight times," Lynn said, struggling not to laugh again. "So, all the women are jealous of you stepping on Mr. Lancaster’s feet several times and still not getting fired."

"Eight times? Really?" Alexia was astonished, biting her nails and purposely not looking at Lynn. "That's a lot."

"Yep! I even took a video of the dance if you want to watch," Lynn said, handing Alexia the cellphone to watch the video.

Alexia couldn’t help but feel very awkward watching the video. Was the one dancing with Mr. Lancaster really her? She knew she was a bad dancer, and she had come to terms with that. But seeing the video, she could only imagine what the others thought.

However, Chaim had finished the terrible dance with her, not even looking like he was considering leaving the dance. If anything else, it showed that Chaim was a man with great manners.

"Now do you understand why everyone was gossiping about you?" Lynn asked as she took her phone back, laughing.

Alexia moaned into her arms as she leaned onto her desk. "Because of this video…"

"Bingo! Not everyone from the office was able to attend the welcome party, so someone sent a similar video to all the people in the company via email. That's why everyone is talking about you."

"And they are using my horrible dancing as their daily dose of humor."

Lynn laughed. "No, it’s more like they’re actually jealous of your good luck and your bravery. If they had been the ones who were given the chance to dance with Mr. Lancaster, I don't think they would’ve been brave enough to go through with it."

"Okay, I get it. I’m a bad dancer. Can we please stop talking about this? I have more work to do." Alexia really did have more to do, but for the moment she just wanted to be alone.

"Fine, I’ll stop. Do you want to go out tonight for drinks?" Lynn asked, changing the subject.

Alexia looked up, "No, I can't. My husband wants to talk with me tonight." All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"Alright, I want a raincheck then." Lynn pouted, annoyed that her friend was too busy.

Alexia sat there with her head on her arms for a bit before getting back to work. With the three secretaries getting fired, she needed to do all the work on her own, thankfully it was only for one day. Even with the help of Wood, she couldn't get off from work on time. Alexia ended up having to stay late to get it all done. So, when she finally got back to the villa, it was nine o'clock at night.

By the time Alexia headed up the front walk, she was so hungry that her belly was aching. A dizziness had set in and Alexia’s hands shook from lack of nourishment. She dug around in her purse to find her keys and once she found them, she couldn’t steady her hands enough to unlock the door.

Aunt Song, who was up waiting for Alexia and Chaim to arrive, heard the muffled noise at the door and got up to see who was there. When she opened the door, Aunt Song smiled and stepped aside to let Alexia in.

"Ms. Alexia, you’re back," Aunt Song said, helping Alexia with her bag.

Alexia smiled half-heartedly and replied, "Good evening, Aunt Song."

"Good evening to you, Ms. White." Aunt Song replied, hesitating when she noticed how pale Alexia looked. "Ms. Alexia, Is something wrong? You’re very pale…"

"I am feeling not well," Alexia said as she leaned against the hall closet.

"Are you sick?" Aunt Song asked, concern growing as she helped Alexia to the sofa.

Alexia stretched out on the sofa, head laying on the armrest. "No, I’m not sick. My stomach just hurts and I feel weak from not eating dinner. May I have something to eat, Aunt Song?"

"You haven't had your dinner yet? It’s 9 p.m.," Aunt Song asked in surprise.

Alexia shook her head weakly. "There was so much to do at the office today. If I stopped to eat dinner, I would’ve been home even later."

"You really need to try and make time to eat even when you’re busy." Aunt Song headed to the kitchen and brought back a cup of ginger tea which she handed to Alexia with a tender but stern expression. "Drink this to help your stomach calm down while I will cook you the dinner."

"Thanks, Aunt Song," Alexia said, taking the cup and taking a small sip.

Having something in her stomach, Alexia’s stomachache faded a little and the color returned to her face. She regained some strength and was able to sit up to watch some TV, smoothing her hair as she

reached for the remote.

After a while, Aunt Song called to Alexia from the kitchen. "Dinner is ready, Ms. Alexia. It will be best if you come eat at the table."

"Coming," Alexia replied, turning off the TV and heading to the kitchen.

*****

Alexia pushed her almost completely clean plate away, her stomach comfortably full.

"Was everything to your satisfaction?" Aunt Song asked happily.

Alexia nodded. "Of course! Aunt Song, you’re amazing at cooking I was upset I couldn’t finish it all."

Aunt Song blushed at the compliment, smiling greatly. "You are so sweet. No wonder Mr. Rocco likes you so much."

"That's because Grandpa Rocco is kind," Alexia replied, relaxing contentedly against the back of the chair.

Alexia may have said that Grandpa Rocco was kind, but in her mind, she knew quite well that the only reason Grandpa Rocco liked her was because she didn't ask for money from the Lancasters. It was because of that, and maybe that alone, that Grandpa Rocco picked her to marry Chaim. After the wedding, Grandpa Rocco wasn’t subtle about wanting Alexia to give birth to a child, his great- grandson, either.

However, that was three years ago and Chaim and Alexia had yet to have a child. It wasn’t Alexia’s fault they hadn’t had a child yet, Chaim was the one that didn’t want to have a child. Grandpa Rocco

was getting impatient now and had ordered her and Chaim to give birth to a baby quickly. Otherwise, Alexia and Chaim weren’t allowed in the Lancaster family.

A small part of Alexia wondered whether Grandpa Rocco would ask them to get a divorce if it took them too much longer to have a child.

All the worry about children and Grandpa Rocco prompted Alexia to ask Aunt Song if Chaim had arrived home yet.

"No." Aunt Song shook her head. "Why do you ask? Will Mr. Lancaster come home tonight?"

"He said he would." Alexia answered, rubbing her sore shoulders.

"Why don't you call him and ask him then?" Aunt Song suggested, picking up the dishes from the table.

Alexia thought about the idea for a moment before agreeing to the idea. Chaim had asked her to wait, but Alexia didn't know how long she should wait.

Alexia took out the phone, and called Chaim with some encouragement from Aunt Song's.

Someone answered the phone quickly, and Alexia immediately launched into her question, not wanting to anger him. "Chaim, when will you come home?"

"Who are you?"

Alexia stood there in hurt confusion. It wasn’t Chaim who had answered the phone but a strange woman questioning Alexia harshly. Alexia worried she might have the wrong number, but when she checked, it was Chaim’s contact on her phone’s screen.

‘What was happening? Why is a woman answering Chaim's phone?'